[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 240 (Friday, December 17, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71634-71635]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27367]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2716-050]


Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy 
Virginia, Allegheny Generating Company, and Bath County Energy, LLC; 
Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre-Application 
Document (PAD), Commencement of Pre-Filing Process, and Scoping, 
Request for Comments on the PAD and Scoping Document, and 
Identification of Issues and Associated Study Requests

    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File License Application for 
a New License and Commencing Pre-filing Process.
    b. Project No.: 2716-050.
    c. Dated Filed: October 19, 2021.
    d. Submitted By: Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion 
Energy Virginia, Allegheny Generating Company, and Bath County Energy, 
LLC (Dominion).
    e. Name of Project: Bath County Pumped Storage Project (Bath County 
Project).
    f. Location: The project is located on Back Creek and Little Back 
Creek in Bath, Highland, Augusta, and Rockbridge counties, Virginia. 
The current project boundary encompasses 3,436 acres of land, including 
712 acres of federal land in George Washington National Forest 
administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicant Contact: Mr. Corwin D. Chamberlain, 
Relicensing Project Manager, Dominion Energy, 600 Canal Place, 
Richmond, VA 23219-3852; (804) 273-2948; 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660 or email at 
[email protected]. 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 o 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).
    j. With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with: 
(a) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under section 7 of the 
Endangered Species Act and the joint agency regulations thereunder at 
50 CFR, part 402, section 305(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
Conservation and Management Act and the implementing regulations at 50 
CFR 600.920 and (b) the State Historic Preservation Office, as required 
by section 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the 
implementing regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    k. With this notice, we are designating Dominion as the 
Commission's non-federal representative for carrying out informal 
consultation, pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.
    l. Dominion filed with the Commission a Pre-Application Document 
(PAD, including a proposed process plan and schedule), pursuant to 18 
CFR 5.6 of the Commission's regulations.
    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 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. 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 at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    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. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on the PAD and 
Commission's staff Scoping Document 1 (SD1), as well as study requests. 
All comments on the PAD and SD1, and study requests should be sent to 
the address above in paragraph h. In addition, all comments on the PAD 
and SD1, study requests, requests for cooperating agency status, and 
all communications to and from Commission staff related to the merits 
of the potential application must be filed with the Commission.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
all documents using the Commission's eFiling system at http://
www.ferc.gov/

[[Page 71635]]

docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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]. 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-2716-050.
    All filings with the Commission must bear the appropriate heading: 
``Comments on Pre-Application Document,'' ``Study Requests,'' 
``Comments on Scoping Document 1,'' ``Request for Cooperating Agency 
Status,'' or ``Communications to and from Commission Staff.'' Any 
individual or entity interested in submitting study requests, 
commenting on the PAD or SD1, and any agency requesting cooperating 
status must do so by February 16, 2022.
    p. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the 
required level of analysis and satisfy the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the 
Commission prepares an environmental assessment or environmental impact 
statement.

Scoping Meetings

    Due to on-going concerns with large gatherings related to COVID-19, 
we do not intend to hold in-person public scoping meetings or an in-
person environmental site review. Rather, Commission staff will hold 
virtual public scoping meetings using a telephone conference line. The 
daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, 
and non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the evening 
scoping meeting will focus on receiving input from the public. We 
invite all interested agencies, Native American tribes, NGOs, and 
individuals to attend one of these meetings to assist us in identifying 
the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA 
document.
    The dates and times of these meetings are as follows:

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Virtual Environmental Site Reviews for all stakeholders:
    Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
    10 a.m. EST and 6 p.m. EST.
WebEx meeting details provided by Kleinschmidt Associates on behalf of
 Dominion
Meeting for resource agencies, Tribes, and NGOs:
    Thursday, January 13, 2022.
    10 a.m.-12 p.m. EST.
    Call in number: 888-604-9359.
    Participant passcode: 8998724.
Meeting for the general public:
    Thursday, January 13, 2022.
    6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. EST.
    Call in number: 888-604-9359.
    Participant passcode: 8998724.
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    Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be 
addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals 
and entities on the Commission's mailing list and Dominion's 
distribution list. Copies of SD1 may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov, using the ``eLibrary'' link. Follow the directions for 
accessing information in paragraph n. Based on all oral and written 
comments, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be issued. SD2 may include a 
revised process plan and schedule, as well as a list of issues, 
identified through the scoping process.

Environmental Site Reviews

    Dominion and Commission staff will hold two virtual Environmental 
Site Reviews of the Bath County Project on January 12, 2022, starting 
at 10 a.m. eastern standard time (EST) and 6 p.m. EST, respectively. 
Please contact Alison Jakupca of Kleinschmidt Associates at (803) 462-
5628 or [email protected], by January 5, 2022, if 
you plan to attend. WebEx meeting details will be provided by 
Kleinschmidt Associates once attendance is confirmed.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Initiate scoping of the 
issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions and resource 
management objectives; (3) review and discuss existing information and 
identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and 
discuss the process plan and schedule for pre-filing activity that 
incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission's 
regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of 
federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and 
(5) discuss the appropriateness of any federal or state agency or 
Indian tribe acting as a cooperating agency for development of an 
environmental document. Meeting participants should come prepared to 
discuss their issues and/or concerns. Please review the PAD in 
preparation for the scoping meetings. Directions on how to obtain a 
copy of the PAD and SD1 are included in item n of this document.

Meeting Procedures

    The daytime and evening scoping meetings will be recorded by a 
stenographer and will be placed in the public record of the project; 
the virtual Environmental Site Reviews will not be recorded by a court 
reporter and public comments will not be accepted during that time. 
Please note, that if no participants join the meetings within 30 
minutes after the start time, staff will end the meeting and conference 
call. The meetings will end after participants have presented their 
oral comments or at the specified end time, whichever occurs first.

    Dated: December 13, 2021.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-27367 Filed 12-16-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P