Notice2023-07806
Notice of Settlement Agreement and Soliciting Comments; FirstLight MA Hydro LLC; Northfield Mountain LLC
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
April 13, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 71 (Thursday, April 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22446-22447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07806]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 1889-085; Project No. 2485-071]
Notice of Settlement Agreement and Soliciting Comments;
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC; Northfield Mountain LLC
Take notice that the following settlement agreement has been filed
with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Settlement Agreement.
b. Project Nos.: 1889-085 and 2485-071.
c. Date Filed: March 31, 2023.
d. Applicant: FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and Northfield Mountain LLC
(collectively FirstLight).
e. Name of Projects: Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project and
Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project (collectively, projects).
f. Location: The existing projects are located on the Connecticut
River in the counties of Windham, Vermont; Cheshire, New Hampshire; and
Franklin, Massachusetts. There are approximately 20 acres of federal
land within the current Turners Falls Project boundary, associated with
the U.S. Geological Survey's Silvio Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory.
There are no federal lands within the Northfield Mountain Project
boundary.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Rule 602 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.602.
h. Applicant Contact: Alan Douglass, Regulatory Compliance Manager,
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and Northfield Mountain LLC, 99 Millers Falls
Road, Northfield, MA 01360; (413) 659-4416 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f998959897d79d968c9e95988a8ab99f908b8a8d95909e918d89968e9c8bd79a9694"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ff9e939e91d19b908a98939e8c8cbf99968d8c8b939698978b8f90889a8dd19c9092">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 502-6131,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#ef9c9b8a9f878a81c1848e9d9b8e83868eaf898a9d8cc1888099"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="295a5d4c59414c470742485b5d48454048694f4c5b4a074e465f">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing comments: May 7, 2023. Reply comments due
May 22, 2023.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
comments using the Commission's eFiling system at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp</a>. Commenters can submit brief comments up to
6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system
at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp">http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp</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#d3959681909cbdbfbabdb680a6a3a3bca1a793b5b6a1b0fdb4bca5"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="99dfdccbdad6f7f5f0f7fccaece9e9f6ebedd9fffcebfab7fef6ef">[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
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
numbers P-1889-085 and P-2485-071.
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. FirstLight filed the Settlement Agreement for the projects'
relicense proceedings, on behalf of itself, the National Marine
Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Massachusetts
Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, Nature Conservancy, American
Whitewater, Appalachian Mountain Club, Crabapple Whitewater, Inc., New
England FLOW, and Zoar Outdoor. The purpose of the Settlement Agreement
is to resolve, among the signatories, relicensing issues related to
fish passage, flows for the fishery, ecological conservation,
recreation, and protected, threatened, and endangered species. The
Settlement Agreement includes proposed license articles that reflect
agreement among the parties concerning the recommendations, terms,
conditions, and fishway prescriptions to be submitted to the Commission
pursuant to sections 10(a), 10(j), and 18 of the Federal Power
regarding these topics. FirstLight requests, and the Settlement
Agreement includes a proposed term of 50 years for any new licenses
issued for the projects. FirstLight requests that the Commission accept
and incorporate all of the proposed license articles in any new
licenses for the projects, and issue new licenses for terms of 50
years.
l. A copy of the Settlement Agreement may 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 (i.e., P-1889 and P-2485).
At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's
Public Reference Room, due to the
[[Page 22447]]
proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on March 13,
2020. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
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.
Dated: April 7, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-07806 Filed 4-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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