Ketchikan Public Utilities; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions, 71350-71351 [2023-22757]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 198 (Monday, October 16, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71350-71351]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-22757]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1922-052]


Ketchikan Public Utilities; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms 
and Conditions, and Prescriptions

    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.: 1922-052.
    c. Date filed: October 27, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Ketchikan Public Utilities (KPU).
    e. Name of Project: Beaver Falls Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On Beaver Falls Creek in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, 
Alaska. The project currently occupies 478.4 acres of United States 
lands administered by U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Jennifer Holstrom, Senior Project Engineer, 
Ketchikan Public Utilities, 1065 Fair Street, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901; 
(907) 228-4733; or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Golbahar Mirhosseini at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and 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 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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: Beaver Falls Hydroelectric Project (P-
1922-052).
    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 and is now ready for 
environmental analysis.
    l. The existing Beaver Falls Project consists of two developments, 
Silvis and Beaver Falls. Beaver Falls Creek first flows into a 300-acre 
project reservoir known as Upper Silvis Lake which has approximately 
38,000 acre-feet of gross storage capacity and 22,000 acre-feet of 
usable capacity and is impounded by Upper Silvis Lake Dam, a 60-foot-
high, 135-foot-long, 22-foot-wide concrete-face, rock-filled dam with a 
crest elevation of 1,164 feet msl.\1\ Water passes downstream of Upper 
Silvis Lake and dam via two primary methods: (1) via spill over a weir 
into an open channel that discharges to Lower Silvis Lake; or (2) via 
discharges through the Silvis Powerhouse into Lower Silvis Lake. Both 
the spillway weir and the intake to the power tunnel leading to Silvis 
powerhouse are located approximately 450 feet south and east of the 
dam. The Upper Silvis spillway consists of an ungated concrete-
encapsulated composite rockfill weir with a 54-foot-long and 16-foot 
high crest at an elevation of 1,154 feet that passes water into an 800-
foot-long, 20-foot-wide, 8-foot-deep excavated rock spillway channel 
leading from Upper Silvis Lake to Lower Silvis Lake. The Upper Silvis 
intake consists of a 3-foot by 4-foot manually operated sluice gate 
approximately 200 feet downstream of the power tunnel entrance which is 
at an invert elevation of 1,050 msl. Water entering the intake passes 
through trash racks containing two rack bars 10-inches off center and 
spaced 30 feet apart and enters the 980-foot-long underground power 
tunnel connecting to a 375-foot-long, 36-inch-diameter steel penstock 
that conveys water to a 30 feet by 40 feet by 25-feet-high Silvis 
powerhouse. The Silvis powerhouse contains a single Francis-type 
turbine with a rated capacity of 2.1 megawatts. Water exiting the 
Silvis powerhouse enters a 150-foot-long trapezoidal shaped channel 
tailrace that discharges into Lower Silvis Lake. There is also a 
penstock bypass gate valve that can be used to bypass the powerhouse 
and discharge water from the penstock into the spillway channel that 
runs parallel to the penstock and a powerhouse bypass valve that allows 
water entering the powerhouse to bypass the turbine and discharge 
directly into Lower Silvis Lake. Power from the Silvis powerhouse is 
transmitted through a 2,900-foot-long, 5-kilovolt submarine cable 
beneath Lower Silvis Lake which connects to a 2,500 Kilovolt-ampere 
(kVA), 34.5-4.16 kV transformer located near Lower Silvis Lake Dam. 
From the transformer, power is transmitted via a 7,000-foot-long, 34.5- 
kilovolt aerial transmission line to the Beaver Falls substation/
switchyard.
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    \1\ All elevations are in mean sea level (msl). The conversion 
to North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) at the project is 
msl minus 8.07 feet.
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    Water passing downstream of Upper Silvis Lake enters a 67.5-acre 
project reservoir known as Lower Silvis Lake which begins the Beaver 
Falls development portion of the project. Lower Silvis Lake has a gross 
storage capacity of approximately 8,052 acre-feet and usable storage 
capacity of 1,600 acre-feet and is impounded by Lower Silvis Dam which 
is a 32-foot-high, 140-foot-long concrete-face, rock-filled dam with a 
crest elevation of 835 feet. Water either spills over the Lower Silvis 
Dam and spillway into Beaver Falls Creek or enters the Lower Silvis 
intake structure and power tunnel system. A spillway composed of a 
reinforced concrete ungated control weir approximately 3-foot-high, 
140-foot-long and 4-foot-wide with a crest elevation of 827 feet 
extends from the left abutment of Lower Silvis Lake Dam and discharges 
water into Beaver Falls Creek via a 50-foot-wide spillway discharge 
channel. Beaver Falls Creek then flows for approximately 0.66-miles to 
a 3-foot-high, 40-foot-long concrete Beaver Falls Creek Diversion Dam. 
At this point, water can either enter an intake leading to a penstock 
that supplies Unit 1 in the Beaver Falls powerhouse, or pass over the 
diversion dam spillway and flow an

[[Page 71351]]

additional 0.85-mile before discharging into George Inlet. The Beaver 
Falls Diversion Dam intake consists of a steel settling box and 
concrete shelter house with angled trash racks 81-inches-wide with 
1.25-inches clear bar spacing and a manually operated gate that leads 
to a 4,170-foot-long above ground steel penstock that conveys water 
from the Beaver Falls Creek diversion dam east to the Beaver Falls 
powerhouse and supplies Unit 1 in the powerhouse. Rather than spilling 
over the Lower Silvis Lake Dam and spillway into Beaver Falls Creek, 
water in Lower Silvis Lake can also enter an intake structure located 
south of the Lower Silvis Lake Dam. The intake contains a 10-foot by 
32-foot steel intake trash rack, with 0.25-inch by 2.5-inch deep bars 
spaced 1.75-inches apart. Water from the intake leads to a 3,800-foot-
long underground power tunnel connecting to a 3,610-foot-long above 
ground steel penstock that supplies water to Units 3 and 4 in the 
powerhouse. A 225-foot-long, 20-inch-diameter ``adit'' (i.e., steel 
pipe) taps into the 3,800-foot-long underground power tunnel and can be 
used by KPU to divert up to 60 cfs of water from the power tunnel to 
supplement flow in Beaver Falls Creek. The adit discharges water into 
an open drainage ditch that runs along the Silvis Lakes Trail for 
approximately 550 feet and connects to an approximately 50-foot-long 
return culvert running under the trail that discharges water into 
Beaver Falls Creek just upstream of the Beaver Falls Diversion Dam 
described earlier. The project penstocks convey water to a 30 feet by 
147 feet by 25-feet-high Beaver Falls powerhouse containing three 
horizontal Pelton generating units with a total installed capacity of 5 
MW (Units 1, 3 and 4 are operational; Unit 2 is decommissioned).\2\ 
Water exiting the powerhouse enters a 60-foot-long open tailrace 
channel (Units 1 and 2 have separate tailrace channels each 9-feet-wide 
while Units 3 and 4 have separate 10-foot-wide channels which merge 30 
feet downstream of the powerhouse into a single 20-foot-wide channel). 
KPU states there are no transmission lines associated with the Beaver 
Falls powerhouse as the powerhouse interconnects to the adjacent Beaver 
Falls substation/switchyard, which is also serves as interconnection 
point for the Silvis transmission line described earlier. Between both 
powerhouses, the Beaver Falls Project generates an average of 45,877 
megawatt-hours (MWh) annually.
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    \2\ The 5 MW total capacity for the Beaver Falls Powerhouse 
consists of 1 MW generated from Unit 1, 2 MW generated from Unit 3, 
and 2 MW generated from Unit 4. Unit 1 operates at a minimum 
hydraulic capacity of 7 cfs and maximum hydraulic capacity of 33 
cfs. Unit 3 operates at a minimum hydraulic capacity of 8 cfs and a 
maximum hydraulic capacity of 55 cfs. Unit 4 operates at a minimum 
hydraulic capacity of 9 cfs and a maximum hydraulic capacity of 56 
cfs. Therefore, the minimum capacity of the Beaver Falls Powerhouse 
is 7 cfs while the combined maximum hydraulic capacity for the 
Beaver Falls powerhouse is 144 cfs.
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    KPU operates the project in peaking mode utilizing a combination of 
river inflow and storage in the reservoirs to meet the power demands of 
the City of Ketchikan (particularly in the summer). Upper Silvis Lake 
provides the primary storage for the project. KPU proposes to continue 
operating the project in peaking mode with no new developments or 
modifications to its existing facilities or operation. KPU also 
proposes to remove 77 acres of land from the Beaver Falls project 
boundary to more closely align with the footprint of its facilities and 
maintenance needs. KPU's proposed Beaver Falls project boundary would 
include 408.8 acres of land within Tongass National Forest, and 
approximately 14.2 acres of Federal lands subject to FPA Section 24, 
for a total of 423 acres.
    m. A copy of the application is available for review 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. For assistance, contact FERC at 
[email protected] or call toll free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY 
(202) 502-8659.
    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.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``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 submitting the filing; 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. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    n. The applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date 
of issuance of this notice: (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.
    o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for Filing Comments,               December 2023.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Licensee's Reply to REA Comments..........  January 2024.
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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.

    Dated: October 10, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-22757 Filed 10-13-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P