[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4168-4169]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01252]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2628-066]


Alabama Power Company; Notice of Ready for Environmental 
Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, 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.: 2628-066.
    c. Date filed: November 23, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power).
    e. Name of Project: R.L. Harris Hydroelectric Project (Harris 
Project).
    f. Location: The Harris Project is located on the Tallapoosa River 
near the City of Lineville in Randolph, Clay, and Cleburne Counties, 
Alabama. The Harris Project also includes land within the James D. 
Martin-Skyline Wildlife Management Area located approximately 110 miles 
north of Harris Reservoir in Jackson County, Alabama. The project 
occupies 4.90 acres of federal land administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Angie Anderegg, Harris Relicensing Project 
Manager, Alabama Power Company; 600 North 18th Street, P.O. Box 2641, 
Birmingham, AL 35203-8180; (205) 257-2251, or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Sarah Salazar at (202) 502-6863, 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 
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. All filings must clearly identify the project name and 
docket number on the first page: R.L. Harris Hydroelectric Project (P-
2628-066).
    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

[[Page 4169]]

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 for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. Project Description: The existing Harris Project consists of: 
(1) the 29-mile-long, 9,870-acre Harris Lake at a normal full pool 
elevation of 793 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) a 151.5-foot-high 
concrete dam; (3) a 310-foot-long gated spillway with five 40.5-feet-
high by 40-feet-wide radial gates for passing flood flows, and one 
radial trash gate; (4) a variable level powerhouse intake, integral 
with the dam, which can draw water from lake elevations between 746 
feet and 764 feet msl; (5) a 186-foot-long, 150-foot-high, and 95-foot-
wide concrete powerhouse, integral with the dam, housing two vertical 
Francis turbines with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 8,000 cubic feet 
per second (cfs) and a rated total installed capacity of 135 megawatts 
(MW); (6) two 115 kilovolt transmission lines, which extend 1.5 miles 
from the dam to the Crooked Creek Transmission sub-station; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    Alabama Power proposes to install, operate, and maintain a Francis-
type minimum flow unit to provide a continuous minimum flow of 
approximately 300 cfs in the Tallapoosa River downstream from Harris 
Dam. Based on preliminary design, the proposed minimum flow unit would 
have a generating capacity of about 2.5 MW.
    The Harris Project is a peaking facility that generates about 
151,878 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. Alabama Power operates 
the project to target lake surface elevations as guided by the 
project's operating curve. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers' Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin Water Control Manual 
describes flood management regulations, drought management provisions, 
and navigation release requirements for the Harris Project.
    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://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx 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: (1) a copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof 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 also note that the certification request 
must be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission 
concurrently.
    o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate.

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                 Milestone                               Date
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Deadline for Filing Comments,                March 18, 2023.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Licensee's Reply to REA Comments...........  May 2, 2023.
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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: January 17, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-01252 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P