[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 101 (Tuesday, May 26, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31493-31494]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11239]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 10853-022]
Otter Tail Power Company; Notice of Application Accepted for
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, Ready for
Environmental Analysis, and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations,
Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary Fishway 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.: 10853-022.
c. Date Filed: November 27, 2019.
d. Applicant: Otter Tail Power Company.
e. Name of Project: Otter Tail River Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: The Otter Tail River Hydroelectric Project consists of
five developments on the Otter Tail River that starts in the Township
of Friberg, Minnesota and extends downstream (south) of the City of
Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The project does not occupy federal land.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Michael Olson, Natural Gas Turbine Operations
and NERC Compliance, Otter Tail Power Company, 215 South Cascade
Street, Fergus Falls, Minnesota 56537; (218) 739-8411;
[email protected].
i. FERC Contact: Patrick Ely at (202) 502-8570 or email at
[email protected].
j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments,
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary
prescriptions: 60 Days from the issuance date of this notice; reply
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file
motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions 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. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready
for environmental analysis.
l. The Otter Tail River Project consists of the following five
existing developments listed upstream to downstream: (1) Friberg
development; (2) Hoot development; (3) Central development; (4) Pisgah
development; and (5) Dayton Hollow development.
The Friberg development consists of: (1) A reservoir with a surface
area of 340 acres, and negligible storage capacity, at a normal water
surface elevation of 1,299 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) a 341-foot-
long dam which contains a 31-foot-high and 61-foot-long spillway with
seven bays, an 80-foot-long and 36-foot-high east earthfill dike, and a
200-foot-long and 36-foot-high west earthfill dike; (3) a power canal;
(4) a 194-foot-long, 9-foot-diameter penstock; (5) a 27-foot-wide and
27-foot-long reinforced concrete powerhouse; (6) a vertical turbine
rated at 900 horsepower (hp) under a head of 35 feet, connected to a
560-kilowatt (kW) generator; (7) a tailrace; (8) a 75-foot-long, 2.4-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
The Hoot development facilities include: (1) A reservoir with a
negligible surface area and storage capacity (dam diverts river flow)
at a normal water surface elevation of 1,256 feet msl; (2) a 150-foot-
long, 9-foot-high dam which contains a concrete spillway with six
stoplogged openings with the two outer openings 5 feet 4 inches wide
and the other four openings 11 feet 4 inches wide; (3) a 500-foot-long,
90-inch-diameter concrete tunnel (Hoot Lake); (4) a 20-foot-wide, 700-
foot-long channel between Hoot Lake and Wright Lake; (5) a 20-foot-
wide, 300-foot-long channel leading to the intake structure; (6) a
1,050-foot-long, 8-foot-square concrete tube; (7) a surge tank; (8) an
89-foot-long, 6-foot-diameter steel penstock; (9) a reinforced concrete
powerhouse; (10) a horizontal turbine rated at 1,260 hp under a head of
68 feet connected to a 1,000-kw generator; (11) a tailrace; (12) a 200-
foot-long, 2.4-kV transmission line; (13) a nature-like fishway; and
(14) appurtenant facilities.
The Central development consists of: (1) A reservoir having a
surface area of 15 acres and a storage capacity of 400 acre-feet, at a
normal water surface elevation of 1,181 feet msl; (2) a 107-foot-long
and 25-foot-high dam which contains a 70-foot-long and 25-foot-high
spillway; (3) an intake structure; (4) a 30-foot-wide and 40-foot-long
brick masonry powerhouse; (5) a vertical turbine rated at 720 hp under
a head of 22 feet, connected to a 400-kW generator; (6) a tailrace; (7)
a 40-foot-long, 2.4-kV transmission line; and (8) appurtenant
facilities.
The Pisgah development consists of: (1) A reservoir having a
surface area of 70 acres and storage capacity of 250 acre-feet at a
normal water surface elevation of 1,156 feet msl; (2) a 493-foot-long
concrete gravity and earthfill dam ranging in height from 21 feet to 38
feet which has (a) an earthfill dike, (b) a 123-foot-long and 38-foot-
high concrete wing wall, (c) six spillway bays, (d) a 150-foot-long and
21-foot-high south earthfill embankment, and (e) a 220-foot-long and
38-foot-high north earthfill embankment; (3) an intake; (4) a 22-foot-
wide and 32-foot-long reinforced concrete and brick masonry powerhouse;
(5) a vertical turbine rated at 850 hp under a head of 25 feet,
connected to a 520-kW generator; (6) a tailrace; (7) a 330-foot-long,
2.4-kV transmission line; and (8) appurtenant facilities.
The Dayton Hollow development consists of: (1) A reservoir having a
surface area of 230 acres and a storage capacity of 5,000 acre-feet at
a normal water surface elevation of 1,107 feet msl; (2) a 265-foot-long
concrete and earthfill dam varying in height from 11 feet to 40 feet
which contains (a) an 80-foot-long and 40-foot-high concrete spillway
section, (b) a 95-foot-long and 11-foot-high east earthfill embankment,
and (c) a 90-foot-long and 22-foot-high west earthfill embankment; (3)
an intake structure; (4) a 22-foot-wide and 32-foot-long reinforced
concrete and masonry powerhouse; (5) a vertical turbine rated at 800 hp
under a head of 35 feet, connected to a 520-kW generator and a
horizontal 650 hp turbine connected to a 450-kW generator; (6) a
tailrace; (7) an 80-foot- long, 2.4-kV transmission line; and (8)
appurtenant facilities.
[[Page 31494]]
The Otter Tail River Project is operated in a run-of-river mode
with an estimated annual energy production of approximately 22,323
megawatt hours. Otter Tail Power Company proposes to continue operating
the project as a run-of-river facility and does not propose any new
construction or modifications to the project.
m. 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 (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 (P-
10853). At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the
Commission's Public Reference Room due to the proclamation declaring a
National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC
at [email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-3673 or
(202) 502-8659 (TTY).
You may also 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.
n. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure,
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining the appropriate action
to take, the Commission will consider all protests or other comments
filed, but only those who file a motion to intervene in accordance with
the Commission's Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any
comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be received on or
before the specified comment date for the particular application.
All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title PROTEST,
MOTION TO INTERVENE, COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS,
PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS, or PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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 protesting or
intervening; 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. A copy of
any protest or motion to intervene must be served upon each
representative of the applicant specified in the particular
application. A copy of all other filings in reference to this
application must be accompanied by proof of service on all persons
listed in the service list prepared by the Commission in this
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
o. Procedural Schedule:
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 recommendations, preliminary terms July 2020.
and conditions, and preliminary fishway
prescriptions.
Commission issues EA........................ January 2021.
Comments on EA.............................. February 2021.
Modified terms and conditions............... April 2021.
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p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.
Dated: May 19, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-11239 Filed 5-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P