Notice2021-17697
Cocheco Falls Associates; 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
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Published
August 18, 2021
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 157 (Wednesday, August 18, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46238-46240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17697]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 4718-039]
Cocheco Falls Associates; 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.: 4718-039.
c. Date Filed: December 29, 2020.
d. Applicant: Cocheco Falls Associates (CFA).
e. Name of Project: Cocheco Falls Dam Project.
f. Location: On the Cocheco River in the city of Dover, Strafford
County, New Hampshire. The project does not occupy federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. John Webster, Cocheco Falls Associates,
P.O. Box 178, South Berwick, ME 03908; Phone at (207) 384-5334, or
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8dc5f4e9ffe2e0eceae3f9cdeafae4a3e3e8f9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2961504d5b4644484e475d694e5e4007474c5d">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Amy Chang at (202) 502-8250, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ec8d8195c28f848d828bac8a899e8fc28b839a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1475796d3a777c757a7354727166773a737b62">[email protected]</span></a>.
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
<a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx</a>. Commenters can submit
brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration,
using the eComment system at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx</a>. You must include your name and contact information
at the end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online
Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e9afacbbaaa6878580878cba9c9999869b9da98f8c9b8ac78e869f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="44020116070b2a282d2a21173134342b363004222136276a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>, (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: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888
[[Page 46239]]
First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via
any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville,
Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include docket
number P-4718-039.
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.
The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on
July 15, 2020, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1500-1518
that federal agencies use to implement the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (see Update to the Regulations Implementing the
Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act, 85 FR
43304). The Final Rule became effective on and applies to any NEPA
process begun after September 14, 2020. Commission staff intends to
conduct its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
l. Project Description: The existing Cocheco Falls Dam Project
consists of: (1) A 150-foot-long, 13.5-foot-high stone masonry arch dam
that includes the following sections: (a) A 4-foot-long left abutment
section; (b) a 140-foot-long spillway section with 24-inch-high
flashboards, a 5-foot-wide, 10-foot-high low-level outlet gate, and a
crest elevation of 36.25 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
(NGVD29) at the top of the flashboards; and (c) a 6-foot-long right
abutment section with a 4-foot-wide, 9-foot-high debris sluice gate;
(2) an impoundment with a surface area of 20 acres and a storage
capacity of 150 acre-feet at an elevation of 36.25 feet NGVD29; (3) a
64-foot-wide, 10-foot-high intake structure equipped with a trashrack
with 1-inch clear bar spacing; (4) an 8.5-foot-diameter, 184-foot-long
gated steel penstock that trifurcates into three 5-foot-diameter, 8-
foot-long sections, each controlled by a 5-foot-diameter butterfly
valve; (5) a 40-foot-long, 40-foot-wide concrete and brick masonry
powerhouse containing three 238-kilowatt (kW) vertical Flygt
submersible turbine-generator units for a total installed capacity of
714 kW; (6) a 40-foot-long, 40-foot-wide tailrace that discharges into
the Cocheco River; (7) a 0.48/34.5-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer
and a 1,000-foot-long, 34.5-kV underground transmission line that
connects the project to the local utility distribution system; and (8)
appurtenant facilities.
CFA voluntarily operates the project in a run-of-river mode using
an automatic pond level control system to regulate turbine operation,
such that outflow from the project approximates inflow. The project
creates an approximately 200-foot-long bypassed reach of the Cocheco
River.
Downstream fish passage is provided by a bypass facility located on
the left side of the dam that consist of a 5.6-foot-wide, 7-foot-long
fish collection box, a trashrack with 6-inch clear bar spacing, and a
24-inch-diameter PVC fish passage pipe. Upstream fish passage is
provided by a Denil fish ladder located on the right side of the dam.
The Denil fish ladder is owned and maintained by the New Hampshire Fish
and Game Department, and is not a project facility.
Article 25 of the current license, as amended on September 24,
2002, requires a minimum flow release to the bypassed reach of: (1) 20
cubic feet per second (cfs) through the fish ladder from April 15-June
30; (2) 20 cfs through the trash sluiceway from April 15-June 15, to
attract anadromous fish to the fish ladder; and (3) 20 cfs through the
downstream fish passage facility from April 15 until ice forms on the
river. The average annual energy production from 2014 to 2018 was 1,438
megawatt-hours.
CFA proposes to: (1) Continue to operate the project in a run-of-
river mode; (2) continue to facilitate upstream and downstream fish
passage by providing the minimum flows required by the current license;
(3) design and install an upstream eel passage facility within 4 years
of the effective date of a subsequent license; and (4) consult with the
New Hampshire State Historic Preservation Officer before beginning any
land-disturbing activities or alterations to known historic structures
within the project boundary.
m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's
website at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov">https://www.ferc.gov</a> 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.
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, .211, and .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, address, and telephone number of the person protesting or
intervening; 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.
You may also register online at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> 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. Please note
that the certification request must comply with 40 CFR 121.5(b),
including documentation that a pre-filing meeting request was submitted
to the certifying authority at least 30 days prior to submitting the
certification request. Please also note that the certification request
must be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission
concurrently.
p. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according
[[Page 46240]]
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as
appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Deadline for filing interventions, October 2021.
protests, comments, recommendations,
preliminary terms and conditions, and
preliminary fishway prescriptions.
Deadline for filing reply comments.... November 2021.
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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: August 12, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-17697 Filed 8-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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