Spencer Mountain Hydropower, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments, 13062-13063 [2024-03492]

Download as PDF 13062 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Notices online at: https://www.oe.netl.doe.gov/ oe417.aspx. This information collection request contains (1) OMB No.: 1901–0288; (2) Information Collection Request Title: Electric Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report; (3) Type of Request: Three-year extension with changes; (4) Purpose: DOE uses Form DOE–417 Emergency Incident and Disturbance Report to monitor electric emergency incidents and disturbances in the United States (including all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Territories) and to investigate significant interruptions of electric power or threats to the electric system reliability. Form DOE–417 also enables DOE to meet the Department’s national security responsibilities as the coordinating agency for Emergency Support Function (ESF) #12—Energy, under the National Response Framework, and the SectorSpecific Agency for the energy sector, pursuant to Presidential Policy Directive 21—Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, Presidential Policy Directive 41—United States Cyber Incident Coordination, and the Fixing Americas Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, Public Law 114–94. The information may also be shared with other nonregulatory federal agencies assisting in emergency response and recovery operations or investigating the causes of an incident or disturbance to the national electric system. Public summaries of Form DOE–417 submissions are published on the DOE– 417 web page (https://www.oe.netl.doe. gov/oe417.aspx) on a regular basis to keep the public informed. (4a) Changes to Information Collection: DOE proposes to make changes to Form DOE–417 to continue to ensure future alignment with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) CIP–008–6 Reliability Standard, as well as the NERC EOP–004–6 Reliability Standard, and potential future changes. The continued alignment between Form DOE–417 and NERC reporting requirements helps minimize confusion among industry stakeholders about where and how to file reports and enable industry stakeholders to train personnel to report using a single form. Additional changes to Form DOE–417 clarify reporting criteria and updated types of entities that are required to submit certain criteria. A summary of these and other changes to Form DOE– 417 is provided below: khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:43 Feb 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 • Minor edit to alert criteria 2 to add ‘‘as defined in the NERC Glossary of Terms’’ • Under ‘‘Criteria for Filing’’ section added alert criteria 27, ‘‘Uncontrolled loss of a total of 500 MW or more from inverter-based resource(s) for greater than 30 minutes at a common point of interconnection to the bulk electric system.’’ • Under ‘‘Cause’’ in the ‘‘Type of Emergency’’ section added the following subcategories to physical attack: Æ Ballistic Æ Arson Æ Explosive device Æ Other • Under ‘‘Cause’’ in the ‘‘Type of Emergency’’ section added the following subcategories to suspicious activity: Æ Aircraft or Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Æ Trespassing or non-destructive intrusion Æ Surveillance Æ Vandalism Æ Other • Under ‘‘Cause’’ in the ‘‘Type of Emergency’’ combined ‘‘(Cyber event information technology)’’ and ‘‘cyber event (operational technology)’’ and added the following subcategories: Æ Information Technology Æ Operational Technology • Updated Instructions: Replaced ‘‘Office of Electricity’’ with ‘‘Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response • Updated Instructions: Replaced ‘‘oe417@hq.doe.gov’’ with ‘‘DOE417@ hq.doe.gov.’’ • Updated Instructions: Replaced ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’ with ‘‘Director’’ • Updated Instructions: Appendix A. Replace ‘‘What is Excluded’’ text for generating entities with ‘‘Entities who have 300 MW or more of generation detected to one or more end-use customers (e.g. retail or industrial customers), except for commercial power reactors regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and subject to the physical and cybersecurity event notification requirements of 10 CFR part 73. All items need to be addressed.’’ • On Line F., Date/Time Incident Began.: Added Atlantic and Chamorro time zones • On Line G., Date/Time Incident Ended: Added Atlantic and Chamorro time zones (5) Annual Estimated Number of Respondents: 2,174; (6) Annual Estimated Number of Total Responses: 400; (7) Annual Estimated Number of Burden Hours: 5,025; (8) Annual Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost Burden: $438,984. PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DOE estimates that respondents will have no additional costs associated with the surveys other than the burden hours and the maintenance of the information during the normal course of business. Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 772(b), 764(b); 764(a); and 790a and 42 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. and the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2601, Pub. L. 93–275. Signed in Washington, DC, on February 15, 2024. Samson A. Adeshiyan, Director, Office of Statistical Methods & Research, U. S. Energy Information Administration. [FR Doc. 2024–03515 Filed 2–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 2607–016] Spencer Mountain Hydropower, 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 License. b. Project No.: P–2607–016. c. Date Filed: June 26, 2023. d. Applicant: Spencer Mountain Hydropower, LLC (SMH). e. Name of Project: Spencer Mountain Hydroelectric Project (Spencer Mountain Project). f. Location: On the South Fork Catawba River, near the town of Gastonia, in Gaston County, North Carolina. g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Kevin Edwards and Mrs. Amy Edwards, Spencer Mountain Hydropower, LLC, 916 Comer Rd., Stoneville, NC 27048; Phone at (336) 589–6138, or smhydro@ pht1.com. i. FERC Contact: Michael Spencer at (202) 502–6093; or michael.spencer@ ferc.gov. j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: March 15, 2024. 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/Quick Comment.aspx. You must include your E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM 21FEN1 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 35 / Wednesday, February 21, 2024 / Notices name and contact information at the end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (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: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. All filings must clearly identify the following on the first page: Spencer Mountain Hydroelectric Project (P– 2607–016). The Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure require all interveners 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 intervener 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 existing Spencer Mountain Project consists of: (1) a 12-foot-high, 636-foot-long masonry and rubble dam with a crest elevation of 634.7 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) a 68-acre reservoir with a storage capacity of 166 acre-feet; (3) a 58.9-foot-long canal headwork, consisting of four 6-foot-wide gates; (4) a 53.8-foot-long canal spillway connected to the downstream side of the canal headwork; (5) a 30-foot-wide, 10foot-deep, 3,644-foot-long open earthen canal; (6) a 32-foot-wide trash rack at the powerhouse forebay with 2.5-inch clear bar-spacing; (7) a 36-inch-diameter bypass pipe; (8) a 22.5-foot-high, 49.5foot-long, 48.75-foot-wide powerhouse containing two Francis-type generating units with a total capacity of 0.64 megawatts; (9) a concrete lined tailrace discharging flows back into the South Fork Catawba River; (10) a substation containing a 2.3/44-kilovolt (kV) transformer and interconnection to Duke Energy’s 44 kV transmission line; and (11) appurtenant facilities. The project creates a 3,644-foot-long bypassed reach of the South Fork Catawba River. The current license requires SMH to operate in a run-of-river mode with a continuous minimum flow of 76 cubic feet per second (cfs), or inflow, whichever is less, released to the VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:43 Feb 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 bypassed reach. SMH proposes no changes to the project facilities or operations.1 The project has an average annual generation of 4,064 megawatthours. SMP proposes to continue operating the project in run-of-river mode, and to continue releasing a continuous minimum flow of 76 cfs to the bypassed reach. m. Copies of the application can be viewed on the Commission’s website at https://www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the project’s docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. You may also register at https://ferc online.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. n. 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 OPP@ ferc.gov. o. Scoping Process. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) (collectively referred to as the ‘‘NEPA document’’) that describes and evaluates the probable effects, including an assessment of the site-specific and cumulative effects, if any, of the proposed action and alternatives. The Commission’s scoping process will help determine the required level of analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not anticipate holding an on-site scoping meeting. Instead, we are soliciting written 1 SMH’s non-capacity amendment to replace the horizontal Unit 1 turbine and generator with a vertical shaft turbine and generator of the same generating capacity was approved on June 11, 2020 (See 171 FERC ¶ 62,126 (2020)). The replacement of Unit 1 is pending. (See Exhibit A, Project Description and Operation in the FLA, filed June 26, 2023). PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 13063 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 February 13, 2024. 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: February 14, 2024. Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary. [FR Doc. 2024–03492 Filed 2–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER24–1231–000] Wythe County Solar Project, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization This is a supplemental notice in the above-referenced proceeding of Wythe County Solar Project, LLC’s application for market-based rate authority, with an accompanying rate tariff, noting that such application includes a request for blanket authorization, under 18 CFR part 34, of future issuances of securities and assumptions of liability. Any person desiring to intervene or to protest should file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, in accordance with Rules 211 and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and 385.214). Anyone filing a motion to intervene or protest must serve a copy of that document on the Applicant. Notice is hereby given that the deadline for filing protests with regard to the applicant’s request for blanket authorization, under 18 CFR part 34, of future issuances of securities and assumptions of liability, is March 4, 2024. The Commission encourages electronic submission of protests and interventions in lieu of paper, using the FERC Online links at https:// www.ferc.gov. To facilitate electronic E:\FR\FM\21FEN1.SGM 21FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13062-13063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03492]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2607-016]


Spencer Mountain Hydropower, 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 License.
    b. Project No.: P-2607-016.
    c. Date Filed: June 26, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Spencer Mountain Hydropower, LLC (SMH).
    e. Name of Project: Spencer Mountain Hydroelectric Project (Spencer 
Mountain Project).
    f. Location: On the South Fork Catawba River, near the town of 
Gastonia, in Gaston County, North Carolina.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Kevin Edwards and Mrs. Amy Edwards, 
Spencer Mountain Hydropower, LLC, 916 Comer Rd., Stoneville, NC 27048; 
Phone at (336) 589-6138, or [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Spencer at (202) 502-6093; or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: March 15, 2024.
    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

[[Page 13063]]

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: 
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-
Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. All filings must clearly 
identify the following on the first page: Spencer Mountain 
Hydroelectric Project (P-2607-016).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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 existing Spencer Mountain Project consists of: (1) a 12-
foot-high, 636-foot-long masonry and rubble dam with a crest elevation 
of 634.7 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) a 68-acre reservoir with a 
storage capacity of 166 acre-feet; (3) a 58.9-foot-long canal headwork, 
consisting of four 6-foot-wide gates; (4) a 53.8-foot-long canal 
spillway connected to the downstream side of the canal headwork; (5) a 
30-foot-wide, 10-foot-deep, 3,644-foot-long open earthen canal; (6) a 
32-foot-wide trash rack at the powerhouse forebay with 2.5-inch clear 
bar-spacing; (7) a 36-inch-diameter bypass pipe; (8) a 22.5-foot-high, 
49.5-foot-long, 48.75-foot-wide powerhouse containing two Francis-type 
generating units with a total capacity of 0.64 megawatts; (9) a 
concrete lined tailrace discharging flows back into the South Fork 
Catawba River; (10) a substation containing a 2.3/44-kilovolt (kV) 
transformer and interconnection to Duke Energy's 44 kV transmission 
line; and (11) appurtenant facilities. The project creates a 3,644-
foot-long bypassed reach of the South Fork Catawba River.
    The current license requires SMH to operate in a run-of-river mode 
with a continuous minimum flow of 76 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 
inflow, whichever is less, released to the bypassed reach. SMH proposes 
no changes to the project facilities or operations.\1\ The project has 
an average annual generation of 4,064 megawatt-hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ SMH's non-capacity amendment to replace the horizontal Unit 
1 turbine and generator with a vertical shaft turbine and generator 
of the same generating capacity was approved on June 11, 2020 (See 
171 FERC ] 62,126 (2020)). The replacement of Unit 1 is pending. 
(See Exhibit A, Project Description and Operation in the FLA, filed 
June 26, 2023).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SMP proposes to continue operating the project in run-of-river 
mode, and to continue releasing a continuous minimum flow of 76 cfs to 
the bypassed reach.
    m. Copies of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at https://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
project's docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket 
number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support at [email protected].
    You may also register 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, please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected].
    n. 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].
    o. Scoping Process. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA), Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental 
assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
(collectively referred to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, including an assessment of the site-
specific and cumulative effects, if any, of the proposed action and 
alternatives. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the 
required level of analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, 
irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS. At this 
time, we do not anticipate holding an on-site scoping meeting. 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 February 13, 2024.
    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: February 14, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-03492 Filed 2-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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