Blackstone Hydro Associates; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments, 7548-7549 [2020-02580]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7548-7549]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02580]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3063-021]


Blackstone Hydro Associates; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

[[Page 7549]]

    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 3063-021.
    c. Date filed: July 31, 2019.
    d. Applicant: Blackstone Hydro Associates (BHA).
    e. Name of Project: Central Falls Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Blackstone River, in the City of Central Falls, 
Providence County, Rhode Island. 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: Mr. Robert Leahy, 130 Prospect Street, 
Cambridge, MA 02139; Phone at (617) 491-2320, or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: John Baummer, 202-502-6837, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: March 1, 2020.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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-3063-021.
    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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing Central Falls Project consists of: (1) A 190-foot-
long, 24-foot-high, curved granite-masonry dam (Valley Falls Dam); (2) 
an approximately 64.5-acre impoundment with a normal maximum elevation 
of 49.5 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 1929); (3) 
a granite block and wood-framed gatehouse that is adjacent to the dam 
and that contains ten gates that are 9 feet wide by 6 feet tall; (4) a 
290-foot-long, granite block-lined headrace; (5) an intake structure 
with two 8-foot-high hydraulic gates and 24-foot-wide, 11.5-foot-high, 
inclined trashracks having 3-inch clear bar spacing; (6) two 30-foot-
long, 7-foot-diameter penstocks; (7) an approximately 53-foot-long, 32-
foot-wide concrete powerhouse containing two Allis-Chalmers tube 
turbines with a total installed capacity of 700 kilowatts (kW); (8) an 
approximately 1,200-foot-long, 36-foot-wide tailrace; (9) two 480-volt 
generator lead lines; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
    BHA operates the project as a run-of-river facility, such that 
outflow from the project approximates inflow. The project bypasses 
approximately 0.3 mile of the Blackstone River. A 108-cubic feet per 
second (cfs) minimum flow is released over the dam into the bypassed 
reach. BHA discharges a continuous minimum flow of 238 cfs, or inflow, 
whichever is less, as measured at the confluence of the tailrace and 
the river channel. The average annual generation of the project is 
approximately 1,230 megawatt-hours (MWh).
    BHA proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in a run-of-
river mode; (2) retrofit the two existing turbines with variable pitch 
blade runners to allow for the project to be operated at different 
flows; (3) install a new bypassed flow pipe to provide a minimum flow 
of 210 cfs to the bypassed reach, approximately 215 feet downstream of 
the dam; (4) install a new 160-kW ``fish friendly'' turbine-generator 
unit in the proposed bypassed flow pipe to increase the project's 
capacity and provide downstream fish passage; (5) install a new 
trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing in the headrace to prevent fish 
impingement and entrainment; (6) install a new downstream fish passage 
facility in the headrace, immediately upstream of the new trashrack; 
(7) maintain a 13-cfs aesthetic flow over the Valley Falls Dam; (8) 
provide a flow of up to 3 cfs to the adjacent historic canal; (9) 
install an upstream eel passage facility at the project dam; and (10) 
install 20 long-eared bat boxes and implement a Northern Long Eared Bat 
Management and Protection Plan to protect bats. BHA estimates the 
project enhancements will result in an average annual generation of 
approximately 3,200 MWh.
    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 address the document. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at 1485 High Street Central Falls, RI 02863.
    n. 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.
    o. Scoping Process.
    Commission staff intend to prepare a single Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the Central Falls Hydroelectric 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.
    At this time, we do not anticipate holding on-site public or agency 
scoping meetings. Instead, we are soliciting your comments and 
suggestions on the preliminary list of issues and alternatives to be 
addressed in the EA, as described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued 
January 31, 2020.
    Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in 
the EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list 
and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may be viewed on 
the web 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, call 1-866-208-3676 or 
for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: January 31, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-02580 Filed 2-7-20; 8:45 am]
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