[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 22 (Thursday, February 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8197-8198]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02330]



[[Page 8197]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 10482-122]


Eagle Creek Hydro Power, LLC; Eagle Creek Water Resources, LLC; 
Eagle Creek Land Resources, LLC; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for 
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, 
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions

    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.: 10482-122.
    c. Date Filed: March 31, 2020.
    d. Applicants: Eagle Creek Hydro Power, LLC, Eagle Creek Water 
Resources, LLC, and Eagle Creek Land Resources, LLC (collectively 
referred to as Eagle Creek).
    e. Name of Project: Swinging Bridge Hydroelectric Project (Swinging 
Bridge Project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Mongaup River 
and Black Lake Creek in Sullivan County, New York. The project does not 
occupy federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Jody J. Smet, Vice President Regulatory 
Affairs, 116 N State Street, P.O. Box 167, Neshkoro, WI 54960; 
Telephone (804) 739-0654.
    i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, (312) 596-4447 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply 
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 
characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at 
https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. 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, you may submit a paper copy. 
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via 
any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include docket 
number P-10482-122.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document 
on that resource agency.
    k. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on 
July 15, 2020, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1500-1518 
that federal agencies use to implement NEPA (see Update to the 
Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 85 FR 43304). The Final Rule became effective 
on and applies to any NEPA process begun after September 14, 2020. An 
agency may also apply the regulations to ongoing activities and 
environmental documents begun before September 14, 2020, which includes 
the proposed Swinging Bridge Project. Commission staff intends to 
conduct its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The Swinging Bridge Project includes the Toronto Development, 
the Cliff Lake Development, and the Swinging Bridge Development. Water 
stored in Toronto Reservoir is released into Cliff Lake Reservoir, 
which is connected to Swinging Bridge Reservoir via a tunnel.
    The Toronto Development consists of: (1) A reservoir with a gross 
storage capacity of 27,064 acre-feet and a surface area of 843 acres; 
(2) a 1,620-foot-long by 103-foot-high earth-fill dam with a 25-foot-
wide crest at elevation 1,230 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 
1929 (NGVD29); (3) a 700-foot-long by 50-foot-wide concrete and rock 
side-channel spillway equipped with 5-foot-high by 50-foot-wide pin-
type flashboards; (4) a 17.5-foot-wide by 11.5-foot-long gated concrete 
tower; (5) an upper 4-foot-wide by 5-foot-high gate and a lower 3-foot-
wide by 5-foot-high gate; and (6) a 565-foot-long by 8-foot-wide by 8-
foot-high horseshoe-shaped concrete conduit.
    The Cliff Lake Development consists of: (1) A reservoir with a 
gross storage capacity of 3,200 acre-feet and a surface area of 183 
acres; (2) a 95-foot-long by 20-foot-wide by 36-foot-high east earthen 
embankment; (3) a 150-foot-long by 44-foot-wide by 36-foot-high 
concrete non-overflow section; (4) a 100-foot-long by 5-foot-wide by 
26-foot-high concrete overflow spillway section with 13-inch-high 
flashboards; (5) a 270-foot-long by 20-foot-wide by 50-foot-high west 
earthen embankment; (6) a 5.3-footwide, 6.7-foot-high, 2,100-foot-long 
horseshoe-shaped tunnel; (7) a 4-foot by 4-foot sluice gate; and (8) a 
5-foot-wide by 5-foot-high lift gate.
    The Swinging Bridge Development consists of: (1) A reservoir with a 
gross storage capacity of 35,925 acre-feet and a surface area of 980 
acres; (2) a 965-foot-long by 135-foot-high earth-fill dam with a 25-
foot-wide crest at elevation 1,080 feet NGVD29; (3) a 750-foot-long by 
250-foot-wide concrete side channel spillway; (4) a 5-foot-high by 
122.5-foot-wide gate section and five motor driven 22.5-foot-wide by 5-
foot-high vertical-lift timber gates; (5) a 692-foot-long, 10-foot-
diameter steel lined concrete penstock that supplied water to the Unit 
1 powerhouse (which has been retired in place); (6) a 22-foot-wide, 32-
foot-high reinforced concrete intake covered by an inclined, 22-foot-
wide, 32.3-foot-high trashrack with bar clear spacing of 2.6 inches; 
(7) 784-foot-long, 9.75-foot-diameter concrete-lined tunnel connected 
to a 188-foot-long, 10-foot-diameter all-steel penstock that supplies 
water to the Unit 2 powerhouse; (8) a 30-foot-diameter steel surge 
tank; (9) a 10-foot-long, 4-foot-diameter penstock branching off the 
Unit 2 penstock that supplies water to the Unit 3 powerhouse; (10) a 
48-foot-wide by 33-foot-long by 35-foot, 8-inch-high brick and steel 
Unit 2 powerhouse containing one 6.75 megawatt (MW) generating unit; 
(11) a 30-foot-long by 30-foot-wide by 20-foot-high concrete and steel 
Unit 3 powerhouse containing one 1.1 MW generating unit; (12) one 25-
foot-wide by 75-foot-long tailrace and one 6-foot-wide by 20-foot-long 
tailrace; and (13) a 150-foot-long, 2.3-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 
that connects the Unit 2 powerhouse to an adjacent substation and a 
250-foot-long, 4-kV transmission line that connects the Unit 3 
powerhouse to the same substation. The project generates an average of 
11,639 megawatt-hours annually (Unit 2 only).

[[Page 8198]]

Eagle Creek proposes to continue to operate the project in a peaking 
mode.
    m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at https://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, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action 
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments 
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with 
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any 
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST'', ``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', ``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' 
``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or 
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (2) set forth in the heading the 
name of the applicant and the project number of the application to 
which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone 
number of the person protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise 
comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must 
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the 
application directly from the applicant. A copy of any protest or 
motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the 
applicant specified in the particular application. A copy of all other 
filings in reference to this application must be accompanied by proof 
of service on all persons listed in the service list prepared by the 
Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 
385.2010.
    o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for filing comments,              March 2021.
 recommendations, preliminary terms and
 conditions, and preliminary fishway
 prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments.......  May 2021.
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    p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    q. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for 
environmental analysis provided for in Sec.  5.22: (1) a copy of the 
water quality certification; (2) a copy of the request for 
certification, including proof of the date on which the certifying 
agency received the request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality 
certification. Please note that the certification request must be sent 
to the certifying authority and to the Commission concurrently.

    Dated: January 29, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-02330 Filed 2-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P