Notice2026-15879
Rivers Electric, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed Mill Pond Hydroelectric Project
Primary source
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Published
August 5, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 149 (Wednesday, August 5, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50525-50527]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-15879]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 9985-039]
Rivers Electric, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting
Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed Mill Pond
Hydroelectric Project
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.: 9985-039.
c. Date Filed: March 31, 2025.
d. Applicant: Rivers Electric, LLC (Rivers Electric).
e. Name of Project: Mill Pond Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: On Catskill Creek in Greene County, New York.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contacts: Allison Frechette, Regulatory Compliance
Director, Relevate Power, 1795 Baseline Road, Grand Island, NY 14072,
Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c382afafaab0acaded85b1a6a0aba6b7b7a683abbaa7b1acb5a2afeeffa2e3abb1a6a5fe" http: am.com">am.com</a>">Allison.Frechette@hydroval-<a href="http://am.com">am.com</a></a>, Phone: 800-371-9146; or
Jessica Antonez, Regulatory Compliance Specialist, Relevate Power, 1795
Baseline Road, Grand Island, NY 14072, Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a8e2cddbdbc1cbc986e9c6dcc7c6cdd2e8c0d1ccdac7dec9c48594c988c0dacdce95" http: am.com">am.com</a>">Jessica.Antonez@hydroval-<a href="http://am.com">am.com</a></a>, Phone: 800-371-9146.
i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6e0f000a1c0b19400c0b1c00070d052e080b1c0d40090118"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9bfaf5ffe9feecb5f9fee9f5f2f8f0dbfdfee9f8b5fcf4ed">[email protected]</span></a>.
j. The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental document that will discuss
the environmental effects of relicensing the Mill Pond Hydroelectric
Project. The Commission will use this environmental document in its
decision-making process to determine whether to issue a subsequent
license for the project.
k. This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested
agencies regarding the project. This notice is intended to advise all
participants as to the potential scope of the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) document and to seek additional information pertinent
to this analysis. Commission staff does not intend to issue a separate
scoping document.
As part of the NEPA review process, the Commission takes into
account concerns the public may have about proposals and the
environmental effects that could result from its action whenever it
considers the issuance of a hydropower license. This gathering of
public input is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main goal of the
scoping process is to focus the analysis in the environmental document
on the important environmental issues.
l. Scoping Comments: By this notice, the Commission requests
written public comments on the scope of issues to address in the
environmental document. To ensure that your comments are timely and
properly recorded, please submit your comments so that the Commission
receives them in Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
August 31, 2026.
Comments should focus on the potential environmental effects and
reasonable alternatives. Your input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to evaluate in the environmental
document. Commission staff will consider all written comments during
the preparation of the environmental document.
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
[[Page 50526]]
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#df999a8d9c90b1b3b6b1ba8caaafafb0adab9fb9baadbcf1b8b0a9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="460003140509282a2f282315333636293432062023342568212930">[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, MD 20852. All filings must clearly identify the project name
and docket number on the first page: Mill Pond Hydroelectric Project
(P-9985-039).
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.
m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
n. Project Description: The Mill Pond Project consists of the
following existing facilities: (1) a concrete gravity dam approximately
3 to 5 feet high and 130 feet long with a crest elevation of 105 feet
mean sea level (msl) topped by 3-foot-high pneumatic flashboards for a
spillway crest of 108 feet msl; (2) a 20-foot natural ledge rock fall;
(3) a 7.28-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 82 acre-feet
at normal water surface elevation of 108 feet msl; (4) an intake
structure that includes a trash rack with 1.75-inch clear bar spacing;
(5) a 36-inch-diameter concrete trough and conveyance chute adjacent to
the intake that passes minimum flows, fish, ice, and debris downstream;
(6) an approximately 10-foot-diameter, 147-foot-long steel penstock
that bifurcates into two separate, equivalent diameter sections; (7) a
powerhouse 30 feet wide and 32 feet long containing two generating
units rated at 500 kilowatts (kW) each for a total installed capacity
of 1,000 kW; (8) 2.4-kilovolt (kV) generator leads connecting the
generating units to a 13.2-kV-ampere step-up transformer located in a
small switchyard; (9) a 200-foot-long (mostly underground) transmission
line from the step-up transformer to the point of interconnection with
the distribution system; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
Existing project recreation access consists of an approximately
250-foot-long public access trail between Route 23B/Main Street and the
northern shoreline of the project impoundment, with associated signage,
as required by Article 404 of the current license. Rivers Electric
proposes to continue operating and maintaining the existing trail, to
include vegetation maintenance (e.g., physical removal of poison ivy
along the trail), repair or replacement of damaged sections of an
existing safety fence (to prevent access to the project facilities and
a steep embankment near the project intake), extension of the existing
safety fence to the shoreline at normal full pool elevation, and
monthly inspections of trail conditions to determine the need for
ongoing repairs or maintenance.
Rivers Electric proposes to continue operating the project in a
run-of-river mode such that outflow from the project approximates
inflow to the project reservoir and to release, through the conveyance
chute, a minimum flow of 20 cubic feet per second, or inflow, whichever
is less, on a year-round basis as required by Article 402 of the
current license.
o. A copy of the application, with details of the proposed project,
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 project's docket number excluding the
last three digits in the docket number field to access the document (P-
9985). For assistance, contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#8ec8cbdccdc1e0e2e7e0ebddfbfefee1fcfacee8ebfceda0e9e1f8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="96d0d3c4d5d9f8fafff8f3c5e3e6e6f9e4e2d6f0f3e4f5b8f1f9e0">[email protected]</span></a>,
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
p. NEPA Process and the Environmental Document: Any environmental
document issued by the Commission will discuss effects that could occur
as a result of the project's relicensing under the relevant general
resource areas, such as:
<bullet> geology and soils;
<bullet> water resources;
<bullet> fish resources;
<bullet> aquatic resources;
<bullet> terrestrial resources;
<bullet> recreation resources;
<bullet> land use resources;
<bullet> aesthetic resources;
<bullet> cultural resources;
<bullet> socioeconomics; and
<bullet> air quality.
Commission staff will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the
proposed project or portions of the project and make recommendations on
how to lessen or avoid effects on the various resource areas. Your
comments will help Commission staff identify and focus on the issues
that might have an effect on the human environment and potentially
eliminate others from further discussion in the environmental document.
Following this scoping period, Commission staff will determine
whether to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS). The EA or EIS will present Commission staff's
independent analysis of the issues. If Commission staff prepares an EA,
a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment will be
issued. The EA may be issued for an allotted public comment period. The
Commission would consider timely comments on the EA before making its
decision regarding the proposed project. If Commission staff prepares
an EIS, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
will be issued. Staff will then prepare a draft EIS which will be
issued for public comment. Commission staff will consider all timely
comments received during the comment period on the draft EIS and revise
the document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. Any EA or draft
and final EIS will be available in electronic format in the public
record through eLibrary. If eSubscribed, you will receive instant email
notification when the environmental document is issued (see paragraph
(r) of this notice for instructions on using eSubscription).
q. 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#a0eff0f0e0c6c5d2c38ec7cfd6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9cd3ccccdcfaf9eeffb2fbf3ea">[email protected]</span></a>.
This notice is being distributed to the Commission's official
mailing list for the project and any additional entities on the
applicant's distribution list. You can access the Commission's official
mailing list for this project at <a href="https://ferconline.ferc.gov/MailListLOR.aspx?Type=MailList&ListVar=P-9985">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/MailListLOR.aspx?Type=MailList&ListVar=P-9985</a>. If you want to receive
futuremailings for the project and are not included on the Commission's
official mailing list, or if you wish to be removed from the
Commission's official mailing list, please send your request by email
to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#52141700111d3c3e3b3c37012722223d202612343720317c353d24"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="460003140509282a2f282315333636293432062023342568212930">[email protected]</span></a>. In lieu of an email request, you may
submit a paper request. 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,
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Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue,
Rockville, MD 20852. All written or emailed requests must specify your
wish to be added to or removed from themailing list and must clearly
identify the following on the first page: Mill Pond Hydroelectric
Project No. 9985-039.
Additionally, the Commission offers a free service called
eSubscription, which makes it easy to stay informed of all issuances
and submittals regarding the dockets/projects to which you subscribe.
These instant email notifications are the fastest way to receive
notification and provide a link to the document files which can reduce
the amount of time you spend researching proceedings. Go to <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> to register for eSubscription.
In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) via
the internet through the Commission's Home Page (<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 (P-
9985). For assistance, contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#eea8abbcada1808287808bbd9b9e9e819c9aae888b9c8dc0898198"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f5b3b0a7b6ba9b999c9b90a68085859a8781b593908796db929a83">[email protected]</span></a>,
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Dated: July 31, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-15879 Filed 8-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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