Notice2022-14803
PacifiCorp; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions
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Published
July 12, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 132 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41306-41307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-14803]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2420-059]
PacifiCorp; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting
Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis,
and Soliciting Comments, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and
Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions
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.: 2420-059.
c. Date filed: March 28, 2022.
d. Applicant: PacifiCorp (the licensee).
e. Name of Project: Cutler Hydroelectric Project (Cutler Project).
f. Location: The Cutler Project is located on the Bear River in Box
Elder and Cache Counties, Utah. The project does not occupy any federal
land or tribal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Eve Davies, Cutler Relicensing Project
Manager, PacifiCorp, 1407 West North Temple, Suite 210, Salt Lake City,
UT 84116; (801) 220-2245 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#145162713a5075627d7167546475777d727d777b66643a777b79"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8fcaf9eaa1cbeef9e6eafccfffeeece6e9e6ece0fdffa1ece0e2">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Khatoon Melick at (202) 502-8433 or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c5aeada4b1aaaaabeba8a0a9aca6ae85a3a0b7a6eba2aab3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b1dad9d0c5dededf9fdcd4ddd8d2daf1d7d4c3d29fd6dec7">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing 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, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions using the
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#51171403121e3f3d383f34022421213e232511373423327f363e27"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="561013041519383a3f383305232626392422163033243578313920">[email protected]</span></a>, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper
request. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed
to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
888 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-2420-059.
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
April 20, 2022, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1502, 1507,
and 1508 that federal agencies use to implement the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (see National Environmental Policy Act
Implementing Regulations Revisions, 87 FR 23,453-70). The final rule
became effective on May 20, 2022. Commission staff intends to conduct
its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
l. The Cutler Project consists of: (1) a 126-foot-high, 545-foot-
long concrete gravity arch dam with an approximately 30-foot-long
gated-overflow spillway with crest elevation at 4,394.5 feet above mean
sea level (msl); (2) a 2,476-acre reservoir with a gross storage volume
of 8,563 acre-feet and a normal maximum operating elevation of 4,407.5
feet msl; (3) a 1,157-foot-long, 18-foot-diameter steel flowline; (4)
an 81-foot-high, 45-foot-diameter Johnson Differential surge tank; (5)
two 118-foot-long, 14-foot-diameter steel penstocks that bifurcate from
the surge tank into the powerhouse; (6) a 74-foot by 130-foot brick
powerhouse; (7) two 15,000-kilowatt generators with a total installed
capacity of 30 megawatts; (8) two 300-foot-long, 7.2- and 6.9-kilovolt
transmission lines that extend from the powerhouse's bus bar to step-up
transformers located in the Cutler substation; and (9) appurtenant
facilities. The estimated normal gross head of the project is 127.5
feet. The estimate average annual generation of the project from 1991
to 2020 is 75,052 megawatt-hours.
The Cutler Project is the furthest downstream of the five
PacifiCorp hydroelectric developments on the Bear River system. The
Bear River system is collectively operated by PacifiCorp and is a
coordinated operation of storage reservoirs, diversion dams, canals,
and hydroelectric plants located within a 3,500-square-mile area of the
lower Bear River Basin in Idaho and Utah. Water is diverted from the
Bear River into Bear Lake, which is a natural lake via the Rainbow
Canal. Outside of the irrigation season, Bear Lake flood control
releases, along with winter and spring Bear River drainage natural
water flows, create the base for generation at the Cutler Project. In
southern Cache Valley, there are local drainage basins that also
contribute significant inflows to the project. From mid-June to mid-
October, nearly all the natural flow from the Bear River is diverted
for irrigation. Supplemental flow comes from water stored in Bear Lake.
Given that during the irrigation season most of the inflow into the
project is sent to the irrigation canals and the reservoir must
maintain certain elevations, generation at the powerhouse is virtually
nonexistent from approximately mid-May to the end of September, unless
water is available in higher flow years.
PacifiCorp proposes to continue to operate the project in a run-of-
river mode and maintain the current upper operating limit elevation on
the reservoir, with a modest expansion to the tolerance. PacifiCorp
also proposes to expand the range of the lower operating limit outside
the irrigation season, both to increase operational flexibility.
Increasing the operating range is to support variable (e.g., wind and
solar) energy generation needs and would not increase the volume of
water available for energy generation.
m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's
website at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://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 at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8dcbc8dfcec2e3e1e4e3e8def8fdfde2fff9cdebe8ffeea3eae2fb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b2d2e392824050702050e381e1b1b04191f2b0d0e1908450c041d">[email protected]</span></a> or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY,
(202) 502-8659.
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
[[Page 41307]]
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,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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 in 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="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp</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 license 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 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
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will
be made as appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Deadline for Filing Protest, Motion to September 2022.
Intervene, Comments, Recommendations,
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and
Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments..... October 2022.
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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: July 6, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-14803 Filed 7-11-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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