New York State Electric & Gas Corporation; Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions, 66665-66666 [2019-26255]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 234 (Thursday, December 5, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66665-66666]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26255]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2934-029]


New York State Electric & Gas Corporation; Notice of Ready for 
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, 
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2934-029.
    c. Date Filed: April 1, 2019.
    d. Applicant: New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG).
    e. Name of Project: Upper Mechanicville Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Hudson River, 
in Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties, New York. The project does not 
occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: David W. Dick, Manager, NYSEG and RG&E Hydro 
Engineering, 1300 Scottsville Road, Rochester, NY 14624; (585) 724-
8535; [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Jody Callihan, (202) 502-8278 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, preliminary terms 
and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions: 60 days from the 
issuance date of this notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the 
issuance date of this notice.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, PRELIMINARY TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS, or PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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, preliminary 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 in 
the service list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in 
accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and 
preliminary fishway 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. The first page of any filing should 
include docket number P-2934-029.
    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 for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. The existing Upper Mechanicville Hydroelectric Project consists 
of: (1) A 700-foot-long concrete gravity dam with a crest elevation of 
66.6 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (2) 3 
spillway bays each extending 222 feet across the length of the dam and 
separated by a 7.5-foot to 10.5-foot-wide concrete pier, with each 
spillway bay containing 12 pneumatic Obermeyer crest gates that are 6 
feet high; (3) a 1.8-mile-long impoundment with a 380-acre surface area 
and gross storage capacity of 10,735 acre-feet at a normal pool 
elevation of 72.6 feet NGVD29; (4) an intake channel with two 
reinforced guide walls and three 35-foot-diameter cofferdam walls 
constructed of sheet piling; (5) a 20-foot-wide and 7.5-foot-high 
intake bypass sluice gate; (6) a 105.5-foot-long by 122-foot-wide 
powerhouse containing two 12,780 horsepower Kaplan turbines and two 
Siemens-Allis generators each having a rated capacity of 8,265 
kilowatts; (7) a tailrace approximately 1,200 feet long and 120 feet 
wide with a bi-level bottom designed to minimize cross-currents; (8) 
one 1.10-mile-long, 34.5-kilovolt transmission line; and (9) 
appurtenant facilities.
    During the non-navigation season (typically from December 1 through 
April 30), NYSEG operates the project in a run-of-river (ROR) mode and 
maintains the impoundment at an elevation of 72.6 feet NGVD29. During 
the navigation season (typically May 1 through November 30), NYSEG 
periodically spills water to lower the impoundment up to 3 feet below 
full pool, as directed by the New York State Canal Corporation, to 
accommodate navigation at lock C-3, and uses all available remaining 
inflow (that is not used to support navigation) for generation 
purposes. NYSEG proposes to continue operating the project as it does 
currently, to support both generation and navigation. In addition, 
NYSEG proposes to enhance fish passage at the project by: (1) 
Installing upstream passage for American eel (4 years post-license); 
(2) developing an agreement with the New York State Canal Corporation 
to modify lock operations to accommodate the upstream passage of 
blueback herring and American shad (commencing 2 years post-license); 
and (3) modifying the project's intake bypass sluice gate to provide an 
additional route of downstream fish passage from April 1 through 
November 30. The project currently generates an annual average of 
88,537 megawatt-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 at [email protected] or toll-free at 1-866-208-
3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the Mechanicville District Public 
Library located at 190 North Main Street, Mechanicville, NY 12118 and 
the A.E. Diver Memorial

[[Page 66666]]

Library located at 136 Main Street, Schaghticoke, NY 12154.
    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. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following revised schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of recommendations, preliminary       January 2020.
 terms and conditions, and preliminary
 fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Environmental Assessment   July 2020.
 (EA).
Comments on EA.............................  August 2020.
Modified Terms and Conditions..............  October 2020.
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    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    p. 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 the certification, 
including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the 
request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.

    Dated: November 29, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-26255 Filed 12-4-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P