[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38888-38890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-10039]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2735-104]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Application Tendered 
for Filing With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests 
and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a Deadline for 
Submission of Final Amendments

    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.: 2735-104.
    c. Date Filed: April 18, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
    e. Name of Project: Helms Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: About 50 miles northeast of the city of Fresno, on the 
North Fork Kings River and Helms Creek, in Fresno and Madera Counties, 
California. The project occupies 3,346.6 acres of National Forest 
Service land, 28.36 acres of Bureau of Reclamation land, 0.07 acre of 
Bureau of Land Management land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Dave Gabbard, Vice President Power 
Generation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 300 Lakeside Drive, 
Oakland, CA 94612; telephone at (650) 207-9705; email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams, Project Coordinator, West Branch, 
Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-8138; email at 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues

[[Page 38889]]

that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document 
should follow the instructions for filing such requests described in 
item l below. Cooperating agencies should note the Commission's policy 
that agencies that cooperate in the preparation of the environmental 
document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 61,076 (2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes 
that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to 
form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person 
must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 
days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of 
the request on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: June 17, 2024.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. 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, MD 20852. All filings must clearly 
identify the project name and docket number on the first page: Helms 
Pumped Storage Project (P-2735-104).
    m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. Project Description: The Helms Pumped Storage Project (project) 
includes: (1) a 132-foot-long, by 89-foot-wide, by 58.5-foot-high 
concrete intake-discharge structure (Courtright Intake-Discharge 
Structure), with metal trash racks, in Courtright Lake; (2) one 4,243-
foot-long tunnel (Tunnel 1) composed of two sections: (a) a 3,312-foot-
long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-lined section; and (b) a 931-foot-long, 
22-foot-diameter steel-lined section; (3) a 32.5-foot-long, by 38-foot-
wide, by 45-foot-high gatehouse; (4) a 206-foot-long, 22-foot-diameter, 
above-ground steel pipe that connects Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2; (5) one 
9,016-foot-long tunnel (Tunnel 2) composed of two sections: (a) a 764-
foot-long, 22-foot-diameter steel-lined section; and (b) a 8,252-foot-
long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-lined section; (6) a 600-foot-long adit 
of an unknown diameter, with an adit plug with frame and gate; (7) a 
535-foot-high, vertical shaft surge chamber for Tunnel 2 with a 47-
foot-diameter lower section and 60-foot-diameter upper section, with 12 
feet of the chamber exposed above grade; (8) a 2,205-foot-long penstock 
composed of three sections: (a) a 1,070-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter 
concrete-lined section; (b) a 300-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-
lined section; and (c) a 330-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-lined 
manifold section, that branches into three, 505-foot-long steel-lined 
penstocks, that reduce in diameter from 15.5 feet, to 11.5 feet, to 
10.5 feet until connecting to the turbine-generator; (9) a 336-foot-
long, by 83-foot-wide, by 125-foot-high excavated rock chamber 
underground powerhouse that includes three, 360-megawatt (MW) vertical 
Francis-type pump-turbine units, for a total installed capacity of 
1,080 MW, and three, vertical indoor generators with an approximate 
total nameplate capacity of 1,212 MW; (10) a 3,727-foot-long, 27-foot-
diameter concrete-lined tunnel (Tunnel 3); (11) a 984-foot-tall, 
vertical shaft surge chamber for Tunnel 3 with a 27-foot-diameter lower 
section and a 44-foot-diameter upper section that transitions into a 
10-foot-diameter air shaft topped by a 10-foot-tall, 14-foot-diameter 
protective device above grade; (12) an 88-foot-long, by 78-foot-wide, 
by 51-foot-high concrete intake-discharge structure (Wishon Intake-
Discharge Structure), with metal trash racks, in Lake Wishon; (13) a 
220-foot by- 265-foot above ground, fenced switchyard; (14) an 
underground transformer bank of 10 transformers with a capacity of 
150,000 kilo-volt-amperes each; (15) a 3,723-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, 
25-foot-high powerhouse access tunnel; and (16) appurtenant facilities.
    Although the project facilities do not include any dam or 
reservoir, PG&E operates the project for power generation using 
Courtright Lake (upper reservoir) and Lake Wishon (lower reservoir), 
impounded by Courtright Dam and Wishon Dam, respectively, which are 
licensed project facilities of the Hass-Kings River Hydroelectric 
Project (Project No. P-1988). Courtright Lake has a usable storage area 
of approximately 123,184 acre-feet and normal maximum and minimum water 
surface elevations of 8,184 feet and 8,050 feet, respectively. Lake 
Wishon has a usable storage area of approximately 128,606 acre-feet and 
normal maximum and minimum water surface elevations of 6,550 feet and 
6,428.9 feet, respectively. To generate power, water is released from 
Courtright Lake through the Courtright Intake-Discharge Structure, 
Tunnel 1, Tunnel 2, and the penstock, into the powerhouse and is 
discharged through Tunnel 3 and the Wishon Intake-Discharge Structure 
into Lake Wishon. During periods of low energy demand, water is pumped 
through these project facilities in reverse (i.e., from Lake Wishon to 
Courtright Lake).
    The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid 
by: (1) an underground transformer bank of 10 transformers with a 
capacity of 150,000 kilo-volt-amperes each; (2) a 220-foot by- 265-foot 
above ground, fenced switchyard; and (3) a 60.7-mile-long, double-
circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line that connects the Helms 
switchyard to PG&E's interconnection point with the grid at the non-
project Gregg Substation. The project also includes an approximately 
1.8-mile-long, 21-kV distribution line from the non-project Woodchuck 
Substation to the Helms Headquarters and Helms Powerhouse and an 
approximately 2-mile-long, 21-kV distribution line from the non-project 
Woodchuck Substation to the Helms Support Facility and non-project 
Wishon Village Recreational Vehicle Park.
    The project also includes: (1) the Helms Headquarters facility with 
ancillary facilities; (2) the Helms Support Facility with ancillary 
facilities; (3) project recreation facilities including the: (a) 
Courtright Boat Launch; (b) Trapper Springs Campground; (c) Marmot Rock 
Campground; (d) Wee-Mee-Kute Fishing Access; (e) Wishon Boat Launch; 
(f) Lily Pad Campground; (g) Upper Kings River Group Campground; (h) 
Wishon Dam Fishing Access; (i) Short Hair Creek Fishing Access; (j) 
Coolidge Meadow Fishing Access; (k) Helms Picnic Area; (l) Upper Kings 
River Fishing Access, and their ancillary facilities and amenities; (3) 
an approximately 80-acre Wildlife Habitat Management Area; (4) three, 
approximately 87-foot-diameter asphalt-surfaced helicopter landing 
pads; (5) 36.45 miles of non-recreation, vehicular project roads and 
trails; and (6) 1.08 miles of non-recreation, pedestrian project 
trails.
    In generating mode, each pump-turbine unit has a rated capacity of 
3,400 cubic feet per second (cfs), at the

[[Page 38890]]

design head of 1,625 feet. The maximum hydraulic capacity of the 
powerhouse in generating mode when all three units are operating at or 
near full load is 10,500 cfs. In pumping mode, each pump-turbine has a 
rated capacity of 2,400 cfs at a design head of 1,500 feet, with a 
total maximum capacity of 7,350 cfs and 7,530 cfs. The average annual 
energy production of the project from 2015 through 2020 was 736.6 
gigawatt-hours.
    The current license requires PG&E to maintain water levels as high 
as possible, to the extent consistent with efficient project operation, 
in Courtright Lake on weekends during the recreation season for the 
benefit of recreational use at the lake, and to coordinate operational 
use of Courtright Lake and Lake Wishon with its Haas-Kings River 
Hydroelectric Project No. 1988 (Haas-Kings River Project). PG&E 
currently maintains the surface elevation of the impoundment between 
363.5 feet and 364.0 feet BCD, with a normal impoundment elevation of 
363.8 feet BCD. PG&E currently coordinates operation of the project 
with its Haas-Kings River Hydroelectric Project No. 1988 and Balch 
Hydroelectric Project No. 175.
    PG&E proposes to continue operating the project in a manner that is 
consistent with current operation. Additionally, PG&E proposes the 
following plans and measures to protect and enhance environmental 
resources: (1) Recreation Management Plan; (2) Coordination Between P-
2735 and P-1988; (3) Biological Resources Management Plan; (4) 
Hazardous Substance Plan; (5) Ownership of P-2735 and/or P-1988; (6) 
Visual Resources Management; (7) Fire Management and Response Plan; (8) 
Transportation System Management; (9) Historic Properties Management 
Plan; and (10) Supplemental Fish Stocking.
    PG&E proposes to modify the existing project boundary to encompass 
all facilities necessary for operation and maintenance of the project. 
Conversely, PG&E proposes to modify the boundary to remove lands and 
facilities from the existing project boundary that are not necessary 
for operation and maintenance of the project. PG&E proposes to modify 
the project boundary around the Haas-Kings River Project's Courtright 
Lake and Lake Wishon to remove land from the boundary around the 
reservoirs that is not required for project operations and maintenance. 
PG&E also proposes to modify the project boundary around: Trapper 
Springs Campground; Marmot Rock Water Pipe Access Road; Lost Canyon 
Pipe; Lost Canyon Crossing Road; Helms Switchyard; Haas 21-kV 
distribution line #1; Helms Headquarters, including water tank and 
water tank access road; Lily Pad Campground; and numerous project 
access roads and trails. With these proposed changes, the area of PG&E-
owned land within the project boundary will decrease to 807.74 acres, 
and federal lands will decrease to 2,918.42 acres. The area of private 
lands encompassed by the project boundary will increase to 583.1 acres.
    o. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) via 
the internet through the Commission's Home Page (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 (P-
4113). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected], 
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
    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.
    p. 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].
    q. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate.

Issue Deficiency Letter and Request Additional Information--June 2024
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments--August 2024
Request Additional Information (if necessary)--September 2024
Issue Acceptance Letter--September 2024
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if necessary)--November 2024
Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis--November 2024

    r. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: May 2, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-10039 Filed 5-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P