[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4298-4299]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01139]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2715-026]


Kaukauna Utilities; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental 
Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and 
Conditions, and Prescriptions

    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.: 2715-026.
    c. Date Filed: July 22, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Kaukauna Utilities (Kaukauna).
    e. Name of Project: Combined Locks Hydroelectric Project (Combined 
Locks Project or project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Lower Fox River 
in the Village of Combined Locks and the Village of Little Chute, 
Outagamie County, Wisconsin.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Zachary Moureau, Environmental & Compliance 
Manager, Kaukauna Utilities, 777 Island Street, Kaukauna, WI 54130-
7077; (920) 462-0238; wi.org">zmoureau@ku-wi.org.
    i. FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott at (202) 502-6480, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this 
notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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: 
Debbie-Anne Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-
Anne Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. All filings must 
clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: 
Combined Locks Hydroelectric Project (P-2715-026).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors 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 
intervenor 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. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. Project Description: The Combined Locks Project includes a 
719.7-foot-long concrete and cyclopean stone dam that includes: (1) a 
2.6-foot-long north abutment; (2) a 183-foot-long, 27-foot-high non-
overflow section; (3) a 182-foot-long, 30.4-foot-high section with 
seven bays that each contain a 20-foot-wide, 15.5-foot-high Tainter 
gate; (4) a 286.1-foot-long, 23.2-foot-high spillway section with: (a) 
1.9-foot-high flashboards; (b) a crest elevation of 676.50 feet 
International Great Lakes Datum of 1985 (IGLD 85) at the top of the 
flashboards; (c) an 11.7-foot-wide, 2.7-foot-high ice sluice gate; and 
(d) a 7.3-foot-wide, 2.7-foot-high debris sluice gate; (5) a 65-foot-
long, 36.1-foot-high intake structure with two 20-foot-wide, 19.7-foot-
high sluice gates each equipped with a 30.3-foot-wide, 31.8-foot-high 
trashrack with 3.5-inch clear bar spacing; and (6) a 1-foot-long south 
abutment. The dam creates an impoundment that has a surface area of 
approximately 127 acres at an elevation of 677.79 feet IGLD 85.
    From the impoundment, water flows through the intake structure to a 
130-foot-long, 65-foot-wide concrete powerhouse that contains two 3.1-
megawatt (MW) Kaplan turbine-generator units, for a total installed 
capacity of 6.2 MW. Water is discharged from the turbines to an 
approximately 250-foot-long, 160-foot-wide tailrace.
    The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid 
by: (1) a 265-foot-long, 4.16-kilovolt (kV) above-ground generator lead 
line; (2) a 4.16/12.47-kV step-up transformer approximately 200 feet 
west of the powerhouse; and (3) a 1,442-foot-long, 12.47-kV 
transmission line that connects to a non-project substation, and that 
includes a 1,059-foot-long above-ground segment and a 383-foot-long 
underground segment. The project includes a 10-foot-long, 7.2-foot-wide 
electrical control building located at the south side of the 182-foot-
long section of the dam.

[[Page 4299]]

    The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are 
715 and 5,400 cubic feet per second, respectively. The average annual 
energy production of the Combined Locks Project from 2014 through 2020 
was 42,744 megawatt-hours.
    The current license requires Kaukauna to minimize impoundment 
fluctuations by operating the project in a run-of-river mode, such that 
project outflow approximates the ``instantaneous sum of all inflow.'' 
Kaukauna maintains the surface elevation of the impoundment between 
675.74 and 677.79 feet IGLD 85.
    Kaukauna proposes to continue operating the project in a run-of-
river mode and maintaining the surface elevation of the impoundment 
between 675.74 and 677.79 feet IGLD 85. Kaukauna also proposes to: (1) 
continue to dispose of large woody debris and trash collected from the 
trashracks; (2) implement invasive species monitoring every 2 years, 
and manage species categorized as ``prohibited'' by the Wisconsin 
Department of Natural Resources if observed in the project boundary; 
and (3) evaluate the project dam for National Register of Historic 
Places eligibility.
    m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website 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, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (2) set forth in the heading the 
name of the applicant and the project number of the application to 
which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone 
number of the person submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply 
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must 
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the 
application directly from the applicant. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    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].
    You may also register online 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, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    n. The applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date 
of issuance of this notice: (1) a copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; 
or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.
    o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of Comments, Recommendations,      March 2024.
 Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments................  April 2024.
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    Dated: January 16, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-01139 Filed 1-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P