Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications, 8954 [2016-03621]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 8954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-03621]



[[Page 8954]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14728-000]


Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On November 3, 2015, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe filed an 
application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the 
Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Boca 
Hydroelectric Project (Boca Hydroelectric Project or project) to be 
located on the Bureau of Reclamation's Boca Dam on the Little Truckee 
River, near the town of Truckee, Nevada County, California. The sole 
purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit 
holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A 
preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any 
land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters 
owned by others without the owners' express permission.
    Boca Reservoir has a usable storage capacity of 40,900 acre-feet at 
the normal maximum elevation of 5,601 feet. The proposed project would 
utilize the existing intake structure in Boca Reservoir and the two 
375-foot long, 50-inch steel conduits. The existing 50-inch primary 
outlet pipes would be modified to remove the existing 42-inch hollow 
jet valves and to add bifurcations that would connect to the proposed 
new penstocks.
    The proposed project would also consist of the following new 
facilities: (1) Two new penstocks that connect the existing 50-inch 
primary outlet pipes to a new 60-inch-diameter penstock via isolation 
valves to allow flow to be conveyed to the powerhouse from either or 
both outlet pipes; (2) a 45-foot-long by 45-foot-wide by 40-foot-high 
powerhouse containing a single Kaplan generating unit rated for 1.6 
megawatts at 60 feet of head; (3) a 20 to 40-foot-long tailrace channel 
that discharges water downstream of the existing outlet channel walls 
approximately 140 feet from the existing hollow jet valves; (4) a 
channel training wall consisting of either a sheet pile tied-back 
channel wall or a concrete cantilever type wall leaving the powerhouse 
on the landside of the tailrace channel; (5) a step-up transformer 
installed at the powerhouse generator in order to wheel power onto the 
grid; (6) a new 700-foot long 12-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to 
interconnect to an existing 12-kV transmission line owned by Liberty 
Utilities (the point of interconnection); and (7) appurtenant 
facilities.
    The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe proposes to develop the proposed 
project in conformance with the operation of Boca Dam by the Bureau of 
Reclamation under the terms of the Truckee River Operating Agreement 
(TROA) and would generate electricity using the existing flow releases 
under the terms of the TROA. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe does not 
propose to alter the timing, condition or the amount of releases from 
Boca Reservoir or impair any of the current functions supported by 
operation of this existing multi-purpose water resources project. The 
estimated annual generation of the Boca Hydroelectric Project would be 
3.5 gigawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Ms. Donna Noel, Director of Natural Resources, 
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, P.O. Box 256, Nixon, Nevada 89424; phone: 
(775) 574-1000.
    FERC Contact: Kyle Olcott; phone: (202) 502-8963.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications using the Commission's eFiling system at 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, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-14728-000.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's Web site at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-14728) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: February 12, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-03621 Filed 2-22-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P