Notice2026-05890
KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions
Primary source
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Published
March 26, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 58 (Thursday, March 26, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14693-14694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05890]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 3562-026]
KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC; 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: Subsequent Minor License.
b. Project No.: 3562-026.
c. Date filed: July 29, 2021.
d. Applicant: KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC (KEI Power).
e. Name of Project: Barker Mill Upper Hydroelectric Project (Upper
Barker Project).
f. Location: On the Little Androscoggin River, in the City of
Auburn, Androscoggin County, Maine.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)
h. Applicant Contact: Lewis C. Loon, General Manager, KEI (USA)
Power Management Inc., 423 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, ME 04345; phone
at (207) 203-3025; email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a5e9c0d2ccd6e68be9cacacbe5ced7d0c0c2c0d78bc6cac8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f0bc95879983b3debc9f9f9eb09b828595979582de939f9d">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Jody Callihan at (202) 502-8278 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2943464d50074a48454540414847694f4c5b4a074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="157f7a716c3b767479797c7d747b55737067763b727a63">[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
May 22, 2026; reply comments are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time on July 6, 2026.
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 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#f8bebdaabbb7969491969dab8d8888978a8cb89e9d8a9bd69f978e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5e181b0c1d11303237303b0d2b2e2e312c2a1e383b2c3d70393128">[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: Barker Mill Upper Hydroelectric Project (P-3562-026).
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 and is ready for
environmental analysis at this time.
l. The Barker Mill Upper Project consists of the following existing
facilities: (1) a 41-acre impoundment with a maximum storage capacity
of 255 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation of 192
feet; \1\ (2) a dam consisting of (starting from the west bank): (a) a
43-foot-long concrete abutment; (b) a 40-foot-long gated spillway
structure consisting of two, 18-foot-high, 15-foot-wide steel Tainter
gates; (c) an 86-foot-long, 24-foot-high stone masonry with concrete
overlay overflow spillway with 3-foot-high wooden flashboards and a
crest elevation of 192 feet at the top of the flashboards (189 feet
when the flashboards are lowered); (d) a 31-foot-long concrete intake
structure; and, (e) a 27-foot-long underground abutment; (3) a
powerhouse containing a single 950-kilowatt turbine-generator unit; (4)
a tailrace; (5) a 50-foot-long, 12.47-kilovolt transmission line; and
(6) appurtenant facilities.
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\1\ All elevations are referenced to the North American Vertical
Datum of 1988.
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KEI Power filed a Settlement Agreement (Settlement) for the
Barker's Mill Project (FERC No. 2808),\2\ Upper Barker Project (FERC
No. 3562), and Marcal Project (FERC No. 11482) executed by and between
the licensee and the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Maine
Department of Marine Resources (Maine DMR), and the Maine Department of
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (Settlement Parties). The purpose of the
Settlement is to resolve the parties' disagreements over the issues
related to fish and aquatic resource management, including
[[Page 14694]]
upstream and downstream passage measures for American eel, river
herring, American shad, sea lamprey, and Atlantic salmon; minimum flow
releases; and aquatic invasive species. Specifically, for the
relicensing of the Upper Barker Project, the Settlement provides for:
(1) coordinating the time frame for providing upstream and downstream
fish passage at the Upper Barker Project; (2) aligning the minimum and
seasonal flows at the Upper Barker and the Lower Barker Projects; (3)
aligning the Upper Barker and Lower Barker Projects' license terms by
extending the 40-year license term of the Lower Barker Project to 50
years and requesting a license term of 47 years for the Upper Barker
Project; (4) establishing an off-license agreement to fund an
Androscoggin Basin Stewardship Fund administered by Maine DMR to
benefit spawning and rearing habitat in the basin; and (5) assuring,
through an off-license agreement, the resources agencies' support for
KEI Power's request for Low Impact Hydropower Institute certification
for the Upper Barker Project.
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\2\ The Barker's Mill Project is also known as and referred to
herein as the Lower Barker Project.
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On January 29, 2026, KEI Power filed additional details, including
design drawings, of its proposed full-depth trash rack overlays
(perforated plates with 1-inch hole openings) to protect against fish
and eel entrainment and its proposed method of upstream eel passage--
installing mussel spat rope.\3\ The Upper Barker Project is currently
operated in run-of-river mode and generates 4,681 megawatt-hours
annually.
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\3\ Mussel spat ropes are made of coarse ultra-violet stabilized
polypropylene fibers and while typically used in the aquaculture
industry to provide a settlement substrate for mussel larvae, these
ropes can also be used to facilitate the upstream fish passage of
climbing species such as eels.
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m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's
website <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-3562). For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support (see item j above).
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; and (3) 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.
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#baf5eaeafadcdfc8d994ddd5cc"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96d9c6c6d6f0f3e4f5b8f1f9e0">[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 the following on or before 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on May 22, 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.
o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 22, 2026.
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1.)
Dated: March 23, 2026.
Carlos D. Clay,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-05890 Filed 3-25-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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