[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7548-7549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02580]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 3063-021]
Blackstone Hydro Associates; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments
Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
[[Page 7549]]
a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
b. Project No.: 3063-021.
c. Date filed: July 31, 2019.
d. Applicant: Blackstone Hydro Associates (BHA).
e. Name of Project: Central Falls Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: On the Blackstone River, in the City of Central Falls,
Providence County, Rhode Island. No federal lands are occupied by the
project works or located within the project boundary.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Robert Leahy, 130 Prospect Street,
Cambridge, MA 02139; Phone at (617) 491-2320, or email at
[email protected].
i. FERC Contact: John Baummer, 202-502-6837, or
[email protected].
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: March 1, 2020.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the
eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You
must include your name and contact information at the end of your
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to:
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE,
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include
docket number P-3063-021.
The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document
on that resource agency.
k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
l. The existing Central Falls Project consists of: (1) A 190-foot-
long, 24-foot-high, curved granite-masonry dam (Valley Falls Dam); (2)
an approximately 64.5-acre impoundment with a normal maximum elevation
of 49.5 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 1929); (3)
a granite block and wood-framed gatehouse that is adjacent to the dam
and that contains ten gates that are 9 feet wide by 6 feet tall; (4) a
290-foot-long, granite block-lined headrace; (5) an intake structure
with two 8-foot-high hydraulic gates and 24-foot-wide, 11.5-foot-high,
inclined trashracks having 3-inch clear bar spacing; (6) two 30-foot-
long, 7-foot-diameter penstocks; (7) an approximately 53-foot-long, 32-
foot-wide concrete powerhouse containing two Allis-Chalmers tube
turbines with a total installed capacity of 700 kilowatts (kW); (8) an
approximately 1,200-foot-long, 36-foot-wide tailrace; (9) two 480-volt
generator lead lines; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
BHA operates the project as a run-of-river facility, such that
outflow from the project approximates inflow. The project bypasses
approximately 0.3 mile of the Blackstone River. A 108-cubic feet per
second (cfs) minimum flow is released over the dam into the bypassed
reach. BHA discharges a continuous minimum flow of 238 cfs, or inflow,
whichever is less, as measured at the confluence of the tailrace and
the river channel. The average annual generation of the project is
approximately 1,230 megawatt-hours (MWh).
BHA proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in a run-of-
river mode; (2) retrofit the two existing turbines with variable pitch
blade runners to allow for the project to be operated at different
flows; (3) install a new bypassed flow pipe to provide a minimum flow
of 210 cfs to the bypassed reach, approximately 215 feet downstream of
the dam; (4) install a new 160-kW ``fish friendly'' turbine-generator
unit in the proposed bypassed flow pipe to increase the project's
capacity and provide downstream fish passage; (5) install a new
trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing in the headrace to prevent fish
impingement and entrainment; (6) install a new downstream fish passage
facility in the headrace, immediately upstream of the new trashrack;
(7) maintain a 13-cfs aesthetic flow over the Valley Falls Dam; (8)
provide a flow of up to 3 cfs to the adjacent historic canal; (9)
install an upstream eel passage facility at the project dam; and (10)
install 20 long-eared bat boxes and implement a Northern Long Eared Bat
Management and Protection Plan to protect bats. BHA estimates the
project enhancements will result in an average annual generation of
approximately 3,200 MWh.
m. A copy of the application is available for review at the
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the
Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary''
link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the
docket number field to address the document. For assistance, contact
FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and
reproduction at 1485 High Street Central Falls, RI 02863.
n. You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
o. Scoping Process.
Commission staff intend to prepare a single Environmental
Assessment (EA) for the Central Falls Hydroelectric Project in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA will
consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts and
reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
At this time, we do not anticipate holding on-site public or agency
scoping meetings. Instead, we are soliciting your comments and
suggestions on the preliminary list of issues and alternatives to be
addressed in the EA, as described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued
January 31, 2020.
Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in
the EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list
and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may be viewed on
the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number
field to access the document. For assistance, call 1-866-208-3676 or
for TTY, (202) 502-8659.
Dated: January 31, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-02580 Filed 2-7-20; 8:45 am]
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