Power Authority of New York; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions, 2780-2781 [2022-00925]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2780-2781]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00925]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3211-010]


Power Authority of New York; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, 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.: 3211-010.
    c. Date filed: July 31, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Power Authority of the State of New York (Power 
Authority or NYPA).
    e. Name of Project: Hinckley (Gregory B. Jarvis) Hydroelectric 
Project (Gregory B. Jarvis Project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located on West Canada Creek, 
a tributary to the Mohawk River, at the Hinkley Reservoir dam, 
approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the Hamlet of Hinckley in the 
counties of Oneida and Herkimer, New York. The project does not affect 
federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Cindy Brady, New York Power Authority, 123 
Main Street, White Plains, NY 10601; (914) 390-8070, 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Emily Carter, (202) 502-6512, 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply 
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene, protests, 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, 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, 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. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-
3211-010.
    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 Gregory B. Jarvis Project consists of the following 
facilities: (1) A 570-foot-long dam; (2) a 2,600-foot-long south 
embankment dam; (3) a 400-foot-long ogee-type, cyclopean concrete 
spillway with a crest elevation of 1,225 feet; \1\ (4) a 65-foot-long, 
82-foot-high non-overflow cyclopean concrete intake structure with the 
top at 1,240 feet; (5) intake structure trash racks with 5.375-inch 
clear-spacing; (6) a 15-foot-diameter penstock, which bifurcates into 
two 90-foot-long, 10.5-foot-diameter penstocks; (7) two 3-foot by 4-
foot gate valves that lead to a 42-inch-diameter sluice gate; (8) a 
120-foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 43-foot-high semi-underground powerhouse 
located 200 feet downstream of the non-overflow intake structure; (9) 
two 4.5-megawatt horizontal Kaplan turbine-generator units; (10) an 
underground transformer; (11) a 280-foot-long tailrace; (12) a 60-inch-
diameter water pipe used as a low-level outlet; (13) two 4.16-kilovolt 
(kV) generator leads routed 50 feet underground to an aboveground NYPA-
owned 4.16-kV/46-kV step-up transformer; (14) an approximately 300-
foot-long, 46-kV underground

[[Page 2781]]

transmission line; and (15) appurtenant facilities.
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    \1\ All elevations are referenced to the Hinckley Datum. 
Elevations referenced to the Hinckley Datum are 1.04 feet higher 
than elevations referenced to the National Geodetic Vertical Datum 
of 1929 [NGVD29 or mean sea level (msl)], thus, 1,225.0 feet 
Hinckley Datum corresponds to 1,223.96 feet NGVD29 or msl.
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    The Gregory B. Jarvis Project takes advantage of the releases 
prescribed by the New York State Canal Corporation (NYS Canal Corp) in 
accordance with the 2012 Hinckley Reservoir Operating Diagram to 
generate power. Project operation is adjusted on a twice-weekly basis. 
NYPA does not deviate from the operating diagram unless directed to do 
so by the NYS Canal Corp. Reservoir levels are maintained between 1,195 
feet and 1,225 feet (the elevation of the spillway crest); however, 
reservoir water levels can fall below 1,195 feet during a dry season. 
The Gregory B. Jarvis Project does not operate when reservoir levels 
are below 1,195 feet.
    The project has two horizontal Kaplan units which are each capable 
of operating between 300 and 900 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a 
total hydraulic capacity of 1,800 cfs under normal operating 
conditions. At flows within the operating range of the units (300 to 
1,800 cfs), the project provides outflow via generation. At flows below 
300 cfs, or when the reservoir water surface elevation is below 1,195 
feet, the project does not operate. During these conditions, the low-
level sluice gate no. 4 is used to pass a minimum flow of 160 cfs. At 
flows greater than 1,800 cfs, and when the reservoir water surface 
elevation is greater than 1,225 feet, downstream releases are passed 
via a combination of generation and spillage.
    NYPA occasionally operates the project in peaking mode. When NYPA 
is peaking, it will average the outflow required by the operating 
diagram over the course of the day. When operated in this manner, the 
project generates with a lower outflow during non-peak demand periods 
and then generates with a higher outflow during peak demand periods 
such that the total daily average flow is equal to the outflow 
prescribed by the operating diagram.
    NYPA proposes to continue operating the project in the same manner 
as the current license and is not proposing to install any new 
structures as part of the relicensing. The project generated an annual 
average of approximately 28,863 megawatt-hours between 2010 and 2019.
    m. A copy of the application is available for review 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.
    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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action 
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments 
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with 
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any 
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST,'' ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``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 protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise 
comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, 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. A copy of any protest or 
motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the 
applicant specified in the particular application. A copy of all other 
filings in reference to this application 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.
    o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate.

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                  Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of comments, recommendations,           March 2022.
 preliminary terms and conditions, and
 preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments.....................  April 2022.
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    p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    q. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of the notice of acceptance and ready for 
environmental analysis provided for in Sec.  5.22: (1) A copy of the 
water quality certification; (2) a copy of the request for 
certification, including proof of the date on which the certifying 
agency received the request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality 
certification. Please note that the certification request must comply 
with 40 CFR 121.5(b), including documentation that a pre-filing meeting 
request was submitted to the certifying authority at least 30 days 
prior to submitting the certification request. Please also note that 
the certification request must be sent to the certifying authority and 
to the Commission concurrently.

    Dated: January 12, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00925 Filed 1-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P