[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48239-48241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15844]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2373-016; Project No. 2347-064l; Project No. 2348-050; 
Project No. 2446-052]


Midwest Hydro, LLC; STS Hydropower, LLC; Notice 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, Subsequent Minor, 
Subsequent Minor, New License.
    b. Project Nos.: P-2373-016, P-2347-064, P-2348-050, and P-2446-
052.
    c. Date Filed: August 30, 2022.
    d. Applicants: Midwest Hydro, LLC and STS Hydropower, LLC.
    e. Names of Projects: Janesville Hydroelectric Project, Beloit 
Hydroelectric Project, Rockton Hydroelectric Project, and Dixon 
Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Locations: The Janesville Project is on the Rock River near the 
city of Janesville in Rock County, Wisconsin. The Beloit Project is 
located on the Rock River near the City of Beloit in Rock County, 
Wisconsin. The Rockton Project is located on the Rock River in the City 
of Rockton in Winnebago County, Illinois. The Dixon Project is located 
on the Rock River in the City of Dixon in Lee and Ogle Counties, 
Illinois.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. David Fox, Senior Director of Regulatory 
Affairs, Midwest Hydro, LLC c/o Eagle Creek RE Management, LLC, 7315 
Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1100W, Bethesda, Maryland 2081; Phone at (240) 
482-2707 or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Laura Washington at (202) 502-6072; or email at 
[email protected].

[[Page 48240]]

    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: August 19, 2023.\1\
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    \1\ The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure provide 
that if a filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or 
other day when the Commission is closed for business, the filing 
deadline does not end until the close of business on the next 
business day. 18 CFR 385.2007(a)(2) (2022).
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    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: The Janesville Project (P-2347-064), and/or the Beloit Project 
(P-2348-050), and/or Rockton Project (P-2373-016), and/or the Dixon 
Project (P-2446-052).
    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 Janesville Project consists of: (1) a 
131-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 655 acre-feet at a 
maximum reservoir surface elevation of 769.8 feet National Geodetic 
Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (2) a 65-foot-wide, 8.25-foot-deep 
forebay structure located on the upstream side of the powerhouse; (3) a 
321.6-foot-long dam including three sections from left to right looking 
downstream: (i) a 207-foot-long overflow spillway topped with 22-inch 
flashboards; (ii) a 38.3-foot-long gated spillway; and (iii) a 76.3-
foot-long powerhouse integral with the dam that contains 76.25-foot-
wide by 9-foot-high trashracks with 4.0-inch clear spacing; (4) two 
vertical-shaft turbine-generating units, each with a maximum hydraulic 
capacity of 600 cubic feet per second (cfs), and a total installed 
capacity of 500 kilowatts (kW); (5) a 330-foot-long by 480-foot-wide 
tailrace; (6) a 55-foot-long, 312.5-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 
connecting the powerhouse to the point of interconnection via a 4.1-kV/
12.4-kV step-up transformer; and (7) appurtenant facilities. The 
Janesville Project had an average annual generation of 2,285 megawatt-
hours (MWh) for the five-year period ending in 2021.
    The Beloit Project consists of: (1) a 606.47-acre reservoir with a 
gross storage capacity of 3,032 acre-feet at a maximum reservoir 
surface elevation of 745.0 feet NGVD 29; (2) a 315.9-foot-long dam 
including four sections from left to right looking downstream: (i) a 
42-foot-long non-overflow section; (ii) a 91.1-foot-long Tainter-type 
gate and stoplog section; (iii) an 81.2-foot-long needle section; and 
(iv) a 101.6-foot-long slide gate section; (3) a 37-foot-long, 34.5-
foot-wide concrete powerhouse with 32-foot-wide by 9-foot-high 
trashracks with 5.5-inch clear spacing; (4) one vertical-shaft turbine-
generator unit with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 725 cfs and an 
installed capacity of 480 kW; (5) a 375-foot-wide by 400-foot-long 
tailrace; (6) a 60-foot-long, 68-kV transmission line connecting the 
powerhouse to the point of interconnection via a 4.1-kV/12.4-kV step-up 
transformer; and (7) appurtenant facilities. The Beloit Project had an 
average annual generation of 3,035 MWh for the five-year period ending 
in 2021.
    The Rockton Project consists of: (1) a 40.67-acre reservoir with a 
gross storage capacity of 207.4 acre-feet at a maximum reservoir 
surface elevation of 725.48 feet NGVD 29; (2) a succession of dam 
structures including, from left to right looking downstream: (i) an 84-
foot-long gated headworks structure located upstream of the power 
canal; (ii) a 1,000-foot-long concrete overflow dam located about 300 
feet upstream of the headworks structure that creates a bypassed reach 
(i.e., Rockton bypassed reach); (iii) a 1,600-foot-long earthen dike 
extending north from the east abutment of the concrete overflow dam; 
and (iv) a 5,000-foot-long power canal dike; (3) a 5,000-foot-long 
power canal running from the gated headworks structure to the 
powerhouse; (4) an intake structure consisting of 64-foot-wide by 15-
foot-high trash racks with 3.5-inch clear spacing; (5) a 64.25-foot-
long, 33.25-foot-wide powerhouse; (6) two vertical-shaft turbine-
generator units, each with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 810 cfs, for 
a total installed capacity of 1,100 kW; (7) a 85-foot-wide tailrace 
that extends downstream for 215 feet where it meets the Rockton 
bypassed reach; (8) three 4.1-kV/12.4-kV step-up transformers; and (9) 
appurtenant facilities. The project interconnects with the electrical 
grid via 4.1-kV bus cables and the three step-up transformers. The 
Rockton Project had an average annual generation of 5,076 MWh for the 
five-year period ending in 2021
    The Dixon Project consists of: (1) a 305.9-acre reservoir with a 
gross storage capacity of 1,530 acre-feet at a maximum reservoir 
surface elevation of 647.08 feet NGVD 29; (2) a 130-foot-wide by 18-
foot-deep forebay located immediately upstream of the powerhouse; (3) a 
succession of dam structures including, from left to right looking 
downstream: (i) a 250-foot-long powerhouse integral with the dam 
equipped with 200-foot-wide by 15-foot-high trash racks with 5-inch 
clear spacing; (ii) a 114-foot-long by 24-foot-high forebay wall set 
perpendicular to the dam that ties the powerhouse and fender wall to 
the dam; (iii) a 286-foot-long fender wall located upstream of the 
project forebay extending from the upstream end of the fender wall to 
the south riverbank; and (iv) a 610-foot-long north overflow dam 
extending from the forebay wall to the north riverbank, topped with 16-
inch flashboards; (4) five vertical-shaft turbine-generating units, 
each with a maximum hydraulic capacity of 1,100 cfs, for a total 
installed capacity of 3,200 kW; (5) a 30-foot-long, 34.5-kV 
transmission line conveying project power to the point of 
interconnection via two 2.3-kV transformers; and (7) appurtenant 
facilities. The Dixon Project had an average annual generation of 
14,995 MWh for the five-year period ending in 2021.
    As required by their current licenses, the Janesville, Beloit, 
Rockton, and Dixon Projects all operate in a run-of-river mode, such 
that outflow approximates inflow to each project.
    Janesville Project--Midwest Hydro maintains the elevation of the 
Janesville Reservoir between 769.1 feet NGVD 29 and 769.8 feet NGVD 29 
under normal operating conditions. Midwest Hydro provides a minimum 
flow of 35 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, over the spillway by 
maintaining a minimum elevation of 769.1 feet NGVD 29 in the

[[Page 48241]]

Janesville Reservoir. The Janesville Project is operated manually.
    Beloit Project--Midwest Hydro maintains the elevation of the Beloit 
Reservoir between 744.4 feet NGVD 29 and 745.0 feet NGVD 29 under 
normal operating conditions. There is no minimum flow requirement at 
the Beloit Project. However, when inflow to the project is less than 
the turbine's minimum hydraulic capacity of 500 cfs, all flow is passed 
downstream. The Beloit Project is equipped with an auto-gate that 
operates based on reservoir elevation levels.
    Rockton Project--Midwest Hydro maintains the elevation of the 
Rockton Reservoir at 725.48 feet NGVD 29 under normal operating 
conditions and provides a minimum flow of 300 cfs or inflow, whichever 
is less, into the Rockton bypassed reach. The Rockton Project is 
operated manually.
    Dixon Project--STS Hydro maintains a minimum one-inch veiling flow 
(i.e., no less than 50 cfs) over the Dixon overflow dam or, when in 
place, the flashboards. The Dixon Project is operated manually or via a 
programmable logic controller (PLC), which maintains water levels in 
Dixon Reservoir.
    Midwest Hydro and STS Hydro propose to continue operating the 
Janesville, Beloit, Rockton, and Dixon Projects with the following 
environmental measures: (1) operate each project in a run-of-river 
mode, such that outflow at each project approximates inflow to each 
project impoundment; (2) develop an operations monitoring plan for each 
project to document compliance with the operational requirements of any 
subsequent or new license, including reservoir elevations and minimum 
flow requirements; (3) provide a 35 cfs minimum flow or inflow, 
whichever is less, over the Janesville spillway to protect downstream 
aquatic resources in the Rock River; (4) provide a 300 cfs minimum flow 
or inflow, whichever is less, over the Rockton spillway to protect 
downstream aquatic resources in the Rock River; (5) provide a 1-inch 
veiling flow (i.e., no less than 50 cfs) or inflow, whichever is less, 
over the Dixon spillway or, when in place, the flashboards to protect 
downstream aquatic resources in the Rock River; (6) develop a rapid 
response aquatic invasive species monitoring plan for the Rockton 
Project; (7) avoid tree removal (greater than 3-inch diameter at breast 
height from April 1 to October 15, which is the active season for the 
Indiana and northern long-eared bats), unless the tree poses a 
significant human health safety hazard, for the protection of the 
Indiana and northern long-eared bats; (8) maintain existing recreation 
facilities; and (9) develop and implement a Historic Properties 
Management Plan and Programmatic Agreement to protect and mitigate 
effects to historic properties.
    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. 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.
    You may also register at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to these or other pending projects. For assistance, please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected].
    n. Scoping Process
    Commission staff will prepare either a multi-project environmental 
assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) that 
describes and evaluates the probable effects, if any, of the 
applicants' proposed action and alternatives. The EA or EIS will 
consider environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed action. The Commission's scoping process will help determine 
the required level of analysis and satisfy the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the 
Commission prepares an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not anticipate 
holding on-site public or agency scoping meetings. 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 July 20, 2023.
    Copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the 
NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing lists and the applicants' distribution lists. Copies of SD1 may 
be viewed on the web at https://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: July 20, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-15844 Filed 7-25-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P