Swan Lake North Hydro LLC; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions, 61286-61287 [2017-27916]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61286-61287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27916]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13318-003]


Swan Lake North Hydro LLC; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms 
and Conditions, and Prescriptions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Original License (Major Project).
    b. Project No.: 13318-003.
    c. Date filed: October 28, 2015.
    d. Applicant: Swan Lake North Hydro LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Swan Lake North Pumped Storage Hydroelectric 
Project.
    f. Location: The project would be located about 11 miles northeast 
of Klamath Falls, Klamath County, Oregon. The project would occupy 
about 730 acres of federal lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management and the Bureau of Reclamation, state lands, and private 
lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Erik Steimle, Rye Development LLC, 745 
Atlantic Avenue, 8th floor, Boston, MA 02111. Telephone: (503) 998-
0230; Email: [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Dianne Rodman at (202) 502-6077; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this 
notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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 
[email protected], (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.

[[Page 61287]]

The first page of any filing should include docket number P-13318-003.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors 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 
intervenor 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 has been accepted and is ready for 
environmental analysis.
    l. The proposed project would consist of the following new 
facilities: (1) A 7,972-foot-long, 58-foot-high earthen embankment 
forming an asphalt concrete and geomembrane-lined upper reservoir, with 
a surface area of 64.21 acres and a storage capacity of 2,568 acre-feet 
at a maximum surface elevation of 6,128 feet above mean sea level 
(msl); (2) a 8,003-foot-long, 65-foot-high earthen embankment forming a 
geomembrane-lined lower reservoir, with a surface area of 60.14 acres 
and a storage capacity of 2,581 acre-feet at a maximum surface 
elevation of 4,457 feet msl; (3) a 500-foot-long, rip-rap lined 
trapezoidal spillway built into the crest of each embankment at an 
elevation of approximately 6,135 feet msl and 4,464 feet msl for the 
upper and lower reservoirs, respectively; (4) a 0.5-percent-slope 
perforated polyvinyl chloride tube of varying diameter and accompanying 
optical fiber drainage system designed to detect, collect, and monitor 
water leakage from the reservoirs; (5) a 25-inch-diameter bottom outlet 
with manual valve for gravitational dewatering of the lower reservoir; 
(6) an upper intake consisting of a bell mouth, 38.6-foot-wide by 29.8-
foot-long inclined screen, head gate, and 13.8-foot-diameter 
foundational steel pipe; (7) a 13.8-foot-diameter, 9,655-foot-long 
steel high-pressure penstock from the upper reservoir to the powerhouse 
that would be predominantly aboveground with a 14-foot-long buried 
segment; (8) three 9.8-foot-diameter, 1,430-foot-long steel low-
pressure penstocks from the lower reservoir to the powerhouse that 
would be predominantly aboveground with a 78-foot-long buried segment; 
(9) a partially buried powerhouse with three 131.1-MW reversible pump-
turbine units for a total installed capacity of 393.3 MW; (10) a fenced 
substation next to the powerhouse; (11) a 32.8-mile-long, 230-kilovolt 
(kV) aboveground transmission line interconnecting to an existing non-
project substation; (12) approximately 10.7 miles of improved project 
access road; (13) approximately 3.4 miles of new permanent project 
access road; (14) approximately 8.3 miles of temporary project access 
road; and (15) appurtenant facilities. The project would be a closed-
loop system using groundwater for initial fill, and would not use any 
existing surface body of water. Initial fill water and long-term refill 
due to evaporative losses would be supplied by the local groundwater 
agricultural pumping system and delivered to the lower reservoir via an 
existing underground agricultural irrigation network. The average 
annual generation is expected to be 1,187 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 website 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.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, or 
PRESCRIPTIONS; (2) set forth in the heading the name of the applicant 
and the project number of the application to which the filing responds; 
(3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the person 
submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements 
of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, recommendations, 
terms and conditions or prescriptions must set forth their evidentiary 
basis and otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). 
Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the 
applicant. Each filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all 
persons listed on the service list prepared by the Commission in this 
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    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. Public notice of the filing of the initial development 
application, which has already been given, established the due date for 
filing competing applications or notices of intent. Under the 
Commission's regulations, any competing development application must be 
filed in response to and in compliance with public notice of the 
initial development application. No competing applications or notices 
of intent may be filed in response to this notice.
    o. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of this notice: (1) A copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; 
or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.
    p. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Milestone                           Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deadline for Filing Comments,             December 2018.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Draft Environmental Impact Statement      August 2018.
 (EIS) Issued.
Comments on Draft EIS Due...............  October 2018.
Final EIS Issued........................  December 2018.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: December 20, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-27916 Filed 12-26-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P