[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 56 (Thursday, March 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16828-16829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6880]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project Project No. 2299-075]
Turlock Irrigation District, & Modesto Irrigation District;
Notice of Dispute Resolution Process Schedule, Panel, Technical
Conference, and Modified Filing Times for Panel Recommendations and
Dispute Determination
On January 11, 2012, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the
California Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) (collectively,
the Agencies), filed a Notice of Study Dispute to initiate the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) formal study dispute
resolution process, pursuant to 18 CFR 5.14, in the relicensing
proceeding for the Don Pedro Hydroelectric Project No. 2299-075.\1\
Turlock Irrigation District and the Modesto Irrigation District
(collectively, the Districts), are co-licensees for the Don Pedro
Hydroelectric Project.
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\1\ The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) also requested
dispute resolution on two studies requested by the California
Department of Fish and Game (Cal Fish and Game) and one study
requested by NMFS. Additionally, NMFS requested dispute resolution
on one of the Cal Fish and Game studies. In a March 9, 2012, letter
the Director of the Office of Energy Projects determined that the
Cal Fish and Game's studies would not be referred to dispute
resolution because a disputing agency can only dispute a study
request that it has made itself. The dispute regarding the study
requested by NMFS and endorsed by FWS will go forward as a NMFS
study dispute.
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In its Notice of Study Dispute, NMFS disputes the December 22, 2011
Study Plan Determination's treatment of eight of its June 10, 2011
study requests. NMFS identified study requests 1-4 and 7-9 as being in
dispute. Specifically, the disputed study requests are: Request 1--
Effects of the Project and Related LaGrange Complex Facilities on
Anadromous Fish; Request 2--Effects of the Project and Related
Facilities Evaluated Through an Operations Model; Request 3--Effects of
the Project
[[Page 16829]]
and Related Activities on Fish Passage for Anadromous Fish; Request 4--
Effects of the Project and Related Facilities Hydrology for Anadromous
Fish: Magnitude, Timing, Duration, and Rate of Change; Request 7--
Evaluation of the Upper Tuolumne Habitats for Anadromous Fish; Request
8--Salmon and Steelhead Full Life-Cycle Population Models; and Request
9--Effects of the Project and Related Facilities on Ecosystem/Marine-
Derived Nutrients for Anadromous Fish.
The Water Board's Notice of Study Dispute seeks to have the
Districts' Study W&AR-2--Project Operations/Water Balance Model
modified to address constraints in timing and magnitude of flows
related to water rights.
On February 10, 2012, Commission staff designated Mr. Stephen
Bowler to serve as the Commission staff Dispute Resolution Panel
(Panel) chair. On March 2, 2012, NMFS designated Mr. David White as the
Agency Dispute Resolution Panel member.\2\ From an established list of
potential third party panelists, Mr. Bowler and Mr. White selected Mr.
Richard Craven and requested that he serve on the Panel. Mr. Craven
agreed to serve and the Panel convened on March 10, 2012. Mr. Craven's
statement certifying that he has no conflict of interest, which also
summarizes his qualifications, has been filed into the record. None of
the three panelists have been involved previously in the Don Pedro
Hydroelectric Project relicensing proceeding.
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\2\ Mr. White's designation followed two previous designations
of NMFS staff members who were determined to have prior involvement
in the Don Pedro proceeding and were deemed ineligible to serve on
the Panel. Mr. White's designation came one business day ahead of
the deadline established by the Commission of March 5, 2012. Because
of the delay in establishing an eligible agency panel member, March
5, 2012 will serve as the date of initiation of the dispute
resolution process rather than the dispute notice date of January
11, 2011. Mr. White was designated to represent the Water Board as
well as NMFS.
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By letter filed March 15, 2012, the Panel requested that the
Director of the Office of Energy Projects (Director) modify the
timeframe for submission of the Panel's recommendations from 50 to 60
days from the start of the dispute resolution process, specifically
from April 24, 2012 to May 4, 2012. The Panel also recommended the
modification of the deadline for the Director's determination on the
study dispute from 70 to 80 days from the start of the dispute
resolution process, specifically from May 14, 2012 to May 24, 2012. By
this notice, the Director modifies the schedule as recommended and
requested by the Panel under his authority provided in 18 CFR
5.29(f)(2) of the Commission's regulations. The resulting process plan
for dispute resolution is as follows:
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Responsible party Pre-filing milestone Date FERC regulation
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Agencies............................. Designation of Agency 3/2/2012 5.14(d)(2).
Panelist (Actual).
Agencies............................. Designation of Agency 3/5/2012 5.14(d)(2).
Panelist (Deadline) (Start
of Dispute Resolution
Process).
Dispute Panel........................ Third Dispute Panel Member 3/5/2012 5.14(d)(3).
Selected.
Dispute Panel........................ Dispute Resolution Panel 3/12/2012 5.14(d).
Convened.
FERC................................. Notice of Dispute Resolution 3/16/2012 Guidance.
Panel Technical Conference.
Districts............................ Applicant Comments on Study 3/28/2012 5.14(i).
Disputes Due.
Dispute Panel........................ Dispute Resolution Panel 4/17/2012 5.14(j).
Technical Conference.
Dispute Panel........................ Dispute Resolution Panel 5/4/2012 5.14(k).
Findings Issued.
FERC................................. Director's Study Dispute 5/24/2012 5.14(l).
Determination.
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The Panel will hold an all-day technical conference on the disputed
studies on April 17, 2012. The conference will be held in Sacramento,
CA. Further details will be supplied in a future notice. The purpose of
the technical conference is for the disputing agencies, the applicant,
and the Commission to provide the Panel with additional information
necessary to evaluate the disputed studies. All local, state, and
federal agencies, Indian tribes, and other interested parties are
invited to attend the meeting as observers. The Panel may also request
information or clarification on written submissions as necessary to
understand the matters in dispute. The Panel will limit all input that
it receives to the specific studies or information in dispute and will
focus on the applicability of such studies or information to the study
criteria stipulated in 18 CFR 5.9(b). If the number of participants
wishing to speak creates time constraints, the Panel may, at its
discretion, limit the speaking time for each participant.
For more information, please contact Stephen Bowler, the Dispute
Resolution Panel Chair, at [email protected] or 202-502-6861.
Dated: March 16, 2012.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-6880 Filed 3-21-12; 8:45 am]
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