[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 118 (Tuesday, June 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51515-51517]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-13395]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3255-016]


Lyonsdale Associates, LLC; 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.: 3255-016.
    c. Date Filed: May 29, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Lyonsdale Associates, LLC (Lyonsdale Associates).
    e. Name of Project: Lyonsdale Hydroelectric Project (Lyonsdale 
Project or project).
    f. Location: On the Moose River in Lewis County, New York.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: David H. Fox, Senior Director, Regulatory 
Affairs, Lyonsdale Associates, LLC, c/o Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, 
LLC, 7315 Wisconsin Ave., Suite 1100W, Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone at 
(201) 306-5616; email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes 
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-6480; 
email at [email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues 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: July 28, 2024.
    Pursuant to 18 CFR 385.2007(a)(2), the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure provide that if a filing deadline falls on a 
Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other day when the Commission is closed 
for business, the filing deadline does not end until the close of 
business on the next business day.
    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.

[[Page 51516]]

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: 
Lyonsdale Hydroelectric Project (P-3255-016).
    m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. Project Description: The Lyonsdale Project includes a dam that 
consists of: (1) a concrete intake structure with two 10.5-foot-long, 
8.5-foot-high sluice gates that are equipped with a trashrack with 2.6-
inch clear bar spacing; (2) an approximately 100-foot-long concrete 
non-overflow section with a 5-foot-long, 5-foot-high aluminum debris 
sluice gate and a non-operational 4-foot-long, 4-foot-high sluice gate; 
(3) a 149-foot-long overflow concrete section that includes: (a) a 7-
foot-long south abutment; (b) an 85.3-foot-long spillway with 3-foot-
high flashboards that have a crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Dam of 1929 (NGVD 29); (c) a 4-foot-long pier; (d) a 
20.5-foot-long, 6-foot-high Pelican gate; (e) a 3.7-foot-long pier; (f) 
a 21.5-foot-long spillway with 1.7-foot-high flashboards that have a 
crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 29; and (g) a 7-foot-long north 
abutment; (4) a 39.5-foot-long overflow concrete section that includes: 
(a) a 4-foot-long south abutment; (b) a 33.5-foot-long spillway with 3-
foot-high flashboards that have a crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 
29; and (c) a 2-foot-long north abutment; (5) an approximately 185-
foot-long earthen embankment; and (6) a 48-foot-long overflow concrete 
section that includes: (a) a 5-foot-long south abutment; (b) a 38-foot-
long spillway section with 3-foot-high flashboards that have a crest 
elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 29; and (c) a 5-foot-long north 
abutment.
    The dam creates an impoundment that has a surface area of 9 acres 
at the flashboard crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 29. The 
impoundment includes a 100-foot-long, 35-foot-wide, 24-foot-deep 
concrete-lined forebay that is formed by: (1) a 100-foot-long retaining 
wall on the south bank of the impoundment; (2) the intake structure of 
the dam; and (3) the 100-foot-long non-overflow section of the dam. 
From the forebay, water flows through the south sluice gate of the 
intake structure to a 52-foot-long, 8.7-foot-diameter steel penstock, 
and through the north sluice gate of the intake structure to a 26-foot-
long, 8.7-foot-diameter steel penstock. The penstocks convey water to 
two 1.5-megawatt (MW) vertical Kaplan turbine-generator units located 
in a 35-foot-wide, 58-foot-long concrete and masonry powerhouse that 
has a total installed capacity of 3 MW. Water is discharged from the 
turbines through draft tubes to an approximately 450-foot-long, 70-
foot-wide tailrace channel that discharges to the Moose River.
    The project creates the following bypassed reach segments: (1) an 
approximately 200-foot-long southern segment downstream of the 149-
foot-long and 39.5-foot-long overflow sections of the dam; and (2) an 
approximately 70-foot-long segment downstream of the 48-foot-long 
overflow section of the dam that bifurcates into: (a) an approximately 
350-foot-long middle segment that discharges approximately 100 feet 
downstream of the powerhouse; and (b) an approximately 580-foot-long 
northern segment that discharges approximately 450 feet downstream of 
the powerhouse.
    The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid 
by two 400-foot-long (300 feet underground, 100 feet above ground), 
4.16-kilovolt (kV) generator lead lines and a 4.16/115-kV step-up 
transformer. The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the 
powerhouse are 260 and 1,240 cubic feet per second (cfs), respectively. 
The average annual energy production of the project from 2016 through 
2023, was 10,745 megawatt-hours.
    The current license requires the implementation of a December 1, 
1986 recreation plan that includes: (1) a trail on the north shoreline 
of the impoundment, which is shown as a 1,000-foot-long ``North Shore 
Recreation Trail'' in the license application; (2) a trail that extends 
from the north shoreline of the impoundment to the downstream reach of 
the Moose River, which according to the license application is 1,000 
feet long and serves as a portage route; (3) a trail on the south 
shoreline of the impoundment, which according to the license 
application, has not been constructed; (4) a parking area between the 
39.5-foot-long and 48-foot-long overflow sections of the dam; and (5) 
signage associated with the project recreation facilities.
    Non-project recreation facilities within the project boundary 
include: (1) a hand-carry boat access site on the north shoreline of 
the impoundment that is associated with the project portage route; (2) 
a picnic area on the north shoreline of the impoundment that includes a 
picnic table and trash can; (3) a hand-carry boat access site at the 
end of the project portage route, approximately 580 feet downstream of 
the dam; and (4) a parking area, informational signage, and shoreline 
access for anglers on the south shoreline of the impoundment (referred 
to in the license application as ``South Bank Recreation Area'').
    The current license requires Lyonsdale Associates to operate the 
project in a run-of-river mode, such that project outflow approximates 
inflow. Under normal operating conditions, Lyonsdale Associates 
maintains the surface elevation of the impoundment at the flashboard 
crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 29.
    Lyonsdale Associates proposes to continue to operate the project in 
a run-of-river mode and maintain the surface elevation of the 
impoundment at the flashboard crest elevation of 1,065.9 feet NGVD 29. 
Lyonsdale Associates also proposes to: (1) release a minimum flow of 33 
cfs or inflow, whichever is less, from the 48-foot-long overflow 
section of the dam to the middle and northern segments of the bypassed 
reach from April 1 through November 30; (2) implement an Invasive 
Species Management Plan and a Bat and Eagle Management Plan filed in 
Appendix C of Volume 1 of the license application; (3) consult with the 
New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) on the need for 
measures prior to any ground-disturbing activities; and (4) stop work 
and consult with the New York SHPO on the need for measures if 
archaeological remains or historical sites are discovered during any 
future construction activities at the project.
    Lyonsdale Associates proposes to operate and maintain the following 
facilities as project recreation facilities: the North Shore Recreation 
Trail; the picnic area on the north shoreline of the impoundment; the 
portage route the parking area between the overflow sections of the 
dam; and the South Bank Recreation Area. In addition, Lyonsdale 
Associates proposes to update and maintain project recreation signs, 
and install barriers to deter all-terrain vehicle (ATV) access to 
project recreation sites.
    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

[[Page 51517]]

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-3255). 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--July 2024
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments--September 2024
Request Additional Information (if necessary)--November 2024
Issue Acceptance Letter--November 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: June 12, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-13395 Filed 6-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P