[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51664-51665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-20003]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 6240-064]


Watson Associates; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With 
the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests and 
Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a 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: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 6240-064.
    c. Date filed: August 27, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Watson Associates.
    e. Name of Project: Watson Dam Project.
    f. Location: On the Cocheco River in Strafford 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. John Webster, Watson Associates, P.O. Box 
178, South Berwick, ME 03908; Phone at (207) 384-5334, or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts at (202) 502-6123, or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note 
the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation 
of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 
61,076 (2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes 
that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to 
form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person 
must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 
days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of 
the request on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: October 26, 2021.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. 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: Watson Dam Project (P-6240-064).
    m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. Project Description: The existing Watson Dam Project consists 
of: (1) A 296.75-foot-long, 12-foot-high concrete gravity dam that 
includes the following sections: (i) A 54-foot-long right abutment; 
(ii) a 111-foot-long right spillway section with 24-inch-high 
flashboards and a crest elevation of 110.6 feet mean sea level (msl) at 
the top of the flashboards; (iii) an 11.5-foot-long, 11.25-foot-wide 
concrete spillway center pier; (iv) an 80-foot-long left spillway 
section with 24-inch-high flashboards and a crest elevation of 110.6 
feet msl at the top of the flashboards; and (v) a 29-foot-long left 
abutment; (2) an impoundment with a surface area of 54 acres and a 
storage capacity of 300 acre-feet at an elevation of 110.6 feet msl; 
(3) a 29-foot-long, 10-foot-high intake structure in the left

[[Page 51665]]

abutment that is equipped with a headgate and trashrack with 2-inch 
clear bar spacing; (4) a 26-foot-long, 22-foot-wide wood and steel 
powerhouse containing one 265-kilowatt vertical Flygt submersible 
turbine-generator unit; (5) a 400-foot-long, 20-foot-wide tailrace that 
discharges into the Cocheco River; (6) a generator lead, transformer, 
and transmission line that connect the project to the local utility 
distribution system; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    Watson Associates 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 250-foot-long and a 400-
foot-long bifurcated bypassed reaches of the Cocheco River.
    Downstream fish passage is provided by a bypass pipe located on the 
left side of the dam. There is no upstream fish passage facility at the 
project.
    The current license requires a minimum flow release of 83 cubic 
feet per second (cfs), or inflow to the impoundment, whichever is less 
from the dam to protect and enhance aquatic resources in the Cocheco 
River. The average annual generation of the project is approximately 
1,100 megawatt-hours.
    o. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) 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 (P-
6240). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or 
call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
    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. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate.

Issue Deficiency Letter (if necessary) October 2021
Request Additional Information October 2021
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments January 2022
Issue Acceptance Letter February 2022
Request Additional Information (if necessary) February 2022
Issue Scoping Document 2 March 2022
Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis March 2022

    q. 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: September 10, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-20003 Filed 9-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P