Notice2025-22730
Bangor-Pacific Hydro Associates; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Prescriptions
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Published
December 15, 2025
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 238 (Monday, December 15, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 238 (Monday, December 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57995-57996]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-22730]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2600-088]
Bangor-Pacific Hydro Associates; Notice of Application Accepted
for Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations,
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary 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.: 2600-088.
c. Date Filed: May 27, 2022.
d. Applicant: Bangor-Pacific Hydro Associates (Bangor Hydro).
e. Name of Project: West Enfield Hydroelectric Project (project).
f. Location: On the Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Michael Scarzello, Licensing Manager,
Brookfield Renewable; 150 Maine Street, Lewiston ME 04240; telephone at
(315) 566-0197; email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5a373339323b3f367429393b28203f3636351a38283535313c333f363e283f343f2d3b38363f74393537"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6b060208030a0e074518080a19110e0707042b09190404000d020e070f190e050e1c0a09070e45080406">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Michael Watts, Project Coordinator, New England
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-6123;
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f32363c373e3a3371283e2b2b2c1f393a2d3c71383029"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8be6e2e8e3eaeee7a5fceafffff8cbedeef9e8a5ece4fd">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene, protests, comments,
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary
prescriptions: February 9, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time; Deadline
for filing reply comments: March 24, 2026, by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary
terms and conditions, and preliminary 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 10,000
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#63252631202c0d0f0a0d06301613130c111723050611004d040c15"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="75333027363a1b191c1b10260005051a070135131007165b121a03">[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: West Enfield Hydroelectric Project (P-2600-088).
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 existing project includes a 664-foot-
long, 30-foot-high concrete dam (West Enfield Dam) with a 363-foot-long
spillway. The dam is equipped with three spillway gates and topped with
7-foot-high flashboards with a crest elevation of 156.1 feet National
Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29) at the top of the
flashboards. The dam creates an impoundment that has a surface area of
1,148 acres at 156.1 feet NGVD 29. A 200-foot-long concrete dam
(Runaround Dam) with three permanently closed metal gates is located on
the western shoreline of the impoundment, approximately 1,800 feet
upstream of the West Enfield Dam.
From the impoundment, water flows into an intake structure that is
integral with the West Enfield Dam on the eastern shoreline of the
impoundment. The intake includes four 21.25-foot-wide headgates
equipped with trashracks with 1.25-inch clear bar spacing. From the
intake, water flows directly to a concrete powerhouse that contains two
6.5-megawatt (MW) horizontal Kaplan turbine-generator units with a
total installed capacity of 13.0 MW. Water is discharged from the
powerhouse to a 1,100-foot-long tailrace.
The project includes a downstream fish passage facility adjacent to
the intake structure that consists of five 4-foot-wide surface bypass
entrances across the top of the turbine intakes. These bypass entrances
lead to a collection gallery that then directs migrants to a 3-foot-
diameter pipe before discharging into the tailrace. A concrete vertical
slot fish ladder with a counting station is located on the east end of
the West Enfield Dam and consists of three entrances and thirty-two
pools. An upstream eel passage facility is also located on the east end
of the spillway and consists of two identical ramps attached on either
side of a submerged, 33-inch-wide, 24-inch-long aluminum hopper that
allows captured eels to be lifted to the powerhouse deck.
The upstream and downstream fish passage facilities operate
annually from April 1 to December 31 to provide passage for diadromous
fish, while the upstream eel passage facility operates annually from
April 1 to November 30.
Electricity generated by the turbine-generator units are
transmitted to the electric grid via a 1,400-foot-long, 44-kilovolt
transmission line. The minimum and maximum hydraulic capacities of the
turbine-generator units are 1,200 and 6,730 cubic feet per second
(cfs), respectively. The average annual energy production of the
project from 2017 through 2021, was 86,748 megawatt-hours.
The current license requires Bangor Hydro to operate the project in
a run-of-river mode, such that project outflow approximates inflow.
Bangor Hydro maintains the impoundment at the flashboard crest
elevation of 156.1 feet NGVD 29. The current license requires the
following measures: (1) an Atlantic salmon smolt stockout pond; (2)
funding anadromous fisheries management activities in the Penobscot
River Basin; and (3) a Species Protection Plan for Atlantic salmon.
Bangor Hydro proposes to: (1) continue to operate the project in
run-of-river mode; (2) continue to operate the existing upstream and
downstream fish passage facilities; (3) continue to operate the
existing upstream eel passage facility; (4) develop an operation and
compliance monitoring plan; (5) develop a debris management plan; (6)
develop an historic properties management plan; and (7) construct a
formal canoe take-out, portage, and put-in around the West Enfield Dam.
m. A copy of the application is available for review 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 (P-2600). For assistance,
contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a7c7f687975545653545f694f4a4a55484e7a5c5f4859145d554c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ddbd8cfded2f3f1f4f3f8cee8ededf2efe9ddfbf8effeb3faf2eb">[email protected]</span></a> or call toll free, (886)
208-3676 or TTY (202) 502-8659.
[[Page 57996]]
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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure,
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title
``PROTEST,'' ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``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, address, and telephone number 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. A copy of
any protest or motion to intervene must be served upon each
representative of the applicant specified in the particular
application. A copy of all other filings in reference to this
application 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.
For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office
of Public Participation at (202) 502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#236c737363454651400d444c55"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2f607f7f6f494a5d4c01484059">[email protected]</span></a>.
o. The applicant must file the following on or before 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on February 9, 2026: (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 a waiver of water quality certification.
p. 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 motions to intervene, protests, February 2026.
comments, recommendations, preliminary terms
and conditions, and preliminary
prescriptions.
Filing of reply comments..................... March 2026.
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q. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 8, 2026.
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Dated: December 9, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-22730 Filed 12-12-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 15, 2025.
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