[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 46 (Thursday, March 7, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16550-16551]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04809]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4472-031]


Union Falls Hydropower, L.P.; 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.: 4472-031.
    c. Date Filed: June 30, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Union Falls Hydropower, L.P. (Union Falls).
    e. Name of Project: Saranac Hydroelectric Project (Saranac Project 
or project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Saranac River 
in Franklin and Clinton Counties, New York.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Sherri Loon, Coordinator--Operations USA, 
Kruger Energy, 423 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner, ME 04345; phone: (207) 
203-3026; email: [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Joshua Dub at (202) 502-8138, 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 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. All filings must 
clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: 
Saranac Hydroelectric Project (P-4472-031).
    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 Saranac Project includes a 520.5-foot-
long concrete dam that includes: (1) a 198-foot-long west abutment; (2) 
a 36.5-foot-long, 29.7-foot-high intake structure with two 15.25-foot-
wide, 14.62-foot-high headgates that each control flow to a 10.5-foot-
wide, 8-foot-high intake opening equipped with a 12-foot-wide, 25-foot-
high trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (3) a 151-foot-long, 24-
foot-high section with a 147-foot-long ogee spillway with 1-foot-high 
flashboards that have a crest elevation of 1,409.49 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Dam of 1929 (NGVD 29), and two 5-foot-wide, 5-foot-
high low-level outlet gates; and (4) a 135-foot-long east abutment. The 
dam creates an impoundment that has a surface area of approximately 
1,630 acres at an elevation of 1409.49 feet NGVD 29.
    From the impoundment, water flows through the intake structure to a 
1,433-foot-long, 11-foot-diameter steel penstock that bifurcates into 
two 71-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter gated sections. The penstock is 
equipped with a 30-foot-high, 2.5-foot-diameter surge vent that is 
located in a 15-foot-wide, 15-foot-long wooden vent house located 
approximately 550 feet downstream of the intake structure.
    The penstock conveys water to two 1.3-megawatt (MW) horizontal 
Kaplan turbine-generator units located in an approximately 62-foot-
wide, 40-foot-long concrete and masonry powerhouse that has a total 
installed capacity of 2.6 MW. Water is discharged from the turbines 
through draft tubes to an approximately 50-foot-long tailrace that 
discharges to the Saranac River. The project creates an approximately 
1,840-foot-long bypassed reach.
    The project includes a 36.5-foot-wide, 17-foot-high intake 
gatehouse at the

[[Page 16551]]

intake structure. The project generators are connected to the regional 
electric grid by a 90-foot-long, 4.16-kilovolt (kV) underground 
transmission line and a 4.16/46-kV step-up transformer. There are no 
project recreation facilities.
    The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are 
100 and 710 cubic feet per second (cfs), respectively. The average 
annual energy production of the Saranac Project from 2017 through 2023 
was 783 megawatt-hours.
    The current license requires Union Falls to install flashboards 
annually by the first week of June, unless flow conditions warrant 
otherwise. From October through May, the license requires Union Falls 
to maintain the surface elevation of the impoundment at the spillway 
crest elevation of 1,408.49 feet NGVD 29, with a maximum daily drawdown 
of 3 inches and a maximum total drawdown of 6 inches below the crest. 
From June through September, the license requires Union Falls to 
maintain the surface elevation of the impoundment at the flashboard 
crest elevation of 1,409.49 feet NGVD 29, with a maximum daily drawdown 
of 3 inches and a maximum total drawdown of 6 inches below the crest.
    The current license requires the following minimum flow releases 
from the project dam: (1) 30 cfs from April 1 through June 30; and (2) 
10 cfs from July 1 through March 31. The current license also requires 
a minimum flow of 165 cfs or inflow to the impoundment, whichever is 
less, from the project to the Saranac River downstream of the tailrace, 
including the minimum flow releases from the project dam. Union Falls 
releases the minimum bypassed reach flows through the low-level outlet 
gates in the project dam.
    Union Falls does not propose to add any new project facilities or 
make any changes to the project boundary.
    On August 3, 2023, Union Falls filed a Settlement Agreement for the 
project's relicense proceeding, on behalf of itself; the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service; the New York State Department of Environmental 
Conservation; and Trout Unlimited. As part of the Settlement Agreement, 
Union Falls proposes to: (1) operate the project in a run-of-river 
mode, such that outflow from the project approximates inflow to the 
impoundment at any given time and the surface elevation of the 
impoundment is maintained within 1 inch of the crest of the spillway or 
flashboards, if present; (2) release a year-round minimum flow of 50 
cfs or inflow to the impoundment, whichever is less, from the project 
dam to the bypassed reach; (3) release a minimum flow of 165 cfs or 
inflow to the impoundment, whichever is less, to the Saranac River 
downstream of the tailrace, including minimum flow releases from the 
project dam; (4) continue to maintain 1-inch trashracks to protect 
fish; (5) develop an operation compliance monitoring plan; (6) install 
directional signage for the canoe portage trail and tailrace parking 
area; and (7) implement the following plans filed with the Settlement 
Agreement: Bald Eagle Management Plan, Invasive Species Management 
Plan, and Impoundment Drawdown Plan.
    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,      April 2024.
 Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments................  June 2024.
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    Dated: February 29, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04809 Filed 3-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P