Notice2023-18871
Northern States Power Company; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments
Primary source
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Published
August 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 168 (Thursday, August 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60196-60197]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18871]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 15055-001]
Northern States Power Company; 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: Original Major License.
b. Project No.: 15055-001.
c. Date Filed: August 18, 2023.
d. Applicant: Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin
Corporation (NSP).
e. Name of Project: Gile Flowage Storage Reservoir Project
(project).
f. Location: On the West Fork of the Montreal River in Iron County,
Wisconsin approximately 3 miles southwest of the towns of Hurley,
Wisconsin and Ironwood, Michigan.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Matthew Miller, Hydro License Compliance
Consultant, Xcel Energy, 1414 West Hamilton Avenue, P.O. Box 8, Eau
Claire, Wisconsin 54702-0008; telephone at (715) 737-1353, or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9af7fbeeeef2ffedb4f0b4f7f3f6f6ffe8dae2f9fff6fff4ffe8fde3b4f9f5f7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="dcb1bda8a8b4b9abf2b6f2b1b5b0b0b9ae9ca4bfb9b0b9b2b9aebba5f2bfb3b1">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Nicholas Ettema, telephone at (312) 596-4447, or
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#bdd3d4ded5d2d1dcce93d8c9c9d8d0dcfddbd8cfde93dad2cb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5836313b303734392b763d2c2c3d3539183e3d2a3b763f372e">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
k. Project Description: The project includes the following existing
facilities: (1) a 902.6-foot-long, 32.5-foot-high dam that includes:
(a) a 300-foot-long west earthen embankment with a crest elevation of
1495.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (b) a
27.6-foot-long concrete section that includes a 6-foot-wide, 6-foot-
high sluice gate with a trashrack with 2.625-inch clear bar spacing,
and a 16-foot-wide, 12-foot-high Tainter gate; and (c) a 575-foot-long
east earthen embankment with a crest elevation of 1495.0 feet NGVD 29;
(2) an impoundment with a surface area of 3,454 acres at an elevation
of 1,490 feet NGVD 29 and usable storage capacity of 32,713 acre-feet
between surface elevations of 1,475 feet and 1,490 feet NGVD 29; (3) a
35-foot-long concrete conduit downstream of the sluice gate; (4) an
approximately 60-foot-long concrete apron downstream of the dam; (5) a
27.5-foot-wide, 11.8-foot-long brick gatehouse integral to the concrete
section of the dam; and (6) appurtenant facilities. The project does
not contain any generating facilities.
The project includes the following existing recreation facilities:
(1) a canoe take-out site on the shoreline of the impoundment, at the
east earthen embankment; (2) an approximately 100-foot-long canoe
portage route; and (3) a canoe put-in site located on the east shore of
the West Fork of the Montreal River, immediately downstream of the
project dam.
An August 19, 2020 order, issued in FERC Docket No. UL20-1-000,
found that the project is required to be licensed because it is part of
a complete unit of development that includes the Saxon Falls
Hydroelectric Project No. 2610 (Saxon Project) and the Superior Falls
Hydroelectric Project No. 2587 (Superior Project).\1\ NSP currently
operates the project to augment flow in the West Fork of the Montreal
River during the summer and winter low-flow periods for hydroelectric
generation at the downstream Saxon and Superior Projects. NSP maintains
the impoundment levels between 1,475 feet and 1,490 feet NGVD 29. To
protect aquatic resources, NSP releases a continuous minimum flow of 10
cubic feet per second or inflow, whichever is less, downstream of the
project dam. NSP provides the minimum flow through the sluice gate.
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\1\ See Northern States Power Company--Wisconsin, 172 FERC ]
62,093 (2020).
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To augment flows available for generation at the Saxon Falls
Project and Superior Falls Project, NSP typically begins drawing down
the impoundment in the summer and winter, respectively around May 1 and
December 1. The project has a maximum drawdown of 15 feet, but the
average summer and winter drawdowns are typically 5.2 feet and 6.8
feet, respectively. The impoundment remains at the lower level until
seasonal inflow refills the impoundment in the fall and spring. To
protect aquatic and recreation resources, under normal project
operation, NSP limits the rate of the impoundment drawdowns to 0.2 feet
per day.
NSP is not proposing any new facilities or operational changes that
would alter the current project operation. The proposed project
boundary encompasses approximately 3,457.5 acres, including: (1) the
impoundment; (2) 2.1 acres of land associated with the project
facilities listed above; (3) 0.2 acre of water associated with the West
Fork of the Montreal River immediately downstream of the project dam;
(4) 0.3 acre of land north of the west earthen embankment; and (5) 0.9
acre of land north of the east earthen embankment.
l. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) via
the internet through the Commission's Home Page (<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 (P-
15055). For assistance, contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1c5a594e5f5372707572794f696c6c736e685c7a796e7f327b736a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="33757661707c5d5f5a5d56604643435c414773555641501d545c45">[email protected]</span></a>,
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). At this time, the
Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference
Room.
m. You may also register online at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx</a> to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
n. The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners,
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e2adb2b2a284879081cc858d94"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b7f8e7e7f7d1d2c5d499d0d8c1">[email protected]</span></a>.
o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will
be made as appropriate.
[[Page 60197]]
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Milestone Target date
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Issue Deficiency Letter..................... September 2023.
Request Additional Information (if September 2023.
necessary).
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for March 2024.
Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary terms May 2024.
and conditions, and preliminary fishway
prescriptions.
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p. 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: August 25, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-18871 Filed 8-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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