[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 41 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14824-14825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04176]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1904-078]


Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To 
Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis, and 
Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, 
and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions; Great River Hydro, LLC

    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.: 1904-078.
    c. Date Filed: May 1, 2017; material amendment filed December 7, 
2020.
    d. Applicant: Great River Hydro, LLC (Great River Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Vernon Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: The project is located on the Connecticut River in 
Windham County, Vermont, and Cheshire County, New Hampshire.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: John Ragonese, FERC License Manager, Great 
River Hydro, LLC, 40 Pleasant Street, Suite 202, Portsmouth, NH 03801; 
(603) 498-2851 or [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 502-6131 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
fishway 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 
motions to intervene and protests, 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 A. 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 A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first 
page of any filing should include docket number P-1904-078.
    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 and is ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Project Description: The Vernon Project consists of: (1) a 956-
foot-long, 58-foot-high concrete dam that includes: (a) 356-foot-long 
section integral to the powerhouse; and (b) a 600-foot-long overflow 
spillway section that includes: (i) a 9-foot-high, 6-foot-wide 
downstream fishway sluice; (ii) a 13-foot-high, 13-foot-wide trash/ice 
sluice; (iii) two 20-foot-high, 50-foot-wide tainter gates; (iv) four 
10-foot-high, 50-foot-wide tainter gates; (v) two 10-foot-high, 50-
foot-wide hydraulic panel bays; (vi) two 10-foot-high, 50-foot-wide 
stanchion bays; (vii) a 10-foot-high, 42.5-foot-wide stanchion bay; and 
(viii) eight 7-foot-high, 9-foot-wide hydraulic flood gates; (2) a 26-
mile-long, 2,550-acre impoundment with a useable storage volume of 
18,300 acre-feet between elevations 212.13 and 220.13 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (3) eight approximately 30-
foot-high trashracks with 1.75-inch clear bar spacing and two 
approximately 30-foot-high trashracks with 3.625-inch clear bar 
spacing; (4) a 356-foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 45-foot-high reinforced 
concrete, steel, and brick powerhouse containing four 2-megawatt (MW) 
vertical Francis turbine-generator units, four 4-MW vertical Kaplan 
turbine-generator units, and two 4.2-MW vertical Francis turbine-
generator units, for a total project capacity of 32.4 MW; (5) ten 
concrete draft tubes ranging from 16 to 27 feet in diameter; (6) a 500-
foot-long, 13.8-kilovolt underground generator lead that connects the 
turbine-generator units to two step-up transformers; (7) a

[[Page 14825]]

984-foot-long, 15-foot-wide upstream fishway; and (8) appurtenant 
facilities.
    Great River Hydro operates the project in a peaking mode in 
coordination with its upstream Wilder Project No. 1892 and Bellows 
Falls Project No. 1855. Average annual generation is approximately 
158,028 MW-hours. Great River Hydro is proposing changes to project 
operation that would reduce impoundment fluctuations and increase the 
stability of downstream flow releases relative to current project 
operation, including targeted water surface elevation levels and flow 
ramping rates. Great River Hydro also proposes several protection, 
mitigation, and enhancement measures for aquatic, terrestrial, 
cultural, recreation resources, and threatened and endangered species. 
The specific proposed changes are described in the amended application 
and the settlement agreement filed on August 4, 2022.
    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.
    n. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action 
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments 
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with 
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any 
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
    All filings must: (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST,'' ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' 
``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or 
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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. A copy of any protest or 
motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the 
applicant specified in the particular application. A copy of all other 
filings in reference to this application 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.
    o. 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.
    p. 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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Deadline for filing motions to intervene,   April 2024.
 protests, comments, recommendations,
 preliminary terms and conditions, and
 preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Deadline for filing reply comments........  May 2024.
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    q. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.

    Dated: February 22, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04176 Filed 2-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P