[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24403-24405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08319]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2391-053, Project No. 2425-057, Project No. 2509-051]


PE Hydro Generation, LLC; Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Environmental Site Reviews and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Applications: Subsequent Minor, New Major License, 
Subsequent Minor.
    b. Project Nos.: P-2391-053, P-2425-057, and P-2509-051.
    c. Date Filed: January 3, 2022.
    d. Applicant: PE Hydro Generation, LLC.
    e. Names of Projects: Warren Hydroelectric Project, Luray and 
Newport Hydroelectric Project, and Shenandoah Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Locations: The Warren Project is on the Shenandoah River near 
the Town of Front Royal in Warren County, Virginia. The two-development 
Luray and Newport Project is located on the South Fork of the 
Shenandoah River near the Towns of Luray (Luray Development) and 
Newport (Newport Development) in Page County, Virginia. The Shenandoah 
Project is located on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River near the 
Town of Shenandoah in Page and Rockingham, Counties, Virginia. The 
projects do not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Jody Smet, Vice President, Regulatory 
Affairs, PE Hydro Generation, LLC, 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1100W, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; Phone at (240) 482-2700 or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Kristine Sillett at (202) 502-6575; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: June 12, 2023.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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.

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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, 
MD 20852. All filings must clearly identify the following on the first 
page: Warren Project No. 2391-053, and/or Luray and Newport Project No. 
2425-057, and/or the Shenandoah Project No. 2509-051.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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. The applications are not ready for environmental analysis at 
this time.
    l. Project Descriptions: The Warren Project consists of: (1) a 
15.3-foot-high, 527-foot-long, reinforced concrete dam; (2) a 105-acre 
impoundment with a storage capacity of 900 acre-feet; (3) a 44-foot-
wide headgate structure with four 4.5-foot by 8-foot gates; (4) a 350-
foot-long headrace canal; (5) an 82-foot-long, 30-foot-wide powerhouse 
containing 3 Francis turbine/generating units with a total installed 
capacity of 750 kW; (6) 360-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) project 
generator lines; (7) a substation containing a 3-phase, 2.4/34.5-kV 
transformer where interconnection with the grid occurs; and (8) other 
appurtenances. The project creates an approximately 550-foot-long 
bypassed reach of the Shenandoah River.
    The Luray Development of the two-development Luray and Newport 
Project, on the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, consists of: (1) a 
21.9-foot-high, 530-foot-long reinforced concrete dam; (2) a 126-acre 
impoundment with a storage capacity of 880 acre-feet; (3) a 100-foot-
long, 27.5-foot-wide powerhouse, adjacent to the south end of the dam, 
containing three Francis turbine/generating units having a total 
installed capacity of 1,600 kW; (4) 35-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) 
project generator lines; (5) a substation containing a 3-phase, 2.4/
34.5-kV transformer where interconnection with the grid occurs; and (6) 
other appurtenances.
    The Newport Development of the Luray and Newport Project consists 
of: (1) a 28.8-foot-high, 443-foot-long reinforced concrete dam; (2) a 
103-acre impoundment with a storage capacity of 1,090 acre-feet; (3) a 
73.5-foot-long, 21.2-foot-wide powerhouse adjacent to the north end of 
the dam, with three Francis turbine/generating units with a total 
installed capacity of 1,400 kW; (4) 150-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) 
project generator lines; (5) a substation containing a 3-phase, 2.4/
34.5-kV transformer where interconnection with the grid occurs; and (5) 
other appurtenances.
    The Shenandoah Project consists of: (1) a 15-foot-high, 495-foot-
long reinforced concrete dam; (2) a 30-acre impoundment with a storage 
capacity of 190 acre feet; (3) a 91-foot-long, 38-foot-wide powerhouse 
adjacent to the north end of the dam, with four generating units having 
a total installed capacity of 862 kW; (4) 180-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt 
(kV) project generator lines; (5) a substation containing a 3-phase, 
2.4/34.5-kV transformer where interconnection with the grid occurs; and 
(6) other appurtenances.
    As required by their licenses, the Warren, Luray and Newport, and 
Shenandoah Projects all currently operate in run-of-river mode, or 
inflow, whichever is less, at all times. Run-of-river flow allowing, PE 
Hydro maintains each reservoir surface at an elevation at least 1.0 
inches above the spillway crest, thus providing a 1-inch veil flow over 
each dam. When flows are in excess of the flow required to maintain the 
1-inch veil flow, PE Hydro typically commences generation using the 
available flows. When flows exceed the combined capacity of the 
projects' turbines, excess flows are passed over the spillway dam. To 
enhance downstream eel passage, PE Hydro provides nightly shutdowns of 
the projects' generating facilities from September 15 through December 
15.
    PE Hydro proposes to continue to operate the Warren, Luray and 
Newport, and Shenandoah Projects with the following environmental 
measures: (1) maintain run-of-river operation at the projects; (2) 
continue to provide a minimum 1-inch veil flow of water over each dam, 
or inflow to the project reservoirs, whichever is less; (3) develop a 
downstream operations eel passage plan for each project within one year 
of license issuance; (4) continue night-time shutdowns at the projects 
from September 15 through December 15 to protect eels migrating 
downstream until the implementation of a downstream operations eel 
passage plan; (5) conduct a radio telemetry study for eels migrating 
upstream at the Warren Project and Luray Development; (6) develop an 
upstream eel passage plan for each project within six months of license 
issuance based on the results of the radio telemetry study; (7) 
continue to maintain the canoe portage trail, including the take-out 
and put-in areas at the Warren Project; (8) continue to maintain the 
Luray Development Tailwater Fishing Pier, including the parking area, 
fishing pier, and gravel path; (9) continue to maintain the canoe 
portage trail, including the take-out and put-in areas at the Newport 
Development; (10) continue to maintain the canoe portage trail, 
including the take-out and put-in areas at the Shenandoah Project; and 
(11) continue to implement the existing Commission-approved Cultural 
Resources Management Plan for the projects.
    m. Copies of the applications can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at https://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
project's docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket 
number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    You may also register 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, please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected].
    n. Scoping Process
    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) (collectively referred 
to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and evaluates the probable 
effects, including an assessment of the site-specific and cumulative 
effects, if any, of the proposed action and alternatives. The 
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of 
analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of 
whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS.

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings for the projects to 
receive input on the scope of the NEPA document. An evening meeting 
will be held at 7:00 p.m. on May 16, 2023, at the Mimslyn Inn in Luray, 
Virginia, and will focus on receiving input from the

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public. A daytime meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on May 17, 2023, 
at the same location, and will focus on the concerns of resource 
agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and Native American 
tribes. We invite all interested agencies, Indian Tribes, non-
governmental organizations, and individuals to attend one or both of 
these meetings. The times and locations of these meetings are as 
follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
    Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Place: Mimslyn Inn (Blue Ridge Room).
    Address: 401 W Main St., Luray, VA 22835.

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
    Time: 10:00 a.m. (EDT).
    Place: Mimslyn Inn (Blue Ridge Room).
    Address: 401 W Main St., Luray, VA 22835.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on 
the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at 
the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

Environmental Site Reviews

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct environmental site 
reviews of the projects. All interested individuals, agencies, tribes, 
and NGOs are invited to attend. All participants are responsible for 
their own transportation to the sites and during the site visits. 
Please RSVP via email to [email protected] or notify Joyce 
Foster at 804-338-5110 on or before May 9, 2023, if you plan to attend 
the environmental site reviews. The times and locations of the 
environmental site reviews are as follows:

Luray and Newport, and Shenandoah Hydroelectric Projects

    Date: Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
    Time: 9:30 a.m. (EDT).
    Place: Luray and Newport Hydroelectric Project: Luray Development.
    Address: 650 Power Dam Road, Luray, VA 22835.
    Participants will meet in the Luray Development parking lot; after 
the site visit for the Luray Development, we will travel to the Newport 
Development, located off U.S. Highway 340 near the intersection of U.S. 
Highway Business 340 and U.S. Highway 340. After the site visit for the 
Luray and Newport Project, we will travel to the Shenandoah 
Hydroelectric Project, located at 575 Long Avenue, Shenandoah, VA 
22849.

Warren Hydroelectric Project

    Date: Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
    Time: 1:30 p.m. (EDT).
    Place: Warren Hydroelectric Project.
    Address: 106 Bennys Beach Road, Front Royal, VA 22630.
    All persons attending the environmental site reviews must adhere to 
the following requirements: (1) all persons must wear sturdy, closed-
toe shoes or boots; (2) persons with open-toed shoes/sandals/flip 
flops/high heels, etc. will not be allowed on the environmental site 
reviews; (3) persons must be 18 years or older; (4) no photography will 
be allowed inside the powerhouses; (5) no weapons are allowed on-site; 
(6) no alcohol/drugs are allowed on-site (or persons exhibiting the 
effects thereof); and (7) no animals (except for service animals) are 
allowed on the environmental site reviews.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the NEPA 
document; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available 
information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; 
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that 
should be analyzed in the NEPA document, including viewpoints in 
opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) 
determine the resource issues to be addressed in the NEPA document; and 
(5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as 
those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the 
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals, 
NGOs, Native American tribes, and agencies with environmental expertise 
and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to assist the 
staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the NEPA 
document.

    Dated: April 13, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-08319 Filed 4-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P