[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 76 (Thursday, April 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24406-24407]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08356]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4026-055]


Androscoggin Reservoir Company; 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.: 4026-055.
    c. Date Filed: March 31, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Androscoggin Reservoir Company (ARCO).
    e. Name of Project: Aziscohos Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Magalloway River in Oxford and Franklin 
Counties, Maine. The project does not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Randy Dorman, Relicensing Manager, Brookfield 
Renewable, 150 Maine Street, Lewiston, ME 04240; phone at (207) 755-
5605, or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts at (202) 502-6123, or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing project consists of: (1) a 74-
foot-high, 881-foot-long concrete multiple arch-buttress dam consisting 
of the following sections: (a) a 236-foot-long concrete ogee spillway 
section with a crest elevation of 1,517.3 feet National Geodetic 
Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29), and 3-foot-high flashboards at an 
elevation of 1,520.3 feet NGVD29 at the top of the flashboards; (b) a 
265-foot-long concrete non-overflow section with two, 7-foot-diameter 
cylindrical discharge gates; (c) a 120-foot-long earthen dike north 
abutment; and (d) a 260-foot-long earthen dike south abutment; (2) a 
27-foot-high, 900-foot-long earthen containment dike (Abbott Brooke 
Dike) located two miles upstream of the dam; (3) an impoundment 
(Aziscohos Lake) with a maximum water surface elevation of 1,520.3 feet 
NGVD29; (4) an intake structure consisting of a modified log sluice 
with stoplogs and a 96-inch butterfly valve in the non-overflow section 
of the dam; (5) a 2,462-foot-long, 8-foot-diameter steel penstock that 
provides flow to a 5.311-megawatt vertical Kaplan turbine-generator 
unit located in a concrete powerhouse; (6) a 60-foot-long tailrace; (7) 
a 12.47/34.5- kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer and a 23.5-mile long, 
34.5-kV transmission line connecting the project generator to the 
regional grid; and (8) appurtenant facilities. The project creates an 
approximately 2,400-foot-long bypassed reach of the Magalloway River.
    The project is operated as a seasonal storage reservoir as part of 
the Androscoggin River Storage System. The current license requires 
ARCO to provide a minimum flow of 130 cubic feet per second (cfs) 
downstream of the powerhouse from the start of spring refill through 
September 15. The minimum flow is increased to 214 cfs from September 
16 to the start of spring refill each year. The current license 
requires that 50 cfs of the required minimum flow, be released from the 
Aziscohos Dam into the bypassed reach of the Magalloway River. The 
current license also requires that a whitewater flow of 900 cfs be 
released during the 4th weekend of June, 1st weekend of July, and 1st 
weekend of September; and a whitewater flow of 1,200 cfs be released on 
the 2nd weekend of July, and the 3rd and 4th weekend of August.
    The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are 
290 cfs and 623 cfs, respectively. The average annual generation of the 
project was approximately 30,788 megawatt-hours from 2012 through 2022.
    ARCO is not proposing any changes to project facilities or 
operation at this time.
    l. 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-
4026). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected], 
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). At this time, the 
Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference 
Room. For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or 
call toll free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY (202) 502-8659.
    m. You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via

[[Page 24407]]

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 schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate.

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                  Milestone                           Target date
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Issue Deficiency Letter.....................  April 2023.
Request Additional Information (if            August 2023.
 necessary).
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for      October 2023.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms  December 2023.
 and conditions, and preliminary fishway
 prescriptions.
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    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: April 14, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-08356 Filed 4-19-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P