[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 32 (Tuesday, February 18, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8857-8858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-03064]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2879-012]


Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice of Application Tendered 
For Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2879-012.
    c. Date Filed: January 30, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation (Green Mountain 
Power).
    e. Name of Project: Bolton Falls Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Winooski River 
in Washington County, Vermont. The project does not affect federal 
lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. John Greenan, P.E., Engineer, Green 
Mountain Power Corporation, 1252 Post Road, Rutland, Vermont 05701; 
phone: (802) 770-2195 or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Tust, (202) 502-6522 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The project consists of the following 
constructed facilities: (1) A 92-foot-high, 275-foot-wide timber crib 
dam with a 5-foot-high rubber dam atop the timber crib construction 
with a maximum crest elevation of 397 feet referenced to National 
Geodetic Vertical 1929 Datum and a 196-foot-long reinforced concrete 
spillway cap at a crest elevation of 392 feet; (2) a 59-acre 
impoundment with a total storage capacity of 300 acre-feet at a normal 
operating elevation of 397 feet; (3) a forebay with two concrete 
intakes, each with a 3-inch-spaced trashrack; (4) two 10-foot diameter, 
120-foot-long steel penstocks encased in concrete, extending from each 
intake through the dam to the generating units; (5) a 73-foot-long, 57-
foot-wide powerhouse containing two horizontal, 3,750-kilowatt Kaplan 
turbines with a total installed capacity of 7,500 kilowatts; (6) a 36-
inch diameter steel bypass pipe with an invert elevation of 383 feet 
that discharges near the left side of the spillway base; (7) an 
approximately 130-foot long, 5-kilovolt underground transmission line 
connecting to an adjacent switchyard; (8) a 600-foot-long, 34.5-
kilovolt overhead transmission line connecting to a second switchyard; 
and (9) appurtenant facilities. Green Mountain Power also maintains 
day-use recreation facilities at the project, including a picnic area, 
parking lot, trails, fishing access, and a canoe launch and portage 
trail.
    Green Mountain Power proposes to operate in automated run-of-river 
mode as it does under its current practice but instead of providing a 
300-cfs minimum flow into the bypassed reach via spill over the dam or 
through the powerhouse, Green Mountain Power proposes to provide a 
seasonal aesthetic spill flow of 75 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, 
into the bypassed reach during daylight hours from April 1 through 
December 15. Green Mountain Power would only provide leakage flows from 
the dam into the bypassed reach during nighttime hours from April 1 
through December 15 as well as during day and nighttime hours from 
December 16 through March 31. Under normal flow conditions during 
periods when aesthetic spillage is required, Green Mountain proposes to 
maintain the impoundment at an elevation of 397.25 feet. During periods 
when aesthetic spillage over the dam is not required, Green Mountain 
Power proposes to maintain the reservoir at an elevation of 397 feet as 
it does under its existing operation. In addition to operating and 
maintaining its existing recreation facilities, Green Mountain Power 
proposes the following improvements to its recreation facilities: (1) 
Relocate the existing parking area out of the floodplain; (2) place 
barriers and signage to redirect foot traffic away from areas with 
state-designated rare creeping lovegrass at the day-use area; (3) add 
two picnic tables and an information kiosk to the day-use area; (4) 
improve signage at the portage landing and along the portage trail for 
boaters; (5) construct an improved portage landing; and (6) clear brush 
along the portage trail.
    Green Mountain Power is proposing to remove approximately 9.2 acres 
of lands and water from the current project boundary because these 
areas do not contain any project recreation facilities and are not 
necessary for project operation and maintenance. These areas include 
4.2 acres of land south of the existing portage trail and northwest of 
the VELCO transmission line, 2.9 acres of land south of Power Plant 
Road, and 2.1 acres of the Winooski River and shoreline downstream of 
the dam located outside of the project bypassed reach and tailrace. In 
addition, Green Mountain Power is proposing to add approximately 7.6 
acres of land to the project boundary. These areas include: (1) 
Approximately 1.4 acres of land along a secondary access road located 
to the south of the portage trail take-out; (2) approximately 4.1 acres 
of land along the middle section of the portage trail to fully enclose 
the portage trail; and (3) approximately 2.1 acres of lands along the 
primary project access road to provide vehicular and pedestrian access 
to the project for operation and maintenance purposes as well as access 
to the project's day-use recreation area.
    l. Locations of the Application: 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 access the document. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY).
    m. 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.
    n. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

[[Page 8858]]



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              Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready  March 2020.
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations,            May 2020.
 preliminary terms and conditions,
 and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft               November 2020.
 Environmental Assessment (EA).
Comments on Draft EA................  December 2020.
Modified terms and conditions.......  February 2021.
Commission issues Final EA..........  May 2021.
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    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than thirty (30) days from the issuance date of the 
notice of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: February 10, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-03064 Filed 2-14-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P