Seattle City Light; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments, 31261-31262 [2023-10357]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices proceedings should be delivered to Health and Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 31, 2023. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ID–9773–000] lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 Loehr, Jason C.; Notice of Filing Take notice that on May 10, 2023, Jason C. Loehr submitted for filing, application for authority to hold interlocking positions, pursuant to section 305(b) of the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 825d(b) and part 45.8 of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (Commission) Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR part 45.8. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest this filing must file in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Protests will be considered by the Commission in determining the appropriate action to be taken but will not serve to make protestants parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party must file a notice of intervention or motion to intervene, as appropriate. Such notices, motions, or protests must be filed on or before the comment date. On or before the comment date, it is not necessary to serve motions to intervene or protests on persons other than the Applicant. 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 of this 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. 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 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202) 502–8659. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings of comments, protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the ‘‘eFiling’’ link at https:// www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically may mail similar pleadings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Hand delivered submissions in docketed VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:33 May 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 Dated: May 10, 2023. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2023–10380 Filed 5–15–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 553–244] Seattle City Light; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments 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.: 553–244. c. Date Filed: April 28, 2023. d. Applicant: Seattle City Light (City Light). e. Name of Project: Skagit River Hydroelectric Project (project) f. Location: The existing project is located on the Skagit River, in Whatcom, Snohomish, and Skagit Counties, Washington. The project occupies Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)–825(r). h. Applicant Contact: Chris Townsend, Director of Natural Resources and Hydropower Licensing, Seattle City Light, P.O. Box 34023, Seattle, WA 98124; telephone (206) 304–1210. i. FERC Contact: Matt Cutlip, (503) 552–2762 or matt.cutlip@ferc.gov. j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time. k. The Project Description: The project consists of three hydroelectric developments (i.e., Ross, Diablo, and Gorge), a transmission line corridor that is about 100 miles long containing multiple transmission lines, two company towns (i.e., Newhalem and Diablo), and numerous recreation and interpretive facilities. The project also includes 10,803.4 acres of fish and wildlife mitigation land. PO 00000 Frm 00044 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 31261 The Ross Development is located at river mile (RM) 105.1 on the Skagit River and consists of: (1) a 540-foothigh, 1,300-foot-long concrete arch and gravity dam with two spillways, each of which has six 20-foot-high, 19.5-footwide radial tainter gates, two butterfly valves at an elevation of 1,346.2 feet, and two jet valves at elevations of 1,275.2 and 1,260.2 feet; (2) the 11,725surface-acre Ross Lake with a storage capacity of 1,432,000 acre-feet at normal maximum water surface elevation of 1,608.76 feet; (3) two bifurcated intake structures with four 20-foot-wide, 198.13-foot-long openings and trashracks; (4) one 1,800-foot-long and one 1,634-foot-long, 24.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined power tunnels; (5) four 16-foot-diameter, 350-foot-long penstocks; (6) a powerhouse containing four generating units with a total authorized installed capacity of 352.5 MW; (7) two 230-kilovolt (kV), 3.8-milelong transmission lines extending from the power plant to Diablo Switchyard; and (8) appurtenant facilities. The Diablo Development is located at RM 101.2 on the Skagit River and consists of: (1) a 389-foot-high, 1,180foot-long concrete arch and gravity dam, with a northern spillway that has 12 19foot-tall, 20-foot-wide radial tainter gates and a southern spillway with seven 19-foot-high, 20-foot-wide radial tainter gates, and a valve house containing three butterfly valves and one Larner Johnson type valve at an elevation of 1,050.6 feet; (2) the 905surface-acre Diablo Lake with a gross storage capacity of 88,880 acre-feet at normal maximum water surface elevation of 1,211 feet; (3) two bifurcated intake structures with four approximately 16.75- to 18.75-footwide, 153.71-foot-long openings and trashracks; (4) a 19.5-foot-diameter, 1,990-foot-long power tunnel, of which 1,800 feet is concrete-lined and the other 190 feet is steel-lined; (5) two 15foot-diameter penstocks and two 5-footdiameter penstocks each 290 feet long; (6) a surge tank; (7) a powerhouse containing four generating units with a total authorized installed capacity of 158.47 MW; (8) a switchyard; (9) a 230kV, 5.8-mile-long transmission line extending from Diablo Switchyard to the Gorge Switchyard; (10) three 230kV, 87.6-mile-long transmission lines running from Diablo Switchyard to Bothell Substation; and (11) appurtenant facilities. The Gorge Development is located at RM 96.6 on the Skagit River and consists of: (1) a 300-foot-high, 670-footlong combination concrete arch and gravity dam with a 94-foot-wide spillway that has two 50-foot-high, 47- E:\FR\FM\16MYN1.SGM 16MYN1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 31262 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 94 / Tuesday, May 16, 2023 / Notices foot-wide fixed wheel gates and a log chute; (2) the 235-surface-acre Gorge Lake with a gross storage capacity of 8,200 acre-feet at normal maximum water surface elevation of 881.5 feet; (3) a bifurcated intake structure with two 20-foot-wide, 88.9-foot-long openings and trashracks; (4) a 20.5-foot-diameter, 11,000-foot-long concrete-lined power tunnel; (5) three 10-foot-diameter penstocks and one 15-foot-diameter penstock, each 1,600 feet long and each fitted with a 10-foot-diameter butterfly biplane and relief valves; (6) a surge tank; (7) a powerhouse containing four generating units with a total authorized installed capacity of 189.3 MW; (8) a switchyard; (9) a 230-kV, 36.8-mile-long transmission line extending from Gorge Switchyard to North Mountain Substation; and (10) appurtenant facilities. The three project developments are hydraulically coordinated to operate as a single project. Project operation under the existing license is designed to meet four objectives, which are prioritized as follows: (1) flood control, (2) salmon and steelhead protection flows downstream of Gorge Powerhouse, (3) recreation, and (4) power generation. To achieve these goals, City Light adheres to specific license requirements for Ross Lake levels and for stream flows and ramping rates downstream of Gorge Powerhouse. Under existing operations, Ross Lake is drawn down on a yearly basis during winter to capture flows from spring runoff and to provide for downstream flood control. The drawdown typically begins after Labor Day and continues until the lake reaches its lowest level in late March or early April. The current license requires City Light to draw down Ross Lake to a level that provides 60,000 acre-feet of storage for flood control by November 15 and 120,000 acre-feet by December 1 and to maintain this available storage through March 15. Ross Lake levels are also managed to meet recreational needs during the summer months. The current license requires City Light to fill Ross Lake as soon as possible after April 15, achieve full pool depth by July 31, and maintain full pool depth through Labor Day. The Diablo Development is operated to regulate flow between the Ross and Gorge Developments. Under normal operation, Diablo Lake typically fluctuates between 4 and 5 feet per day. The Ross Powerhouse and Diablo Powerhouse are typically operated continuously to pass flow downstream, although generation is occasionally increased or decreased for short periods to help meet load-following demand or other project purposes. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:33 May 15, 2023 Jkt 259001 The Gorge Development is operated primarily to provide a continuous, stable flow regime in the upper Skagit River for salmon and steelhead protection. City Light typically limits Gorge Lake fluctuations to about 3 to 5 feet and does not typically operate the powerhouse to meet load-following demand. The Gorge Development creates a 2.5-mile-long bypassed reach of the Skagit River between the dam and powerhouse. There are no minimum flow requirements in the existing license for the Gorge bypassed reach. Therefore, except during spill events at Gorge Dam, bypassed reach flow is limited to accretion flow, spill-gate seepage, tributary input, and precipitation runoff. l. 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., license application) 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–553). For assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 (TTY). At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the Commission’s Public Reference Room. For assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov or call toll free, (886) 208–3676 or TTY (202) 502–8659. m. 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. n. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate. Milestone Target Date City Light files final study report for Study CR–04 Properties with Traditional Cultural Significance Study 1. Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis. PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 4703 March 2024. April 2024. Sfmt 4703 Milestone Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and fishway prescriptions. Target Date June 2024. 1 City Light indicates in section 4.2.9.1 of the Final License Application Exhibit E that the study results for this Commission staff-approved study would be filed in the first quarter of 2024. o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice of ready for environmental analysis. Dated: May 9, 2023. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2023–10357 Filed 5–15–23; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 15296–000] Tivis Branch Hydro, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications On January 3, 2023, Tivis Branch Hydro, LLC, filed an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Flannagan Hydroelectric Project to be located at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Huntington District John W. Flannagan Dam on the Pound River in Dickenson County, Virginia. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any landdisturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners’ express permission. The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) new four 0.36megawatt (MW) turbine-generator units to be placed inside the Corps’ intake tower with a total installed capacity of 1.44 MW; (2) a new 40-foot-long, 40foot-wide operating space inside the Corps’ intake tower; (3) a new 300-footlong conduit attached to the access bridge (which provides access to the Corps’ intake tower); (4) a new 15-footlong, 15-foot-wide substation pad including a 4.16/12.47-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer; (5) a new 300-footlong, 4.16-kV generator lead to the E:\FR\FM\16MYN1.SGM 16MYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 94 (Tuesday, May 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31261-31262]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-10357]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 553-244]


Seattle City Light; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing 
With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing 
and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

    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.: 553-244.
    c. Date Filed: April 28, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Seattle City Light (City Light).
    e. Name of Project: Skagit River Hydroelectric Project (project)
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Skagit River, 
in Whatcom, Snohomish, and Skagit Counties, Washington. The project 
occupies Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the National Park 
Service and the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Chris Townsend, Director of Natural Resources 
and Hydropower Licensing, Seattle City Light, P.O. Box 34023, Seattle, 
WA 98124; telephone (206) 304-1210.
    i. FERC Contact: Matt Cutlip, (503) 552-2762 or 
[email protected].
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The project consists of three 
hydroelectric developments (i.e., Ross, Diablo, and Gorge), a 
transmission line corridor that is about 100 miles long containing 
multiple transmission lines, two company towns (i.e., Newhalem and 
Diablo), and numerous recreation and interpretive facilities. The 
project also includes 10,803.4 acres of fish and wildlife mitigation 
land.
    The Ross Development is located at river mile (RM) 105.1 on the 
Skagit River and consists of: (1) a 540-foot-high, 1,300-foot-long 
concrete arch and gravity dam with two spillways, each of which has six 
20-foot-high, 19.5-foot-wide radial tainter gates, two butterfly valves 
at an elevation of 1,346.2 feet, and two jet valves at elevations of 
1,275.2 and 1,260.2 feet; (2) the 11,725-surface-acre Ross Lake with a 
storage capacity of 1,432,000 acre-feet at normal maximum water surface 
elevation of 1,608.76 feet; (3) two bifurcated intake structures with 
four 20-foot-wide, 198.13-foot-long openings and trashracks; (4) one 
1,800-foot-long and one 1,634-foot-long, 24.5-foot-diameter concrete-
lined power tunnels; (5) four 16-foot-diameter, 350-foot-long 
penstocks; (6) a powerhouse containing four generating units with a 
total authorized installed capacity of 352.5 MW; (7) two 230-kilovolt 
(kV), 3.8-mile-long transmission lines extending from the power plant 
to Diablo Switchyard; and (8) appurtenant facilities.
    The Diablo Development is located at RM 101.2 on the Skagit River 
and consists of: (1) a 389-foot-high, 1,180-foot-long concrete arch and 
gravity dam, with a northern spillway that has 12 19-foot-tall, 20-
foot-wide radial tainter gates and a southern spillway with seven 19-
foot-high, 20-foot-wide radial tainter gates, and a valve house 
containing three butterfly valves and one Larner Johnson type valve at 
an elevation of 1,050.6 feet; (2) the 905-surface-acre Diablo Lake with 
a gross storage capacity of 88,880 acre-feet at normal maximum water 
surface elevation of 1,211 feet; (3) two bifurcated intake structures 
with four approximately 16.75- to 18.75-foot-wide, 153.71-foot-long 
openings and trashracks; (4) a 19.5-foot-diameter, 1,990-foot-long 
power tunnel, of which 1,800 feet is concrete-lined and the other 190 
feet is steel-lined; (5) two 15-foot-diameter penstocks and two 5-foot-
diameter penstocks each 290 feet long; (6) a surge tank; (7) a 
powerhouse containing four generating units with a total authorized 
installed capacity of 158.47 MW; (8) a switchyard; (9) a 230-kV, 5.8-
mile-long transmission line extending from Diablo Switchyard to the 
Gorge Switchyard; (10) three 230-kV, 87.6-mile-long transmission lines 
running from Diablo Switchyard to Bothell Substation; and (11) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The Gorge Development is located at RM 96.6 on the Skagit River and 
consists of: (1) a 300-foot-high, 670-foot-long combination concrete 
arch and gravity dam with a 94-foot-wide spillway that has two 50-foot-
high, 47-

[[Page 31262]]

foot-wide fixed wheel gates and a log chute; (2) the 235-surface-acre 
Gorge Lake with a gross storage capacity of 8,200 acre-feet at normal 
maximum water surface elevation of 881.5 feet; (3) a bifurcated intake 
structure with two 20-foot-wide, 88.9-foot-long openings and 
trashracks; (4) a 20.5-foot-diameter, 11,000-foot-long concrete-lined 
power tunnel; (5) three 10-foot-diameter penstocks and one 15-foot-
diameter penstock, each 1,600 feet long and each fitted with a 10-foot-
diameter butterfly biplane and relief valves; (6) a surge tank; (7) a 
powerhouse containing four generating units with a total authorized 
installed capacity of 189.3 MW; (8) a switchyard; (9) a 230-kV, 36.8-
mile-long transmission line extending from Gorge Switchyard to North 
Mountain Substation; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
    The three project developments are hydraulically coordinated to 
operate as a single project. Project operation under the existing 
license is designed to meet four objectives, which are prioritized as 
follows: (1) flood control, (2) salmon and steelhead protection flows 
downstream of Gorge Powerhouse, (3) recreation, and (4) power 
generation. To achieve these goals, City Light adheres to specific 
license requirements for Ross Lake levels and for stream flows and 
ramping rates downstream of Gorge Powerhouse.
    Under existing operations, Ross Lake is drawn down on a yearly 
basis during winter to capture flows from spring runoff and to provide 
for downstream flood control. The drawdown typically begins after Labor 
Day and continues until the lake reaches its lowest level in late March 
or early April. The current license requires City Light to draw down 
Ross Lake to a level that provides 60,000 acre-feet of storage for 
flood control by November 15 and 120,000 acre-feet by December 1 and to 
maintain this available storage through March 15. Ross Lake levels are 
also managed to meet recreational needs during the summer months. The 
current license requires City Light to fill Ross Lake as soon as 
possible after April 15, achieve full pool depth by July 31, and 
maintain full pool depth through Labor Day.
    The Diablo Development is operated to regulate flow between the 
Ross and Gorge Developments. Under normal operation, Diablo Lake 
typically fluctuates between 4 and 5 feet per day.
    The Ross Powerhouse and Diablo Powerhouse are typically operated 
continuously to pass flow downstream, although generation is 
occasionally increased or decreased for short periods to help meet 
load-following demand or other project purposes.
    The Gorge Development is operated primarily to provide a 
continuous, stable flow regime in the upper Skagit River for salmon and 
steelhead protection. City Light typically limits Gorge Lake 
fluctuations to about 3 to 5 feet and does not typically operate the 
powerhouse to meet load-following demand. The Gorge Development creates 
a 2.5-mile-long bypassed reach of the Skagit River between the dam and 
powerhouse. There are no minimum flow requirements in the existing 
license for the Gorge bypassed reach. Therefore, except during spill 
events at Gorge Dam, bypassed reach flow is limited to accretion flow, 
spill-gate seepage, tributary input, and precipitation runoff.
    l. 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., license application) 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-553). 
For assistance, contact FERC at [email protected], (866) 208-
3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). At this time, the Commission 
has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference Room. For 
assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or call toll 
free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY (202) 502-8659.
    m. 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.
    n. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Milestone                           Target Date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Light files final study report for     March 2024.
 Study CR-04 Properties with Traditional
 Cultural Significance Study \1\.
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for    April 2024.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary      June 2024.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ City Light indicates in section 4.2.9.1 of the Final License
  Application Exhibit E that the study results for this Commission staff-
  approved study would be filed in the first quarter of 2024.

    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: May 9, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-10357 Filed 5-15-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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