[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41613-41614]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13603]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2489-049]


Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor.
    b. Project No.: P-2489-049.
    c. Date Filed: October 31, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation (GMP).
    e. Name of Project: Cavendish Hydroelectric Project (Cavendish 
Project or project).
    f. Location: On the Black River, in the town of Cavendish, in 
Windsor County, Vermont.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: John Tedesco, Green Mountain Power 
Corporation, 2152 Post Road, Rutland, VT 05701; (802) 655-8753; or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer at (202) 502-8449; or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: July 21, 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. 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: Cavendish Hydroelectric Project (P-2489-049).
    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 application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing Cavendish Project consists of: (1) a 3,000 foot-
long, 10-acre impoundment with a gross storage capacity of 18.4-acre-
feet at a normal water surface elevation of 884.13 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929; (2) a 111-foot-long concrete gravity 
dam that consists of: (a) a 90-foot-long by 25-foot-high north spillway 
section topped with a 6-foot-high inflatable flashboard system; and (b) 
a 21-foot-long by 6-foot-high south spillway section topped with 2.5-
foot-high steel flashboards; (3) an 18-inch wide downstream fish 
passage chute located on the north side of the spillway; (4) a concrete 
intake structure equipped with a mechanically operated headgate, and a 
trash rack with 2-inch clear bar spacing; (5) a 178-foot-long concrete 
and rock tunnel that carries water from the intake to a penstock; (6) a 
6-foot-diameter, 1,090-foot-long steel penstock; (7) a 64-foot-long by 
34-foot-wide powerhouse containing three turbine-generator units with a 
combined capacity of 1.44 megawatts; (8) a 100-foot-long transmission 
line that runs from the powerhouse to a substation within the project 
boundary; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The project creates a 1,570-
foot-long bypassed reach of the Black River.
    The current license requires GMP to: (1) operate the project in 
run-of-river mode; (2) maintain the impoundment water level no lower 
than 6 inches below the crest of the flashboards; (3) release a 
continuous minimum flow of 10 cubic feet per second (cfs) to the 
bypassed reach; and (4) release overall downstream flows of at least 42 
cfs from June 1 to September 30, at least 83 cfs from October 1 to 
March 31, and at least 332 cfs from April 1 to May 31 when refilling 
the impoundment after project maintenance or flashboard installation. 
If inflows are insufficient to meet the downstream flows during 
impoundment refill, GMP is required to release 90 percent of 
instantaneous inflow through the turbines. The project generates about 
4,864 megawatt-hours annually.
    GMP proposes to: (1) continue operating the project in run-of-river 
mode; (2) maintain a stable impoundment water level at the top of the 
flashboard crest; (3) continue releasing a continuous minimum flow of 
10 cfs to the bypassed reach; and (4) release 90 percent of 
instantaneous inflow through the turbines at all times when refilling 
the impoundment.
    m. At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the 
Commission's Public Reference Room. Copies of the application 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 at [email protected].
    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. 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. 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. At this time, we do not 
anticipate holding an on-site scoping meeting.

[[Page 41614]]

Instead, we are soliciting written comments and suggestions on the 
preliminary list of issues and alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA 
document, as described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued June 21, 
2023.
    Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in 
the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may 
be viewed on the web 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, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: June 21, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-13603 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P