Goose River Hydro, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments, 44040-44042 [2018-18708]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44040-44042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18708]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2804-035]


Goose River Hydro, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: New Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 2804-035.
    c. Date filed: February 2, 2018.
    d. Applicant: Goose River Hydro, Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Goose River Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Goose River, in Waldo County, Maine. No federal 
lands are occupied by the project works or located within the project 
boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Nicholas Cabral, Goose River Hydro, Inc., 41 
Sedgewood Drive, Kennebunk, ME 04043; (207) 604-4394; email_
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Julia Kolberg at (202) 502-8261; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: October 26, 2018.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and protests using the Commission's eFiling system 
at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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. The 
first page of any filing should include docket number P-2804-035.
    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, but is not ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    l. The project consists of the following existing facilities:

[[Page 44041]]

Swan Lake Dam

    (1) a 14-foot-high, 250-foot-long rock masonry gravity dam 
impounding Swan Lake with a surface area of approximately 1,364 acres 
at an elevation of 201 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet 
structure; (3) three 3.5-foot-high, 4-foot-wide manually operated 
butterfly gates that regulate flow through the inlet structure; (4) two 
culverts that convey flow under Route 141; and (5) appurtenant 
facilities.

Mason's Dam

    (1) a 15-foot-high, 86-foot-long rock masonry dam impounding a 
reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 1,621 acre-feet at 
an elevation of 188 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet 
structure; (3) a manually operated butterfly gate regulating flow from 
the inlet structure to the penstock; (4) a 3-foot-diameter, 350-foot-
long steel penstock; (5) a 266-square-foot concrete powerhouse 
containing two Kaplan turbines and generating units with a licensed 
capacity of 100 kW; (6) a 300-foot-long, 12-kilovolt (kV) transmission 
line; and (7) appurtenant facilities. Mason's Development generates 
when flows in excess of 5 cfs are available and when an operator is 
present.

Kelly Dam

    (1) a 15-foot-high, 135-foot-long masonry gravity dam impounding a 
reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 200 acre-feet at an 
elevation of approximately 159 feet above sea level; and (2) three 3-
foot-high, 2.5-foot-wide manually operated butterfly gates.

Mill Dam

    (1) a 6-foot-tall, 70-foot-wide masonry dam impounding a reservoir 
with a storage capacity of approximately 7 acre-feet at an elevation of 
approximately 128 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet structure; 
(3) a trash sluice with wooden stop logs; (4) a powerhouse containing a 
Francis-type turbine and generator unit with a licensed capacity of 75 
kW; (5) a 60-foot-wide concrete spillway; and (6) an approximately 100-
foot-long, 12-kV transmission line. The penstock used to deliver water 
to the powerhouse has been removed due to deterioration and subsequent 
leakage; thus, the powerhouse is not operating.

CMP Dam

    (1) a 21-foot-high, 231-foot-long buttress dam impounding a 
reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 72 acre-feet at an 
elevation of approximately 109 feet above sea level; (2) a manually 
operated low-level water release lift gate; (3) a manually operated 
lift gate regulating flow to the penstock; (4) a 5-foot-diameter, 
1,200-foot-long steel penstock; (5) a 300-square-foot concrete and 
timber powerhouse with a Kaplan-type turbine and generator unit with a 
licensed capacity of 200 kW; (6) a 42-foot-long spillway; and (7) an 
approximately 500-foot-long, 12-kV transmission line. The penstock used 
to deliver water to the powerhouse is currently out of service due to 
damage, deterioration, and subsequent leakage; thus, the powerhouse is 
not operating.
    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.
    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. Scoping Process.
    The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental assessment (EA) 
on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action. Although our current intent is to prepare an EA, there is a 
possibility that an environmental impact statement (EIS) may be 
required. The scoping process will satisfy the NEPA scoping 
requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an 
EIS.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public scoping 
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018.
    Time: 9:30 a.m. (EDT).
    Place: Fireside Inn & Suites.
    Address: 159 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, ME 04915.

Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2018.
    Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).
    Place: Fireside Inn & Suites.
    Address: 159 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, ME 04915.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at https://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

Environmental Site Review

    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental 
Site Review beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 25, 2018. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet at the southeast corner of Swan 
Lake, across the street from Swan Lake Grocery at 979 Swan Lake Avenue, 
Swanville, ME 04915. All participants are responsible for their own 
transportation to the site. Anyone with questions about the 
environmental site review (or needing directions) should contact 
Nicholas Cabral at [email protected] or at (207) 604-4394.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the 
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.


[[Page 44042]]


    Dated: August 23, 2018.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-18708 Filed 8-28-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P