[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 240 (Thursday, December 15, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Page 76616]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27203]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4108-018]


City of St. Cloud; Notice Rejecting Application, Waiving 
Regulations, and Soliciting Applications

    On December 1, 2022, the City of St. Cloud, licensee for the St. 
Cloud Hydroelectric Project No. 4108 (project), filed an application 
for a new license for the project pursuant to section 15(c)(1) of the 
Federal Power Act (FPA). The license application was untimely filed and 
is hereby rejected.\1\
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    \1\ The City of St. Cloud was issued a major license for the 
project on December 5, 1984, for a term of 40 years, effective the 
first day of the month in which the order was issued. See 29 FERC ] 
62,233 (1984). Therefore, the license would expire on November 30, 
2024, and the statutory deadline for filing a new license 
application was November 30, 2022. See FPA Sec.  15(c)(1), 16 U.S.C. 
808(c)(1). The Commission received the application via the internet 
at 6:42 p.m. Eastern Time, which is after regular business hours 
(i.e., after 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time), on November 30, 2022; 
therefore, the application is considered filed on the next regular 
business day, December 1, 2022. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(2) (2021).
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    The project is located on the Mississippi River approximately 75 
miles northwest of St. Paul, Minnesota in the City of St. Cloud, 
Stearns and Sherburne Counties, Minnesota. The project consists of: (1) 
an approximately 3.5-mile-long, 294-surface-acre reservoir with a 
storage capacity of 2,254 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation of 981.0 
feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; (2) a 420-foot-long 
earthen embankment that abuts the east side of the dam; (3) a 550-foot-
long, 19.5-foot-high concrete gravity dam and main spillway topped with 
inflatable crest gates; (4) a 50-foot-wide spillway containing two 20-
foot-wide Tainter gates; (5) a 70-foot-wide, 122-foot-long reinforced 
concrete powerhouse containing two turbine-generator units with a total 
installed generating capacity of 8.64 megawatts and with an average 
annual generation of 51,500 megawatt-hours; (6) a 200-foot-long earthen 
embankment that abuts the west side of the dam; (7) an underground 180-
foot-long, 5-kilovolt (kV) transmission line connecting the powerhouse 
to a step-up transformer; (8) a 5/34.5-kV step-up transformer; (9) an 
underground 900-foot-long, 34.5-kV transmission line connecting the 
step-up transformer to a non-project substation; and (10) appurtenant 
facilities.
    As a result of the rejection of the City of St. Cloud's application 
and pursuant to section 16.25 of the Commission's regulations, the 
Commission is soliciting license applications from potential 
applicants. This solicitation is necessary because the deadline for 
filing an application for a new license and any competing license 
applications, pursuant to section 16.9 of the Commission's regulations, 
was November 30, 2022, and no other license applications for this 
project were filed. With this notice, we are waiving those parts of 
section 16.24(a) and 16.25(a) which bar an existing licensee that 
missed the two-year application filing deadline from filing another 
application. Further, because the City of St. Cloud completed the 
consultation requirements pursuant to Part 5 of the Integrated 
Licensing Process, we are waiving the consultation requirements in 
section 16.8 for the existing licensee. Consequently, the City of St. 
Cloud will be allowed to refile a license application and compete for 
the license and the incumbent preference established by the FPA section 
15(a)(2) will apply.\2\
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    \2\ See Pacific Gas and Electric Co., 98 FERC ] 61,032 (2002), 
reh'g denied, 99 FERC ] 61,045 (2002), aff'd, City of Fremont v. 
FERC, 336 F.3d 910 (9th Cir. 2003).
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    The licensee is required to make available certain information 
described in section 16.7 of the regulations. For more information from 
the licensee, please contact Ms. Tracy Hodel, Public Services Director, 
City of St. Cloud, 1201 7th Street South, St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301, 
(320) 255-7226.
    Pursuant to Section 16.25(b), a potential applicant that files a 
notice of intent within 90 days from the date of this notice: (1) may 
apply for a license under Part I of the FPA and Part 4 (except section 
4.38) of the Commission's Regulations within 18 months of the date on 
which it files its notice; and (2) must comply with sections 16.8 and 
16.10 of the Commission's Regulations.
    Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Nicholas 
Ettema, (312) 596-4447 or [email protected].

    Dated: December 9, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-27203 Filed 12-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P