[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 70 (Tuesday, April 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21655-21657]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07808]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 5261-023]


Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms 
and Conditions, and Prescriptions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed

[[Page 21656]]

with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 5261-023.
    c. Date Filed: August 27, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Newbury Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Wells River, in the town of Newbury, Orange 
County, Vermont. The project does not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: John Greenan, Green Mountain Power 
Corporation, 2152 Post Road, Rutland, VT 05701; Phone at (802) 770-
2195, or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer, (202) 502-8449 or [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 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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 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. The first page of any filing should include docket 
number P-5261-023.
    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 and is ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    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 (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. Commission staff intends to 
conduct its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The Newbury Project consists of: (1) An 11.4-acre impoundment at 
a normal water surface elevation of 463.9 feet mean sea level; (2) a 26 
foot-high by 90-foot-long concrete gravity dam that includes a 73.3-
foot-long spillway topped with 5-foot-high pneumatic crest gates; (3) a 
seasonally installed, 8-foot-long by 4-foot-wide steel sluice box on 
the south side of the spillway to provide downstream fish passage; (4) 
an 11.2-foot-wide, 9-foot-long intake structure that includes trash 
racks with 1-inch clear bar spacing, connected to a 5-foot-diameter, 
435-foot-long underground steel penstock; (5) a powerhouse containing a 
single 315-kilowatt turbine-generator unit (unit 1); (6) a second 50-
kilowatt turbine-generator unit (unit 2) located outside of the 
powerhouse approximately 75-feet downstream of the dam along the 
bypassed reach; (7) a 125-foot-long tailrace that receives discharges 
from unit 1; (8) a 130-foot-long underground generator lead from unit 1 
and a 410-foot-long generator lead from unit 2 that connect to three 
above-ground pole mounted 167 kilovolt-ampere step-up transformers; (9) 
a 3-phase, 7-foot-long transmission line; and (10) appurtenant 
facilities. The project creates a 590-foot-long bypassed reach of the 
Wells River.
    The current license requires Green Mountain Power Corporation to: 
(1) Operate the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release a continuous 
bypassed reach minimum flow of 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) from 
April 15 to June 10 and 5 cfs during the remainder of the year; (3) 
release a year-round, continuous aesthetic flow of 5 cfs over the dam; 
and (4) operate the fish passage chute from April 1 to June 1 and 
September 1 to November 15 with flows of 20 cfs and 10 cfs, 
respectively. The average annual generation of the project is 
approximately 882 megawatt-hours.
    Green Mountain Power Corporation proposes to: (1) Continue 
operating the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release a new bypassed 
reach minimum flow of 35 cfs from May 15 to October 15 and 30 cfs from 
October 16 to May 14; (3) release a new aesthetic flow of 10 cfs over 
the dam from May 15 to October 15 during daytime hours and no aesthetic 
flow the remainder of the year; (4) operate the fish passage chute from 
April 1 to June 1 and September 1 to November 15 with new flows of 10 
cfs during both operating periods; (5) construct a hand-carry access 
area for recreational boaters; and (6) consult with the resource 
agencies prior to conducting maintenance and repairs that have the 
potential to affect water quality.
    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. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    All filings must: (1) Bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``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 submitting the filing; 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. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    You may also register online at https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related 
to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    n. The applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date 
of issuance of this notice either: (1) Evidence of the date on which 
the certifying agency received the certification request; (2) a copy of 
the water quality certification; or (3)

[[Page 21657]]

evidence of waiver of water quality certification.
    o. 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 comments,             June 2022.
 recommendations, preliminary terms and
 conditions, and preliminary fishway
 prescriptions.
Deadline for filing reply comments......  July 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.

    Dated: April 6, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-07808 Filed 4-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P