[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2775-2777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00922]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2701-061]


Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P.; Notice of Application Accepted 
for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for 
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, 
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

[[Page 2776]]

    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2701-061.
    c. Date filed: February 26, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P. (Erie).
    e. Name of Project: West Canada Creek Hydroelectric Project (West 
Canada Creek Project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on West Canada Creek, 
a tributary of the Mohawk River, in the counties of Oneida and 
Herkimer, New York. 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: Steven Murphy, Director, Licensing, 
Brookfield Renewable, 33 West 1st Street South, Fulton, NY 13069, (315) 
598-6130, [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Emily Carter, (202) 502-6512 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
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, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary 
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions using the 
Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/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], (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, 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-
2701-061.
    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.
    l. The existing West Canada Creek Project consists of the following 
two developments:
    The Prospect Development includes: (1) A 176-acre impoundment with 
a normal surface elevation of 1,161.5 feet; \1\ (2) a dam that consists 
of a 306-foot-long, 45-foot-high concrete overflow spillway with three 
27-foot-wide Tainter gates; (3) a 400-foot-long, 47-foot-high north 
dike and a 475-foot-long, 47-foot-high south dike; (4) a 4,500-foot-
long, 22-foot-high canal extending from the south dike to a concrete 
intake; (5) a 430-foot-long, 13.5-foot-diameter steel penstock leading 
from the intake to the 76-foot-long, 62-foot-wide reinforced concrete 
powerhouse containing a single turbine generator unit with a nameplate 
capacity of 17.3 megawatts (MW); (6) an approximate 1.2-mile-long 
bypassed reach between the Prospect dam and the powerhouse; (7) 6.9-
kilovolt (kV) generator leads that run from the powerhouse to a 
substation with a 15-kV breaker, 6.6/46-kV transformer, and a 46-kV 
switch connecting to the National Grid interconnection point within the 
substation; and (8) appurtenant facilities.
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    \1\ All elevations refer to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum 
of 1929.
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    The Trenton Development includes: (1) A 288-foot-long and 60-foot-
high concrete and masonry dam having an overflow section with a crest 
elevation of 1,017.9 feet, approximately 100 feet long surmounted by 6-
foot hinged flashboards and a 10-foot by 15-foot sluice gate; (2) a 
concrete spillway approximately 160 feet long with a crest elevation of 
1,016.2 feet surmounted by a pneumatic flashboard system with a crest 
elevation of 1,023.9 when fully inflated, discharging into a spillway 
channel excavated into rock around the east abutment of the dam; (3) a 
reservoir having a surface area of 9 acres and a gross storage capacity 
of 264 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation of 1,023.9 feet; (4) six 5-
foot-diameter sluice pipes through the dam and two concrete-sealed 5-
foot-diameter pipes; (5) a reinforced-concrete intake structure having 
a lift gate and trashracks along the west bank of the reservoir; (6) a 
14-foot-diameter conduit comprising: (a) A 1,275-foot-long concrete-
lined tunnel section; (b) a 40-foot-long steel-lined tunnel section; 
and (c) a 2,075-foot-long steel pipe section; (7) a bifurcation; (8) a 
steel penstock comprising: (a) A short 12-foot-diameter section 
connecting to a surge tank and leading to a 125-foot-long, 12-foot-
diameter section connecting to a manifold; and (b) three 138-foot-long, 
7-foot-diameter sections serving generating Units 5, 6, and 7; (9) a 
263-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter steel penstock to Units 1 through 4; 
(10) Units 1 through 4 in Powerhouse No. 1 retired in-place and 
Powerhouse No. 2 containing generating Unit 5 (7.4 MW), Unit 6 (7.65 
MW), and Unit 7 (7.4 MW)--for a total nameplate rating of 22.45-MW 
operated at a 255-foot head and a maximum flow of 1,450 cubic feet per 
second; (11) the 13.2-kV generator leads, the 15-kV switchgear, the 
13.2/46-kV transformers, the 46-kV switchgear connecting to the main 
46-kV bus, and the associated station services transformer banks and 
low voltage switchgear; and (12) appurtenant facilities.
    The West Canada Creek Project operates off of outflows from the New 
York Power Authority's Hinckley-Jarvis Hydroelectric Project's (FERC 
No. 3211) reservoir (Hinckley Reservoir) that discharges into the upper 
end of the Prospect Development's reservoir.
    Erie proposes to continue operating the project in the same manner 
as the current license and is not proposing to install any new 
structures as part of the relicensing. The project generated an annual 
average of 77,161 megawatt-hours between 2011 and 2019.
    m. A copy of the application may be viewed on 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. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    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. 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

[[Page 2777]]

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,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or 
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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 in the service list prepared by the 
Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 
385.2010.
    o. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                  Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of comments, recommendations,           March 2022.
 preliminary terms and conditions, and
 preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments.....................  April 2022.
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    p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    q. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for 
environmental analysis provided for in Sec.  5.22: (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.

    Dated: January 12, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00922 Filed 1-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P