Notice2025-10356
Oswego Hydro Partners, LP; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions
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Published
June 6, 2025
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 108 (Friday, June 6, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 108 (Friday, June 6, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24137-24138]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-10356]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 4113-067]
Oswego Hydro Partners, LP; Notice of Application Ready for
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms
and Conditions, and Prescriptions
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 (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#1c56737865326f7179685c797d7b70797f6e7979776e79327f7371"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8bc1e4eff2a5f8e6eeffcbeeeaece7eee8f9eeeee0f9eea5e8e4e6">[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#f1bb9e82998490dfb58493b1b7b4a3b2df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d19bbea2b9a4b0ff95a4b39197948392ffb6bea7">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and
conditions, and prescriptions: on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
August 1, 2025; reply comments are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time on September 15, 2025. The Commission strongly encourages
electronic filing. Please file comments, recommendations, terms and
conditions, and prescriptions 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>. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#73353621303c1d1f1a1d16200603031c010733151601105d141c05"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6e282b3c2d21000207000b3d1b1e1e011c1a2e080b1c0d40090118">[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, 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, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225
Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 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
intervenors 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 intervenor 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. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready
for environmental analysis.
l. Project Description: The project consists of a 981-foot-long
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-megawatt (MW)
vertical Kaplan turbine-generator units, for a total installed capacity
of 3.18 MW; (2) a 25-foot-long section that includes a 10-foot-long
debris sluice gate and a 7-foot-long sluice gate; (3) a 163-foot-long
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 46.5-foot-long Tainter
gates; (5) a 390-foot-long 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 41.5-foot-long 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, including an eel ramp and eel collection box
located approximately 160 feet downstream of the project dam on the
west 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. There are no project recreation
facilities.
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 project from 2016 through 2023 was
10,518 megawatt-hours.
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. 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, monitor
water quality 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
[[Page 24138]]
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="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, contact FERC Online
Support.
All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND
CONDITIONS,'' or ``PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (2) set forth in the heading the
name of the applicant and the project number of the application to
which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name of the person
submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements
of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, recommendations,
terms and conditions or prescriptions must set forth their evidentiary
basis and otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b).
Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the
applicant. Each filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all
persons listed on the service list prepared by the Commission in this
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
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,
community organizations, 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#aee1fefeeec8cbdccd80c9c1d8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="aae5fafaeacccfd8c984cdc5dc">[email protected]</span></a>.
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 applicant must file on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
August 1, 2025: (1) a copy of the water quality certification; (2) a
copy of the request for certification, including proof of the date on
which the certifying agency received the request; or (3) evidence of
waiver of water quality certification.
o. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as
appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Filing of Comments, Recommendations, August 1, 2025.
Terms and Conditions, and
Prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments.............. September 15, 2025.
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p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 2, 2025.
Dated: June 2, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-10356 Filed 6-5-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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