Notice of Public Meeting to Provide Comments on Draft Materials to Improve FERC-USACE Coordinated Regulatory Processes for Non-Federal Development of Hydropower at USACE Non-Hydropower Dams, 70192 [2015-28875]

Download as PDF 70192 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 219 / Friday, November 13, 2015 / Notices AGENCY: Regulatory Commission (FERC) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) aimed at improving coordination of FERC and USACE regulatory processes regarding non-federal development of hydropower at USACE non-powered dams. DOE estimates that there is a potential for 12 gigawatts of new hydropower capacity in the U.S. by adding power at non-powered dams.1 Adding power at USACE non-powered dams requires federal authorizations, potentially including authorizations via: The FERC licensing process 2, the USACE 408 process 3, and the USACE regulatory 404 process 4 (impacts to waters of the U.S. pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act). All three of these processes require project proposal identification, information gathering, and environmental and engineering analyses to support licensing, permitting, or agency decisions. DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, December 10th, 2015, from 1:00–5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), 888 First Street NE., Hearing Room 1, Washington, DC 20426. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Gilman, Department of Energy at (720) 356–1420 or Patrick.Gilman@ ee.doe.gov, or Hoyt Battey, Department of Energy, at (202) 586–0143 or Hoyt.Battey@ee.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE with the assistance of Oak Ridge National Laboratory convened a collaborative process with FERC and USACE staff to develop ideas on how FERC and USACE permitting efforts can be more efficiently coordinated to decrease overall process time and avoid duplication of efforts. The focus of the public meeting will be for agencies to receive public input, questions, and recommendations for areas of potential improvement in the coordination of FERC and USACE regulatory processes regarding nonfederal development of hydropower at USACE non-powered dams and provide a forum to exchange information. Attendees will be asked to provide these recommendations and information based on their personal experience, This notice announces a meeting to obtain individual public input on new ideas developed collaboratively by the Department of Energy (DOE), Federal Energy 1 National Hydropower Asset Assessment Program, Non-Powered Dam Resource Assessment can be found at https://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/nonpowered-dam-potential. 2 18 U.S.C. 4, 5, and 16. 3 Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 408). 4 Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344). Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 22,123. Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 7,374. Abstract: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education (Department) is required by regulation to develop an earnings survey to support gainful employment (GE) program evaluations. The regulations specify that the Secretary of Education will publish in the Federal Register the survey and the standards required for its administration. NCES has developed the Recent Graduates Employment and Earnings Survey (RGEES) Standards and Survey Form. The RGEES can be used in a debt-to-earnings (D/E) ratio appeal under the GE regulations as an alternative to the Social Security administration earnings data. Institutions that choose to submit alternate earnings appeal information will survey all Title IV funded students who graduated from GE programs during the same period that the Department used to calculate the D/E ratios, or a comparable period as defined in 668.406(b)(3) of the regulations. The survey will provide an additional source of earnings data for the Department to consider before determining final D/E ratios for programs subject to the gainful employment regulations. Programs with final D/E ratios that fail to meet the minimum threshold may face sanctions, including the possible loss of Title IV federal student financial aid program funds. Dated: November 9, 2015. Stephanie Valentine, Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management. [FR Doc. 2015–28839 Filed 11–10–15; 11:15 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Notice of Public Meeting to Provide Comments on Draft Materials to Improve FERC–USACE Coordinated Regulatory Processes for Non-Federal Development of Hydropower at USACE Non-Hydropower Dams Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Announcement of meeting. SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:03 Nov 12, 2015 Jkt 238001 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 individual advice, information, or facts regarding this topic. The object of the meeting is not to obtain any group position or consensus; rather, the agencies are seeking as many recommendations as possible from all individuals at this meeting. Draft documents outlining preliminary ideas for improving processes can be viewed at the meeting Web site: https:// hydropower.ornl.gov/npd-publicworkshop/. The meeting is open to the public; project developers, those involved in adding power at non-power dams, environmental non-governmental organizations, tribes, and all interested members of the public are encouraged to attend. Pre-registration is required as space is limited. Register at https:// hydropower.ornl.gov/npd-publicworkshop/; or contact Kelsey Rugani at Kearns & West (krugani@ kearnswest.com, (415) 391–7900) to RSVP. If you are unable to attend and want to provide written comments, please do so by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 18th. Please send all comments to Hydropermitting@ee.doe.gov. Jim Ahlgrimm, Supervisory General Engineer, Wind and Water Power Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. [FR Doc. 2015–28875 Filed 11–12–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Notice of Availability of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project Final Environmental Impact Statement Department of Energy. Notice of availability. AGENCY: ACTION: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project Final Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/ EIS–0486; Final EIS), prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This Final EIS considered public comments on the Draft EIS, which was issued in December 2014, reports on the status of consultations under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and identifies DOE’s preferred alternative. DOE has not made a decision whether to participate in the proposed Plains & Eastern Clean Line Transmission Project. DATES: DOE will publish a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days after publication of the U.S. Environmental SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\13NON1.SGM 13NON1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 219 (Friday, November 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 70192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28875]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Public Meeting to Provide Comments on Draft Materials 
to Improve FERC-USACE Coordinated Regulatory Processes for Non-Federal 
Development of Hydropower at USACE Non-Hydropower Dams

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of 
Energy.

ACTION: Announcement of meeting.

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

SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting to obtain individual public 
input on new ideas developed collaboratively by the Department of 
Energy (DOE), Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers (USACE) aimed at improving coordination of FERC and 
USACE regulatory processes regarding non-federal development of 
hydropower at USACE non-powered dams. DOE estimates that there is a 
potential for 12 gigawatts of new hydropower capacity in the U.S. by 
adding power at non-powered dams.\1\ Adding power at USACE non-powered 
dams requires federal authorizations, potentially including 
authorizations via: The FERC licensing process \2\, the USACE 408 
process \3\, and the USACE regulatory 404 process \4\ (impacts to 
waters of the U.S. pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act). All 
three of these processes require project proposal identification, 
information gathering, and environmental and engineering analyses to 
support licensing, permitting, or agency decisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ National Hydropower Asset Assessment Program, Non-Powered 
Dam Resource Assessment can be found at https://nhaap.ornl.gov/content/non-powered-dam-potential.
    \2\ 18 U.S.C. 4, 5, and 16.
    \3\ Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 
408).
    \4\ Section 404 of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344).

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, December 10th, 2015, from 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1:00-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC), 888 First Street NE., Hearing Room 1, Washington, DC 
20426.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick Gilman, Department of Energy 
at (720) 356-1420 or Patrick.Gilman@ee.doe.gov, or Hoyt Battey, 
Department of Energy, at (202) 586-0143 or Hoyt.Battey@ee.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE with the assistance of Oak Ridge 
National Laboratory convened a collaborative process with FERC and 
USACE staff to develop ideas on how FERC and USACE permitting efforts 
can be more efficiently coordinated to decrease overall process time 
and avoid duplication of efforts.
    The focus of the public meeting will be for agencies to receive 
public input, questions, and recommendations for areas of potential 
improvement in the coordination of FERC and USACE regulatory processes 
regarding non-federal development of hydropower at USACE non-powered 
dams and provide a forum to exchange information. Attendees will be 
asked to provide these recommendations and information based on their 
personal experience, individual advice, information, or facts regarding 
this topic. The object of the meeting is not to obtain any group 
position or consensus; rather, the agencies are seeking as many 
recommendations as possible from all individuals at this meeting. Draft 
documents outlining preliminary ideas for improving processes can be 
viewed at the meeting Web site: https://hydropower.ornl.gov/npd-public-workshop/. The meeting is open to the public; project developers, those 
involved in adding power at non-power dams, environmental non-
governmental organizations, tribes, and all interested members of the 
public are encouraged to attend. Pre-registration is required as space 
is limited. Register at https://hydropower.ornl.gov/npd-public-workshop/
; or contact Kelsey Rugani at Kearns & West (krugani@kearnswest.com, 
(415) 391-7900) to RSVP.
    If you are unable to attend and want to provide written comments, 
please do so by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 18th. Please send all 
comments to Hydropermitting@ee.doe.gov.

Jim Ahlgrimm,
Supervisory General Engineer, Wind and Water Power Program, Office of 
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
[FR Doc. 2015-28875 Filed 11-12-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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