[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 240 (Monday, December 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80779-80781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27435]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 96-048]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Application Tendered 
for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Relicensing 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.: 96-048.
    c. Date Filed: November 24, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
    e. Name of Project: Kerckhoff Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the San Joaquin 
River, in Fresno and Madera Counties, California. The project occupies 
328.1 acres of federal land administered by the United States Forest 
Service and Bureau of Land Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Maureen Zawalick, Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company, PO Box 770000, MC N11D-1138, San Francisco, CA 94177-0001, 
(805) 545-4242
    i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams, (202) 502-8462 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing Kerckhoff Hydroelectric 
Project consists of: (1) a 175-acre, 3-mile-long impoundment at normal 
full pond elevation 985.0 feet; (2) a 114.5-foot-high, 507-foot-long 
concrete arch dam with a spillway crest of 91 feet that includes: (a) 
Fourteen 14.3-foot-high by 20-foot-wide radial gates, and (b) three 72-
inch-diameter low-level outlet pipes at an elevation of 897.0 feet, 
with a maximum combined discharge capacity of 3,900 cubic feet per 
second; (3) a 75-foot-long, 18-inch-diameter instream flow pipe; (4) 
two powerhouse facilities (Kerckhoff 1 and Kerckhoff 2); and (5) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The Project's Kerckhoff 1 (K1) powerhouse and associated facilities 
include: (1) A 73.3-foot-high, 29.5-foot by 26-foot-wide reinforced 
concrete intake structure located in Kerckhoff Reservoir; (2) a 16,913-
foot-long, 17-foot-wide by 17-foot-high unlined tunnel; (3) two 
approximately 120-foot-long, 20-foot in cross section adits; (4)

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one approximately 507.8-foot-long, 16- to-18-foot in cross section 
adit; (5) a 75-foot-high, unlined vertical shaft surge chamber with a 
40-foot maximum diameter lower section and 17-foot maximum diameter 
upper section; (6) one 913-foot-long, 84- to- 90-inch-diameter steel 
penstock; (7) one 946-foot-long, 84- to- 90-inch-diameter steel 
penstock; (8) an approximately 45-foot-wide by 99-foot-long reinforced 
concrete powerhouse containing three vertical reaction-type Francis 
turbine units; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The project's K1 
transmission facilities include: (1) A switchyard located on a steep 
hillside immediately behind the powerhouse; (2) two transformer banks 
consisting of one, three-phase and seven, single-phase 6.6/115-kilovolt 
(kV) transformers; and (3) three, 115-kV circuit breakers. Three sets 
of non-project 115-kV transmission lines exit the switchyard.
    K1 Powerhouse Unit No. 2 is not operational and was removed from 
the current project license in 2013. K1 Powerhouse Units No. 1 and No. 
3 are rated at 11.36 megawatts (MW) each for an authorized installed 
capacity of 22.72 MW; however, both units have not operated since 2018. 
The three adits were sealed with concrete walls about 200 feet from 
their entrances, effectively eliminating access to the adits and to the 
tunnel via the adits. K1 penstock No. 2 is no longer operational; it 
was abandoned in place and removed from the current project license in 
2013. PG&E permanently closed and sealed the main shutoff and bypass 
valves at K1 penstock No. 2, removed an approximately 12-foot-long 
section of the penstock immediately downstream of the shutoff valve, 
removed exposed air valves and cap, and permanently closed the turbine 
shutoff valve.
    The Project's Kerckhoff 2 (K2) powerhouse and associated facilities 
include: (1) A 63-foot-high, 43-foot by 52-foot-wide reinforced 
concrete intake structure located in Kerckhoff Reservoir; (2) a 21,632-
foot-long, 24-foot-diameter unlined tunnel; (3) an 8-foot-diameter adit 
tunnel; (4) a 216.8-foot-high, vertical shaft surge chamber composed of 
a 20-foot-diameter lower section, a 71-foot-diameter middle section, 
and a 110-foot-diameter upper section, capped at the surface by a 34-
foot-high, 111.5-foot-diameter above-ground steel surge tank; (5) one 
approximately 1,013-foot-long penstock composed of three sections: (a) 
A 481-foot-long, 20-foot-diameter concrete-lined upper section; (b) a 
338-foot-long, 18-foot-diameter concrete-lined middle section; and (c) 
a 194-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter steel-lined lower section; (6) an 
approximately 85-foot-diameter, 124-foot-high three-floor (basement 
floor, turbine floor, and generator floor) underground powerhouse 
chamber containing one vertical shaft, Francis-type turbine rated at 
140 MW; (7) an approximately 531-foot-long, 25-foot-diameter concrete-
lined discharge tunnel, with two 19-foot-high, 13-foot-wide gates; (8) 
a 40-foot-wide open tailrace channel; and (9) appurtenant facilities. 
The project's K2 transmission facilities include: (1) An approximately 
152-foot-wide by 177-foot-long switchyard located at ground level 
immediately above the underground powerhouse; (2) a transformer; and 
(3) four, 115-kV circuit breakers. Two sets of non-project 115-kV 
transmission lines exit the switchyard. From 1984 to 2019, with both 
powerhouses in operation, average annual generation was approximately 
471,424 megawatt-hours.
    PG&E operates the project for power generation, making use of 
available flows from upstream hydroelectric projects. The project 
operates in a run-of-river mode because of the project reservoir's 
limited storage capacity. Water used by the project for power 
generation is released back into the San Joaquin River and flows into 
Millerton Lake, a United States Bureau of Reclamation facility, located 
immediately downstream of the K2 Powerhouse.
    The San Joaquin River basin upstream of the project is extensively 
developed for hydroelectric power generation, which influences the 
timing and magnitude of inflows into the project. Current operational 
requirements include flow requirements to protect American shad and 
water temperature requirements to protect smallmouth bass. PG&E is 
required to discharge a minimum flow of 25 cubic feet per second (cfs) 
downstream of Kerckhoff Dam during Normal water years and a minimum 
flow of 15 cfs during Dry water years. Minimum flows are temporarily 
modified in response to operating emergencies and for fishery 
management purposes upon agreement between PG&E and the California 
Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Additional releases can be 
determined necessary by CDFW to maintain stream temperatures and to 
flush sediments in the streambed below Kerckhoff Dam. Kerckhoff 
Reservoir has an estimated capacity of 2,434 acre-feet of usable 
capacity at normal maximum water surface elevation and is generally 
operated as a forebay with no seasonal targets, therefore maintaining 
storage relatively constant at near full pool. Although, operational 
limitations of the K2 Powerhouse result in an operational storage of 
the reservoir of 692 acre-feet. PG&E has primarily operated the K1 
Powerhouse only when the K2 Powerhouse is offline, at capacity, or 
during the American shad spawning releases; although, the K1 Powerhouse 
has not been operational since 2018. The K2 Powerhouse has a rough 
operating zone that occurs during flows of approximately 1,750 cfs to 
3,200 cfs that generate 45--92 MW. To manage the rough operating zone, 
PG&E does not allow the unit to linger in the 45--92 MW range. Instead, 
the K2 Powerhouse operates above or below the range, in order to avoid 
damaging equipment. Further, the K2 Powerhouse cannot operate with 
flows less than approximately 580 cfs.
    PG&E proposes to modify the existing project boundary to encompass 
all facilities necessary for operation and maintenance of the project. 
PG&E proposes to adjust the boundary around Kerckhoff Reservoir, 
Smalley Cove Recreation Area and the adjacent dispersed day use area, 
the K1 and K2 developments, the fiber optics and 12-kV distribution 
lines running from the K2 Switchyard to a non-project substation, and 
gaging stations and associated facilities. PG&E also proposes to 
eliminate a shared public access road from the project boundary. With 
these proposed changes, the area of PG&E-owned land within the project 
boundary will decrease to 122.8 acres, and federal lands will decrease 
to 114.4 acres. The area of private lands encompassed by the project 
boundary will increase to 54.2 acres.
    PG&E also proposes to retire the K1 Powerhouse by making certain 
facilities, including turbine-related facilities, Adits 1 and 2, surge 
chamber, penstocks, and headworks, inoperable. However, PG&E proposes 
to retain: (1) the K1 intake structure, tunnel, and North Adit to 
continue providing instream flow releases, (2) the K1 Powerhouse 
building for operations support, and (3) the K1 switchyard because it 
is part of the electric transmission system.
    PG&E further proposes the following plans and measures to protect 
and enhance environmental resources: (1) American Shad Spawning Season 
Flow Release Regime; (2) Aquatic Resources Plan; (3) Wildlife 
Management Plan; (4) Vegetation Management and Pest Control Plan; (5) 
Project Road and Trail Maintenance Plan; (6) Recreation Management 
Plan; (7) Whitewater Recreation Flow Release Measure; and (8) Historic 
Properties Management Plan.
    l. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all

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interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents 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 at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    m. You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    n. 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: December 8, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-27435 Filed 12-11-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P