America First Hydro, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document (PAD), Denying Use of the Traditional Licensing Process, Commencement of Licensing Proceeding, Scoping, and Solicitation of Study Requests and Comments on the PAD and Scoping Document, 53491-53492 [2017-24793]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 220 (Thursday, November 16, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53491-53492]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-24793]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14856-000]


America First Hydro, LLC; Notice of Intent To File License 
Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document (PAD), Denying Use of 
the Traditional Licensing Process, Commencement of Licensing 
Proceeding, Scoping, and Solicitation of Study Requests and Comments on 
the PAD and Scoping Document

    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Request To Use the Traditional 
Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: 14856.
    c. Dated Filed: September 11, 2017.
    d. Submitted By: America First Hydro, LLC (America First Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Lower Mousam Project.
    f. Location: On the Mousam River in York County, Maine. The project 
does not occupy federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR 5.3 of the Commission's Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicant Contact: Ian Clark, Managing Member, America 
First Hydro, LLC; 826 Scarsdale Ave, Scarsdale, New York 10583, (914) 
297-7645, or email at info@dichotomycapital.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts at (202) 502-6123, or email at 
michael.watts@ferc.gov.
    j. The current license for the Lower Mousam Project was issued to 
Kennebunk Light and Power District (Kennebunk Light) under Project No. 
5362. On March 29, 2017, Kennebunk Light filed a notice stating that it 
does not intend to file an application for a subsequent license. In 
response to a solicitation issued by the Commission on May 15, 2017, 
America First Hydro filed a notice of intent to file an application for 
a license for the Lower Mousam Project and a Pre-Application Document 
(PAD), pursuant to 18 CFR 5.5 and 5.6 of the Commission's regulations. 
The licensing proceeding is commencing under Project No. 14856.
    k. America First Hydro filed a request to use the Traditional 
Licensing Process (TLP) on September 11, 2017, which the Commission 
denied on October 31, 2017. America First Hydro must use the Integrated 
Licensing Process to prepare a license application for the Lower Mousam 
Project.
    l. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item o below. Cooperating agencies should note 
the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation 
of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 
61,076 (2001).
    m. With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with: 
(a) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries under section 
7 of the Endangered Species Act and the joint agency regulations 
thereunder at 50 CFR, part 402; (b) NOAA Fisheries under section 305(b) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 600.920; and (c) the Maine State 
Historic Preservation Officer, as required by section 106, National 
Historic Preservation Act, and the implementing regulations of the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    n. A copy of the PAD is available for review at the Commission in 
the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site 
(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 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 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

[[Page 53492]]

staff's 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-14856-000.
    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 within 60 days of the issuance date of this notice.
    p. At this time, the Commission intends to prepare an environmental 
assessment (EA).

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of 
the project at the time and place noted 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:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: Monday, December 11, 2017.
    Time: 1:00 p.m.
    Location: Kennebunk Town Hall Auditorium, 1 Summer Street, 
Kennebunk, ME 04043.
    Phone: (207) 985-3311.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: Monday, December 11, 2017.
    Time: 6:00 p.m.
    Location: Kennebunk Town Hall Auditorium, 1 Summer Street, 
Kennebunk, ME 04043.
    Phone: (207) 985-3311.
    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 item n above. 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, the existing licensee, and Commission 
staff will conduct an Environmental Site Review of the project on 
Tuesday, December 12, 2017, starting at 9:00 a.m. All participants 
should meet in the parking lot, located next to the Kesslen Dam on 
Berry Court Road, Kennebunk, ME 04043. All participants are responsible 
for their own transportation. Anyone with questions about the site 
visit should contact Mr. Todd Shea of Kennebunk Light and Power 
District at (207) 985-3311 on or before December 12, 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 pre-filing 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: November 8, 2017.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-24793 Filed 11-15-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P