[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 180 (Friday, September 16, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63751-63752]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22266]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2520-076]
Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered
for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for
Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments
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.: 2520-076.
c. Date Filed: August 31, 2016.
d. Applicant: Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC (Great Lakes Hydro).
e. Name of Project: Mattaceunk Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: The existing project is located on the Penobscot River
in Aroostook and Penobscot Counties, Maine. The project does not affect
federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Kevin Bernier, Senior Compliance Specialist,
Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC, 1024
[[Page 63752]]
Central Street, Millinocket, Maine 04462; Telephone (207) 723-4341,
x118.
i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer, (202) 502-8449 or [email protected].
j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
k. The Project Description: The existing Mattaceunk Hydroelectric
Project consists of: (1) A 1,060-foot-long, 45-foot-high dam (Weldon
Dam) with a crest elevation of 236.0 feet (USGS datum), and includes
(i) a 110-foot-long earthen embankment extending to the left abutment;
(ii) a combined intake and powerhouse structure; (iii) an upstream fish
ladder; (iv) a 10-foot-wide log sluice structure, controlled by an 8-
foot-high vertical slide gate; (v) a 90-foot-long, 19-foot-high gated
spillway with a single roller gate; (vi) a 657.5-foot-long, 70-foot
high concrete gravity overflow spillway with 4-foot-high flashboards to
create a maximum flashboard crest elevation of 240.0 feet; and (vii) a
retaining wall at the right abutment; (2) a 1,664-acre reservoir with a
total storage capacity of 20,981 acre-feet at a normal pool elevation
of 240.00 feet (USGS datum); (3) a 142-foot-long, 99-foot-wide
powerhouse (Weldon Station) integral to the dam containing two Kaplan
turbines rated at 5,479 kilowatt (kW) and two fixed-blade propeller
turbines rated at 5,489 kW, each driving a 6,000 kilovolt-ampere (kVA),
4,800 kW vertical synchronous generator for an authorized installed
capacity of 19.2 megawatts (MW); (4) a downstream fishway; (5) an
outdoor substation adjacent to the powerhouse; (6) a 9-mile-long, 34.5-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line within a 120-foot-wide right of way;
and (7) appurtenant facilities. The project generates about 123,332
megawatt-hours (MWh) annually.
The Mattaceunk Project is operated with minimal fluctuations of the
reservoir surface elevation. Flexibility on reservoir elevations is
required to provide for safe installation of the project's flashboards
and to allow an adequate margin for wave action, debris loads, or
sudden pool increases that might cause flashboard failure. The existing
license requires a reservoir surface elevation no lower than 1.0 foot
below the dam crest elevation of 236.0 feet when the 4-foot-high
flashboards are not in use, and no lower than 2.0 feet below the top of
flashboard elevation of 240.0 feet when the 4-foot-high flashboards are
in use. The existing license also requires a year-round continuous
minimum flow of 1,674 cubic feet per second (cfs) or inflow, whichever
is less, and a daily average minimum flow of 2,392 cfs from July 1
through September 30 and 2,000 cfs from October 1 through June 30,
unless inflow is less than the stated daily average minimum flows (in
which case outflow from the project must equal the inflow to the
project). Great Lakes Hydro proposes to: (1) Install a seasonal
upstream eel ramp; (2) install an upstream passage structure for
American shad, alewife, and blueback herring; (3) install trashracks
having 1-inch clear spacing to the full depth of the turbine intakes
during the fish passage season; and (4) improve the recreation facility
at the downstream angler access area.
l. Locations of the Application: 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, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at
the address in item (h) above.
m. 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. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according
to the following preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the
schedule may be made as appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready October 2016.
for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, December 2016.
preliminary terms and conditions,
and fishway prescriptions.
Commission issues Draft Environmental June 2017.
Assessment (EA).
Comments on Draft EA................. July 2017.
Modified terms and conditions........ September 2017.
Commission issues Final EA........... December 2017.
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o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice
of ready for environmental analysis.
Dated: September 8, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-22266 Filed 9-15-16; 8:45 am]
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