[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20831-20833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07530]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3133-033]


Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC, Errol Hydro Co., LLC; 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: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 3133-033.
    c. Date filed: July 30, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC and Errol Hydro Co., 
LLC (the licensees).
    e. Name of Project: Errol Hydroelectric Project (Errol Project).
    f. Location: The Errol Project is located on the Androscoggin River 
and Umbagog Lake, near the Town of Errol, and Township of Cambridge, 
NH, in Coos Wing County, New Hampshire and the Towns of Magalloway 
Plantation and Upton in Oxford County, Maine. The project occupies 
3,285 acres federal land in the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge 
administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Tom Uncher, Vice President, Brookfield 
White Pine Hydro, LLC, Errol Hydroelectric Co., LLC, 339B Big Bay Rd., 
Queensbury, NY 12804, Phone at: (518) 743-2018, 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott at (202) 502-6480 or email at 
[email protected].
    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-3133-033.
    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

[[Page 20832]]

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 the National Environmental 
Policy Act (see Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of the NEPA, 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 Errol Project. Commission staff intends to conduct its 
NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The Errol Project consists of: (1) An existing dam consisting of 
a 25-foot-high, 202.5-foot-long gated section separated by rock-filled 
timber or concrete crib piers supporting five sluice gates and seven 
deep gates, and an earthen dike with a sheet steel cut-off wall on the 
upstream side, extending approximately 50 feet from the end of the 
gated section of the dam to the northwestern wall of the powerhouse and 
then extending another approximately 70 feet from the southeastern 
powerhouse wall to the eastern embankment; (2) an approximately 9,098-
acre project impoundment with a storage capacity of 89,568 acre-feet at 
a normal pond elevation of 1,247 feet, which includes an approximately 
3-mile-long reach of the Androscoggin River above Errol Dam, Umbagog 
Lake, and approximately 4.3 miles of the Magalloway River; (3) a 
reinforced concrete powerhouse containing one horizontal double 
regulated bulb turbine-generator unit with a hydraulic capacity of 
2,600 cubic feet per second and an authorized installed generating 
capacity of 2,031 kilowatts (kW); (4) an approximately 80-foot-long 
tailrace; (5) a 3,333-kilovolt-ampere substation power transformer; and 
(6) appurtenant facilities.
    The Errol Project is operated in accordance with the current 
license, and three water agreements that dictate operational flows in 
the watershed for other hydropower developments and for waterfowl 
nesting, with an estimated annual energy production of approximately 
15,944 megawatt hours. The licensees propose to operate the project 
allowing for seasonal flows necessary for waterfowl nesting in Umbagog 
Lake and spring runoff and does not propose any new construction to the 
project. A license amendment was issued for the project in 2016 (156 
FERC ] 62,045 (2016)), which approved the installation of a sixth 
turbine generator unit, which would increase the total installed 
capacity to 3,542.5 kW; however, the additional generator unit has not 
yet been installed.
    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. 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 
at [email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or 
TTY, (202) 502-8659.
    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) evidence 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,        June 2022.
 Motion to Intervene, Comments,
 Recommendations, Preliminary
 Terms and Conditions, and
 Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments  July 2022.
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[[Page 20833]]

    Dated: April 4, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-07530 Filed 4-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P