[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 97 (Monday, May 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23239-23240]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10385]

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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1892-030; Project No. 1855-050; Project No. 1904-078]

Great River Hydro, LLC; Notice of Applications 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 applications have been
filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Applications: New Major Licenses.
    b. Project Nos.: 1892-030, 1855-050, and 1904-078.
    c. Date Filed: May 1, 2017.
    d. Applicant: Great River Hydro, LLC (Great River Hydro).
    e. Names of Projects: Wilder, Bellows Falls, and Vernon
Hydroelectric Projects.
    f. Location: The existing projects are located on the Connecticut
River in Orange, Windsor, and Windham Counties, Vermont, and Grafton,
Cheshire, and Sullivan Counties, New Hampshire. There are no federal
lands within the project boundaries.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: John Ragonese, FERC License Manager, Great
River Hydro, LLC, One Harbour Place, Suite 330, Portsmouth, NH 03801;
Telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER> or<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    i. FERC Contact: Brandon Cherry,<PHONE_NUMBER> or
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>    j. These applications are not ready for environmental analysis at
this time.
    k. Project Descriptions:

Wilder Project

    The existing Wilder Project consists of: (1) A 1,546-foot-long, 59-
foot-high, concrete dam that includes: (a) A 400-foot-long non-
overflow, earthen embankment (north embankment); (b) a 232-foot-long
non-overflow, concrete bulkhead; (c) a 208-foot-long concrete forebay;
(d) a 526-foot-long concrete, gravity spillway that includes: (i) six
30-foot-high, 36-foot-long tainter gates; (ii) four 17-foot-high, 50-
foot-wide stanchion flashboards; (iii) a 15-foot-high, 20-foot-long
skimmer gate (north gate); and (iv) a 10-foot-high, 10-foot-long
skimmer gate (south gate); and (e) a 180-foot-long non-overflow,
earthen embankment (south embankment); (2) a 45-mile-long, 3,100-acre
impoundment with a useable storage volume of 13,350 acre-feet between
elevations 380 and 385 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
(NGVD 29); (3) four approximately 25-foot-high, 20-foot-wide trashracks
with 5-inch clear bar spacing and one approximately 28-foot-high, 20-
foot-wide trashrack with 1.625-inch clear bar spacing; (4) a 181-foot-
long, 50-foot-wide, 50-foot-high steel frame, brick powerhouse
containing two 16.2-megawatt (MW) adjustable-blade Kaplan turbine-
generator units and one 3.2-MW vertical Francis turbine-generator unit
for a total project capacity of 35.6 MW; (5) three concrete draft tubes
ranging from 9.5 to 20.5 feet in diameter; (6) 13.8-kilovolt (kV)
generator leads that connect the turbine-generator units to two
substation transformers; (7) an approximately 580-foot-long, 6-foot-
wide fishway; and (8) appurtenant facilities.

Bellows Falls Project

    The existing Bellows Falls Project consists of: (1) A 643-foot-
long, 30-foot-high concrete dam that includes: (a) two 18-foot-high,
115-foot-wide steel roller gates; (b) two 13-foot-high, 121-foot-wide
stanchion flashboards; and (c) a 13-foot-high, 100-foot-wide stanchion
flashboard; (2) a 26-mile-long, 2,804-acre impoundment with a useable
storage volume of 7,467 acre-feet between elevations 288.63 and 291.63
feet NGVD 29; (3) a 1,700-foot-long, 36- to 100-foot-wide, 29-foot-deep
stone-lined power canal; (4) a 130.25-foot-wide concrete forebay that
includes trashracks with 4-inch clear bar spacing; (5) a 186-foot-long,
106-foot-wide, 52-foot-high steel frame, brick powerhouse containing
three 13.6-MW vertical Francis turbine-generator units for a total
project capacity of 40.8 MW; (6) three approximately 20-foot-high, 31-
foot-wide concrete draft tubes; (7) a 900-

foot-long tailrace; (8) a 12-foot-wide, 10-foot-high ice sluice; (9)
three 80-foot-long, 6.6-kV generator leads that connect the turbine-
generator units to two step-up transformers; (10) a 920-foot-long, 8-
foot-wide fishway; (11) a concrete fish barrier dam in the bypassed
reach; and (12) appurtenant facilities.

Vernon Project

    The existing Vernon Project consists of: (1) a 956-foot-long, 58-
foot-high concrete dam that includes: (a) 356-foot-long section
integral to the powerhouse; and (b) a 600-foot-long overflow spillway
section that includes: (i) a 9-foot-high, 6-foot-wide fishway sluice;
(ii) a 13-foot-high, 13-foot-wide trash/ice sluice; (iii) two 20-foot-
high, 50-foot-wide tainter gates; (iv) four 10-foot-high, 50-foot-wide
tainter gates; (v) two 10-foot-high, 50-foot-wide hydraulic panel bays;
(vi) two 10-foot-high, 50-foot-wide stanchion bays; (vii) a 10-foot-
high, 42.5-foot-wide stanchion bay; and (viii) eight 7-foot-high, 9-
foot-wide hydraulic flood gates; (2) a 26-mile-long, 2,550-acre
impoundment with a useable storage volume of 18,300 acre-feet between
elevations 212.13 and 220.13 feet NGVD 29; (3) eight approximately 30-
foot-high trashracks with 1.75-inch clear bar spacing and two
approximately 30-foot-high trashracks with 3.625-inch clear bar
spacing; (4) a 356-foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 45-foot-high reinforced
concrete, steel, and brick powerhouse containing four 2-MW vertical
Francis turbine-generator units, four 4-MW vertical Kaplan turbine-
generator units, and two 4.2-MW vertical Francis turbine-generator
units for a total project capacity of 32.4 MW; (5) ten concrete draft
tubes ranging from 16 to 27 feet in diameter; (6) a 500-foot-long,
13.8-kV underground generator lead that connects the turbine-generator
units to two step-up transformers; (7) a 984-foot-long, 15-foot-wide
fishway; (8) downstream fish passage facilities; and (9) appurtenant
facilities.
    Great River Hydro operates all three projects in coordination and
in a peaking mode. Average annual generation is approximately 161,739;
247,373; and 162,557 MW-hours at the Wilder, Bellows Falls, and Vernon
Projects, respectively. Great River Hydro is not proposing any new
project facilities or changes to operation of these projects at this
time.
    l. Locations of the Applications: Copies of the applications are
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site 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, please contact FERC Online Support at
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). Copies are also available for inspection and reproduction
at the address in item (h) above.
    m. You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to these or other pending projects. For assistance, contact
FERC Online Support.
    n. Procedural Schedule: In the final license applications, Great
River Hydro states that it will file amended final license applications
after it completes additional field work for two studies, conducts
additional consultation with stakeholders on the study results, and
models operational alternatives. After Great River Hydro completes and
files the revised study reports and amended final license applications,
Commission staff will issue a revised procedural schedule with target
dates for the post-filing milestones listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  Milestone                          Target  date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amended Final License Applications..........  TBD.
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for      TBD.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms  TBD.
 and conditions, and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft Environmental Impact  TBD.
 Statement (EIS).
Comments on Draft EIS.......................  TBD.
Modified terms and conditions...............  TBD.
Commission issues Final EIS.................  TBD.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    o. Final amendments to the applications 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 15, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-10385 Filed 5-19-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P