[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 44 (Monday, March 7, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12688-12690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04686]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14804-003]


Control Technology, Inc.; 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 
an Original License, Commencing Pre-filing Process, and Denial of 
Request to Use the Traditional Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: 14804.
    c. Dated Filed: May 25, 2021.
    d. Submitted By: Control Technology, Inc. (Control Technology).
    e. Name of Project: Blue Diamond Advanced Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: Near the town of Blue Diamond, in Clark County, 
Nevada. The project would occupy an unknown acreage of federal land 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR 5.3 of the Commission's regulations.
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Rexford Wait, Control Technology, Inc., 
2416 Cades Way, Vista, CA 92081; (760) 599-0086; email: 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams, (202) 502-8462, 
[email protected].

[[Page 12689]]

    j. Control Technology filed its Pre-Application Document (PAD) and 
request to use the Traditional Licensing Process (TLP) on May 25, 2021, 
and published public notice of its Notice of Intent to file a license 
application, PAD, and request to use the TLP on November 2, 2021. The 
Commission denied the request to use the TLP on January 27, 2022. 
Control Technology must use the Integrated Licensing Process to prepare 
a license application for the Blue Diamond Advanced Pumped Storage 
Project.
    k. 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).
    l. With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with: 
(a) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or NOAA Fisheries under 
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the joint agency 
regulations thereunder at 50 CFR, Part 402; (b) NOAA Fisheries under 
section 305(b) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 
Management Act; and (c) the Nevada State Historic Preservation Officer, 
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.
    m. With this notice, we are designating Control Technology as the 
Commission's non-federal representative for carrying out informal 
consultation, pursuant to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and 
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    n. A copy of the PAD is available for review on the Commission's 
website (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) pandemic, issued by the President on 
March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). A copy is also available via the contact in paragraph h.
    You may register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filing and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    o. 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 
documents 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. 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: Blue Diamond Advanced Pumped Storage Project (P-14804).
    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 April 29, 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 Process

    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 
two 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. In addition, Control Technology will provide a presentation 
of the proposed project prior to the scoping meeting date that can be 
accessed at: https://controltechnologyorg.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/BlueDiamondPumpedStorageProject/EoXtMViiW0dLthriIlViL5cBU8j0nYedHiX8TIVojEcLoA?e=S0Djpp. The dates and 
times of the meetings are listed below.

Meeting for Resource Agencies, Tribes, and NGOs

Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. PST
    Call in number: (800) 779-8625.
    Access code: 3472916.
    Following entry of the access code, please provide the required 
details when prompted.

Meeting for the General Public

Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. PST
    Call in number: (800) 779-8625.
    Access code: 3472916.
    Following entry of the access code, please provide the required 
details when prompted.
    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 Control Technology's distribution 
list. Copies of 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. Based 
on all oral and written comments, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be 
issued. SD2 will include a revised process plan and schedule, as

[[Page 12690]]

well as a list of issues, based on the scoping process.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) Initiate 
scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions; (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 potential 
of any federal or state agency or Indian tribe to act 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

    Commission staff will be moderating the scoping meetings. The 
meetings will begin promptly at their respective start times listed 
above.
    At the start of the meeting, staff will provide further 
instructions regarding the meeting setup, agenda, and time period for 
comments and questions. We ask for your patience as staff present 
information and field participant comments in orderly manner. To 
indicate you have a question or comment, press * and 3 to virtually 
``raise your hand''. Oral comments will be limited to 5 minutes in 
duration for each participant. The meetings will be recorded by a 
stenographer and will be filed to the public record of the project.
    Please note, that if no participants join the meetings within 15 
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: February 28, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-04686 Filed 3-4-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P