Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications, 16822-16823 [2017-06838]

Download as PDF mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES 16822 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 65 / Thursday, April 6, 2017 / Notices inspection and reproduction at the address in paragraph h. Register online at https:// www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filing and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. o. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on the PAD and Commission’s staff Scoping Document 1 (SD1), as well as study requests. All comments on the PAD and SD1, and study requests should be sent to the address above in paragraph h. In addition, all comments on the PAD and SD1, study requests, requests for cooperating agency status, and all communications to and from Commission staff related to the merits of the potential application must be filed with the Commission. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file all documents 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. 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–2879–011. All filings with the Commission must bear the appropriate heading: ‘‘Comments on Pre-Application Document,’’ ‘‘Study Requests,’’ ‘‘Comments on Scoping Document 1,’’ ‘‘Request for Cooperating Agency Status,’’ or ‘‘Communications to and from Commission Staff.’’ Any individual or entity interested in submitting study requests, commenting on the PAD or SD1, and any agency requesting cooperating status must do so by May 30, 2017. p. Although our current intent is to prepare an environmental assessment (EA), there is the possibility that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required. Nevertheless, this meeting will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether an EA or EIS is issued by the Commission. Scoping Meetings Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of the project at the times and places noted VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:51 Apr 05, 2017 Jkt 241001 below. The daytime meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organization concerns, while the evening meeting is primarily for receiving input from the public. We invite all interested individuals, organizations, and agencies to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist staff in identifying particular study needs, as well as the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the environmental document. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows: Evening Scoping Meeting Date: Tuesday, April 25, 2017. Time: 6:00 p.m. Location: Waterbury Municipal Complex, 28 North Main Street, Waterbury, VT 05676. Phone: (802) 244–7033. Daytime Scoping Meeting Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2017. Time: 9:00 a.m. Location: Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, 100 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05602. Phone: (802) 223–5252. Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals and entities on the Commission’s mailing list. Copies of SD1 will be available at the scoping meetings, or may be viewed on the web at https://www.ferc.gov, using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Follow the directions for accessing information in paragraph n. Based on all oral and written comments, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be issued. SD2 may include a revised process plan and schedule, as well as a list of issues, identified through the scoping process. Environmental Site Review The potential applicant and Commission staff will conduct an Environmental Site Review (site visit) of the project on Tuesday, April 25, starting at 2:00 p.m., and ending at or about 3:30. All participants should meet at 1:45 p.m. at 341 Power Plant Road, Duxbury, Vermont, at the parking lot located to the left off Power Plant Road before you reach the substation and powerhouse. Participants are responsible for their own transportation. Persons with questions about the site visit should contact John Greenan (802– 770–3213) or Gary Lemay (603–428– 4960). Persons planning on participating in the site visit should contact Gary Lemay (603–428–4960; glemay@ gomezandsullivan.com) or Sharon Lucia (Sharon.Lucia@ PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 greenmountainpower.com) on or before April 11, 2017. Meeting Objectives At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Initiate scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions and resource management objectives; (3) review and discuss existing information and identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and discuss the process plan and schedule for prefiling activity that incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission’s regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and (5) discuss the appropriateness of any federal or state agency or Indian tribe acting as a cooperating agency for development of an environmental document. Meeting participants should come prepared to discuss their issues and/or concerns. Please review the PAD in preparation for the scoping meetings. Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD and SD1 are included in item n. of this document. Meeting Procedures The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will be placed in the public records of the project. Dated: March 31, 2017. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–06846 Filed 4–5–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 14834–000] Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications On January 18, 2017, Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC, 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 Stony Creek Pumped Storage Hydro Project to be located near the town of Somerset in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. 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 E:\FR\FM\06APN1.SGM 06APN1 mstockstill on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 65 / Thursday, April 6, 2017 / Notices otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners’ express permission. The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) A new upper reservoir having a surface area of 100 acres and a storage capacity of 1,500 acre-feet at a surface elevation of approximately 2,540 feet above mean sea level (msl) created through construction of new rollercompacted concrete or rock-filled dams; (2) a new lower reservoir having a surface area of 40 acres and a storage capacity of 1,800 acre-feet at a surface elevation of approximately 1,800 feet msl created through construction of new roller-compacted concrete or rock-filled dams; (3) a new 2,560-foot-long, 48inch-diameter penstock connecting the upper and lower reservoirs; (4) a new 150-foot-long, 50-foot-wide powerhouse containing two turbine-generator units with a total rated capacity of 91 megawatts; (5) a new transmission line connecting the powerhouse to a nearby electric grid interconnection point with options to evaluate multiple grid interconnection locations; and (6) appurtenant facilities. Possible initial fill water and make-up water would come from Stony Creek Lake. The proposed project would have an annual generation of 332,152 megawatt-hours. Applicant Contact: Adam Rousselle, Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC, 5710 Oak Crest Drive, Doylestown, PA 18902; phone: (267) 254–6107. FERC Contact: Tim Looney; phone: (202) 502–6096. 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–14834–000. VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:51 Apr 05, 2017 Jkt 241001 More information about this project, including a copy of the application, can be viewed or printed on the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link of the Commission’s Web site at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number (P–14834) in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. Dated: March 30, 2017. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–06838 Filed 4–5–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. RD16–10–000] Commission Information Collection Activities (FERC–725e); Comment Request; Revision Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of revised information collection and request for comments. AGENCY: In compliance with the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) is soliciting public comment on a revision to the information collection, FERC–725E (Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric Coordinating Council) which will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a review of the information collection requirements. DATES: Comments on the collection of information are due June 5, 2017. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments (identified by Docket No. RD16–10–000) by either of the following methods: • eFiling at Commission’s Web site: https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ efiling.asp • Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Secretary of the Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. Instructions: All submissions must be formatted and filed in accordance with submission guidelines at: https:// www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp. For user assistance contact FERC Online Support by email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or by phone at: (866) 208–3676 (toll-free), or (202) 502–8659 for TTY. Docket: Users interested in receiving automatic notification of activity in this docket or in viewing/downloading comments and issuances in this docket SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 16823 may do so at https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/docs-filing.asp. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Brown may be reached by email at DataClearance@FERC.gov, telephone at (202) 502–8663, and fax at (202) 273– 0873. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title: FERC–725E, Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Western Electric Coordinating Council. OMB Control No.: 1902–0246. Type of Request: Revision to the FERC–725E information collection requirements, as discussed in Docket No. RD16–10. Abstract: On March 23, 2016 (and supplemented on November 16, 2016), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) filed a joint petition to retire regional Reliability Standard TOP–007– WECC–1a—System Operating Limits (‘‘SOL’’). The purpose of the proposed retirement is to shift away from the path-centric model and allow entities in the Western Interconnection to align their operating practices with the framework established in the continentwide TOP/IRO Reliability Standards approved in Order No. 817,1 which, according to NERC and WECC, achieve the objective of operating within acceptable pre- and post-contingency reliability criteria (i.e., within SOLs and Interconnection Reliability Operating Limits (‘‘IROL’’). On March 10, 2017, the Commission approved the retirement of regional Reliability Standard TOP–007–WECC–1a.2 The remaining reporting requirements included in FERC–725E are not being revised.3 Type of Respondents: Public utilities. Estimate of Annual Burden 4: The Commission estimates the reduction in the annual public reporting burden for the FERC–725E (due to the retirement of 1 The burdens related to Order No. 871 are included in FERC–725Z (Mandatory Reliability Standards: IRO Reliability Standards, OMB Control No. 1902–0276), and FERC–725A Mandatory Reliability Standards for the Bulk-Power System, OMB Control No. 1902–0244). 2 The Delegated Letter Order is posted in FERC’s eLibrary at https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/ common/opennat.asp?fileID=14515285. 3 In the current OMB-approved inventory for FERC–725E, the total remaining requirements are estimated annually at 7,038 burden hours for reporting and 771 burden hours for recordkeeping. 4 Burden is defined as the total time, effort, or financial resources expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide information to or for a Federal agency. For further explanation of what is included in the information collection burden, refer to 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1320.3. E:\FR\FM\06APN1.SGM 06APN1

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[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 65 (Thursday, April 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16822-16823]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06838]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14834-000]


Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On January 18, 2017, Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC, 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 
Stony Creek Pumped Storage Hydro Project to be located near the town of 
Somerset in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. 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

[[Page 16823]]

otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the 
owners' express permission.
    The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) A new 
upper reservoir having a surface area of 100 acres and a storage 
capacity of 1,500 acre-feet at a surface elevation of approximately 
2,540 feet above mean sea level (msl) created through construction of 
new roller-compacted concrete or rock-filled dams; (2) a new lower 
reservoir having a surface area of 40 acres and a storage capacity of 
1,800 acre-feet at a surface elevation of approximately 1,800 feet msl 
created through construction of new roller-compacted concrete or rock-
filled dams; (3) a new 2,560-foot-long, 48-inch-diameter penstock 
connecting the upper and lower reservoirs; (4) a new 150-foot-long, 50-
foot-wide powerhouse containing two turbine-generator units with a 
total rated capacity of 91 megawatts; (5) a new transmission line 
connecting the powerhouse to a nearby electric grid interconnection 
point with options to evaluate multiple grid interconnection locations; 
and (6) appurtenant facilities. Possible initial fill water and make-up 
water would come from Stony Creek Lake. The proposed project would have 
an annual generation of 332,152 megawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Adam Rousselle, Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC, 
5710 Oak Crest Drive, Doylestown, PA 18902; phone: (267) 254-6107.
    FERC Contact: Tim Looney; phone: (202) 502-6096.
    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-14834-000.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of the 
Commission's Web site at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-14834) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: March 30, 2017.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-06838 Filed 4-5-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

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