[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 112 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38043-38044]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-12391]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1494-461]


Grand River Dam Authority; 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.: 1494-461.
    c. Date Filed: May 30, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA).
    e. Name of Project: Pensacola Hydroelectric Project (Pensacola 
Project).
    f. Location: The Pensacola Project is located on the Grand (Neosho) 
River in Craig, Delaware, Mayes, and Ottawa Counties, Oklahoma. The 
project occupies 8.122 acres of federal Trust Land held by the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs and 57.69 acres of federal wetland easements.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Darrell Townsend II, Vice President, 
Ecosystems and Watershed Management, Grand River Dam Authority, P.O. 
Box 70, Langley, OK 74350; (918) 981-8472, or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer at (202) 502-8449, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Pensacola Project consists of: (1) a reservoir--known as 
Grand Lake O' the Cherokees (Grand Lake)--with a surface area of 46,056 
acres and a storage capacity of 1,440,000 acre-feet at a water surface 
elevation of 745 feet Pensacola Datum (PD; Pensacola Datum is 1.07 feet 
lower than National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1928 [NGVD29] and 1.4 
feet higher than North American Vertical Datum of 1988 [NAVD88]); (2) a 
reinforced-concrete dam consisting of: (a) a west abutment connected to 
a 28-foot-long, west non-overflow gravity section; (b) a 4,284-foot-
long, multiple arch section; (c) an 860-foot-long main spillway 
containing 21 radial gates; (d) an east abutment connected to a 451-
foot-long, east non-overflow gravity section; (e) a 450-foot-long 
middle spillway section containing 11 radial gates located 0.9 mile 
east of the east abutment; and (f) a 410-foot-long east spillway 
section containing 10 radial gates located 700 feet east of the middle 
spillway section; (3) a 23-foot-wide by 75-foot-high intake structure 
and trash racks with 3.75-inch bar spacing; (4) six 15-foot-diameter 
penstocks supplying flow to the main powerhouse; (5) an 87.75-foot-wide 
by 279-foot-long by 45-foot-tall, multi-story, reinforced concrete main 
powerhouse containing six generating units of 17,466-kilowatt (kW) 
capacity each; (6) a 3-foot-diamater penstock that supplies flow to one 
turbine-generator of 500-kW capacity located in a powerhouse 
immediately downstream from the dam; (7) an approximate 270-foot-wide, 
7,500-foot-long tailrace; (8) single spillway channels located 
downstream of each of the three spillway sections; (9) six 450 to 650-
foot-long, 13.8-kilovolt generator leads connecting the turbine-
generator units in the powerhouse to the project switching station; and 
(10) appurtenant facilities.
    Under existing normal operation, when the reservoir surface 
elevation is below the flood pool elevation of 745 feet PD, the 
Pensacola Project is operated to target reservoir surface elevations 
known as the rule curve, which are as follows:

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                   Period                                       Reservoir elevation  (feet PD)
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May 1 through May 31........................  Raise elevation from 742 to 744.
June 1 through July 31......................  Maintain elevation at 744.
August 1 through August 15..................  Lower elevation from 744 to 743.
August 16 through September 15..............  Maintain elevation at 743.
September 16 through September 30...........  Lower elevation from 743 to 742.
October 1 through April 30..................  Maintain elevation at 742.
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    When reservoir elevations are either above or projected to rise 
above the flood pool elevation of 745 feet PD, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (Corps) directs water releases from the project under the 
terms of Section 7 of the Flood Control Act of 1944. When directed to 
release water, GRDA first discharges as much water as possible through 
the project's turbine units. Once the project has reached the project's 
maximum hydraulic capacity, the Corps may direct GRDA to open one or 
more spillway gates if the reservoir is still rising, but typically not 
unless the reservoir elevation exceeds or is projected to exceed 745 
feet PD.
    GRDA implements a Storm Adaptive Management Plan (SAMP) that is 
used in anticipation of and during major precipitation events within 
the Grand/Neosho River basin that may result in high water conditions 
upstream or downstream of Grand Lake. If available information 
indicates a high probability of high water occurring, GRDA consults 
with the Corps to determine whether the flood pool elevation is 
forecasted to exceed 745 feet PD and determine whether any reservoir 
management actions can be taken to avoid, reduce, or minimize high 
water levels upstream or downstream of the project.
    GRDA currently implements a Drought Adaptive Management Plan (DAMP) 
that guides project operations and flow releases in the event of 
significant drought conditions. GRDA also implements a Dissolved Oxygen 
Mitigation Plan that involves continuously monitoring dissolved oxygen 
(DO) downstream of the project dam and initiating turbine releases when 
DO drops below 6.5 milligrams per liter (mg/L) from October 16 to June 
15 and 5.5 mg/L from June 16 to October 15.
    During normal operation, GRDA proposes to no longer use a rule 
curve with seasonal target reservoir elevations. Instead, GRDA proposes 
to maintain the reservoir elevation between 742 feet and 745 feet PD 
year-round for the purposes of responding to grid demands, market 
conditions, and public interest.
    GRDA proposes to continue implementing the DO Mitigation Plan, but 
GRDA proposes to no longer implement the SAMP and DAMP.
    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)

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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-1494). 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 http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp 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 Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202)502-6595 or [email protected].
    o. 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 (if necessary)......  June 2023.
Request Additional Information (if            July 2023.
 necessary).
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for      November 2023.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms  January 2024.
 and conditions, and preliminary fishway
 prescriptions.
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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 the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: June 5, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-12391 Filed 6-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P