Parker Knoll Hydro, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare An Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Scoping Meetings and Soliciting Scoping Comments, 68764-68765 [2012-27960]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68764-68765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27960]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13239-002]


Parker Knoll Hydro, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare An 
Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with Commission and are available for public inspection:

    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 13239.
    c. Date filed: November 30, 2011.
    d. Applicant: Parker Knoll Hydro, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Parker Knoll Pumped Storage Hydroelectric 
Project.
    f. Location: At Parker Mountain, near the Town of Richfield, Piute 
County, Utah. The project would occupy 458.7 acres of federal land 
administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Justin Barker, Parker Knoll Hydro, LLC., 975 
South State Highway, Logan, UT 84321; (435) 752-2580.
    i. FERC Contact: Matt Buhyoff, matt.buhyoff@ferc.gov, (202) 502-
6824.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 10, 2013.
    All documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 
CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web 
site https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit 
brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, 
using the eComment system at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your name and contact information at the 
end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online 
Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, 
or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages 
electronic filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, 
mail an

[[Page 68765]]

original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 
20426.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The proposed project would be a closed-loop pumped storage 
system, with an initial fill from the existing Otter Creek reservoir. 
Parker Knoll would include the following new facilities: (1) An 
approximately 175-feet-high upper main dam with a crest length of 
approximately 1,650 feet and one saddle dam; (2) an upper reservoir 
with a storage capacity of approximately 6,780 acre-feet and a surface 
area of approximately 110 acres; (3) an approximately 100-feet-high 
lower dam with a crest length of approximately 1,750 feet and two 
saddle dams; (4) a lower reservoir with storage capacity of 
approximately 6,760 acre-feet and a surface area of approximately 130 
acres; (5) a 2,390-feet-long and 27-feet-diameter headrace tunnel; (6) 
a 2,200-feet-long and 27-feet-diameter vertical shaft; (7) a 1,000-
feet-long and 27-feet-diameter steel-lined penstock tunnel; (8) a 
7,126-feet-long and 35-feet-diameter tailrace tunnel; (9) a powerhouse 
containing four variable speed, reversible pump-turbine units with a 
minimum rating of 250 megawatt (MW); (10) an approximately 585-feet by 
340-feet substation; (11) a 16-inch diameter and 68,000-feet-long fill 
pipeline and system; (12) approximately one mile of 345-kV transmission 
line; and (13) appurtenant facilities. The project would occupy 458.7 
acres of federal land and would have an estimated annual generation of 
2,630 gigawatt hours.
    m. 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, contact 
FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    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. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will consider both site-
specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public scoping 
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EIS. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: December 11, 2012.
    Time: 10:00 a.m. (MST).
    Place: Holiday Inn Express.
    Address: 20 West 1400 North, Richfield, Utah.

Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: December 11, 2012.
    Time: 6:00 p.m. (MST).
    Place: Holiday Inn Express.
    Address: 20 West 1400 North, Richfield, Utah.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at https://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EIS; 
(2) solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the EIS, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EIS; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a court reporter and become part of 
the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EIS.

    Dated: November 9, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-27960 Filed 11-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P