[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 53 (Monday, March 22, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15213-15214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05861]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2997-031]


South Sutter Water District; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms 
and Conditions, and Prescriptions

    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 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. 791a-825r.
    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 comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and 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 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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 
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, 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-2997-031.
    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 and is 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 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 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

[[Page 15214]]

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 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 (i.e., P-
2997). 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.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS'', ``REPLY COMMENTS'', ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``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 submitting the filing; 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. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    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. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of this notice: (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.
    o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

Deadline for Filing Comments, Recommendations, and Agency Terms and 
Conditions/Prescriptions--May 17, 2021
Licensee's Reply to REA Comments--June 29, 2021
Commission issues Draft EA--January 2022
Comments on EA--February 2022
Commission issues Final EA--May 2022
Commission issues license order--August 2022

    Dated: March 16, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-05861 Filed 3-19-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P