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 Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 2485-071]
 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-foot-wide, 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-foot-long, 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 
                    ( print page 14828)
                    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-foot-wide, 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-foot-diameter draft tubes that transition to a 20-foot-long, 17-foot-diameter draft tube; (16) a 5,136-foot-long, 33-foot-wide, 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-foot-high 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-foot-long, 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) year-round. 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 dateDeadline 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