[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 158 (Thursday, August 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46691-46692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17783]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 15003-001]


New Hampshire Renewable Resources, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

    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.: 15003-001.
    c. Date Filed: February 8, 2021.
    d. Applicant: New Hampshire Renewable Resources, LLC (New Hampshire 
Renewable).
    e. Name of Project: Sugar River II Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Sugar River in Sullivan County, New Hampshire. 
The project does not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Paul V. Nolan, New Hampshire Renewable 
Resources, LLC, 5515 North 17th Street, Arlington, VA 22205; Phone at 
(703) 534-5509, or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts at (202) 502-6123, or 
[email protected].
    j. The current license for the Sugar River II Hydroelectric Project 
is held by Sugar River Hydro II, LLC (Sugar River Hydro) under Project 
No. 10934. On April 30, 2019, Sugar River Hydro filed a letter stating 
that it did not intend to file an application for a subsequent license. 
In response to a solicitation notice issued by the Commission on May 8, 
2019, New Hampshire Renewable filed a pre-application document and 
notice of intent to file an application for the project. Commission 
staff assigned Project No. 15003 for the licensing proceeding initiated 
by New Hampshire Renewable's filing.
    k. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 13, 2021.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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. All filings must clearly identify the project name and 
docket number on the first page: Sugar River II Hydroelectric Project 
(P-15003-001).

[[Page 46692]]

    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 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.
    l. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    m. The existing Sugar River II Hydroelectric Project consists of: 
(1) A 113.5-foot-long, 10-foot-high reinforced concrete dam that 
includes the following sections: (a) A 35-foot-long left abutment 
section with a cut-off wall; (b) a 42.5-foot-long spillway section with 
a crest elevation of 822 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum 1929 
(NGVD 29) that contains: (i) Two 11.5-foot-wide, 10-foot-high stanchion 
bays equipped with wooden stop logs; (ii) a 13-foot-wide, 10-foot-high 
hydraulically-operated steel slide gate; and (iii) a 3-foot-wide 
sluiceway; and (c) a 36-foot-long right abutment section with a cut-off 
wall; (2) a 1.4-acre impoundment with a storage capacity of 11 acre-
feet at an elevation of 822 feet NGVD 29; (3) a 14-foot-wide, 12-foot-
high intake structure adjacent to the right abutment equipped with a 
trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (4) a 650-foot-long buried 
penstock that includes a 400-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter steel section 
and a 250-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter concrete section; (5) a 35-foot-
long, 27-foot-wide concrete and brick masonry powerhouse containing a 
single 200-kilowatt Francis-type turbine-generator unit; (6) a 75-foot-
long, 4.16-kilovolt overhead transmission line and a transformer that 
connects the project to the local utility distribution system; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    Downstream fish passage facilities include the 3-foot-wide 
sluiceway in the dam spillway and a 3-foot-deep plunge pool located 
downstream of the stanchion bays. The project also includes an existing 
parking area on the north bank of the project's impoundment.
    Article 402 of the current license requires the licensee to operate 
the project in an instantaneous run-of-river mode. The project is 
operated in a run-of-river mode by manually raising and lowering the 
spillway slide gate, and removing/adding stop logs to the stanchion 
bays to pass flows and maintain a constant impoundment water surface 
elevation of 822 feet NGVD 29. The project creates an approximately 
400-foot-long bypassed reach of the Sugar River.
    Article 403 of the current license, as amended on June 27, 1996, 
requires a minimum flow release to the bypassed reach of: (1) 15 cubic 
feet per second (cfs) or inflow, whichever is less, through the 
downstream fishway from June 16 through March 31 to protect aquatic 
resources and water quality in the bypassed reach; and (2) 20 cfs from 
April 1 through June 15, during the downstream migration season for 
Atlantic Salmon smolts. The average annual energy production of the 
project from 2010 to 2015 was 650.44 MWh.
    New Hampshire Renewable proposes to: (1) Continue to operate the 
project in an instantaneous run-of-river mode, such that project 
outflow approximates inflow; (2) release a year-round minimum flow of 
15 cfs; (3) install an automation system to operate the project in a 
run-of-river mode; 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.
    n. 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 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. For assistance, contact 
FERC at [email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or 
TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    o. 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.
    p. Scoping Process
    Commission staff will prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, if any, of the licensee's proposed 
action and alternatives. The EA or EIS will consider environmental 
impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. The 
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of 
analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of 
whether the Commission prepares an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do 
not anticipate holding on-site scoping meetings. Instead, we are 
soliciting written comments and suggestions on the preliminary list of 
issues and alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA document, as 
described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued August 13, 2021.
    Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in 
the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of the SD1 
may be viewed on the web 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. For assistance, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: August 13, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-17783 Filed 8-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P