FirstLight Hydro Generating Company; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments, 31929-31931 [2016-11889]
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 98 / Friday, May 20, 2016 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket Nos. CP16–357–000 and PF15–31–
000]
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Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC;
Notice of Application
Take notice that on April 29, 2016,
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC
(Columbia Gas) 5151 San Felipe, Suite
2500, Houston, Texas 77056, filed in
Docket No. CP16–357–000 an
application pursuant to sections 7(b)
and 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA),
and Part 157 of the Commission’s
regulations requesting authorization to
construct and operate the Mountaineer
XPress Project, all as more fully set forth
in the application which is on file with
the Commission and open to public
inspection. The filing is available for
review at the Commission in the Public
Reference Room or may be viewed on
the Commission’s Web site web at
https://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, contact FERC
at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call
toll-free, (866) 208–3676 or TYY, (202)
502–8659.
Any questions concerning this
application may be directed to S. Diane
Neal, Assistant General Counsel,
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, 5151
San Felipe, Suite 2500, Houston, Texas
77056, at (713) 386–3745.
Specifically Columbia Gas proposes
to: (i) Construct and operate
approximately 170.1 miles of various
diameter pipeline, (ii) modify threes
existing compressor stations, (iii)
construct and operate three new
compressor stations, (iv) and install
various appurtenant and auxiliary
facilities, all located in either Marshall,
Wetzel, Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie,
Calhoun, Wirt, Roane, Jackson, Mason,
Putnam, Kanawha, Cabell, and Wayne
Counties, West Virginia. The project
will provide approximately 2.7 million
dekatherms per day of additional
capacity for firm transportation service.
Columbia Gas is proposing incremental
rates for transportation service on the
facilities proposed for construction
herein. The cost of the project will be
approximately $2.059 billion.
On September 16, 2015 the
Commission staff granted Columbia Gas’
request to utilize the Pre-Filing Process
and assigned Docket No. PF15–31–000
to staff activities involved in the Project.
Now, as of the filing of the April 29,
2016 application, the Pre-Filing Process
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for this project has ended. From this
time forward, this proceeding will be
conducted in Docket No. CP16–357–
000, as noted in the caption of this
Notice.
Pursuant to section 157.9 of the
Commission’s rules (18 CFR 157.9),
within 90 days of this Notice, the
Commission staff will either: Complete
its environmental assessment (EA) and
place it into the Commission’s public
record (eLibrary) for this proceeding; or
issue a Notice of Schedule for
Environmental Review. If a Notice of
Schedule for Environmental Review is
issued, it will indicate, among other
milestones, the anticipated date for the
Commission staff’s issuance of the final
environmental impact statement (FEIS)
or EA for this proposal. The filing of the
EA in the Commission’s public record
for this proceeding or the issuance of a
Notice of Schedule for Environmental
Review will serve to notify federal and
state agencies of the timing for the
completion of all necessary reviews, and
the subsequent need to complete all
federal authorizations within 90 days of
the date of issuance of the Commission
staff’s FEIS or EA.
There are two ways to become
involved in the Commission’s review of
this project. First, any person wishing to
obtain legal status by becoming a party
to the proceedings for this project
should, on or before the comment date
stated below file with the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
a motion to intervene in accordance
with the requirements of the
Commission’s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211)
and the Regulations under the NGA (18
CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party
status will be placed on the service list
maintained by the Secretary of the
Commission and will receive copies of
all documents filed by the applicant and
by all other parties. A party must submit
seven copies of filings made in the
proceeding with the Commission and
must mail a copy to the applicant and
to every other party. Only parties to the
proceeding can ask for court review of
Commission orders in the proceeding.
However, a person does not have to
intervene in order to have comments
considered. The second way to
participate is by filing with the
Secretary of the Commission, as soon as
possible, an original and two copies of
comments in support of or in opposition
to this project. The Commission will
consider these comments in
determining the appropriate action to be
taken, but the filing of a comment alone
will not serve to make the filer a party
to the proceeding. The Commission’s
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31929
rules require that persons filing
comments in opposition to the project
provide copies of their protests only to
the party or parties directly involved in
the protest.
Persons who wish to comment only
on the environmental review of this
project should submit an original and
two copies of their comments to the
Secretary of the Commission.
Environmental commentors will be
placed on the Commission’s
environmental mailing list, will receive
copies of the environmental documents,
and will be notified of meetings
associated with the Commission’s
environmental review process.
Environmental commentors will not be
required to serve copies of filed
documents on all other parties.
However, the non-party commentors
will not receive copies of all documents
filed by other parties or issued by the
Commission (except for the mailing of
environmental documents issued by the
Commission) and will not have the right
to seek court review of the
Commission’s final order.
The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filings of comments, protests
and interventions in lieu of paper using
the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at https://
www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file
electronically should submit an original
and 7 copies of the protest or
intervention to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426.
Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time on June 3, 2016.
Dated: May 13, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–11893 Filed 5–19–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 1889–085; Project No. 2485–
071]
FirstLight Hydro Generating Company;
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 Nos.: 1889–085 and 2485–
071.
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c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016.
d. Applicant: FirstLight Hydro
Generating Company (FirstLight).
e. Name of Project: In the final license
application, FirstLight proposes to
combine the existing Turners Falls
Hydroelectric Project and Northfield
Mountain Pumped Storage Project into
a single project that would be named the
Northfield Project.
f. Location: The existing projects are
located on the Connecticut River in
Franklin County, Massachusetts;
Windham County, Vermont; and
Cheshire County, New Hampshire. The
project boundary includes
approximately 20 acres of federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power
Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Gus Bakas,
Director-Massachusetts Hydro,
FirstLight Hydro Generating Company,
Northfield Mountain Station, 99 Millers
Falls Road, Northfield, MA 01360;
Telephone: (413) 422–5915 or
gus.bakas@gdfsuezna.com.
i. FERC Contact: Brandon Cherry,
(202) 502–8328 or brandon.cherry@
ferc.gov.
j. This application is not ready for
environmental analysis at this time.
k. The Project Description: The
Northfield Project would have a total
installed capacity of 1,234.452
megawatts (MW). The project’s average
annual generation would be
approximately 1,381,913 megawatthours (MWh) and average annual energy
consumption from pumping would be
approximately 1,437,464 MWh. The
power generated by the project would
be transmitted to the region through the
New England Independent System
Operator, a regional transmission
organization that coordinates the
movement of wholesale electricity.
Turners Falls Development
The proposed Turners Falls
Development would consist of the
following existing facilities: (1) A 630foot-long, 35-foot-high dam (Montague
dam) that includes: (i) Four 120-footwide, 13.25-foot-high bascule gates; and
(ii) a 170-foot-long fixed section with a
crest elevation of 185.5 feet National
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD
29); (2) a 493-foot-long, 55-foot-high
dam (Gill dam) that includes: (i) Three
40-foot-wide, 39-foot-high tainter gates;
and (ii) 97.3- and 207.5-foot-long fixed
sections with crest elevations of 185.5
feet NGVD 29; (3) a 2,110-acre
impoundment with a useable storage
volume of 16,150 acre-feet between
elevations 176.0 feet and 185.0 feet
NGVD 29; (4) a 214-foot-long, 33-foothigh gatehouse that includes six 9-footwide, 10.66-foot-high gates and nine
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9.5-foot-wide, 12.6-foot-high gates; (5) a
2.1-mile-long, 120- to 920-foot-wide, 17to 30-foot-deep power canal; (6) a 700foot-long, 100-foot-wide, 16- to 23-footdeep branch canal; (7) the Station No.1
generating facility that includes: (i)
Eight 15-foot-wide bays with trashracks
with 2.625-inch clear-bar spacing; (ii)
four 100-foot-long, 13.1- to 14-footdiameter penstocks; (iii) a 134-foot-long,
64-foot-wide powerhouse that contains
five turbine-generator units with a total
installed capacity of 5.636 MW; (iv) four
21-foot-long, 6.5-foot-diameter draft
tubes; (v) five 40- to 70-foot-long, 2.4kilovolt (kV) generator leads that
connect the turbine-generator units to a
generator bus; (vi) a 110-foot-long, 2.4kV generator lead that connects the
generator bus to a substation; and (vii)
a 20-foot-long, 2.4-kV generator lead
that connects the substation to three
transformers; (8) the Cabot Station
generating facility that includes: (i) An
intake structure with 217-foot-wide, 31foot-high trashracks with 0.94-inch and
3.56-inch clear-bar spacing; (ii) six 70foot-long penstocks; (iii) a 235-foot-long,
79.5-foot-wide powerhouse that
contains six turbine-generator units
with a total installed capacity of 62.016
MW; (iv) six 41-foot-long, 12.5- to 14.5foot-diameter draft tubes; (v) six 80- to
250-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator leads
that connect the turbine-generator units
to a generator bus; (vi) a 60-foot-long,
13.8-kV generator lead that connects the
generator bus to the powerhouse roof;
and (vii) a 200-foot-long, 13.8-kV
generator lead that connects to a
transformer; (9) eight 13.6-foot-wide,
16.7-foot-high power canal spillway
gates that are adjacent to Cabot Station;
(10) a 16.2-foot-wide, 13.1-foot-high log
sluice gate in the Cabot Station forebay
with an 8-foot-wide weir for
downstream fish passage; (11) a 200foot-long, 7-foot-diameter drainage
tunnel (Keith Drainage Tunnel) and
headgate; (12) a 955-foot-long, 5-footdiameter lower drainage tunnel; (13) an
850-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 10-foot-high
fishway (Cabot fishway); (14) a 500-footlong, 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high fishway
(Spillway fishway); (15) a 225-foot-long,
16-foot-wide, 17.5-foot-high fishway
(Gatehouse fishway); and (16)
appurtenant facilities.
Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage
Development
The proposed Northfield Mountain
Pumped Storage Development would
consist of the following existing
facilities: (1) A 1-mile-long, 30-footwide, 30- to 140-foot-high main dam
that includes: (i) An intake structure
with two 7-foot-wide, 9-foot-high sluice
gates and an 8-foot-diameter outlet pipe;
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and (ii) a 589-foot-long, 2-foot-diameter
low-level outlet pipe; (2) a 425-footlong, 25-foot-high dike (North dike); (3)
a 2,800-foot-long, 45-foot-high dike
(Northwest dike); (4) a 1,700-foot-long,
40-foot-long dike (West dike); (5) a 327foot-long, 10- to 20-foot-high gravity
dam; (6) an ungated 550-foot-long, 6foot-high spillway structure with a 20foot-long notch at an elevation of
1,005.0 feet NGVD 29; (7) a 286-acre
impoundment (upper reservoir) with a
useable storage volume of 12,318 acrefeet between elevations 938.0 feet and
1,000.5 feet NGVD 29; (8) a 2,110-acre
impoundment (lower reservoir or
Turners Falls impoundment); (9) a
1,890-foot-long, 130-foot-wide intake
channel with a 63-foot-long, 9-foot-high
submerged check dam and two 6-footwide, 2.75-foot-high sluice gates and
two 18-foot-wide stoplogs; (10) a 200foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 80-foot-high
pressure shaft; (11) an 853-foot-long, 31foot-diameter penstock; (12) two 22foot-diameter, 100- to 150-foot-long
penstocks; (13) four 340-foot-long, 9.5to 14-foot-diameter penstocks; (14) a
328-foot-long, 70-foot-wide powerhouse
that contains four reversible pump
turbine-generator units with a total
installed capacity of 1,166.8 MW; (15)
four 25-foot-long, 11-foot-diameter draft
tubes that transition to a 20-foot-long,
17-foot-diameter draft tube; (16) a 5,136foot-long, 33-foot-wide, 31-foot-high
horseshoe-shaped tailrace tunnel; (17)
35-foot-long, 40-foot-high trapezoidshaped stoplogs with 74.3- to 99.5-footwide, 48-foot-high trashracks with 6inch clear-bar spacing; (18) four 26-footlong, 13.8-kV generator leads that
connect the turbine-generator units to
four transformers; (19) two 3,000-footlong, 345-kV pipe-type cables from the
transformers to the Northfield Switching
Station; (20) a 650-foot-long, 15-footdeep fixed-position fish barrier guide
net; and (21) appurtenant facilities.
The existing Turners Falls
Hydroelectric Project operates in
peaking and run-of-river modes
depending on inflows. The existing
license requires maintaining the
impoundment between elevations 176.0
feet and 185.0 feet NGVD 29, and
releasing a continuous minimum flow of
1,433 cubic feet per second, or inflow
(whichever is less), from the project.
FirstLight did not propose any changes
to operation of this facility in its
application.
The existing Northfield Mountain
Pumped Storage Project generally
operates in pumping mode during lowload periods and generating mode
during high-load periods. In the summer
and winter, the project generally
operates in a peaking mode in the
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 98 / Friday, May 20, 2016 / Notices
morning and late afternoon. In the
spring and fall, the project may operate
in a peaking mode one or two times a
day depending on electricity demand.
The existing license requires
maintaining the upper reservoir
between elevations 938.0 feet and
1,000.5 feet NGVD 29 (i.e., a maximum
reservoir drawdown of 62.5 feet).
FirstLight proposes to increase the
maximum water surface elevation of the
upper reservoir to 1,004.5 feet NGVD 29
and decrease the minimum water
surface elevation of the upper reservoir
to 920.0 feet NGVD 29 (i.e., a maximum
reservoir drawdown of 84.5 feet) yearround.
l. Locations of the Application: A
copy of the application is available for
review at the Commission in the Public
Reference Room or may be viewed on
the Commission’s Web site at https://
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 FERCOnlineSupport@
ferc.gov, (866) 208–3676 (toll free), or
(202) 502–8659 (TTY). A copy is also
available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item (h)
above.
m. You may also register online at
https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
esubscription.asp to be notified via
email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects.
For assistance, contact FERC Online
Support.
n. Procedural Schedule: In the final
license application, FirstLight states that
it will file an amended final license
application after it completes all of the
required studies in the approved study
plan. On May 5, 2016, Commission staff
issued a revised process plan and
schedule that include milestones and
dates for the filing and review of
FirstLight’s outstanding study reports.
After FirstLight completes and files the
outstanding study reports and amended
final license application, Commission
staff will issue a revised procedural
schedule with target dates for the postfiling milestones listed below.
Target
date
Milestone
Amended Final License Application ...........................................................................................................................................................
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis ..........................................................................................................
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and fishway prescriptions ........................................................................
Commission issues Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ............................................................................................................
Comments on Draft EIS .............................................................................................................................................................................
Modified terms and conditions ...................................................................................................................................................................
Commission issues Final EIS .....................................................................................................................................................................
o. 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 13, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–11889 Filed 5–19–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES
Combined Notice of Filings #1
Take notice that the Commission
received the following electric corporate
filings:
Docket Numbers: EC08–126–001.
Applicants: LS Power Development,
LLC, Luminus Management, LLC.
Description: Request for Suspension
of Reporting Obligations, LS Power
Development, LLC and Luminus
Management, LLC.
Filed Date: 5/11/16.
Accession Number: 20160511–5306.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 5/26/16.
Take notice that the Commission
received the following exempt
wholesale generator filings:
Docket Numbers: EG16–98–000.
Applicants: Paulding Wind Farm III
LLC.
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17:40 May 19, 2016
Jkt 238001
Description: Self-Certification of EWG
of Paulding Wind Farm III LLC.
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5046.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Take notice that the Commission
received the following electric rate
filings:
Docket Numbers: ER10–2331–055;
ER10–2319–046; ER10–2317–046;
ER13–1351–028; ER10–2330–053.
Applicants: J.P. Morgan Ventures
Energy Corporation, BE Alabama LLC,
BE CA LLC, Florida Power Development
LLC, Utility Contract Funding, L.L.C.
Description: Notice of Non-Material
Change in Status of the JPMorgan
Sellers.
Filed Date: 5/12/16.
Accession Number: 20160512–5259.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/2/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1331–001.
Applicants: Southwest Power Pool,
Inc.
Description: Tariff Amendment:
Amended Filing-Clarify Process to
Study Requests for Short-Term Service
to be effective 5/31/2016.
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5047.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1689–000.
Applicants: ArcelorMittal Cleveland
LLC.
Description: Baseline eTariff Filing:
Petition for Acceptance of Market-Based
Rate to be effective 6/30/2016.
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TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5001.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1690–000.
Applicants: Public Service Company
of Colorado.
Description: Compliance filing:
20160513 ER16–524 CSU Renewable
Energy Credits to be effective 4/16/2016.
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5070.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1691–000.
Applicants: Escalante Solar III, LLC.
Description: Compliance filing: Comp.
Filing—Amendment to MBR Tariff
Limits. and Exemptions to be effective
7/12/2016.
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5072.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1692–000.
Applicants: Arizona Public Service
Company.
Description: Section 205(d) Rate
Filing: Rate Schedule Nos. 44, 98, 211—
Four Corners Acquisition to be effective
12/31/9998.
Filed Date: 5/13/16.
Accession Number: 20160513–5076.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 6/3/16.
Docket Numbers: ER16–1693–000.
Applicants: Arizona Public Service
Company.
Description: Section 205(d) Rate
Filing: Reassignment of Service
Agreement Nos. 350, 351 and 352 to be
effective 4/15/2016.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 98 (Friday, May 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31929-31931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11889]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 1889-085; Project No. 2485-071]
FirstLight Hydro Generating Company; 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 Nos.: 1889-085 and 2485-071.
[[Page 31930]]
c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016.
d. Applicant: FirstLight Hydro Generating Company (FirstLight).
e. Name of Project: In the final license application, FirstLight
proposes to combine the existing Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project
and Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project into a single project
that would be named the Northfield Project.
f. Location: The existing projects are located on the Connecticut
River in Franklin County, Massachusetts; Windham County, Vermont; and
Cheshire County, New Hampshire. The project boundary includes
approximately 20 acres of federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Gus Bakas, Director-Massachusetts Hydro,
FirstLight Hydro Generating Company, Northfield Mountain Station, 99
Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA 01360; Telephone: (413) 422-5915 or
gus.bakas@gdfsuezna.com.
i. FERC Contact: Brandon Cherry, (202) 502-8328 or
brandon.cherry@ferc.gov.
j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
k. The Project Description: The Northfield Project would have a
total installed capacity of 1,234.452 megawatts (MW). The project's
average annual generation would be approximately 1,381,913 megawatt-
hours (MWh) and average annual energy consumption from pumping would be
approximately 1,437,464 MWh. The power generated by the project would
be transmitted to the region through the New England Independent System
Operator, a regional transmission organization that coordinates the
movement of wholesale electricity.
Turners Falls Development
The proposed Turners Falls Development would consist of the
following existing facilities: (1) A 630-foot-long, 35-foot-high dam
(Montague dam) that includes: (i) Four 120-foot-wide, 13.25-foot-high
bascule gates; and (ii) a 170-foot-long fixed section with a crest
elevation of 185.5 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD
29); (2) a 493-foot-long, 55-foot-high dam (Gill dam) that includes:
(i) Three 40-foot-wide, 39-foot-high tainter gates; and (ii) 97.3- and
207.5-foot-long fixed sections with crest elevations of 185.5 feet NGVD
29; (3) a 2,110-acre impoundment with a useable storage volume of
16,150 acre-feet between elevations 176.0 feet and 185.0 feet NGVD 29;
(4) a 214-foot-long, 33-foot-high gatehouse that includes six 9-foot-
wide, 10.66-foot-high gates and nine 9.5-foot-wide, 12.6-foot-high
gates; (5) a 2.1-mile-long, 120- to 920-foot-wide, 17- to 30-foot-deep
power canal; (6) a 700-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, 16- to 23-foot-deep
branch canal; (7) the Station No.1 generating facility that includes:
(i) Eight 15-foot-wide bays with trashracks with 2.625-inch clear-bar
spacing; (ii) four 100-foot-long, 13.1- to 14-foot-diameter penstocks;
(iii) a 134-foot-long, 64-foot-wide powerhouse that contains five
turbine-generator units with a total installed capacity of 5.636 MW;
(iv) four 21-foot-long, 6.5-foot-diameter draft tubes; (v) five 40- to
70-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) generator leads that connect the
turbine-generator units to a generator bus; (vi) a 110-foot-long, 2.4-
kV generator lead that connects the generator bus to a substation; and
(vii) a 20-foot-long, 2.4-kV generator lead that connects the
substation to three transformers; (8) the Cabot Station generating
facility that includes: (i) An intake structure with 217-foot-wide, 31-
foot-high trashracks with 0.94-inch and 3.56-inch clear-bar spacing;
(ii) six 70-foot-long penstocks; (iii) a 235-foot-long, 79.5-foot-wide
powerhouse that contains six turbine-generator units with a total
installed capacity of 62.016 MW; (iv) six 41-foot-long, 12.5- to 14.5-
foot-diameter draft tubes; (v) six 80- to 250-foot-long, 13.8-kV
generator leads that connect the turbine-generator units to a generator
bus; (vi) a 60-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator lead that connects the
generator bus to the powerhouse roof; and (vii) a 200-foot-long, 13.8-
kV generator lead that connects to a transformer; (9) eight 13.6-foot-
wide, 16.7-foot-high power canal spillway gates that are adjacent to
Cabot Station; (10) a 16.2-foot-wide, 13.1-foot-high log sluice gate in
the Cabot Station forebay with an 8-foot-wide weir for downstream fish
passage; (11) a 200-foot-long, 7-foot-diameter drainage tunnel (Keith
Drainage Tunnel) and headgate; (12) a 955-foot-long, 5-foot-diameter
lower drainage tunnel; (13) an 850-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 10-foot-
high fishway (Cabot fishway); (14) a 500-foot-long, 10-foot-wide, 10-
foot-high fishway (Spillway fishway); (15) a 225-foot-long, 16-foot-
wide, 17.5-foot-high fishway (Gatehouse fishway); and (16) appurtenant
facilities.
Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Development
The proposed Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Development would
consist of the following existing facilities: (1) A 1-mile-long, 30-
foot-wide, 30- to 140-foot-high main dam that includes: (i) An intake
structure with two 7-foot-wide, 9-foot-high sluice gates and an 8-foot-
diameter outlet pipe; and (ii) a 589-foot-long, 2-foot-diameter low-
level outlet pipe; (2) a 425-foot-long, 25-foot-high dike (North dike);
(3) a 2,800-foot-long, 45-foot-high dike (Northwest dike); (4) a 1,700-
foot-long, 40-foot-long dike (West dike); (5) a 327-foot-long, 10- to
20-foot-high gravity dam; (6) an ungated 550-foot-long, 6-foot-high
spillway structure with a 20-foot-long notch at an elevation of 1,005.0
feet NGVD 29; (7) a 286-acre impoundment (upper reservoir) with a
useable storage volume of 12,318 acre-feet between elevations 938.0
feet and 1,000.5 feet NGVD 29; (8) a 2,110-acre impoundment (lower
reservoir or Turners Falls impoundment); (9) a 1,890-foot-long, 130-
foot-wide intake channel with a 63-foot-long, 9-foot-high submerged
check dam and two 6-foot-wide, 2.75-foot-high sluice gates and two 18-
foot-wide stoplogs; (10) a 200-foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 80-foot-high
pressure shaft; (11) an 853-foot-long, 31-foot-diameter penstock; (12)
two 22-foot-diameter, 100- to 150-foot-long penstocks; (13) four 340-
foot-long, 9.5- to 14-foot-diameter penstocks; (14) a 328-foot-long,
70-foot-wide powerhouse that contains four reversible pump turbine-
generator units with a total installed capacity of 1,166.8 MW; (15)
four 25-foot-long, 11-foot-diameter draft tubes that transition to a
20-foot-long, 17-foot-diameter draft tube; (16) a 5,136-foot-long, 33-
foot-wide, 31-foot-high horseshoe-shaped tailrace tunnel; (17) 35-foot-
long, 40-foot-high trapezoid-shaped stoplogs with 74.3- to 99.5-foot-
wide, 48-foot-high trashracks with 6-inch clear-bar spacing; (18) four
26-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator leads that connect the turbine-
generator units to four transformers; (19) two 3,000-foot-long, 345-kV
pipe-type cables from the transformers to the Northfield Switching
Station; (20) a 650-foot-long, 15-foot-deep fixed-position fish barrier
guide net; and (21) appurtenant facilities.
The existing Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project operates in
peaking and run-of-river modes depending on inflows. The existing
license requires maintaining the impoundment between elevations 176.0
feet and 185.0 feet NGVD 29, and releasing a continuous minimum flow of
1,433 cubic feet per second, or inflow (whichever is less), from the
project. FirstLight did not propose any changes to operation of this
facility in its application.
The existing Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project generally
operates in pumping mode during low-load periods and generating mode
during high-load periods. In the summer and winter, the project
generally operates in a peaking mode in the
[[Page 31931]]
morning and late afternoon. In the spring and fall, the project may
operate in a peaking mode one or two times a day depending on
electricity demand. The existing license requires maintaining the upper
reservoir between elevations 938.0 feet and 1,000.5 feet NGVD 29 (i.e.,
a maximum reservoir drawdown of 62.5 feet).
FirstLight proposes to increase the maximum water surface elevation
of the upper reservoir to 1,004.5 feet NGVD 29 and decrease the minimum
water surface elevation of the upper reservoir to 920.0 feet NGVD 29
(i.e., a maximum reservoir drawdown of 84.5 feet) year-round.
l. Locations of the Application: A copy of the application is
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at https://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
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at
the address in item (h) above.
m. You may also register online at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
n. Procedural Schedule: In the final license application,
FirstLight states that it will file an amended final license
application after it completes all of the required studies in the
approved study plan. On May 5, 2016, Commission staff issued a revised
process plan and schedule that include milestones and dates for the
filing and review of FirstLight's outstanding study reports. After
FirstLight completes and files the outstanding study reports and
amended final license application, Commission staff will issue a
revised procedural schedule with target dates for the post-filing
milestones listed below.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milestone Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amended Final License Application........... 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 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 13, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-11889 Filed 5-19-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
