Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments, 71262 [2021-27067]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 71262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27067]



[[Page 71262]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 5261-023]


Green Mountain Power Corporation; 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.: 5261-023.
    c. Date Filed: August 27, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Newbury Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Wells River, in the town of Newbury, Orange 
County, Vermont. 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: John Greenan, Green Mountain Power 
Corporation, 2152 Post Road, Rutland, VT 05701; Phone at (802) 770-
2195, or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer at (202) 502-8449, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 7, 2022.
    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: Newbury Hydroelectric Project (P-5261-
023).
    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 Newbury Project consists of: (1) An 11.4-acre impoundment at 
a normal water surface elevation of 463.9 feet mean sea level; (2) a 
26-foot-high by 90-foot-long concrete gravity dam that includes a 73.3-
foot-long spillway topped with 5-foot-high pneumatic crest gates; (3) a 
seasonally installed, 8-foot-long by 4-foot-wide steel sluice box on 
the south side of the spillway to provide downstream fish passage; (4) 
an 11.2-foot-wide, 9-foot-long intake structure that includes trash 
racks with 1-inch clear bar spacing, connected to a 5-foot-diameter, 
435-foot-long underground steel penstock; (5) a powerhouse area 
containing a single 315-kilowatt turbine-generator unit; (6) a second 
50-kilowatt turbine-generator unit located outside of the powerhouse 
area approximately 75-feet downstream of the dam along the bypassed 
reach; (7) a 125-foot-long tailrace; (8) three 150-foot-long generator 
leads that create a 480 Volt, 3 phase 150-foot-long underground 
transmission line connected to three pole mounted 167 kilovolt-ampere 
step-up transformers; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The project 
creates a 590-foot-long bypassed reach of the Wells River.
    The current license requires Green Mountain Power Corporation to: 
(1) Operate the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release a continuous 
bypassed reach minimum flow of 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) from 
April 15 to June 10 and 25 cfs during the remainder of the year; and 
(3) release a year-round, continuous aesthetic flow of 5 cfs over the 
dam. The average annual generation of the project is approximately 882 
megawatt-hours.
    Green Mountain Power Corporation proposes to: (1) Continue 
operating the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release new bypassed 
reach minimum flows of 35 cfs from May 15 to October 15 and 30 cfs from 
October 16 to May 14; (3) release an aesthetic flow of 10 cfs over the 
dam from May 15 to October 15 during daytime hours and no aesthetic 
flow the remainder of the year; and (4) construct a hand-carry access 
area at the head of the project impoundment for recreational boaters.
    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. 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. At this time, we do 
not anticipate holding on-site scoping meetings. 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 December 8, 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: December 8, 2021.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-27067 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P