[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 47 (Friday, March 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15011-15012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04996]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2513-091]


Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice of Application Tendered 
for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

    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.: 2513-091.
    c. Date Filed: February 28, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation (GMP).
    e. Name of Project: Essex No. 19 Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Winooski River in Chittenden County, Vermont. 
The project does not affect Federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. John Tedesco, Green Mountain Power 
Corporation, 163 Acorn Lane, Colchester, Vermont 05446; phone: (802) 
655-8753 or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Tust at (202) 502-6522 or email at 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing project consists of: (1) a 
494-foot-long concrete gravity dam consisting of a 61-foot-high non-
overflow concrete abutment section and three overflow spillway sections 
46-foot-high and each topped by a 5-foot-high inflatable rubber dam; 
(2) a 268-acre impoundment; (3) a 78-foot-wide, 36-foot-high concrete 
intake structure with two concrete wing walls, a steel trashrack with 
one-inch bar spacing, and an embedded downstream fishway; (4) two 3-
foot-diameter steel penstocks and four 9-foot-diameter steel penstocks 
each running parallel to each other and extending underground from the 
dam to the powerhouse with lengths ranging from 382.9 to 389.3 feet; 
(5) a 154.6-foot-long, 93.5-foot-wide, and 55.7-foot-high, reinforced-
concrete and brick powerhouse located 400 feet downstream of the intake 
housing four horizontal Francis-type turbines with an installed 
capacity of 2,223 kilowatts (kW) each and four horizontal shaft 
generators rated at 1,800 kilowatts each as well as a double horizontal 
Francis-type turbine (i.e., minimum flow unit) with an installed 
capacity of 874 kW connected to a generator rated at 850 kW; (6) a 300-
foot-long, 34.5-kilovolt overhead transmission line; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities. Green Mountain Power Corporation also owns and 
maintains the following recreation facilities: Overlook Park, an access 
site to the impoundment, an access site to the powerhouse tailrace 
area, and a canoe portage.
    The downstream fish passage facility consists of two entrance gates 
each 3-feet-wide and 7.5-feet long located at the west end of the 
spillway. One entrance is located near the north end of the intake 
trashracks and the other is located closer to the center of the intake 
trashracks. The two entrances feed into a collection chamber behind the 
trashracks. The two collection chambers are connected via a 54-inch-
diameter, 67-foot-long steel pipe which transports fish to an open 
channel sluice down the adjacent spillway and into a plunge pool. The 
plunge pool water level is controlled by a concrete weir with a bell-
mouthed vertical slot with a 1-foot-wide opening which discharges flow 
into the bypassed reach.
    GMP currently operates the project in a modified daily peaking mode 
while raising and lowering the impoundment level a maximum of 3 feet 
but now proposes to operate the project in run-of-river mode year-round 
while maintaining the impoundment at an elevation of 274.7 feet (under 
normal flow conditions). GMP would continue to provide minimum flows of 
100 cubic feet per second (cfs) or inflow, if less, through the fish 
passage facility into the bypassed reach from April 15 through June 30 
and from September 15 through December 15 and 50 cfs or inflow, if 
less, into the bypassed reach the remainder the year. The project has 
an average annual generation of 35,498 megawatt-hours.
    l. Location of the Application: 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., 
license application) 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-2513). For assistance, contact FERC at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or (202) 
502-8659 (TTY).
    m. 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. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Issue Deficiency Letter (if necessary)..  March 2023.
Issue Additional Information Request (if  April 2023.
 necessary).
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for  August 2023.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary    October 2023.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
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[[Page 15012]]

    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: March 6, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-04996 Filed 3-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P