Notice2024-12756
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC; Northfield Mountain LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
Primary source
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Published
June 11, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 49166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-12756]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 1889-085; Project No. 2485-071]
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC; Northfield Mountain LLC; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
On April 29, 2016, and materially amended on December 4, 2020,
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and Northfield Mountain LLC, respectively,
filed applications for new major licenses to operate the 62.0-megawatt
(MW) Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project (Turners Falls Project; FERC
No. 1889) and 1,166.8-MW Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project
(Northfield Mountain Project; FERC No. 2485) (collectively, projects).
The projects are located on the Connecticut River in Windham County,
Vermont; Cheshire County, New Hampshire; and Franklin County,
Massachusetts. The Turners Falls Project boundary includes the
approximately 20-acre Silvio Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory, which is
administered by the U.S. Geological Survey.
During the application pre-filing process, on December 21, 2012,
Commission staff issued Scoping Document 1, initiating the scoping
process for the projects in accordance with the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and Commission regulations. On April 15, 2013,
Commission staff issued a revised scoping document (Scoping Document
2). In accordance with the Commission's regulations, on February 22,
2024, Commission staff issued notices that the projects were ready for
environmental analysis (REA Notice). Based on the information in the
record, including comments filed during scoping and in response to the
REA Notices, staff has determined that relicensing the project may
constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality
of the human environment. Therefore, staff intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the above-captioned projects.
A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all
interested parties. All comments filed in response to the REA notices,
and on the draft EIS will be analyzed by staff in a final EIS. Staff's
conclusions and recommendations will be available for the Commission's
consideration in reaching its final licensing decision.
The application will be processed according to the following
schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Issue draft EIS........................... December 2024.
Draft EIS Public Meeting.................. January 2025.
Comments on draft EIS due................. February 2025.
Commission issues final EIS............... August 2025.\1\
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Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Steve
Kartalia at (202) 502-6131 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d4a7a0b1a4bcb1bafabfb5a6a0b5b8bdb594b2b1a6b7fab3bba2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1a696e7f6a727f7434717b686e7b76737b5a7c7f6879347d756c">[email protected]</span></a>.
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\1\ The Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations
under 40 CFR 1501.10(b)(2) (2023) require that EISs be completed
within 2 years of the Federal action agency's decision to prepare an
EIS. See also National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq., amended by section 107(g)(1)(A)(iii) of the Fiscal
Responsibility Act of 2023, Public Law 118-5, sec. 4336a, 137 Stat.
42.
Dated: June 5, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-12756 Filed 6-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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