Notice2024-07552
ECOsponsible, LLC; Soliciting Notices of Intent To File a New License Application and Pre-Application Documents
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 10, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 70 (Wednesday, April 10, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 70 (Wednesday, April 10, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 25256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07552]
[[Page 25256]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 9709-071]
ECOsponsible, LLC; Soliciting Notices of Intent To File a New
License Application and Pre-Application Documents
The current license for the Herkimer Hydroelectric Project No. 9709
was issued to the original licensee, Trafalgar Power, Inc., on April
22, 1987, for a term of 40 years, ending March 31, 2027.\1\ The project
has fallen into disrepair and has not operated since 2006. The license
was transferred to the current licensee, ECOsponsible, LLC,
(ECOsponsible) on March 12, 2015.\2\ The 1,680-kilowatt (kW) project is
located on West Canada Creek in Herkimer County, New York.
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\1\ Trafalgar Power, Inc., 39 FERC ] 62,077 (1987). The original
license was for a minor project with an authorized installed
capacity of 1,050 kilowatts (kW). In 1988 Trafalgar Power applied to
amend its license to increase the authorized installed capacity of
the Herkimer Project to 1,680 kW. The increase caused the project to
be redefined as a major project. Trafalgar Power, Inc., 48 FERC ]
62,105 (1989).
\2\ Trafalgar Power, Inc., 150 FERC ] 62,144 (2015).
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The project works consist of: (1) a timber crib dam with: (a) a 9-
foot-high, 95-foot-long section with a crest elevation of 420.0 feet
mean sea level (msl) and (b) a 12-foot-high, 145-foot-long section with
a crest elevation of 419.2 feet msl; (2) an impoundment with a surface
area of 19 acres, a storage capacity of 163 acre-feet, and a normal
water surface elevation of 420.5 feet msl; (3) timber flashboards; (4)
an intake structure; (5) a reinforced concrete and steel powerhouse
containing four turbine-generating units with a capacity of 400 kW each
and an 80-kW minimum flow generator for a total installed capacity of
1,680 kW; (6) a 50-foot-long, 13.2-kilovolt transmission line; and (7)
appurtenant facilities.
At least five years before the expiration of a license for a major
water power project subject to sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power
Act, the Commission's regulations require the license applicant to file
with the Commission a notice of intent (NOI) that contains an
unequivocal statement of the licensee's intention to file or not to
file an application for a new license, details on the principal project
works and installed plant capacity, and other information.\3\
Accordingly, NOIs for the Herkimer Project were due by March 31, 2022.
On March 9, 2022, Stone Ridge Hydro, LLC, filed an NOI to file an
application for a small hydropower project exemption for the Herkimer
Project, which was rejected on May 17, 2022.\4\ On March 31, 2022, Mr.
Dennis Ryan, Jr. filed an NOI to file a relicense application for the
Herkimer Project, which Commission staff is rejecting in an order
issued in conjunction with this notice.\5\
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\3\ 18 CFR 5.5(d) (2023); id. at 16.6(b-c); see also 16 U.S.C.
808(b)(1) (``Each existing licensee shall notify the Commission
whether the licensee intends to file an application for a new
license or not. Such notice shall be submitted at least 5 years
before the expiration of the existing license.
\4\ Division of Hydropower Licensing May 17, 2022 Rejection of
Notice of Intent. The Commission's regulations state that if there
is an unexpired license in effect for a project, the Commission will
accept an application for exemption only if the exemption applicant
is the licensee. 18 CFR 4.33(d)(ii) (2023); see also Stone Ridge
Hydro, LLC, 180 FERC ] 61,123 (2022).
\5\ See Division of Hydropower Licensing April 2, 2024 Order
Rejecting Notice of Intent and Pre-Application Document. Commission
staff finds: (1) Mr. Ryan, Jr. failed to demonstrate that the
existing licensee filed the NOI, (2) the entity that filed the NOI
was not a valid business entity at the time of filing, and (3) Mr.
Ryan, Jr. was not authorized to act for the entity that filed the
NOI.
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Because all timely-filed NOIs have been rejected, the Commission is
soliciting applications from applicants other than the existing
licensee. An existing licensee that fails to timely file an NOI is
prohibited from filing an application for a new license or exemption
for the project, either individually or in conjunction with an entity
or entities that are not currently licensees.\6\
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\6\ 18 CFR 16.24(a)(1) (2023); see also id. 16.23(a) (deeming
failure to file an NOI as the same as filing an NOI indicating an
intention not to file an application for a new license.). Note that
this prohibition extends only to the existing licensee.
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Any party interested in filing a license application for the
project must first file an NOI \7\ and PAD \8\ pursuant to part 5 of
the Commission's regulations. Although the integrated licensing process
(ILP) is the default pre-filing process, section 5.3(b) of the
Commission's regulations allows a potential license applicant to
request to use the traditional licensing process or alternative
procedures when it files its NOI.\9\
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\7\ 18 CFR 5.5 (2023).
\8\ 18 CFR 5.6.
\9\ 18 CFR 5.3(b).
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This notice sets a deadline of 90 days from the date of this notice
for interested applicants, other than the existing licensee, to file
NOIs, PADs, and requests to use the traditional licensing process or
alternative procedures. Applications for a new license from potential
(non-licensee) applicants must be filed with the Commission at least 24
months prior to the expiration of the current license.\10\ Because the
current license expires on March 31, 2027, applications for a license
for this project must be filed by March 31, 2025.
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\10\ 18 CFR 16.9(b)(1).
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Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Jody
Callihan at (202) 502-8278 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#90fafff4e9bef3f1fcfcf9f8f1fed0f6f5e2f3bef7ffe6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="22484d465b0c41434e4e4b4a434c62444750410c454d54">[email protected]</span></a>.
Dated: April 3, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-07552 Filed 4-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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