[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 41 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14821-14822]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04178]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1889-085]


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; FirstLight MA 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.: 1889-085.
    c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016; material amendment filed December 4, 
2020.
    d. Applicant: FirstLight MA Hydro LLC (FirstLight).
    e. Name of Project: Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: The project is located on the Connecticut River in 
Windham County, Vermont, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and Franklin 
County, Massachusetts. The current project boundary includes the 
approximately 20-acre Silvio Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory, which is 
administered by the U.S. Geological Survey.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Alan Douglass, Regulatory Compliance 
Manager, 99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA 01360; (413) 659-4416 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-1889-085.
    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 Turners Falls Project consists of: (1) 
a 630-foot-long, 35-foot-high dam (Montague dam) that includes: (a) 
four 120-foot-wide, 13.25-foot-high bascule gates; and (b) a 170-foot-
long fixed section with a crest elevation of 185.5 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (2) a 493-foot-long, 55-
foot-high dam (Gill dam) that includes: (a) three 40-foot-wide, 39-
foot-high tainter gates; and (b) 97.3- and 207.5-foot-long fixed 
sections with crest elevations of 185.5 feet NGVD 29; (3) a 2,110-acre 
impoundment with a useable storage volume of 16,150 acre-feet between 
elevations 176.0 feet and 185.0 feet NGVD 29; (4) a 214-foot-long, 33-
foot-high gatehouse that includes six 9-foot-wide, 10.66-foot-high 
gates and nine 9.5-foot-wide, 12.6-foot-high gates; (5) a 2.1-mile-
long, 120- to 920-foot-wide, 17- to 30-foot-deep power canal; (6) a 
700-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, 16- to 23-foot-deep branch canal; (7) the 
Station No.1 generating facility that includes: (a) eight 15-foot-wide 
bays with trashracks with 2.625-inch clear-bar spacing; (b) four 100-
foot-long, 13.1- to 14-foot-diameter penstocks; (c) a 134-foot-long, 
64-foot-wide powerhouse that contains five turbine-generator units with 
a total installed capacity of 5.693 megawatts (MW); (d) four 21-foot-
long, 6.5-foot-diameter draft tubes; (e) five 40- to 70-foot-long, 2.4-
kilovolt (kV) generator leads that connect the turbine-generator units 
to a generator bus; (f) a 110-foot-long, 2.4-kV generator lead that 
connects the generator bus to a substation; and (g) a 20-foot-long, 
2.4-kV generator lead that connects the substation to three 
transformers; (8) the Cabot Station generating facility that includes: 
(a) an intake structure with 217-foot-wide, 31-foot-high trashracks 
with 0.94-inch and 3.56-inch clear-bar spacing; (b) six 70-foot-long 
penstocks; (c) a 235-foot-long, 79.5-foot-wide powerhouse that contains 
six turbine-generator units with a total installed capacity of 62.016 
MW; (d) six 41-foot-long, 12.5- to 14.5-foot-diameter draft tubes; (e) 
six 80- to 250-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator leads that connect the 
turbine-generator units to a generator bus; (f) a 60-foot-long, 13.8-kV 
generator lead that connects the generator bus to the powerhouse roof; 
and (g) a 200-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator lead that connects to a 
transformer; (9) eight 13.6-foot-wide, 16.7-foot-high power canal 
spillway gates that are adjacent to Cabot Station; (10) a 16.2-foot-
wide, 13.1-foot-high log sluice gate in the Cabot Station forebay with 
an 8-foot-wide weir for downstream fish passage; (11) a 200-foot-long, 
7-foot-diameter drainage tunnel (Keith Drainage Tunnel) and headgate; 
(12) a 955-foot-long, 5-foot-diameter lower drainage tunnel; (13) an 
850-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 10-foot-high fishway (Cabot fishway); (14) 
a 500-foot-long, 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high fishway (Spillway fishway); 
(15) a 225-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 17.5-foot-high fishway (Gatehouse 
fishway); and (16) appurtenant facilities.
    The Turners Falls Project operates in peaking and run-of-river 
modes, depending on inflows. Average annual generation from 2011-2019 
was approximately 332,351 MW-hours.
    FirstLight proposes three changes to the current project boundary: 
(1) remove 0.2 acre of land associated with residential property; (2) 
add 0.8 acre of land for recreational purposes; and (3) remove 20.1 
acres of land associated with the U.S. Geological Survey's Silvio Conte 
Anadromous Fish Laboratory.
    FirstLight proposes to construct new fish passage facilities and 
recreational access trails. FirstLight also proposes changes to project 
operation that would generally reduce impoundment fluctuations and 
increase flow releases to the portion of the Connecticut River that is 
bypassed by the project. The specific proposed changes are described

[[Page 14822]]

in the amended application and the settlement agreements filed on March 
31, 2023 and June 12, 2023.
    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. 2024-04178 Filed 2-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P