Notice2021-17136
Village of Highland Falls High-Point Utility, LDC; Notice of Existing Licensee's Failure To File a Notice of Intent To File a Subsequent License Application, and Soliciting; Notices of Intent To File a License Application and Pre-Application Documents
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 11, 2021
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 44010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17136]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 7656-000]
Village of Highland Falls High-Point Utility, LDC; Notice of
Existing Licensee's Failure To File a Notice of Intent To File a
Subsequent License Application, and Soliciting; Notices of Intent To
File a License Application and Pre-Application Documents
The current license for Buttermilk Falls Hydroelectric Project No.
7656 (Buttermilk Falls Project) was issued to the original licensee,
John A. Dodson, on June 24, 1986, for a term of 40 years, ending May
31, 2026.\1\ The project became non-operational in 2012 due to damage
caused by Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, and has remained non-operational
since. The license was transferred to the current licensee, Village of
Highland Falls High-Point Utility, LDC (High-Point Utility) on
September 21, 2017.\2\ The 75-kilowatt (kW) project is located on
Buttermilk Falls Brook, a tributary of the Hudson River, in Orange
County, New York.
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\1\ See John A. Dodson, 35 FERC ] 62,532 (1986).
\2\ See John A. Dodson, Village of Highland Falls High-Point
Utility, LDC, 160 FERC ] 62,239 (2017).
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The principal project works consist of: (1) An 18-inch-high, 15-
foot-long dam; (2) an 18-inch-diameter, 400-foot-long PVC penstock; (3)
a powerhouse containing one 55-kW and one 20-kW generating unit, for a
total of installed generating capacity of 75-kW; (4) two 480-volt
generator leads; (5) a 300-foot-long, 480-volt transmission line; and
(6) a 0.48/13.6-kilovolt cable connecting the transformer to the area
distribution system.
At least five years before the expiration of a license for a minor
water power project in which sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power
Act were waived, the Commission's regulations require the licensee to
file with the Commission a notice of intent (NOI) that contains an
unequivocal statement of the licensee's intention to file or not to
file an application for a subsequent license, details on the principal
project works and installed plant capacity, and other information.\3\
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\3\ 18 CFR 16.19(b) (2020) (citing 18 CFR 16.6(b)). Section
16.19(b) applies to licenses not subject to Parts 14 and 15 of the
Federal Power Act.
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If such a licensee does not inform the Commission that it intends
to file an application for, in this case, a subsequent license for the
project, the licensee may not file an application for a subsequent
license, either individually or in conjunction with an entity or
entities that are not currently licensees of the project.\4\
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\4\ 18 CFR 16.24(b) (2020).
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Because the current license expires on May 31, 2026, the NOI was
due to be filed no later than the close of business on May 31, 2021.\5\
High-Point Utility, the current licensee for the Buttermilk Falls
Project, failed to file an NOI by this date.\6\
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\5\ The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure provide
that if a filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or
other day when the Commission is closed for business, the filing
deadline does not end until the close of business on the next
business day. 18 CFR 2007(a)(2) (2020). Because the deadline to file
the NOI fell on a federal holiday (i.e., Memorial Day), the filing
deadline was extended until the close of business on Tuesday, June
1, 2021.
\6\ On June 23, 2021, High-Point Utility filed a letter
indicating that it intended to proceed with relicensing for the
Buttermilk Falls Hydroelectric Project No. 7656, however, the filing
was not in conformance with the noticing requirements of section 5.5
of the Commission's regulations, because among other things, it did
not identify the principle project works and it did not include the
names and mailing addresses of nearby municipalities, counties,
political subdivisions, or affected Indian tribes. It also did not
include a pre-application document as required by section 5.6 of the
regulations.
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Any party interested in filing a license application for the
Buttermilk Falls Project No. 7656 must first file a NOI \7\ and pre-
application document (PAD) \8\ pursuant to Part 5 of the Commission's
regulations. Although the integrated licensing process is the default
pre-filing process, section 5.3(b) of the Commission's regulations
allows a potential license applicant to request to use alternative
licensing procedures when it files its NOI.\9\
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\7\ 18 CFR 5.5 (2020).
\8\ 18 CFR 5.6 (2020).
\9\ 18 CFR 5.3(b) (2020).
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This notice sets a deadline of 120 days from the date of this
notice for interested applicants, other than the existing licensee, to
file NOIs, PADs, and requests to use an alternative licensing process.
Applications for a subsequent license from potential (non-licensee)
applicants must be filed with the Commission at least 24 months prior
to the expiration of the current license.\10\ Because the current
license expires on May 31, 2026, applications for license for this
project must be filed by May 31, 2024.\11\
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\10\ 18 CFR 16.20 (2020).
\11\ To the extent an interested applicant files an NOI and PAD
and elects or is required to use the Commission's ILP, a process
plan will be issued within 180 days of this notice, which
accelerates the steps of the ILP to allow for filing a subsequent
license application by the May 31, 2024 deadline.
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Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Samantha
Pollak at (202) 502-6419 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4c3f2d212d2238242d623c2320202d270c2a293e2f622b233a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e4978589858a908c85ca948b8888858fa482819687ca838b92">[email protected]</span></a>.
Dated: August 5, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-17136 Filed 8-10-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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