Mad River Power Associates; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments, 27843-27844 [2021-10887]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 98 (Monday, May 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27843-27844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10887]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3253-015]


Mad River Power Associates; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 3253-015.
    c. Date Filed: November 3, 2020.
    d. Submitted By: Mad River Power Associates (MRPA).
    e. Name of Project: Campton Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Mad River in Grafton County, New Hampshire. The 
project occupies approximately 0.05 acre of federal land administered 
by the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Ian Clark, Mad River Power Associates, 1 
Pepsi Way, Suite 6n75, Katonah, NY 10536; Phone at (914) 297-7645, or 
email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Amanda Gill at (202) 502-6773; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: June 17, 2021.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. 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, you may submit a paper copy. 
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via 
any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, 
Maryland 20852. All filings must clearly identify the project name and 
docket number on the first page: Campton Hydroelectric Project (P-3253-
015).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 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. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing Campton Project is located at the Forest Service's 
Campton Dam and Pond, and consists of: (1) A 22-foot-wide, 24-foot-high 
concrete intake structure located approximately 60 feet upstream of the 
Campton Dam on the east shoreline of Campton Pond, that includes a 25-
foot-long,13-foot-high trashrack with 1.75-inch clear bar

[[Page 27844]]

spacing; (2) a 600-foot-long, 78-inch-diameter underground steel 
penstock that trifurcates into three 48-inch-diameter sections 
measuring 20 feet, 30 feet, and 43 feet in length, respectively; (3) a 
43-foot-long, 30-foot-wide powerhouse located on the east side of the 
Mad River that contains a 167-kW Francis turbine-generator unit; (4) 
two 236-kW submersible Flygt turbine-generator units located outside of 
the powerhouse; (5) an approximately 55-foot-long, 40-foot-wide 
tailrace; (6) a 200-foot-long transmission line and a 33.5-kilovolt 
transformer that connects the generators to the electric grid; (7) an 
Atlantic salmon smolt bypass facility consisting of an 85-foot-long, 
20-inch diameter cast iron pipe that empties into an 3.5-foot-deep 
plunge pool approximately 15 feet downstream of the dam; and (8) 
appurtenant facilities. The project creates an approximately 600-foot-
long bypassed reach of the Mad River.
    MRPA currently has a Special Use Permit from the Forest Service for 
operation and maintenance of the Campton Project. MRPA voluntarily 
operates the project as a run-of-release facility. Each Flyght turbine 
unit has a minimum and maximum hydraulic capacity of 74 cubic feet per 
second (cfs) and 89 cfs, respectively, and the Francis turbine unit has 
a minimum and maximum hydraulic capacity of 23 cfs and 60 cfs, 
respectively. When generating electricity, water released from Campton 
Pond, is diverted through the intake structure and the penstock, to the 
turbines, where it is then discharged to the project tailrace and the 
Mad River.
    The current license requires: (1) Inflow to be discharged over the 
spillway to the bypassed reach during periods of non-generation or when 
inflow is less than 25 cfs; (2) a minimum flow of 4.5 cfs through the 
smolt bypass facility during periods of generation or when inflow is 
greater than 25 cfs; and (3) operation of the smolt bypass facility 
from mid-April to mid-June. The average annual energy production of the 
project from 2007 through 2018 was 1,170 MWh.
    MRPA proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in a run-of-
release mode; (2) replace one of the 236-kW Flygt turbine-generator 
units with a new 340-kW Flygt turbine-generator unit, for a total 
installed capacity of 743 kW at the project; (3) release a minimum flow 
of 29 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, over the dam to the bypassed 
reach; and (4) close the existing smolt bypass facility. MRPA estimates 
that the average annual generation of the proposed project will be 
approximately 1,900 MWh.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents via the internet through 
the Commission's Home Page (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. At this time, the 
Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning 
the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on 
March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    n. You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx 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 will prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, if any, of the licensee's proposed 
action and alternatives. The EA or EIS will consider environmental 
impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. The 
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of 
analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of 
whether the Commission prepares an EA or an EIS. Due to concerns with 
large gatherings related to COVID-19, we do not intend to conduct a 
public scoping meeting and site visit in this case. Instead, we are 
soliciting written comments and suggestions on the preliminary list of 
issues and alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA document, as 
described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued May 18, 2021.
    Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in 
the NEPA document 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: May 18, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-10887 Filed 5-21-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P