[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 75 (Friday, April 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21425-21426]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-08185]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 3273-024]
Chittenden Falls Hydropower, Inc.; Notice of Settlement
Agreement, Soliciting Comments, and Modification of Procedural Schedule
Take notice that the following settlement agreement has been filed
with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Settlement Agreement.
b. Project No.: 3273-024.
c. Date filed: April 10, 2020.
d. Applicant: Chittenden Falls Hydropower, Inc. (Chittenden Falls
Hydro).
e. Name of Project: Chittenden Falls Hydropower Project.
f. Location: On Kinderhook Creek, near the Town of Stockport,
Columbia County, New York. The project does not occupy federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Rule 602 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.602.
h. Applicant Contact: Mark Boumansour, Chief Operating Officer,
Gravity Renewables, Inc., 1401 Walnut Street, Suite 420, Boulder, CO
80302; (303) 440-3378; [email protected] and/or Celeste N.
Fay, Regulatory Manager, Gravity Renewables, Inc., 5 Dartmouth Drive,
Suite 104, Auburn, NH 03032; (413) 262-9466;
[email protected].
i. FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury at (202) 502-6736 or
[email protected].
j. Deadline for filing comments: Comments on the Settlement
Agreement, and comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and
prescriptions in response to the Commission's February 21, 2020 Notice
of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA Notice) are due on
Monday, May 4, 2020. Reply comments are due on Wednesday, June 17,
2020.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
comments using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to
6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system
at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY).
The Commission's Rules of Practice 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. Chittenden Falls Hydro filed an Offer of Settlement (Settlement
Agreement) on behalf of itself, the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation (New York DEC), and the United States
Department of the Interior--Fish and Wildlife Service. The Settlement
Agreement includes protection, mitigation, and enhancement measures
addressing run-of-river operation and allowable impoundment
fluctuations, a minimum bypassed reach flow, fish passage and
protection for American eel, and by reference, management plans for
northern long-eared bat and bald eagles (Appendix A), and invasive
species (Appendix B). Chittenden Falls Hydro requests that the measures
in the Settlement Agreement be incorporated as license conditions in
any new license issued for the project. The signatories to the
Settlement Agreement also request a 40-year license term for the
project.
l. A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available for review on
the Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary''
link. Enter the docket number, excluding the last three digits, in the
docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact
FERC Online Support.
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, 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. 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.
Register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
m. Procedural Schedule: The Commission's February 21, 2020 REA
Notice established April 21, 2020 as the deadline for filing comments,
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions regarding
Chittenden Falls Hydro's license application. In order to allow
adequate time for stakeholder comments regarding the license
application and the Settlement Agreement, we have modified the comment
period to allow
[[Page 21426]]
stakeholders to submit comments on the Settlement Agreement and
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions
regarding the license application on the same date, and allow
Chittenden Falls Hydro sufficient time to submit reply comments. The
application will be processed according to the following revised Hydro
Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as
appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Filing of comments, recommendations, May 4, 2020.
terms and conditions, and
prescriptions (per the REA Notice) and
comments on the Settlement Agreement.
Reply comments due..................... June 17, 2020.
Commission Issues EA................... October 2020.
Comments on EA......................... November 2020.
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Dated: April 13, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-08185 Filed 4-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P