[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15166-15167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-05390]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2221-041]


Empire District Electric Company; 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.: 2221-041.
    c. Date Filed: February 28, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Empire District Electric Company (Empire District).
    e. Name of Project: Ozark Beach Hydroelectric Project (Ozark Beach 
Project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the White River in 
Taney County, Missouri. The project occupies 5.1 acres of United States 
lands administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Tim Wilson, Strategic Projects and Energy 
Supply, Empire District Electric Company, 602 South Joplin Avenue, P.O. 
Box 127, Joplin, MO 64802, (913) 458-6437 or [email protected]; and 
Randy Richardson, Plant Manager, Empire District Electric Company, 2537 
Fir Road, Sarcoxie, MO 64862, (417) 625-6138 or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Colleen Corballis at (202) 502-8598 or email at 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Ozark Beach Project consists of the following existing 
facilities: (1) 2,200 acre Lake Taneycomo with a gross storage capacity 
of 22,000 acre-feet and a usable storage capacity of 6,500 acre-feet at 
a water surface elevation of 701.35 feet National Geodetic Vertical 
Datum of 1929; (2) a 1,273-foot-long, 53-foot-high dam consisting of, 
from west to east: (a) A 420-foot-long earth fill embankment, (b) a 
575-foot-long concrete overflow spillway topped with 32 Obermeyer 
gates, (c) an 18-foot-long concrete overflow spillway, (d) an integral 
210-foot-long reinforced concrete powerhouse, and (e) a 50-foot-long 
concrete non-overflow section; (3) a 210-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, 92-
foot-high reinforced concrete integral powerhouse with an operating 
head of 50 feet; (4) trash racks at the entrance to intakes; (5) four 
7,250 horsepower vertical-shaft Francis-type turbines with a total 
capacity of 29,000 horsepower, each couple to a 4.0 megawatt (MW) 
generator with a total capacity of 16.0 MW; (6) a 200-foot-long, 4,600-
volt overhead transmission line connected to a three phase 22,400-
kilovolt ampere 4,600 to 161,000-volt step-up transformer that connects 
to Empire District Electric Company's 161,000-volt transmission system; 
and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    The existing Ozark Beach Project is situated between two 
multipurpose projects that are owned by the Corps. The Table Rock 
Project, which is immediately upstream of the Ozark Beach Project, is 
operated in a peaking mode based on regional demand requirements. The 
Ozark Beach Project discharges directly into the Bull Shoals Project 
reservoir, which is immediately downstream. Using the storage in Lake 
Taneycomo, the Ozark Beach Project is operated based on various 
conditions including closely matching the releases of the upstream 
Table Rock Project, market pricing, Lake Taneycomo water level, Bull 
Shoals water level and rainfall. The Ozark Beach Project has an 
estimated annual energy production of about 50,768 megawatt hours. 
Empire District proposes to continue to operate using the storage in 
Lake Taneycomo. Empire District does not propose any new construction.
    Empire District proposes to modify the project boundary by removing 
6,021 acres from the existing area of 8,267 acres for a proposed 
project boundary of 2,246 acres. Empire District's proposal would 
reduce the existing area of United States lands administered by the 
Corps from 5.1 acres to 0.64 acres.

[[Page 15167]]

    l. 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). A copy is also available for inspection 
and reproduction at the address in item (h) above.
    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 schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

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

    Dated: March 10, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-05390 Filed 3-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P