[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 222 (Friday, November 16, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68765-68766]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27959]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 13739-002]
Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC; Notice of Scoping Meetings
and Environmental Site Review and 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: Major Original License.
b. Project No.: 13739-002.
c. Date filed: September 17, 2012.
d. Applicant: Lock+ Hydro Friends Fund XLII, LLC.
e. Name of Project: Braddock Locks and Dam Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: At the existing U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Braddock
Locks and Dam on the Monongahela River, in Allegheny County,
Pennsylvania. The project would occupy about 0.19 acre of federal
lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Mark R. Stover, Lock+\TM\ Hydro Friends
Fund XLII, LLC, c/o Hydro Green Energy, LLC, 900 Oakmont Lane, Suite
310, Westmont, IL 60559; (877) 556-6566 ext. 711; email_
mark@hgenergy.com.
i. FERC Contact: John Mudre at (202) 502-8902; or email at
john.mudre@ferc.gov.
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 4, 2013.
All documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18
[[Page 68766]]
CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web
site http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit
brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration,
using the eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your name and contact information at the
end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online
Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676,
or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages
electronic filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file,
mail an original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington,
DC 20426.
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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
l. The proposed project would utilize the existing U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers' Braddock Locks and Dam and the Braddock Pool, and would
consist of the following new facilities: (1) A new powerhouse with five
turbine-generators having a total installed capacity of 3,750
kilowatts; (2) a new approximately 3,450-foot-long, 23-kilovolt
electric distribution line; (3) a switchyard and control room; and (4)
appurtenant facilities. The average annual generation is estimated to
be 25,020 megawatt-hours.
The proposed project would deploy hydropower turbines within a
patented ``Large Frame Module'' (LFM) that would be deployed on the
south (river left) side of the dam, opposite the location of the
existing navigational locks and at the upstream face of the existing
left closure weir. The proposed modular, low environmental impact
powerhouse would be approximately 60.4 feet long, 16.6 feet wide, and
40 feet high, and constructed of structural-grade steel. The powerhouse
will bear on a concrete foundation on rock that is anchored to the
existing left closure weir. A trash rack with 6-inch openings would be
placed at the powerhouse intake to increase safety and protect the
turbines from large debris.
m. A copy of the application is available for review at the
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the
Commission's Web site at http://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. A copy is also available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item h above.
You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
n. Scoping Process
The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA)
on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy
Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed
action.
Scoping Meetings
FERC staff will conduct one daytime scoping meeting and one evening
meeting. The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the evening scoping
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals,
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and
locations of these meetings are as follows:
Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date: Wednesday, December 5, 2012.
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Place: Allegheny Conference Room, 8th floor of the Brunner
Building.
Address: 11 Stanwix Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date: Wednesday December 5, 2012.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Doubletree Hotel.
Address: 101 Mall Blvd., Monroeville, Pennsylvania.
Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to
be addressed in the EA are being distributed to the parties on the
Commission's mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies
of the SD1 will be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on
the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m
above).
Environmental Site Review
The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental
Site Review beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday December 5, 2012. All
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to
attend. All participants should meet in the parking lot at the Great
Allegheny Passage Trailhead, Pump House, 880 East Waterfront Drive,
Munhall, Pennsylvania at 10:00 a.m. All participants are responsible
for their own transportation to the site.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2)
solicit from the meeting participants all available information,
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be
analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not
require a detailed analysis.
Procedures
The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed
in the EA.
Dated: November 5, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-27959 Filed 11-15-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P