[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46238-46240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17697]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4718-039]


Cocheco Falls Associates; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, 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: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 4718-039.
    c. Date Filed: December 29, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Cocheco Falls Associates (CFA).
    e. Name of Project: Cocheco Falls Dam Project.
    f. Location: On the Cocheco River in the city of Dover, Strafford 
County, New Hampshire. The project does not occupy federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. John Webster, Cocheco Falls Associates, 
P.O. Box 178, South Berwick, ME 03908; Phone at (207) 384-5334, or 
email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Amy Chang at (202) 502-8250, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, 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 
motions to intervene and protests, 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 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

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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-4718-039.
    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 the National Environmental 
Policy Act (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. Commission staff intends to 
conduct its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. Project Description: The existing Cocheco Falls Dam Project 
consists of: (1) A 150-foot-long, 13.5-foot-high stone masonry arch dam 
that includes the following sections: (a) A 4-foot-long left abutment 
section; (b) a 140-foot-long spillway section with 24-inch-high 
flashboards, a 5-foot-wide, 10-foot-high low-level outlet gate, and a 
crest elevation of 36.25 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 
(NGVD29) at the top of the flashboards; and (c) a 6-foot-long right 
abutment section with a 4-foot-wide, 9-foot-high debris sluice gate; 
(2) an impoundment with a surface area of 20 acres and a storage 
capacity of 150 acre-feet at an elevation of 36.25 feet NGVD29; (3) a 
64-foot-wide, 10-foot-high intake structure equipped with a trashrack 
with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (4) an 8.5-foot-diameter, 184-foot-long 
gated steel penstock that trifurcates into three 5-foot-diameter, 8-
foot-long sections, each controlled by a 5-foot-diameter butterfly 
valve; (5) a 40-foot-long, 40-foot-wide concrete and brick masonry 
powerhouse containing three 238-kilowatt (kW) vertical Flygt 
submersible turbine-generator units for a total installed capacity of 
714 kW; (6) a 40-foot-long, 40-foot-wide tailrace that discharges into 
the Cocheco River; (7) a 0.48/34.5-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer 
and a 1,000-foot-long, 34.5-kV underground transmission line that 
connects the project to the local utility distribution system; and (8) 
appurtenant facilities.
    CFA voluntarily operates the project in a run-of-river mode using 
an automatic pond level control system to regulate turbine operation, 
such that outflow from the project approximates inflow. The project 
creates an approximately 200-foot-long bypassed reach of the Cocheco 
River.
    Downstream fish passage is provided by a bypass facility located on 
the left side of the dam that consist of a 5.6-foot-wide, 7-foot-long 
fish collection box, a trashrack with 6-inch clear bar spacing, and a 
24-inch-diameter PVC fish passage pipe. Upstream fish passage is 
provided by a Denil fish ladder located on the right side of the dam. 
The Denil fish ladder is owned and maintained by the New Hampshire Fish 
and Game Department, and is not a project facility.
    Article 25 of the current license, as amended on September 24, 
2002, requires a minimum flow release to the bypassed reach of: (1) 20 
cubic feet per second (cfs) through the fish ladder from April 15-June 
30; (2) 20 cfs through the trash sluiceway from April 15-June 15, to 
attract anadromous fish to the fish ladder; and (3) 20 cfs through the 
downstream fish passage facility from April 15 until ice forms on the 
river. The average annual energy production from 2014 to 2018 was 1,438 
megawatt-hours.
    CFA proposes to: (1) Continue to operate the project in a run-of-
river mode; (2) continue to facilitate upstream and downstream fish 
passage by providing the minimum flows required by the current license; 
(3) design and install an upstream eel passage facility within 4 years 
of the effective date of a subsequent license; and (4) consult with the 
New Hampshire State Historic Preservation Officer before beginning any 
land-disturbing activities or alterations to known historic structures 
within the project boundary.
    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.
    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,'' ``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 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 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://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related 
to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    o. The 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. Please note 
that the certification request must comply with 40 CFR 121.5(b), 
including documentation that a pre-filing meeting request was submitted 
to the certifying authority at least 30 days prior to submitting the 
certification request. Please also note that the certification request 
must be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission 
concurrently.
    p. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according

[[Page 46240]]

to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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               Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for filing interventions,      October 2021.
 protests, comments, recommendations,
 preliminary terms and conditions, and
 preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Deadline for filing reply comments....  November 2021.
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    q. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.

    Dated: August 12, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-17697 Filed 8-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P