[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12948-12949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04872]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 10489-020]


City of River Falls Municipal Utilities; Notice of Application 
Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, 
Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, 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: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 10489-020.
    c. Date filed: August 26, 2021.
    d. Applicant: City of River Falls Municipal Utilities (City of 
River Falls).
    e. Name of Project: River Falls Hydroelectric Project (River Falls 
Project).
    f. Location: The River Falls Project is located on the Kinnickinnic 
River in the City of River Falls in Pierce County, Wisconsin. 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: Kevin Westhuis, Utility Director of the City 
of River Falls Municipal Utilities; [email protected] (preferred 
contact) or (715) 426-3442.
    i. FERC Contact: Shana Wiseman at [email protected] or (202) 
502-8736.
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and 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 
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 Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper 
request. 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-10849-020.
    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.
    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on 
July 15, 2020, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1500-1518 
that federal agencies use to implement NEPA (see Update to the 
Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 85 FR 43,304). The Final Rule became 
effective on and applies to any NEPA process begun after September 14, 
2020. An agency may also apply the regulations to ongoing activities 
and environmental documents begun before September 14, 2020, which 
includes the proposed River Falls Project. Commission staff intends to 
conduct its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The River Falls Project consists of: (1) A 140-foot-long, 32-
foot-high concrete dam; (2) an impoundment with a surface area of 15.5 
acres; (3) a 200-foot-long, 6-foot-diameter penstock; (4) a

[[Page 12949]]

powerhouse containing one generating unit rated at 250 kilowatts; (5) a 
50-foot-long transmission line; and (6) appurtenant facilities.
    The River Falls Project is operated in a run-of-river mode with an 
estimated annual energy production of approximately 1,220,000 kilowatt 
hours. The City of River Falls proposes to continue operating the 
project as a run-of-river facility and does not propose any new 
construction to the project.
    m. A copy of the application can 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. 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, (886) 208-3676 or TTY, (202) 502-8659.
    You may also 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. The license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of this notice: (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 note that the certification request must 
be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission concurrently.
    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. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for Filing Protest, Motion to      May 2022.
 Intervene, Comments, Recommendations,
 Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and
 Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments........  June 2022.
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    Dated: March 2, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-04872 Filed 3-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P