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###### Department of Energy

###### Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

          - [Project No., 13272-003]

On February 13, 2012, Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) filed an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project (Old Harbor Project or project) to be located on the East Fork of Mountain Creek (a Lagoon Creek tributary), near the town of Old Harbor, Kodiak Island Borough, Alaska. The project would cross federal lands of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners' express permission.

The proposed run-of-river project would consist of an intake, penstock, powerhouse, tailrace and constructed channel, access road and trail, and transmission line. Power from this project would be used by the residents of the city of Old Harbor.

## Intake

The intake would consist of a diversion/cut off weir with a height ranging from about 4 feet at the spillway to 6 feet elsewhere and having an overall length of approximately 100 feet. The creek bottom is close to bedrock so the base of the diversion wall would be a shallow grouted or concrete footing dug into the stream bed. The weir would not create any significant impoundment of water and would only be high enough to have an intake that pulls water from the midpoint of the water column. This would allow floatable objects and bottom moving sediments to remain in the creek. A water filtering system consisting of a trash rack, diversion gates, and secondary screens would be incorporated into the weir structure as a separate desanding box that would be partially exposed above grade. The project diversion and intake works would consist of concrete, or other suitable material, with an integral spillway. A below grade transition with an above ground air relief inlet pipe would convey water to a buried High Density Polyethylene Pipe (HDPE) pipeline.

## Penstock

A 10,100-foot-long penstock consisting of an 18-inch-diameter HDPE pipe, a 20-inch-diameter HDPE pipe, and a 16-inch-diameter steel pipe would be installed. A total of 7,250 feet of HDPE would be installed from the intake and 2,850 feet of steel pipe would be installed near the powerhouse. The pipe would be buried 1 to 3 feet underground and follow the natural terrain as much as possible. The pipeline would be located such that bends would be gradual while minimizing the amount of excavation and fill needed.

## Powerhouse

The powerhouse would consist of a 30-foot by 35-foot (approximate) by 16-foot-high metal building or similar structure. The building would house the turbines and associated equipment, switchgear, controls, and tools and would be placed on a fill pad. The power generation equipment would consist of two Pelton 262 kilowatt (kW) units with a 480-volt, 3-phase synchronous generator and switchgear for each unit. Each unit would have a hydraulic capacity of 5.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) for a total project peak flow rate of 11.8 cfs capable of producing 525 kW of power. A bypass flow system for maintaining environmental flows is not proposed at this time, since the source creek runs dry during certain times of the year.

## Tailrace

A tailrace structure and constructed channel would convey the project flows approximately 700 feet from the powerhouse to the nearby lake, known in the city of Old Harbor as the Swimming Pond. A culvert would contain some of the tailrace near the powerhouse to allow for vehicle travel over the tailrace. The constructed channel would convey project flows 1,100 feet from the Swimming Pond to the headwaters of the Lagoon Creek tributary.

## Access Road and Trail

An approximately 11,200-foot-long intake access trail would run between the intake and the powerhouse following the penstock route. The 12-foot-wide trail would be made of 1 to 2 feet of rock fill placed over a geo-textile filter fabric. Two gates would be placed along on the access trail to block the public from accessing the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge on all terrain vehicles. One gate would be located at the powerhouse. Another gate would be placed where an existing trail connects to the new trail at about 7,000 feet northwest of the powerhouse. A new 6,800-foot-long by 24-foot-wide powerhouse access road would extend from powerhouse to the existing community drinking water tank access road. The road would be open to the public.

## Transmission Line

                    A 6,800-foot-long (1.5-mile), 7.2-kV, 3-phase overhead power line would be installed from the powerhouse to the existing power distribution system in Old Harbor. The transmission line                           ( print page 24197)                        would follow the powerhouse access road and drinking water tank road alignment.                

The estimated dependable capacity of the project is 140 kW. The peak installed capacity will primarily depend on economics and the projected increase in demand. AVEC has chosen to permit the project with a peak capacity of 525 kW.

*Applicant Contact:*                     Brent Petrie; Manager, Community Development and Key Accounts; Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; 4831 Eagle Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99503-7497; (907) 565-5358 or email at                     *bpetrie@avec.org.*

*FERC Contact:*                     Carolyn Templeton; (202) 502-8785 or                     *carolyn.templeton@ferc.gov.*

*Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file competing applications:*                     60 days from the issuance of this notice. Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements of 18 CFR 4.36. Comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing applications may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site                     *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                     *FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov*                     or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.                

                    More information about this project, including a copy of the application, can be viewed or printed on the “eLibrary” link of Commission's Web site at                     *http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​elibrary.asp.*                     Enter the docket number (P-13272) in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.                

Dated: April 16, 2012.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2012-9656 Filed 4-20-12; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P