Notice2026-19582
GR Catalyst One, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed Stillwater Hydroelectric Project
Primary source
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Published
September 24, 2026
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 184 (Thursday, September 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60606-60608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19582]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 4684-072]
GR Catalyst One, LLC; Notice of Scoping Period Requesting
Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed Stillwater
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: New Major License.
b. Project No.: 4684-072.
c. Date Filed: April 29, 2025.
d. Applicant: GR Catalyst One, LLC (GR Catalyst).
e. Name of Project: Stillwater Hydroelectric Project (Stillwater
Project or project).
f. Location: On the Hudson River at the New York State Canal
Corporation's Lock C-4 dam in Saratoga, Rensselaer, and Washington
counties, New York.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Kelly Maloney, Asset Management, Relevate
Power, 230 Park Ave., Suite 447, New York, New York 10169; Phone at
207-233-1995, or email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#175c727b7b6e395a767b7879726e5765727b726176637267786072653974787a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b9f2dcd5d5c097f4d8d5d6d7dcc0f9cbdcd5dccfd8cddcc9d6cedccb97dad6d4">[email protected]</span></a>.
i. FERC Contact: Samantha Pollak at (202) 502-6419, or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#85f6e4e8e4ebf1ede4abf5eae9e9e4eec5e3e0f7e6abe2eaf3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c8bba9a5a9a6bca0a9e6b8a7a4a4a9a388aeadbaabe6afa7be">[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 Stillwater Hydroelectric
Project. The Commission will use this environmental document in its
decision-making process to determine whether to issue a new 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
October 21, 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.
[[Page 60607]]
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 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#de989b8c9d91b0b2b7b0bb8dabaeaeb1acaa9eb8bbacbdf0b9b1a8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="41070413020e2f2d282f24123431312e333501272433226f262e37">[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: Stillwater Hydroelectric Project
(P-4684-072).
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 Stillwater Project consists of the
following facilities: (1) a 5-foot-high concrete gravity dam topped
with wooden flashboards; (2) an 821-foot-long uncontrolled spillway
with a crest elevation of 82.4 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of
1929 (NGVD 29) containing two sections of flashboards (Section A and
Section B) of differing heights [approximately 2.1 feet high (Section
A) and 1.33 feet high (Section B)]; (3) a reservoir with a surface area
of 1,500 acres and a normal volume of 9,000 acre-feet at an elevation
of 84.1 feet NGVD 29; (4) an outlet structure containing three 11-foot-
wide, 10-foot-deep sluice gates and a 10-foot-wide fish bypass gate
located between the right abutment of the dam and the powerhouse; (5)
an intake structure; (6) an approximately 116-foot by 56-foot concrete
and steel powerhouse containing two turbines with a combined capacity
of 3.5 megawatts; (7) a 275-foot-long tailrace channel varying in width
from 110 feet near the draft tube extensions to 230 feet at its
downstream end; (8) a 4.16/34.5-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer
adjacent to the powerhouse; (9) a 3.5-mile-long, 34.5-kV overhead
transmission line; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
GR Catalyst proposes to continue operating the project in a run-of-
river mode with a minimum flow of 500 cubic feet per second (cfs)
provided year-round over the east section of the flashboards. GR
Catalyst also proposes to continue providing a year-round flow of 104
cfs through the fish bypass system, adjacent to the downstream end of
the trashrack, for downstream fish passage.
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-
4684-072). For assistance, contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#20666572636f4e4c494e45735550504f525460464552430e474f56"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7d3b382f3e3213111413182e080d0d120f093d1b180f1e531a120b">[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> socioeconomic resources, 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#81ced1d1c1e7e4f3e2afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="58170808183e3d2a3b763f372e">[email protected]</span></a>.
r. 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-4684">https://ferconline.ferc.gov/MailListLOR.aspx?Type=MailList&ListVar=P-4684</a>. If you want to receive
future mailings 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#64222136272b0a080d0a01371114140b161024020116074a030b12"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="01474453424e6f6d686f64527471716e737541676473622f666e77">[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, 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 the
mailing list and must clearly identify the following on the first page:
Stillwater Hydroelectric Project No. 4684-072.
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
[[Page 60608]]
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="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-
4684). For assistance, contact FERC at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5d1b180f1e1233313433380e282d2d322f291d3b382f3e733a322b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d69093849599b8babfb8b385a3a6a6b9a4a296b0b3a4b5f8b1b9a0">[email protected]</span></a>,
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Dated: September 21, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-19582 Filed 9-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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