[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 197 (Thursday, October 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62095-62096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-22171]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project Nos. 2322-069; 2322071; 2325-100; 2574-092; 2611-091]


Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC; Merimil Limited Partnership; 
Hydro-Kennebec, LLC; Notice of Supplemental Information Filing and 
Soliciting Comments

    Take notice that the following supplemental information has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Supplemental information to pending filings 
regarding salmon mortality and protective measures.
    b. Project Nos.: P-2322-069; P-2322-071; P-2325-100; P-2574-092; P-
2611-091.
    c. Date Filed: September 21, 2022.
    d. Applicants: Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC; Merimil Limited 
Partnership; Hydro-Kennebec, LLC.
    e. Name of Projects: Shawmut, Weston, Lockwood, and Hydro-Kennebec 
Hydroelectric Projects.
    f. Location: The projects are located on the lower Kennebec River 
in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Maine.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a-825r.
    h. Applicant Contact: Kelly Maloney, Licensing and Compliance 
Manager, Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC., 150 Main Street, Lewiston, 
ME 04240; telephone: (207) 755-5605.
    i. FERC Contact: Marybeth Gay, (202) 502-6125, 
[email protected]; or Matt Cutlip, (503) 552-2762, 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments: 20 days from the notice date. 
Reply comments due 30 days from the notice date.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments 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, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-2322-069; P-2322-071; P-2325-100; P-2574-092; and P-
2611-091.
    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. Description of Filing: On September 21, 2022, Brookfield Power 
US Asset Management, LLC (Brookfield), on behalf of the affiliated 
licensees for the Shawmut (P-2322), Weston (P-2325), Lockwood (P-2574), 
and Hydro-Kennebec (P-2611) projects, filed supplemental information 
for the following pending items: (1) the January 31, 2020 Final License 
Application for the Shawmut Project; (2) the June 1, 2021 Interim 
Species Protection Plan (Interim Plan) for the Shawmut Project; and (3) 
the June 1, 2021 Final Species Protection Plan (Final Plan) for the 
Lockwood, Weston, and Hydro-Kennebec projects.
    Brookfield states that, while conducting its analysis of the Final 
Plan, Interim Plan, and their associated Biological Assessments, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requested that Brookfield 
better address delayed mortality for salmon smolts passing downstream 
of the first receiver at each of the projects. Brookfield's filing 
contains that analysis. Further, Brookfield states that it and NMFS 
evaluated measures previously contemplated within the adaptive 
management provisions included as part of the Final Plan, Interim Plan, 
and relicensing proceeding, which could be implemented on an 
accelerated schedule to minimize and/or mitigate the effects of delayed 
mortality.
    Based on these discussions, Brookfield now proposes to implement 
several measures from the adaptive management provisions proposed in 
the Final Plan to improve smolt survival during spill and through the 
fishways as well as reduce entrainment, as appropriate, for each of the 
specific projects. Brookfield states that it would implement these 
measures concurrently with, or in advance of, the other actions 
proposed in the Final Plan.
    Similarly, as a supplement to the final license application for the 
Shawmut Project, Brookfield now proposes to add measures to reduce 
entrainment, provide safe downstream passage

[[Page 62096]]

routes, and improve smolt passage survival conditions during spill. 
Brookfield also says that it may seek Commission authorization to 
implement these newly proposed measures in advance of the Commission's 
licensing decision.
    Brookfield additionally proposes mitigation measures, including the 
funding of habitat restoration projects within the Kennebec River 
watershed and Merrymeeting Bay Salmon Habitat Recovery Unit, as 
discussed in the Final Plan. Brookfield also commits to stocking smolts 
in the Sandy River for up to 6 years to support studies to verify 
compliance with the proposed upstream and downstream passage standards, 
as discussed in the Final Plan.
    l. Location of Filing: A copy of the supplemental information 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. A copy is also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.
    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.

    Dated: October 5, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-22171 Filed 10-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P