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; Northfield Mountain LLC, 14827-14828 [2024-04174]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 41 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14827-14828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04174]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2485-071]


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; Northfield Mountain LLC

    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.: 2485-071.
    c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016; material amendment filed December 4, 
2020.
    d. Applicant: Northfield Mountain LLC (Northfield).
    e. Name of Project: Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project 
(project).
    f. Location: The project is located on the Connecticut River in 
Windham County, Vermont, Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and Franklin 
County, Massachusetts.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Alan Douglass, Regulatory Compliance 
Manager, 99 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA 01360; (413) 659-4416 or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 502-6131 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
fishway 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 and protests, 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: 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, Maryland 20852. The first 
page of any filing should include docket number P-2485-071.
    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 ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Project Description: The Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage 
Project consists of: (1) a 1-mile-long, 30-foot-wide, 30- to 140-foot-
high main dam that includes: (i) an intake structure with two 7-foot-
wide, 9-foot-high sluice gates and an 8-foot-diameter outlet pipe; and 
(ii) a 589-foot-long, 2-foot-diameter low-level outlet pipe; (2) a 425-
foot-long, 25-foot-high dike (North dike); (3) a 2,800-foot-long, 45-
foot-high dike (Northwest dike); (4) a 1,700-foot-long, 40-foot-long 
dike (West dike); (5) a 327-foot-long, 10- to 20-foot-high gravity dam; 
(6) an ungated 550-foot-long, 6-foot-high spillway structure with a 20-
foot-long notch at an elevation of

[[Page 14828]]

1,005.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (7) a 
286-acre impoundment (upper reservoir) with a useable storage volume of 
12,318 acre-feet between elevations 938.0 feet and 1,000.5 feet NGVD 
29; (8) a 2,110-acre impoundment (lower reservoir or Turners Falls 
impoundment); (9) a 1,890-foot-long, 130-foot-wide intake channel with 
a 63-foot-long, 9-foot-high submerged check dam and two 6-foot-wide, 
2.75-foot-high sluice gates and two 18-foot-wide stoplogs; (10) a 200-
foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 80-foot-high pressure shaft; (11) an 853-foot-
long, 31-foot-diameter penstock; (12) two 22-foot-diameter, 100- to 
150-foot-long penstocks; (13) four 340-foot-long, 9.5- to 14-foot-
diameter penstocks; (14) a 328-foot-long, 70-foot-wide powerhouse that 
contains four reversible pump turbine-generator units with a total 
installed capacity of 1,166.8 megawatts (MW); (15) four 25-foot-long, 
11-foot-diameter draft tubes that transition to a 20-foot-long, 17-
foot-diameter draft tube; (16) a 5,136-foot-long, 33-foot-wide, 31-
foot-high horseshoe-shaped tailrace tunnel; (17) 35-foot-long, 40-foot-
high trapezoid-shaped stoplogs with 74.3- to 99.5-foot-wide, 48-foot-
high trashracks with 6-inch clear-bar spacing; (18) four 26-foot-long, 
13.8-kilovolt (kV) generator leads that connect the turbine-generator 
units to four transformers; (19) two 3,000-foot-long, 345-kV 
transmission lines; and (20) appurtenant facilities.
    The Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project generally operates 
in pumping mode when electricity demand is low and generating mode when 
electricity demand is high. In the summer and winter, the project 
generally operates in a peaking mode in the morning and late afternoon. 
In the spring and fall, the project may operate in a peaking mode one 
or two times a day depending on electricity demand. The existing 
license requires maintaining the upper reservoir between elevations 
938.0 feet and 1,000.5 feet NGVD 29 (i.e., a maximum reservoir drawdown 
of 62.5 feet). Average annual generation at the Northfield Mountain 
Project from 2011-2019 was 889,845 MW-hours, and average annual energy 
consumption for pumping from 2011 to 2019 was 1,189,640 MW-hours.
    Northfield proposes three changes to the current project boundary: 
(1) remove 0.2 acre of land associated with residential property; (2) 
remove 8.1 acres of land referred to as ``Fuller Farm'' that include 
residential and agricultural structures; and (3) add 135.5 acres of 
land that include recreation trails.
    Northfield proposes to increase the maximum water surface elevation 
of the upper reservoir to 1,004.5 feet NGVD 29 and decrease the minimum 
water surface elevation of the upper reservoir to 920.0 feet NGVD 29 
(i.e., a maximum reservoir drawdown of 84.5 feet) year-round. 
Northfield proposes to install a barrier net in the lower impoundment 
to prevent fish entrainment. Northfield also proposes to periodically 
dredge the upper reservoir and to construct new recreation access 
trails. The specific proposed changes are described in the amended 
application and the settlement agreements filed on March 31, 2023 and 
June 12, 2023.
    m. A copy of the application can be viewed 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.
    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 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. 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 on the service list prepared by the 
Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 
385.2010.
    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].
    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.
    o. 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.
    p. 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 motions to intervene,   April 2024.
 protests, comments, recommendations,
 preliminary terms and conditions, and
 preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Deadline for filing reply comments........  May 2024.
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    q. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.

    Dated: February 22, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04174 Filed 2-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P