[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2780-2781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00925]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 3211-010]
Power Authority of New York; 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.
a. Type of Application: New Major License.
b. Project No.: 3211-010.
c. Date filed: July 31, 2020.
d. Applicant: Power Authority of the State of New York (Power
Authority or NYPA).
e. Name of Project: Hinckley (Gregory B. Jarvis) Hydroelectric
Project (Gregory B. Jarvis Project).
f. Location: The existing project is located on West Canada Creek,
a tributary to the Mohawk River, at the Hinkley Reservoir dam,
approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the Hamlet of Hinckley in the
counties of Oneida and Herkimer, New York. The project does not affect
federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Cindy Brady, New York Power Authority, 123
Main Street, White Plains, NY 10601; (914) 390-8070,
[email protected].
i. FERC Contact: Emily Carter, (202) 502-6512,
[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-
3211-010.
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 Gregory B. Jarvis Project consists of the following
facilities: (1) A 570-foot-long dam; (2) a 2,600-foot-long south
embankment dam; (3) a 400-foot-long ogee-type, cyclopean concrete
spillway with a crest elevation of 1,225 feet; \1\ (4) a 65-foot-long,
82-foot-high non-overflow cyclopean concrete intake structure with the
top at 1,240 feet; (5) intake structure trash racks with 5.375-inch
clear-spacing; (6) a 15-foot-diameter penstock, which bifurcates into
two 90-foot-long, 10.5-foot-diameter penstocks; (7) two 3-foot by 4-
foot gate valves that lead to a 42-inch-diameter sluice gate; (8) a
120-foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 43-foot-high semi-underground powerhouse
located 200 feet downstream of the non-overflow intake structure; (9)
two 4.5-megawatt horizontal Kaplan turbine-generator units; (10) an
underground transformer; (11) a 280-foot-long tailrace; (12) a 60-inch-
diameter water pipe used as a low-level outlet; (13) two 4.16-kilovolt
(kV) generator leads routed 50 feet underground to an aboveground NYPA-
owned 4.16-kV/46-kV step-up transformer; (14) an approximately 300-
foot-long, 46-kV underground
[[Page 2781]]
transmission line; and (15) appurtenant facilities.
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\1\ All elevations are referenced to the Hinckley Datum.
Elevations referenced to the Hinckley Datum are 1.04 feet higher
than elevations referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum
of 1929 [NGVD29 or mean sea level (msl)], thus, 1,225.0 feet
Hinckley Datum corresponds to 1,223.96 feet NGVD29 or msl.
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The Gregory B. Jarvis Project takes advantage of the releases
prescribed by the New York State Canal Corporation (NYS Canal Corp) in
accordance with the 2012 Hinckley Reservoir Operating Diagram to
generate power. Project operation is adjusted on a twice-weekly basis.
NYPA does not deviate from the operating diagram unless directed to do
so by the NYS Canal Corp. Reservoir levels are maintained between 1,195
feet and 1,225 feet (the elevation of the spillway crest); however,
reservoir water levels can fall below 1,195 feet during a dry season.
The Gregory B. Jarvis Project does not operate when reservoir levels
are below 1,195 feet.
The project has two horizontal Kaplan units which are each capable
of operating between 300 and 900 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a
total hydraulic capacity of 1,800 cfs under normal operating
conditions. At flows within the operating range of the units (300 to
1,800 cfs), the project provides outflow via generation. At flows below
300 cfs, or when the reservoir water surface elevation is below 1,195
feet, the project does not operate. During these conditions, the low-
level sluice gate no. 4 is used to pass a minimum flow of 160 cfs. At
flows greater than 1,800 cfs, and when the reservoir water surface
elevation is greater than 1,225 feet, downstream releases are passed
via a combination of generation and spillage.
NYPA occasionally operates the project in peaking mode. When NYPA
is peaking, it will average the outflow required by the operating
diagram over the course of the day. When operated in this manner, the
project generates with a lower outflow during non-peak demand periods
and then generates with a higher outflow during peak demand periods
such that the total daily average flow is equal to the outflow
prescribed by the operating diagram.
NYPA 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 approximately 28,863 megawatt-hours between 2010 and 2019.
m. A copy of the application is available for review 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 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. 2022-00925 Filed 1-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P