Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 14827 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 2333–094] 

Notice of Availability of Draft 

Environmental Assessment; Rumford 

Falls Hydro LLC 

In accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and 

the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission’s (Commission) 

regulations, 18 CFR part 380, the Office 

of Energy Projects has reviewed the 

application for license for the Rumford 

Falls Hydroelectric Project, located on 

the Androscoggin River in the Town of 

Rumford, Oxford County, Maine and 

has prepared a Draft Environmental 

Assessment (DEA) for the project. No 

federal land is occupied by project 

works or located within the project 

boundary. 

The DEA contains staff’s analysis of 

the potential environmental impacts of 

the project and concludes that licensing 

the project, with appropriate 

environmental protective measures, 

would not constitute a major federal 

action that would significantly affect the 

quality of the human environment. 

The Commission provides all 

interested persons with an opportunity 

to view and/or print the DEA 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. For assistance, contact FERC 

Online Support at FERCOnline

Support@ferc.gov, or toll-free at (866) 

208–3676, or for TTY, (202) 502–8659. 

You may also register online at 

https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

eSubscription.aspx to be notified via 

email of new filings and issuances 

related to this or other pending projects. 

For assistance, contact FERC Online 

Support. 

Any comments should be filed within 

30 days from the date of this notice. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filing. Please file comments 

using the Commission’s eFiling system 

at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can 

submit brief comments up to 6,000 

characters, without prior registration, 

using the eComment system at https:// 

ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.

aspx. You must include your name and 

contact information at the end of your 

comments. For assistance, please 

contact FERC Online Support. 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, Acting 

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 

1A, Washington, DC 20426. 

Submissions sent via any other carrier 

must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first 

page of any filing should include docket 

number P–4784–106. 

Any questions regarding this notice 

may be directed to Ryan Hansen at (202) 

502–8074 or ryan.hansen@ferc.gov. 

Dated: February 22, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04175 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 2485–071] 

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; Northfield 

Mountain LLC 

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.: 2485–071. 

c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016; material 

amendment filed December 4, 2020. 

d. Applicant: Northfield Mountain 

LLC (Northfield). 

e. Name of Project: Northfield 

Mountain Pumped Storage Project 

(project). 

f. Location: The project is located on 

the Connecticut River in Windham 

County, Vermont, Cheshire County, 

New Hampshire, and Franklin County, 

Massachusetts. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Alan 

Douglass, Regulatory Compliance 

Manager, 99 Millers Falls Road, 

Northfield, MA 01360; (413) 659–4416 

or alan.douglass@firstlightpower.com. 

i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 

502–6131 or stephen.kartalia@ferc.gov. 

j. Deadline for filing motions to 

intervene and protests, comments, 

recommendations, preliminary terms 

and conditions, and preliminary 

fishway 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 and protests, comments, 

recommendations, terms and 

conditions, and prescriptions using the 

Commission’s eFiling system at https:// 

ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. 

Commenters can submit brief comments 

up to 6,000 characters, without prior 

registration, using the eComment system 

at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

QuickComment.aspx. 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, (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, Acting 

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, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 

Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

The first page of any filing should 

include docket number P–2485–071. 

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 

and is ready for environmental analysis 

at this time. 

l. Project Description: The Northfield 

Mountain Pumped Storage Project 

consists of: (1) a 1-mile-long, 30-footwide, 30- to 140-foot-high main dam 

that includes: (i) an intake structure 

with two 7-foot-wide, 9-foot-high sluice 

gates and an 8-foot-diameter outlet pipe; 

and (ii) a 589-foot-long, 2-foot-diameter 

low-level outlet pipe; (2) a 425-footlong, 25-foot-high dike (North dike); (3) 

a 2,800-foot-long, 45-foot-high dike 

(Northwest dike); (4) a 1,700-foot-long, 

40-foot-long dike (West dike); (5) a 327- 

foot-long, 10- to 20-foot-high gravity 

dam; (6) an ungated 550-foot-long, 6- 

foot-high spillway structure with a 20- 

foot-long notch at an elevation of 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
14828 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 

1,005.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical 

Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (7) a 286- 

acre impoundment (upper reservoir) 

with a useable storage volume of 12,318 

acre-feet between elevations 938.0 feet 

and 1,000.5 feet NGVD 29; (8) a 2,110- 

acre impoundment (lower reservoir or 

Turners Falls impoundment); (9) a 

1,890-foot-long, 130-foot-wide intake 

channel with a 63-foot-long, 9-foot-high 

submerged check dam and two 6-footwide, 2.75-foot-high sluice gates and 

two 18-foot-wide stoplogs; (10) a 200- 

foot-long, 55-foot-wide, 80-foot-high 

pressure shaft; (11) an 853-foot-long, 31- 

foot-diameter penstock; (12) two 22- 

foot-diameter, 100- to 150-foot-long 

penstocks; (13) four 340-foot-long, 9.5- 

to 14-foot-diameter penstocks; (14) a 

328-foot-long, 70-foot-wide powerhouse 

that contains four reversible pump 

turbine-generator units with a total 

installed capacity of 1,166.8 megawatts 

(MW); (15) four 25-foot-long, 11-footdiameter draft tubes that transition to a 

20-foot-long, 17-foot-diameter draft 

tube; (16) a 5,136-foot-long, 33-footwide, 31-foot-high horseshoe-shaped 

tailrace tunnel; (17) 35-foot-long, 40- 

foot-high trapezoid-shaped stoplogs 

with 74.3- to 99.5-foot-wide, 48-foothigh trashracks with 6-inch clear-bar 

spacing; (18) four 26-foot-long, 13.8- 

kilovolt (kV) generator leads that 

connect the turbine-generator units to 

four transformers; (19) two 3,000-footlong, 345-kV transmission lines; and 

(20) appurtenant facilities. 

The Northfield Mountain Pumped 

Storage Project generally operates in 

pumping mode when electricity 

demand is low and generating mode 

when electricity demand is high. In the 

summer and winter, the project 

generally operates in a peaking mode in 

the morning and late afternoon. In the 

spring and fall, the project may operate 

in a peaking mode one or two times a 

day depending on electricity demand. 

The existing license requires 

maintaining the upper reservoir 

between elevations 938.0 feet and 

1,000.5 feet NGVD 29 (i.e., a maximum 

reservoir drawdown of 62.5 feet). 

Average annual generation at the 

Northfield Mountain Project from 2011– 

2019 was 889,845 MW-hours, and 

average annual energy consumption for 

pumping from 2011 to 2019 was 

1,189,640 MW-hours. 

Northfield proposes three changes to 

the current project boundary: (1) remove 

0.2 acre of land associated with 

residential property; (2) remove 8.1 

acres of land referred to as ‘‘Fuller 

Farm’’ that include residential and 

agricultural structures; and (3) add 

135.5 acres of land that include 

recreation trails. 

Northfield proposes to increase the 

maximum water surface elevation of the 

upper reservoir to 1,004.5 feet NGVD 29 

and decrease the minimum water 

surface elevation of the upper reservoir 

to 920.0 feet NGVD 29 (i.e., a maximum 

reservoir drawdown of 84.5 feet) yearround. Northfield proposes to install a 

barrier net in the lower impoundment to 

prevent fish entrainment. Northfield 

also proposes to periodically dredge the 

upper reservoir and to construct new 

recreation access trails. The specific 

proposed changes are described in the 

amended application and the settlement 

agreements filed on March 31, 2023 and 

June 12, 2023. 

m. A copy of the application can be 

viewed 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. 

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 

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. 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 on the service list 

prepared by the Commission in this 

proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 

4.34(b) and 385.2010. 

The Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 

members of the public, including 

landowners, environmental justice 

communities, Tribal members and 

others, access publicly available 

information and navigate Commission 

processes. For public inquiries and 

assistance with making filings such as 

interventions, comments, or requests for 

rehearing, the public is encouraged to 

contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@

ferc.gov. 

You may also register online at 

https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.

aspx to be notified via email of new 

filings and issuances related to this or 

other pending projects. For assistance, 

contact FERC Online Support. 

o. The applicant must file no later 

than 60 days following the date of 

issuance of this notice: (1) a copy of the 

water quality certification; (2) a copy of 

the request for certification, including 

proof of the date on which the certifying 

agency received the request; or (3) 

evidence of waiver of water quality 

certification. 

p. Procedural Schedule: The 

application will be processed according 

to the following schedule. Revisions to 

the schedule will be made as 

appropriate. 

Milestone Target date 

Deadline for filing motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary terms 

and conditions, and preliminary 

fishway prescriptions.

April 2024. 

Deadline for filing reply comments ... May 2024. 

q. Final amendments to the 

application must be filed with the 

Commission no later than 30 days from 

the issuance date of this notice. 

Dated: February 22, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04174 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

Combined Notice of Filings 

Take notice that the Commission has 

received the following Natural Gas 

Pipeline Rate and Refund Report filings: 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES