[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 193 (Monday, October 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62721-62722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-21936]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-481-1]


Application To Amend Presidential Permit; CHPE, LLC

AGENCY: Office of Electricity, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: CHPE, LLC (the Applicant) has filed an application to amend 
Presidential Permit No. PP-481. CHPE, LLC is requesting the amendment 
to allow for certain modifications to the previously permitted route.

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on 
or before November 4, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed to 
Christopher Lawrence, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or by email to [email protected], or 
Christopher Drake (Attorney-Adviser) at 202-586-2919 or by email to 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    The construction, operation, maintenance, and connection of 
facilities at the international border of the United States for the 
transmission of electric energy between the United States and a foreign 
country is prohibited in the absence of a Presidential permit issued 
pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as amended by E.O. 12038.
    On September 25, 2020, CHPE, LLC filed an application with the 
Office of Electricity of the Department of Energy (DOE), as required by 
regulations at 10 CFR 205.320 et seq., requesting that DOE amend 
Presidential Permit No. PP-481 to allow for changes in the route 
previously permitted.
    On October 6, 2014, DOE issued Presidential Permit No. PP-362, 
authorizing Champlain Hudson Power Express, Inc. (CHPEI) to construct, 
operate, maintain, and connect the Champlain Hudson Power Express 
Project (Project). As described in PP-362, the Project is a 1,000-
megawatt (MW), high-voltage direct current (HVDC), underground and 
underwater merchant transmission system that will cross the United 
States-Canada international border underwater near the Town of 
Champlain, New York, extend approximately 336 miles south through New 
York State, and interconnect to facilities located in Queens County, 
New York, owned by the Consolidated Edison Company of New York. The 
aquatic segments of the transmission line will primarily be buried in 
sediments of Lake Champlain and the Hudson, Harlem, and East rivers. 
The terrestrial portions of the transmission line will primarily be 
buried within existing road and railroad rights-of-way (ROW). On July 
21, 2020, DOE issued Presidential Permit PP-481 transferring the 
facilities authorized in PP-362 to CHPE, LLC at the request of CHPEI 
and CHPE, LLC.
    Since the issuance of PP-362 in 2014, the Applicant, in 
consultation with various stakeholders, has developed certain 
modifications to the permitted Project route, including relocating the 
site of the Project converter station. See Application of CHPE, LLC for 
Amendment to Presidential Permit (App.), at 3 (Sept. 25, 2020). The 
eight (8) proposed route modifications would lengthen the Project by 
approximately 5.1 linear miles, an increase of less than 2%. See id. 
The Applicant has also identified a construction method claimed to 
reduce environmental impacts. See id.
    According to the Applicant, ``[t]hese proposed changes are 
principally driven by engineering, environmental, and landowner/
stakeholder considerations that have been identified as the Applicant 
has refined the design of the Project.'' App. at 3. ``Among other 
things,'' the Applicant asserts that ``the proposed changes would avoid 
shallow water related engineering challenges, reduce rock removal and 
wetland impacts, eliminate disruption to downtown activities within the 
City of Schenectady, forego reliance on an aging railroad bridge, 
accommodate community concerns, [and] avoid recently constructed 
infrastructure,'' as well as ``optimiz[e] the design of the converter 
station and the connection to existing electrical facilities.'' Id. at 
3-4.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at 
the address provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of FERC's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Each comment or motion to 
intervene should be filed with DOE on or before the date listed above.
    Comments and other filings concerning this application should be 
clearly marked with OE Docket No. PP-481-1. Additional copies are to be 
provided directly to Mr. Donald Jessome, Chief Executive Officer, 
Transmission Developers Inc., Pieter Schuyler Building, 600 Broadway, 
Albany, New York 12207-2283,

[[Page 62722]]

[email protected] and Jay Ryan, Baker Botts 
LLP, 700 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20001, [email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE will consider the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action (i.e., granting the Presidential permit or amendment, 
with any conditions and limitations, or denying the permit), determine 
the proposed project's impact on electric reliability by ascertaining 
whether the proposed project would adversely affect the operation of 
the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and contingency 
conditions, and weigh any other factors that DOE may also consider 
relevant to the public interest. DOE also must obtain the favorable 
recommendation of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential permit application.
    This application may be reviewed or downloaded electronically at 
http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2. Upon reaching the 
home page, select ``Pending Applications.''

    Signed in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2020.
Christopher Lawrence,
Management and Program Analyst, Transmission Permitting and Technical 
Assistance, Office of Electricity.
[FR Doc. 2020-21936 Filed 10-2-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P