[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 23, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71610-71611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25590]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 5867-054]


Alice Falls Hydro, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    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.: 5867-054.
    c. Date filed: September 29, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Alice Falls Hydro, LLC (Alice Falls Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Alice Falls Hydroelectric Project (Alice Falls 
Project or project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Ausable River 
in the Town of Chesterfield, Clinton and Essex Counties, New York. 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: Jody Smet, Vice President, Regulatory 
Affairs, Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, LLC, 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, 
Suite 1100W, Bethesda, Maryland 20814; (804) 739-0654 or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Chris Millard at (202) 502-8256, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: December 17, 2022.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure provide 
that if a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other 
day when the Commission is closed for business, the deadline does 
not end until the close of business on the next business day. 18 CFR 
385.2007(a)(2). Because the 30-day deadline falls on a Saturday 
(i.e., December 17, 2022), the deadline is extended until the close 
of business on Monday, December 19, 2022.
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    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping 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 via 
U. S. Postal Service 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: 
Alice Falls Hydroelectric Project (P-5867-054).
    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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The project consists of: (1) a stone masonry dam, 88 feet long 
and 63 feet high; (2) a 110-foot-long section of rock ledge adjacent to 
the dam with 2.5-foot-high pipe-supported flashboards; (3) a reservoir 
with a surface area of 4.8 acres at the normal water surface elevation 
of 350 feet; \2\ (4) a 110-foot-wide, 150-foot-long intake structure 
with a 41-foot-wide by 14-foot-high trash rack opening and fitted with 
a trash rack with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (5) a divided, 45-foot-
long, reinforced concrete penstock, where the Unit 1 penstock is 18 
feet wide by 12 feet high and the Unit 2 penstock is 10 feet wide by 12 
feet high; (6) a powerhouse, approximately 34 feet wide and 26 feet 
long, containing two turbine-generator units of 1.5 megawatts (Unit 1) 
and 0.6 megawatt (Unit 2); (7) a substation, 51 feet wide and 88 feet 
long; (8) a 745-foot-long, 5-kilovolt (kV) buried generator lead and a 
700-foot-long, 46-kV buried transmission line; and (9) appurtenant 
facilities.
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    \2\ Elevation data are presented using the National Geodetic 
Vertical Datum of 1929.
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    The project is operated in a run-of-river mode, whereby outflow 
from the project approximates inflow. Project operation occurs remotely 
in an automatic control mode using a

[[Page 71611]]

headpond level sensor and two sensors behind the project trash racks to 
maintain the reservoir elevation at about 350 feet. Normal operation 
occurs up to 358.5 feet, at which point project operation ceases and 
all inflow is spilled.\3\ The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities 
of the project are 400 cfs and 840 cfs, respectively.
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    \3\ Reservoir elevations greater than 358.5 feet present a risk 
of damage to project structures due to an inability to safely remove 
debris, thus requiring project shutdown.
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    A continuous minimum flow of 25 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, 
is released over the spillway flashboards to Alice Falls year-round. An 
additional 125-cfs aesthetic flow (for a total flow of 150 cfs over 
Alice Falls), or inflow, whichever is less, is released daily from 8:00 
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, from May 20 to September 8 
when public recreation access is provided. A seasonal conveyance flow 
of 20 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, is continuously passed through 
the fish bypass facility from April 1 through November 30. When inflow 
to the reservoir is less than the scheduled combined minimum flow, 
Alice Falls Hydro releases 20 cfs from the fish bypass facility and any 
remaining flow is released over the spillway to Alice Falls.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., scoping document) via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (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 (P-
5867). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or 
call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    n. 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.
    o. Scoping Process:
    Commission staff will prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, if any, of the licensee's proposed 
action and alternatives. The EA or EIS will consider environmental 
impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. 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 EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not anticipate holding on-site 
scoping meetings. Instead, we are soliciting written comments and 
suggestions on the preliminary list of issues and alternatives to be 
addressed in the NEPA document, as described in scoping document 1 
(SD1), issued November 17, 2022.
    Copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the 
NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant'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. For assistance, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: November 17, 2022.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-25590 Filed 11-22-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P