[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 115 (Monday, June 15, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36198-36199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-12831]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2997-031]


 South Sutter Water District; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Major, new license.
    b. Project No.: P-2997-031.
    c. Date filed: July 1, 2019.
    d. Applicant: South Sutter Water District.
    e. Name of Project: Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing hydroelectric project is located on the 
Bear River in Yuba, Nevada, and Placer Counties, California. The 
project, with the proposed project boundary modifications, would occupy 
a total of 2,674 acres. No Federal or tribal lands occur within or 
adjacent to the project boundary or along the Bear River downstream of 
the project.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Brad Arnold, General Manager, South 
Sutter Water District, 2464 Pacific Avenue, Trowbridge, California 
95659.
    i. FERC Contact: Quinn Emmering, (202) 502-6382, 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: July 9, 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-2997-031.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project operates to 
provide water during the irrigation season, generate power, and meet 
streamflow requirements for the Bear River. The existing project 
includes: (1) A 185-foot-high, 40-foot-wide, 2,070-foot-long, earth-
filled main dam; (2) a 45-foot-high, 20-foot-wide, 1,060-foot-long, 
earth-filled south wing dam; (3) a 25-foot-high, 20-foot-wide, 1,460-
foot-long, earth-filled north wing dam; (4) a 15-foot-high, 20-foot-
wide, 1,450-foot-long, earth-filled north dike; (5) a 2,020-acre 
reservoir with a gross storage capacity of about 104,000 acre-feet at 
the normal maximum water surface elevation (NMWSE) of 300 feet; (6) an 
overflow spillway with a maximum design capacity of 106,500 cubic feet 
per second (cfs) at a reservoir elevation of 320 feet with a 15-foot-
wide concrete approach apron, 300-foot-long ungated, ogee-type concrete 
structure, and a 77-foot-long downstream concrete chute with concrete 
sidewalls and a 302.5-foot single span steel-truss bridge across the 
spillway crest; (7) a 1,200-foot-long, unlined, rock channel that 
carries spill downstream to the Bear River; (8) a 22-foot-high, 
concrete, power intake tower with openings on three sides protected by 
steel trashracks; (9) a 25-foot-4-inch-high, concrete, intake tower 
with openings on three sides, each of which is protected by steel 
trashracks that receives water for the outlet works; (10) a 760-foot-
long, 8-foot-diameter concrete tunnel through the left abutment of the 
main dam that conveys water from the power intake to the powerhouse; 
(11) a steel-reinforced, concrete powerhouse with a 6.8-megawatt, 
vertical-shaft, Francis-type turbine, which discharges to the Bear 
River at the base of the main dam; (12) a 350-foot-long, 48-inch-
diameter steel pipe that conveys water from the intake structure to a 
valve chamber for the outlet works; (13) a 400-foot-long, 7.5-foot-
diameter concrete-lined horseshoe tunnel that connects to the valve 
chamber to a 48-inch-diameter, Howell Bunger outlet valve with a 
capacity of 500 cfs that discharges directly into the Bear River; (14) 
a fenced switchyard adjacent to the powerhouse; (15) two recreation 
areas with campgrounds, day-use areas, boat ramps, restrooms, and 
sewage holding

[[Page 36199]]

ponds; and (16) a recreational water system that includes two pumps in 
the reservoir that deliver water to a treatment facility that is piped 
to a 60,000-gallon storage tank to supply water to recreation 
facilities. The project has no transmission facilities. The estimated 
average annual generation (2010 to 2017) is 22,637 megawatt-hours.
    South Sutter Water District proposes to: (1) Raise the NMWSE of the 
project reservoir by 5 feet from an elevation of 300 feet to an 
elevation of 305 feet; (2) raise the crest of the existing spillway 
from an elevation of 300 feet to an elevation of 305 feet to 
accommodate the proposed pool raise; (3) replace and restore several 
recreation facilities; (4) add an existing 0.25-mile road as a primary 
project road to access the powerhouse and switchyard; and (5) modify 
the project boundary to account for the removal of the 1.9-mile-long 
transmission line from the license in 1991, corrections based on 
current project operation and maintenance, and changes under the 
category of a contour 20 feet above the 300-feet NMWSE or proximity of 
200-horizontal-feet from the 300-foot NMWSE.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register. The Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (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. At this time, 
the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency 
concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the 
President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    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
    The Commission staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) for the Camp Far West 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.
    Commission staff does not anticipate holding a formal public or 
agency scoping meeting. Instead, we are soliciting comments, 
recommendations, and information, on the Scoping Document (SD) issued 
on June 9, 2020.
    Copies of the SD 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 the SD 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: June 9, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-12831 Filed 6-12-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P