Notice2024-15363
Oswego Hydro Partners, LP; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments
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Published
July 12, 2024
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 134 (Friday, July 12, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57143-57144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15363]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 4113-067]
Oswego Hydro Partners, LP; Notice of Scoping Meetings and
Environmental Site Review and 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.: 4113-067.
c. Date Filed: February 27, 2024.
d. Applicant: Oswego Hydro Partners, LP.
e. Name of Project: Phoenix Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: On the Oswego, Oneida, and Seneca Rivers in Onondaga
and Oswego counties, New York.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Jody Smet, Vice President Regulatory Affairs,
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, LLC, 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1100W,
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone at (240) 482-2700; email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#63290c071a4d100e0617230602040f06001106060811064d000c0e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ce84a1aab7e0bda3abba8eabafa9a2abadbcababa5bcabe0ada1a3">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Joshua Dub, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-8138;
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#84ceebf7ecf1e5aac0f1e6c4e2e1f6e7aae3ebf2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86cce9f5eef3e7a8c2f3e4c6e0e3f4e5a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 9, 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/QuickComment.aspx">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.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#90d6d5c2d3dffefcf9fef5c3e5e0e0ffe2e4d0f6f5e2f3bef7ffe6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="efa9aabdaca0818386818abc9a9f9f809d9baf898a9d8cc1888099">[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 project name and docket number on the first page: Phoenix
Hydroelectric Project (P-4113-067).
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. Project Description: The Phoenix Project consist of a concrete
dam, known as the Phoenix Dam, that includes: (1) an approximately 90-
foot-long, 55-foot-wide powerhouse that is integral with the dam and
includes: (a) north and south intake openings with a trashrack with 1-
inch clear bar spacing; and (b) two 1.59-MW vertical Kaplan turbine-
generator units, for a total installed capacity of 3.18 MW; (2) a
section with a 10-foot-long debris sluice gate and a 7-foot-long sluice
gate that provides downstream fish passage; (3) a 163-foot-long, 14-
foot-high ogee spillway with 1-foot-high flashboards that have a crest
elevation of 362.42 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD
88); (4) an approximately 206-foot-long section with four Tainter
gates; (5) a 390-foot-long, 14-foot-high ogee spillway with 1-foot-high
flashboards that have a crest elevation of 362.42 feet NAVD 88; and (6)
a 107-foot-long section with two Tainter gates.
The 107-foot-long Tainter gate section of Phoenix Dam abuts Lock
Island, which is a non-project feature that spans approximately 150
feet of the Oswego River. In addition, a non-project lock, known as the
Phoenix Lock, spans approximately 45 feet of the Oswego River between
Lock Island and the east shoreline of the Oswego River. Together, the
Phoenix Dam, Lock Island, and Phoenix Lock create an impoundment that
has a surface area of approximately 1,400 acres at 362.42 feet NAVD 88.
From the impoundment, water flows through the trashrack to a
forebay, and then through the powerhouse. Water is discharged from the
turbines to an approximately 120-foot-long tailrace that discharges to
the Oswego River.
The project includes a trap and transport facility for the upstream
passage of American eel that consists of an eel ramp and a plastic eel
collection box located approximately 160 feet downstream of the project
dam on the east shoreline of the Oswego River. The project also
includes a downstream fishway that consists of the 7-foot-long sluice
gate and a 4.8-foot-deep concrete plunge pool. Additionally, the
project includes an aluminum walkway that provides access to the 206-
foot-long Tainter gate section of the dam.
The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid
by: a 4.16/34.5-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer and a 230-foot-long,
34.5-kV underground transmission line.
The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are
500 and 4,580 cubic feet per second (cfs), respectively. The average
annual energy production of the Phoenix Project was 10,518 megawatt-
hours from 2016 through 2023.
The current license requires Oswego Hydro to operate the project in
a run-of-river mode and maintain a maximum impoundment surface
elevation of 362.42 feet NAVD88. Oswego Hydro currently maintains the
surface elevation of the impoundment between 361.92 feet and 362.42
feet NAVD 88.
[[Page 57144]]
The current license also requires Oswego Hydro to: (1) release a year-
round minimum flow of 300 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, to the
Oswego River downstream of the project; and (2) when inflow is less
than 1,900 cfs from June 1 through October 31, implement water quality
monitoring and, if average tailwater dissolved oxygen drops below 5
milligrams per liter, provide mitigative flow releases for the
protection of downstream water quality. Oswego Hydro provides upstream
eel passage from June through October, using the trap and transport
facility, and provides downstream fish passage year-round using the
downstream fishway.
Oswego Hydro proposes to continue operating the project in a run-
of-river mode and maintaining the surface elevation of the impoundment
at 361.92 to 362.42 feet NAVD 88. Oswego Hydro proposes to continue
releasing a year-round minimum flow of 300 cfs or inflow, whichever is
less, to the Oswego River downstream of the project, but does not
propose to continue water quality monitoring and mitigative flow
releases when inflow is less than 1,900 cfs from June 1 through October
31. In addition, Oswego Hydro proposes to continue operating and
maintaining the trap and transport facility and the downstream fishway
for eel and fish passage. Oswego Hydro proposes to develop a fish
passage operation and maintenance plan, implement a Bat and Bald Eagle
Protection Plan that it filed in the application, and maintain an
existing interpretative display and fencing for the protection of
historic properties.
m. A copy 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
docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number
field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online
Support.
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.
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#81ced1d1c1e7e4f3e2afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="27687777674142554409404851">[email protected]</span></a>.
n. Scoping Process: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), Commission staff will 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.
Scoping Meetings
Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings to receive
input on the scope of the environmental issues that should be analyzed
in the NEPA document. The daytime meeting will focus on the concerns of
resource agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and Indian
Tribes. The evening meeting will focus on receiving input from the
public. All interested individuals, resource agencies, Indian Tribes,
and NGOs are invited to attend one or both of the meetings. The times
and locations of these meetings are as follows:
Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Time: 1:00 p.m. (EDT).
Place: Schroeppel Town Hall.
Address: 69 County Route 57A, Phoenix, NY 13135.
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date: Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Time: 6:00 p.m. (EDT).
Place: Schroeppel Town Hall.
Address: 69 County Route 57A, Phoenix, NY 13135.
Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to
be addressed in the NEPA document were distributed to the parties on
the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at
the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at <a href="http://www.ferc.gov">http://www.ferc.gov</a>
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).
Site Visit
The applicant and Commission staff will hold a site visit at the
project beginning at 9:00 a.m. on August 8, 2024. All interested
individuals, agencies, Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend. All
participants should meet at the parking area located at the entrance to
the powerhouse driveway at 9450 River Street, Phoenix, NY. All
participants are responsible for their own transportation and should
wear closed-toe shoes/boots. If you plan to attend the site visit,
please contact Mr. Tod Nash of Eagle Creek Renewable Energy at (315)
783-5000, or via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a2e353e74343b29321a3f3b3d363f39283f3f31283f74393537"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fa8e959ed4949b8992ba9f9b9d969f99889f9f91889fd4999597">[email protected]</span></a> on or before July
29, 2024.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) summarize the
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the NEPA
document; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available
information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue;
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that
should be analyzed in the NEPA document, including viewpoints in
opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4)
determine the resource issues to be addressed in the NEPA document; and
(5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as
those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.
Procedures
The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals,
NGOs, Indian Tribes, and agencies with environmental expertise and
concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to assist the staff
in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the NEPA
document.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-15363 Filed 7-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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