Notice2024-05415
Ampersand Gilman Hydro, LP; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments
Primary source
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Published
March 14, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18632-18633]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-05415]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2392-040]
Ampersand Gilman Hydro, LP; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments
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.: P-2392-040.
c. Date Filed: March 29, 2022.
d. Applicant: Ampersand Gilman Hydro, LP.
e. Name of Project: Gilman Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: The project is located on the Connecticut River and
straddles the Village of Gilman, within the Town of Lunenburg, Essex
County, Vermont, and the Town of Dalton, Coos County, New Hampshire.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Sayad Moudachirou, Licensing Manager, 717
Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1A, Boston, MA 02111; (617) 933-7206 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#afdcced6cecbefcec2dfcadddccec1cbcac1caddc8d681ccc0c2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="186b7961797c587975687d6a6b79767c7d767d6a7f61367b7775">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Ousmane Sidibe, (202) 502-6245 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#660913150b07080348150f020f0403260003140548010910"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="066973756b67686328756f626f6463466063746528616970">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 8, 2024.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
scoping comments 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/.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/.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#a2e4e7f0e1edcccecbccc7f1d7d2d2cdd0d6e2c4c7d0c18cc5cdd4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="abedeef9e8e4c5c7c2c5cef8dedbdbc4d9dfebcdced9c885ccc4dd">[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:
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-
Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. All filings must clearly
identify the following on the first page: Gilman Hydroelectric Project
(P-2392-040).
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all
interveners 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 intervener 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. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
l. The existing Gilman Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) a
38.3-foot-high, 324.5-foot-wide concrete gravity dam with a crest
elevation of 826.8 feet (NGVD29) that includes: (a) a 5-foot-high, 108-
foot-long rubber bladder along an overflow spillway on the New
Hampshire side of the dam; (b) a 6.5-foot-high, 109-foot-long rubber
bladder along the overflow spillway on the Vermont side of the dam; and
(c) an 18-foot-high, 27-foot-wide hydraulically operated crest gate;
(2) a 130-acre project reservoir with a storage capacity of 705 acre-
feet at a normal maximum surface elevation of 833.3 feet; (3) a brick
and steel/timber-framed powerhouse integral to the dam on the Vermont
side that contains four generating turbine units with a total
generating capacity of 4.95 megawatts; (4) a 242-foot-long, 23.75-foot-
wide trash rack with approximately 2-inch spacing and 11 wooden or
steel head gates that span 117 feet across the upstream face of the
powerhouse; (5) a downstream fish passage facility that diverts and
guides fish to a 5-foot-wide bypass at the dam controlled by a tilting
gate that releases water a 5-foot-deep plunge pool immediately
downstream of the dam; (6) a tailrace channel; (7) a 34.5-kilovolt,
200-foot-long transmission line connecting to the grid; and (8)
appurtenant facilities.
Ampersand Gilman Hydro, LP proposes to continue to operate the
project in a run-of-river mode with no storage or flood control
capacity. In accordance with Condition A of the Vermont Department of
Environmental Conservation's water quality certification issued for the
project, the project adheres to the following downstream minimum flow
release requirements: (1) from June 1 through October 15, whenever
inflow to the project is 1,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) or less,
maintain a continuous downstream minimum flow of 210 cfs or inflow to
the project, whichever is less; (2) when inflow falls below 600 cfs,
conduct dissolved oxygen sampling downstream of the dam to determine
whether additional flow release is
[[Page 18633]]
necessary; and (3) in instances of operational issues or should the
need to refill the impoundment, maintain a minimum instantaneous flow
of 757 cfs until normal operations can be restored. The project can
operate in most of the extreme conditions of the Connecticut River and
generate electricity from flows of 130 cfs up to high flood conditions
of 35,000 cfs. The estimated average annual generation of the project
from 2008 to 2018 is 25,000 megawatt-hours.
m. Copies 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
project's docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket
number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9bdddec9d8d4f5f7f2f5fec8eeebebf4e9efdbfdfee9f8b5fcf4ed"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="05434057464a6b696c6b60567075756a777145636077662b626a73">[email protected]</span></a>.
You may also register 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, please
contact FERC Online Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9adcdfc8d9d5f4f6f3f4ffc9efeaeaf5e8eedafcffe8f9b4fdf5ec"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="feb8bbacbdb1909297909bad8b8e8e918c8abe989b8c9dd0999188">[email protected]</span></a>.
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#aae5fafaeacccfd8c984cdc5dc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="90dfc0c0d0f6f5e2f3bef7ffe6">[email protected]</span></a>.
o. Scoping Process.
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental assessment
(EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) (collectively referred
to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and evaluates the probable
effects, including an assessment of the site-specific and cumulative
effects, if any, of the proposed action and alternatives. The
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of
analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of
whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not
anticipate holding an on-site scoping meeting. Instead, we are
soliciting written comments and suggestions on the preliminary list of
issues and alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA document, as
described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued March 8, 2024.
Copies of the SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in
the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may
be viewed on the web 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, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.
Dated: March 8, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-05415 Filed 3-13-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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