Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc.; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64918-64920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20881]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2535-129]


Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc.; 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.: 2535-129.
    c. Date Filed: October 27, 2023.
    d. Applicant: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. (Dominion 
Energy).
    e. Name of Project: Stevens Creek Hydroelectric Project (Stevens 
Creek Project).
    f. Location: At the confluence of Stevens Creek and the Savannah 
River in Edgefield and McCormick Counties, South Carolina, and Columbia 
County, Georgia. The project occupies approximately 104 acres of 
federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Amy Bresnahan, Dominion Energy South 
Carolina, Inc., 220 Operation Way, Mail

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Code A221, Cayce, SC 29033; telephone at (803) 217-9965; email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6a2b07134428180f19040b020b042a0e050703040305040f040f180d1344090507"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="ca8ba7b3e488b8afb9a4aba2aba48aaea5a7a3a4a3a5a4afa4afb8adb3e4a9a5a7">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.
    i. FERC Contact: Jeanne Edwards, Project Coordinator, South Branch, 
Division of Hydropower Licensing, telephone at (202) 502-6181; email at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#a6ccc3c7c8c8c388c3c2d1c7d4c2d5e6c0c3d4c588c1c9d0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ae0efebe4e4efa4efeefdebf8eef9caeceff8e9a4ede5fc">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 6, 
2026; reply comments are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 20, 
2027.
    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#70363522333f1e1c191e15230500001f020430161502135e171f06"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c3858691808cadafaaada690b6b3b3acb1b783a5a6b1a0eda4acb5">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>, (866) 208-
3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic 
filing, please send a paper copy via the U.S. Postal Service 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. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-2535-129.
    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 ready for 
environmental analysis.
    l. Project Description: The project consists of: (1) a 2,400-acre 
reservoir with a storage capacity of 23,699-acre-feet at a full pond 
elevation of 187.5 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum 1929 (NGVD 
29); (2) a dam consisting of, from the southwestern (Georgia) shore to 
the northeastern (South Carolina) shore, (a) a 388-foot-long powerhouse 
intake, integral with the dam, protected by trashracks with 3.75-inch 
clear bar spacing, (b) a 102.5-foot-long non-overflow section with a 
top elevation of 198.54 feet NGVD 29, (c) an 85-foot-wide, 165.5-foot-
long inoperable concrete gravity navigation lock, with a lock chamber 
that is 30-feet-wide, 150-feet-long, and has a 29-foot-lift, located 
between the powerhouse intake and spillway section, (d) a 1,000-foot-
long, 5-foot-high flashboard section from the lock to the center of the 
spillway with a top elevation of 188.5 feet with the flashboards 
installed, (e) a 1,000 foot-long, 4-foot-high flashboard section from 
the center of the spillway to the South Carolina abutment with a top 
elevation of 187.5 feet with the flashboards installed, and (f) a 97-
foot-long non-overflow section; (3) a 388-foot-long, 52-foot-wide, 57-
foot-high three-story brick powerhouse, integral with the dam, 
containing eight vertical Francis generating units, each rated at 3,125 
horsepower, a total generating capacity of 17.28 megawatts, and a total 
hydraulic capacity of 8,300 cubic feet per second; (4) generator leads 
from the powerhouse to a switchyard located approximately 100 feet from 
the powerhouse; and (5) ancillary equipment.
    The project recreation facilities include: (1) the Stevens Creek 
recreation site with a parking lot with space for six trailer vehicles, 
a concrete boat launch, three picnic tables, and a restroom; (2) Fury's 
Ferry recreation site with a concrete boat ramp, two picnic tables, and 
gravel parking lot for either five trailer vehicles or 11 standard 
vehicles; (3) Chota Drive recreation site, with bank fishing, non-
motorized boat launch access, and gravel parking lot for two vehicles; 
and (4) Betty's Branch/Riverside Park with a concrete boat ramp, a 
courtesy dock, a fishing pier, a canoe/kayak launch, two picnic tables, 
and a parking lot with four accessible spots, and with the adjacent 
Riverside Park with additional parking and facilities for baseball, 
softball, tennis, picnicking, and water-related activities.
    Dominion Energy proposes to: (1) continue operating the project as 
a re-regulating project, mitigating the downstream effects of wide-
ranging discharges from the upstream U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
(Corps) J. Strom Thurmond Hydroelectric Project and maintain normal 
elevation fluctuations between 183.0 feet NGVD and 187.5 feet NGVD, 
using available storage; (2) continue updating the project operating 
plan every 5 years in coordination with the Corps; (3) install 
dissolved oxygen and temperature sensors at existing U.S. Geological 
Survey gages; (4) provide upstream American eel passage, conduct 
American eel siting studies, and develop an adaptive management fish 
passage plan; (5) continue to conduct annual shoreline surveys and 
annual funding for fish loss from entrainment; (6) develop an erosion 
control plan; (7) update the recreation management plan to include the 
removal of the Chota Drive recreation site from the project; and (8) 
implement a water quality adaptive management plan and draft historic 
properties management plan filed with the license application.
    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-2535). For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h 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; (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.
    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. 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#b0ffe0e0f0d6d5c2d39ed7dfc6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="014e515141676473622f666e77">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.
    o. The applicant must file the following by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time 
on December 6, 2026: (1) a copy of the water quality certification for 
the state of South Carolina; \1\ (2) a copy of the

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request for certification, including proof of the date on which the 
certifying agency received the request; \2\ or (3) evidence of a waiver 
of water quality certification.
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    \1\ Because the dam spillway discharge spans the Savannah River 
and extends into South Carolina waters, Dominion Energy must also 
obtain a water quality certification or waiver from South Carolina. 
See Order of Reconsideration, City of Augusta, 109 FERC ] 61,210 
(2004); Cent. Vt. Pub. Serv. Corp., 85 FERC ] 61410 (1998).
    \2\ On September 2, 2025, Dominion Energy applied to the Georgia 
Department of Natural Resources (Georgia DNR) for a water quality 
certification, which Georgia DNR received on September 3, 2025. On 
December 10, 2025, Georgia DNR issued a water quality certification 
for the Stevens Creek Project. See Dominion Energy's September 24, 
2026 filing at 4.
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    p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 6, 2026.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)

    Dated: October 7, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-20881 Filed 10-9-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


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