    [Federal Register Volume 91, Number 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 14693-14694]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 2026-05890]

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    DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

    [Project No. 3562-026]

    KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC; 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: Subsequent Minor License.
        b. Project No.: 3562-026.
        c. Date filed: July 29, 2021.
        d. Applicant: KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC (KEI Power).
        e. Name of Project: Barker Mill Upper Hydroelectric Project (Upper
    Barker Project).
        f. Location: On the Little Androscoggin River, in the City of
    Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine.
        g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)
        h. Applicant Contact: Lewis C. Loon, General Manager, KEI (USA)
    Power Management Inc., 423 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, ME 04345; phone
    at (207) 203-3025; email at LewisC.Loon@krueger.com.
        i. FERC Contact: Jody Callihan at (202) 502-8278 or
    jody.callihan@ferc.gov.
        j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and
    conditions, and prescriptions: on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
    May 22, 2026; reply comments are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern
    Time on July 6, 2026.
        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 10,000
    characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at
    https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. For assistance, please
    contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (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, 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, 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: Barker Mill Upper Hydroelectric Project (P-3562-026).
        The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 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 and is ready for
    environmental analysis at this time.
        l. The Barker Mill Upper Project consists of the following existing
    facilities: (1) a 41-acre impoundment with a maximum storage capacity
    of 255 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation of 192
    feet; \1\ (2) a dam consisting of (starting from the west bank): (a) a
    43-foot-long concrete abutment; (b) a 40-foot-long gated spillway
    structure consisting of two, 18-foot-high, 15-foot-wide steel Tainter
    gates; (c) an 86-foot-long, 24-foot-high stone masonry with concrete
    overlay overflow spillway with 3-foot-high wooden flashboards and a
    crest elevation of 192 feet at the top of the flashboards (189 feet
    when the flashboards are lowered); (d) a 31-foot-long concrete intake
    structure; and, (e) a 27-foot-long underground abutment; (3) a
    powerhouse containing a single 950-kilowatt turbine-generator unit; (4)
    a tailrace; (5) a 50-foot-long, 12.47-kilovolt transmission line; and
    (6) appurtenant facilities.
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        \1\ All elevations are referenced to the North American Vertical
    Datum of 1988.
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        KEI Power filed a Settlement Agreement (Settlement) for the
    Barker's Mill Project (FERC No. 2808),\2\ Upper Barker Project (FERC
    No. 3562), and Marcal Project (FERC No. 11482) executed by and between
    the licensee and the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Fish and
    Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Maine
    Department of Marine Resources (Maine DMR), and the Maine Department of
    Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (Settlement Parties). The purpose of the
    Settlement is to resolve the parties' disagreements over the issues
    related to fish and aquatic resource management, including

    [[Page 14694]]

    upstream and downstream passage measures for American eel, river
    herring, American shad, sea lamprey, and Atlantic salmon; minimum flow
    releases; and aquatic invasive species. Specifically, for the
    relicensing of the Upper Barker Project, the Settlement provides for:
    (1) coordinating the time frame for providing upstream and downstream
    fish passage at the Upper Barker Project; (2) aligning the minimum and
    seasonal flows at the Upper Barker and the Lower Barker Projects; (3)
    aligning the Upper Barker and Lower Barker Projects' license terms by
    extending the 40-year license term of the Lower Barker Project to 50
    years and requesting a license term of 47 years for the Upper Barker
    Project; (4) establishing an off-license agreement to fund an
    Androscoggin Basin Stewardship Fund administered by Maine DMR to
    benefit spawning and rearing habitat in the basin; and (5) assuring,
    through an off-license agreement, the resources agencies' support for
    KEI Power's request for Low Impact Hydropower Institute certification
    for the Upper Barker Project.
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        \2\ The Barker's Mill Project is also known as and referred to
    herein as the Lower Barker Project.
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        On January 29, 2026, KEI Power filed additional details, including
    design drawings, of its proposed full-depth trash rack overlays
    (perforated plates with 1-inch hole openings) to protect against fish
    and eel entrainment and its proposed method of upstream eel passage--
    installing mussel spat rope.\3\ The Upper Barker Project is currently
    operated in run-of-river mode and generates 4,681 megawatt-hours
    annually.
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        \3\ Mussel spat ropes are made of coarse ultra-violet stabilized
    polypropylene fibers and while typically used in the aquaculture
    industry to provide a settlement substrate for mussel larvae, these
    ropes can also be used to facilitate the upstream fish passage of
    climbing species such as eels.
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        m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's
    website 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-3562). For assistance, contact FERC
    Online Support (see item j above).
        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; and (3) 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.
        For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
    interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office
    of Public Participation at (202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov.
        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 the following on or before 5:00 p.m.
    Eastern Time on May 22, 2026: (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 a waiver of water quality certification.
        o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
    Commission on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 22, 2026.

    (Authority: 18 CFR 2.1.)

         Dated: March 23, 2026.
    Carlos D. Clay,
    Deputy Secretary.
    [FR Doc. 2026-05890 Filed 3-25-26; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6717-01-P