Ampersand Christine Falls Hydro, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments, 19132-19133 [2023-06603]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 61 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19132-19133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06603]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4639-033]


Ampersand Christine Falls Hydro, LLC; 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.: 4639-033.
    c. Date filed: September 29, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Ampersand Christine Falls Hydro, LLC (Ampersand).
    e. Name of Project: Christine Falls Hydroelectric Project 
(Christine Falls Project or project).
    f. Location: On the Sacandaga River near the Village of Speculator, 
Hamilton County, 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 Contacts: Mr. Sayad Moudachirou, Licensing Manager, 
Ampersand Christine Falls Hydro LLC, 717 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1A, 
Boston, MA 02111, Phone: 617-933-7206, Email: 
[email protected]; and Mr. Jason Huang, Asset Manager, 
Ampersand Christine Falls Hydro LLC, 717 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1A, 
Boston, MA 02111, Phone: 773-919-0923, Email: 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660, or 
[email protected]
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 23, 2023.
    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 via 
U.S. Postal Service 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: 
Christine Falls Hydroelectric Project (P-4639-033).
    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 Christine Falls Project consists of the following existing 
facilities: (1) a 15-foot-high, 152.6-foot-long concrete gravity dam 
(includes both abutments), with 3-foot-high wooden flashboards 
installed along the crest of the 135-foot-long spillway; (2) a 
reservoir with a surface area of 1.1 acres and a storage capacity of 4-
acre feet at a normal water surface elevation of 1,699.7 feet National 
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (3) an intake structure; (4) 
a 613-foot-long steel penstock with a diameter of 6 feet that 
bifurcates into 3-foot-diameter, 45-foot-long and 4-foot-diameter, 32-
foot-long penstocks; (5) a brick and concrete powerhouse containing two 
turbine-generator units (i.e., one 275-kilowatt (kW) unit and one 575-
kW unit) with a total capacity of 850 kW; (7) a tailrace with a depth 
of 21 feet; (8) a 610-foot-long bypassed reach; (9) a 185-foot-long 
underground transmission line connecting the generating units to a 
1,000-kilovolt-ampere step-up transformer; (10) a 9,315-foot-long, 
4.16/13.2-kilovolt underground transmission line from the transformer 
to a point of interconnection; and (11) appurtenant facilities.
    The Christine Falls Project is operated in a run-of-river mode, 
with a minimum flow of 25 cubic feet per second (cfs) into the bypassed 
reach during the months of March, April, and May, and a minimum flow of 
10 cfs during the remainder of the year. The project is operated to 
maintain a normal water surface elevation of 1,699.7 feet NGVD29 with 
3-foot-high wooden flashboards in place and has an average

[[Page 19133]]

annual generation of 2,478 megawatt-hours.
    Ampersand proposes to operate the project in a run-of-river mode 
with an impoundment level fluctuation limit of 3 inches from the dam 
crest or flashboards when in place (i.e., from a normal water surface 
elevation of 1,699.68 feet NGVD29 with flashboards in place, and 
1,696.68 feet NGVD29 without flashboards in place). As described in its 
October 11, 2022, settlement agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 
American Whitewater, and the New York State Council of Trout Unlimited, 
Ampersand proposes the following changes to project operation and 
facilities: (1) providing two seasonal minimum flow regimes over the 
spillway and through the bypass gate within 3 years of license 
issuance: (a) a 15-cfs minimum flow or inflow, whichever is less, from 
June 1 to October 31, and (b) a 35-cfs minimum flow or inflow, 
whichever is less, from November 1 to May 31; (2) installing trash 
racks with 1-inch clear spacing or the equivalent (e.g., an overlay-
type system) whereby approach velocities are less than or equal to 2 
feet per second, as measured 1 foot in front of the trash racks; and 
(3) installing and maintaining a year-round downstream fish passage 
structure.
    Ampersand also proposes to: (1) remove the existing 9,315-foot-long 
transmission line from the project, stating that the line also provides 
power to the project from the grid and thus should not be considered a 
primary transmission line; and (2) enhance recreational opportunities 
by sharing data on daily river conditions, constructing a parking area 
for two vehicles, and collecting and hauling trash.
    m. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., scoping document) 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 (P-
4639). For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or 
call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, (202) 502-8659. 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, (886) 208-3676 or TTY 
(202) 502-8659.
    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 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 National Environmental Policy Act (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 March 24, 2023. Commission staff may hold a public 
environmental site visit to examine project facilities and lands within 
the project boundary at a later date.
    Copies of 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: March 24, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-06603 Filed 3-29-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P