Northern States Power Company; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions, 83673-83675 [2024-23940]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 201 (Thursday, October 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83673-83675]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23940]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2610-012]


Northern States Power Company; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, 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.: 2610-012.
    c. Date Filed: December 30, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Northern States Power Company (Northern States).
    e. Name of Project: Saxon Falls Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Montreal River in Gogebic County, Michigan and 
Iron County, Wisconsin.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Donald R. Hartinger, Director--Renewable 
Operation, 414 Nicollet Mall FL 2, Minneapolis, MN 55401; telephone at 
(651) 261-7668; email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes 
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (312) 596-4447; 
email at [email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, 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 
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. 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 project name and docket number on the first page: Saxon 
Falls Hydroelectric Project (P-2610-012).
    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 for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    l. Project Description: The project includes a dam that consists 
of: (1) a 250-foot-long non-overflow earthen embankment; (2) a 57-foot-
long non-overflow concrete section; (3) a 31-foot-long non-overflow 
concrete section with a 19-foot-long intake structure with an 8-foot-
long gate and a trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (4) a 30-foot-
long concrete section with an 26-foot-long Tainter gate; and (5) a 127-
foot-long spillway section with a crest elevation of 997.0 feet 
National Geodetic Vertical Dam of 1929 (NGVD 29). The dam creates an 
impoundment with a surface area of 70 acres at an elevation of 997.0 
feet NGVD 29.
    From the impoundment, water flows through the intake structure to a 
1,607-foot-long conduit with a surge tank, and two 207-foot-long 
penstocks. From the penstocks, water is conveyed to a 52-foot-long, 30-
foot-wide powerhouse that contains two 750-kilowatt (kW) horizontal 
turbine-generator units, for a total installed capacity of 1,500 kW. 
Water is discharged from the

[[Page 83674]]

powerhouse directly to the Montreal River. The project creates an 
approximately 2,400-foot-long bypassed reach of the Montreal River. A 
minimum flow pipe extends from the 31-foot-long non-overflow section of 
the dam to provide flow to the bypassed reach.
    Project recreation facilities include a boat ramp on the southern 
shoreline of the impoundment approximately 180 feet upstream of the 
dam. Northern States also maintains the following non-project 
recreation facilities in the project boundary: (1) a hand-carry boat 
access site on the southern shore of the impoundment, adjacent to the 
dam; (2) a parking area that provides access to the impoundment boat 
access site and the project boat ramp; (3) a hand-carry boat access 
site (tailwater access site) and parking area on the southern shoreline 
of the Montreal River, approximately 1,900 feet downstream of the dam; 
and (4) a scenic overlook on the southern shoreline of the bypassed 
reach, upstream of the tailwater access site.
    Electricity generated at the powerhouse is transmitted to the 
electric grid via a 2.4-kilovolt (kV) overhead transmission line and a 
2.4/34.5-kV step-up transformer. The minimum and maximum hydraulic 
capacities of the powerhouse are 48 and 170 cubic feet per second 
(cfs), respectively. The average annual energy production of the 
project from 2017 through 2021 was 10,015.3 megawatt-hours.
    Northern States operates the project in run-of-river mode, such 
that project outflow approximates inflow to the impoundment. The 
current license requires Northern States to: (1) minimize fluctuations 
of the impoundment surface elevation; (2) maintain a minimum 
impoundment elevation of 997.0 feet NGVD 29 from ice-out through June 
1; (3) maintain an impoundment elevation between a minimum of 996.5 and 
a maximum of 997.0 feet NGVD 29 from June 2 through ice-out; (4) 
release a minimum flow of 5 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, to the 
bypassed reach from ice-out through October 31 (ice-free season) each 
year; (5) limit impoundment drawdowns for maintenance and repair to the 
period of June 1 through December 31, and limit the rate of any such 
drawdowns to a maximum of 1 foot per 24 hours for the first 2 feet and 
0.5 foot per 24 hours thereafter; (6) implement a Cultural Resources 
Monitoring Plan to protect cultural resources; and (7) operate and 
maintain the project recreation facilities.
    Northern States proposes to revise the project boundary around the 
impoundment to follow a contour elevation of 997.0 feet NGVD 29, which 
would result in a reduction in the total acreage of the project 
boundary upstream of the project dam, from 159 acres to 71.7 acres. 
Additionally, Northern States proposes to add 2.7 acres of land to the 
project boundary near the dam and remove 20 acres of land from the 
project boundary along the bypassed reach and river downstream of the 
powerhouse.
    Northern States proposes to continue to operate the project in run-
of-river mode and maintain water surface elevations as described above. 
In addition, Northern States proposes to release a minimum aesthetic 
flow of 5 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, from the Saturday before 
Memorial Day to October 15, except on weekends and holidays, when a 
minimum aesthetic flow of 10 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, would be 
released from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Northern States also proposes the 
following measures: (1) develop an operation compliance monitoring 
plan; (2) develop an invasive species management plan that includes 
biennial surveys for invasive species; (3) protect bald eagles by 
scheduling any ground-disturbing activities at recreation sites to 
occur between August 1 and January 15 for any work within 660 feet of 
any eagle nest; (4) avoid the removal of trees greater than 3 inches in 
diameter from June 1 through July 31, and follow the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service's guidance to protect the northern long-eared bat and 
tricolored bat; (5) continue to maintain the boat ramp as a project 
recreation facility and improve the boat ramp via grading and/or adding 
gravel; (6) discontinue maintenance of the non-project hand-carry boat 
access site that is on the shoreline of the impoundment, adjacent to 
the dam; (7) provide impoundment access for hand-carry boaters at the 
project boat ramp and install directional and safety signage for hand-
carry boaters at the boat ramp; (8) maintain the parking area for the 
boat ramp as a project recreation facility; (9) maintain the scenic 
overlook of the bypassed reach as a project recreation facility and 
install safety signage at the overlook; (10) maintain the tailwater 
access site and associated parking area as project recreation 
facilities; (11) develop a whitewater recreation plan that includes 
provisions for two, 3-hour whitewater flow releases between May and 
September, generator ramping rates for whitewater flow releases, 
publishing river flow information on the internet, and improving access 
to the tailwater access site by installing an electronic card reader 
that opens a locked gate; and (12) develop a historic properties 
management plan that includes shoreline erosion surveys every 5 years.
    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 (i.e., P-2610). 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, 385.211, and 385.214. 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,'' ``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 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

[[Page 83675]]

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.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                    Milestone                           Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing of Comments, Recommendations, Terms and    December 2024.
 Conditions, and Prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments........................  January 2025.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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: October 10, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-23940 Filed 10-16-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P