[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 221 (Friday, November 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80290-80291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25433]



[[Page 80290]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[GDO Docket No. PP-481-3]


Application To Amend Presidential Permit; CHPE LLC

AGENCY: Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: CHPE LLC (the Applicant) has filed an application to amend 
Presidential Permit No. PP-481-2. CHPE LLC is requesting the amendment 
to allow for a singular modification to the previously permitted route.

DATES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be submitted on 
or before December 4, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or motions to intervene should be 
addressed to Christina Gomer, [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christina Gomer, Grid Deployment 
Office (GD-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20585, by phone at (240) 474-2403, or by email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued by the Secretary of Energy pursuant to 
Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as amended by E.O. 12038. On April 10, 
2023, the authority to issue such permits was delegated to the DOE's 
Grid Deployment Office by Delegation Order No. S1-DEL-S3-2023 and 
Redelegation Order No. S3-DEL-GD1-2023.
    On October 6, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued 
Presidential Permit No. PP-362, authorizing Champlain Hudson Power 
Express, Inc. (CHPEI) to construct, operate, maintain, and connect the 
Champlain Hudson Power Express Project (Project). As described in PP-
362, the Project is a 1,000-megawatt (MW), high-voltage direct current 
(HVDC), underground and underwater merchant transmission system that 
will cross the United States-Canada international border underwater 
near the Town of Champlain, New York, extend approximately 336 miles 
south through New York State, and interconnect to facilities located in 
Queens County, New York, owned by the Consolidated Edison Company of 
New York. The aquatic segments of the transmission line will primarily 
be buried in sediments of Lake Champlain and the Hudson, Harlem, and 
East rivers. The terrestrial portions of the transmission line will 
primarily be buried within existing road and railroad rights-of-way.
    On July 21, 2020, DOE issued Presidential Permit PP-481 
transferring the facilities authorized in PP-362 to CHPE LLC at the 
request of CHPEI and CHPE LLC.
    On April 30, 2021, DOE issued Presidential Permit No. PP-481-1, 
amending CHPE LLC's permit to incorporate proposed revisions to the 
Project route and authorizing the increase in the Project's capacity 
from 1,000 MW to 1,250 MW.
    On March 22, 2022, DOE issued Presidential Permit No. PP-481-2, 
amending CHPE LLC's permit to further clarify the maximum non-
simultaneous rate of transmission to account for anticipated line 
losses.
    On November 8, 2023, CHPE LLC filed an application (Application or 
App.) with the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) of the DOE, as required by 
regulations at 10 CFR 205.320 et seq., requesting that DOE amend 
Presidential Permit No. PP-481-2 to allow for a singular change in the 
route previously permitted. The proposed route modification would occur 
in the area referred to as the ``Harlem Rail Yard Alternative.'' App. 
at 4. CHPE LLC indicates that ``[e]xtensive geotechnical investigations 
have revealed two critical geological formations that make the current 
[horizontal directional drill] launch area location infeasible.'' Id. 
at 5. Therefore, CHPE LLC has identified alternate horizontal 
directional drill (HDD) entry and exit points, as well as a temporary 
staging area. The newly proposed route is ``approximately 1,000 feet 
away from the existing launch site in an area along the northern border 
of Randall's Island adjacent to the Bronx Kill and existing route 
(Proposed HDD Site) as depicted in Figure 2 [of the App.]'' Id. at 6.
    In issuing the amendments in PP-481-1, DOE previously considered a 
route modification in the Harlem Rail Yard area, among others. Notice 
of the amendment application associated with PP-481-1 was published in 
the Federal Register on October 5, 2020 (85 FR 62721) with a 30-day 
comment period. DOE received no comments in response to this notice.
    Given the relatively small size of the singular modification, the 
analysis conducted by DOE in the subject area in its prior assessments, 
and the previous opportunities given to the public to comment on that 
analysis in response to proposed changes to the permit, DOE has 
determined that a 15-day comment period is appropriate for this 
Application.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at [email protected]. Any person 
seeking to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to 
intervene at [email protected], in accordance with Rule 
214 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Each comment or motion to intervene should 
be filed with DOE on or before the date listed above, should be clearly 
marked with Docket No. PP-481-3, and addressed to 
[email protected]. Additional copies are to be provided 
directly to Mr. Jay T. Ryan, Baker Botts LLP, 700 K Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20001, [email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE will consider the environmental impacts of the 
proposed action (i.e., granting the Presidential permit or amendment, 
with any conditions and limitations, or denying the permit), determine 
the proposed project's impact on electric reliability by ascertaining 
whether the proposed project would adversely affect the operation of 
the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and contingency 
conditions, and weigh any other factors that DOE may also consider 
relevant to the public interest. DOE also must obtain the favorable 
recommendation of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential permit application.
    This application may be reviewed or downloaded electronically at 
www.energy.gov/gdo/pending-applications-0.
    Signing Authority: This document of the Department of Energy was 
signed on November 13, 2023, by Maria Robinson, Director, Grid 
Deployment Office, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary 
of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is 
maintained by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance 
with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the 
undersigned DOE Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to 
sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as 
an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative 
process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon 
publication in the Federal Register.


[[Page 80291]]


    Signed in Washington, DC, on November 14, 2023.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2023-25433 Filed 11-16-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P