[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77124-77125]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-21483]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2538-102]


Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P.; Notice of Application Tendered 
for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for 
Licensing and 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.: 2538-102.
    c. Date Filed: August 30, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P. (Erie).
    e. Name of Project: Beebee Island Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Black River in Jefferson County, New York.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Steven P. Murphy, Director--U.S. 
Licensing, Brookfield Renewable, 33 West 1st Street South, Fulton, NY 
13069; telephone at (315) 598-6130; email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes 
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (312) 596-4447; 
email at [email protected].
    j. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    Project Description: The Beebee Island Project includes: (1) a 
stone masonry and concrete diversion dam (South Channel Dam); and (2) a 
concrete dam (Beebee Island Dam) that consists of: (a) a 10.5-foot-long 
section with a debris stoplog gate and a 2.4-foot-long sluice gate; (b) 
an 81.5-foot-long, 47.3-foot-wide powerhouse integral with the dam that 
includes: (i) a 71-foot-long intake structure with four sluice gates, a 
skimmer equipped with a stoplog gate, and a trashrack with 2-inch clear 
bar spacing; and (ii) a 3.75-megawatt (MW) vertical propeller turbine-
generator and a 4-MW vertical Kaplan turbine-

[[Page 77125]]

generator, for a total installed capacity of 7.75 MW; (c) an overflow 
section with: (i) a 42-foot-long and 50.5-foot-long spillway, each with 
a 3-foot-high inflatable rubber crest gate with a maximum crest 
elevation of 430.62 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 
88); and (ii) a 97.4-foot-long and 61-foot-long spillway, each with 3-
foot-high flashboards that have a crest elevation of 430.62 feet NAVD 
88; and (d) a 24.7-foot-long north non-overflow section with a 3-foot-
long sluice gate. The dam creates an impoundment that has a surface 
area of 20 acres at 430.62 feet NAVD 88. The south shoreline of the 
impoundment also includes a 450-foot-long retaining/flood wall between 
the South Channel Dam and Beebee Island Dam.
    From the impoundment, water flows through the powerhouse to a 15-
foot-long tailrace. The South Channel Dam creates an approximately 
1,000-foot-long bypassed reach of the Black River. Minimum flows are 
provided to the bypassed reach through a gated, 2-foot-diameter pipe in 
the South Channel Dam.
    The project includes a downstream fish passage facility that 
consists of: (1) the sluice gate adjacent to the intake structure; and 
(2) an 8-foot-wide sluiceway that discharges immediately downstream of 
the powerhouse. The current license requires the licensee to provide a 
boat take-out site upstream of the dam and directional signage to 
downstream boat put-in locations.
    The generators are connected to the regional electric grid by a 
300-foot-long, 4.8-kilovolt underground generator lead line. The 
minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are 200 and 
3,600 cubic feet per second (cfs), respectively. The average annual 
energy production of the project from 2010 through 2020, was 43,768 
megawatt-hours.
    Article 401 of the current license requires Erie to operate the 
project in a run-of-river mode, such that project outflow approximates 
inflow to the impoundment at any point in time and the surface 
elevation of the impoundment is maintained at no lower than 0.5 foot 
below either (1) the spillway crest elevation or (2) the crest of the 
flashboards when in place. Article 404 requires a minimum flow of 14 
cfs to the bypassed reach and Article 403 requires a minimum flow of 
1,000 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, downstream of the project.
    Article 402 requires Erie to install flashboards by May 1, or as 
soon thereafter as safely possible, and to remove the flashboards in 
the fall prior to ice conditions. Article 410 requires Erie to install 
trashrack overlays with 1-inch clear bar spacing at the top half 
portion of the trashracks from May 1 through October 1. Additionally, 
Article 411 requires Erie to release 37 cfs through the downstream fish 
passage facility from April 1 through November 30. The current license 
also requires the implementation of a Flow Monitoring Plan to ensure 
compliance with the project flow requirements and a Record Keeping Plan 
to maintain records of the impoundment elevations and discharges from 
the project, in compliance with Articles 408 and 409.
    Article 414 requires 0.5-inch veiling flows over the 97.4-foot-long 
spillway from May 1 to October 31. Article 416 requires the 
implementation of a Cultural Resources Management Plan to protect 
historic properties.
    Erie proposes to continue operating the project as required under 
the current license. In addition, Erie proposes to develop a new 
minimum flow and fish conveyance plan, streamflow and headpond 
monitoring plan, recreation plan, and historic properties management 
plan.
    k. 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-
2538). 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.
    l. 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].
    m. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate.

Deficiency Letter and Additional Information Request--September 2024
Notice of Acceptance--February 2025

    n. 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: September 13, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-21483 Filed 9-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P