[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