Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 14821 

Dated: February 22, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04177 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 1889–085] 

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; FirstLight MA 

Hydro 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.: 1889–085. 

c. Date Filed: April 29, 2016; material 

amendment filed December 4, 2020. 

d. Applicant: FirstLight MA Hydro 

LLC (FirstLight). 

e. Name of Project: Turners Falls 

Hydroelectric Project (project). 

f. Location: The project is located on 

the Connecticut River in Windham 

County, Vermont, Cheshire County, 

New Hampshire, and Franklin County, 

Massachusetts. The current project 

boundary includes the approximately 

20-acre Silvio Conte Anadromous Fish 

Laboratory, which is administered by 

the U.S. Geological Survey. 

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–1889–085. 

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 Turners 

Falls Project consists of: (1) a 630-footlong, 35-foot-high dam (Montague dam) 

that includes: (a) four 120-foot-wide, 

13.25-foot-high bascule gates; and (b) a 

170-foot-long fixed section with a crest 

elevation of 185.5 feet National Geodetic 

Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD 29); (2) 

a 493-foot-long, 55-foot-high dam (Gill 

dam) that includes: (a) three 40-footwide, 39-foot-high tainter gates; and (b) 

97.3- and 207.5-foot-long fixed sections 

with crest elevations of 185.5 feet NGVD 

29; (3) a 2,110-acre impoundment with 

a useable storage volume of 16,150 acrefeet between elevations 176.0 feet and 

185.0 feet NGVD 29; (4) a 214-foot-long, 

33-foot-high gatehouse that includes six 

9-foot-wide, 10.66-foot-high gates and 

nine 9.5-foot-wide, 12.6-foot-high gates; 

(5) a 2.1-mile-long, 120- to 920-footwide, 17- to 30-foot-deep power canal; 

(6) a 700-foot-long, 100-foot-wide, 16- to 

23-foot-deep branch canal; (7) the 

Station No.1 generating facility that 

includes: (a) eight 15-foot-wide bays 

with trashracks with 2.625-inch clearbar spacing; (b) four 100-foot-long, 13.1- 

to 14-foot-diameter penstocks; (c) a 134- 

foot-long, 64-foot-wide powerhouse that 

contains five turbine-generator units 

with a total installed capacity of 5.693 

megawatts (MW); (d) four 21-foot-long, 

6.5-foot-diameter draft tubes; (e) five 40- 

to 70-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) 

generator leads that connect the turbinegenerator units to a generator bus; (f) a 

110-foot-long, 2.4-kV generator lead that 

connects the generator bus to a 

substation; and (g) a 20-foot-long, 2.4-kV 

generator lead that connects the 

substation to three transformers; (8) the 

Cabot Station generating facility that 

includes: (a) an intake structure with 

217-foot-wide, 31-foot-high trashracks 

with 0.94-inch and 3.56-inch clear-bar 

spacing; (b) six 70-foot-long penstocks; 

(c) a 235-foot-long, 79.5-foot-wide 

powerhouse that contains six turbinegenerator units with a total installed 

capacity of 62.016 MW; (d) six 41-footlong, 12.5- to 14.5-foot-diameter draft 

tubes; (e) six 80- to 250-foot-long, 13.8- 

kV generator leads that connect the 

turbine-generator units to a generator 

bus; (f) a 60-foot-long, 13.8-kV generator 

lead that connects the generator bus to 

the powerhouse roof; and (g) a 200-footlong, 13.8-kV generator lead that 

connects to a transformer; (9) eight 13.6- 

foot-wide, 16.7-foot-high power canal 

spillway gates that are adjacent to Cabot 

Station; (10) a 16.2-foot-wide, 13.1-foothigh log sluice gate in the Cabot Station 

forebay with an 8-foot-wide weir for 

downstream fish passage; (11) a 200- 

foot-long, 7-foot-diameter drainage 

tunnel (Keith Drainage Tunnel) and 

headgate; (12) a 955-foot-long, 5-footdiameter lower drainage tunnel; (13) an 

850-foot-long, 16-foot-wide, 10-foot-high 

fishway (Cabot fishway); (14) a 500-footlong, 10-foot-wide, 10-foot-high fishway 

(Spillway fishway); (15) a 225-foot-long, 

16-foot-wide, 17.5-foot-high fishway 

(Gatehouse fishway); and (16) 

appurtenant facilities. 

The Turners Falls Project operates in 

peaking and run-of-river modes, 

depending on inflows. Average annual 

generation from 2011–2019 was 

approximately 332,351 MW-hours. 

FirstLight proposes three changes to 

the current project boundary: (1) remove 

0.2 acre of land associated with 

residential property; (2) add 0.8 acre of 

land for recreational purposes; and (3) 

remove 20.1 acres of land associated 

with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Silvio 

Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory. 

FirstLight proposes to construct new 

fish passage facilities and recreational 

access trails. FirstLight also proposes 

changes to project operation that would 

generally reduce impoundment 

fluctuations and increase flow releases 

to the portion of the Connecticut River 

that is bypassed by the project. The 

specific proposed changes are described 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
14822 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 41 / Thursday, February 29, 2024 / Notices 

1 Viridon Midcontinent LLC submitted formula 

rate templates and formula rate implementation 

protocols for Midcontinent Independent System 

Operator, Inc.’s (MISO) Attachments O, GG, and 

MM of MISO’s Open Access Transmission, Energy 

and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff. 

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. 2024–04178 Filed 2–28–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. EL24–69–000] 

Viridon Midcontinent LLC; Notice of 

Institution of Section 206 Proceeding 

and Refund Effective Date 

On February 23, 2024, the 

Commission issued an order in Docket 

No. EL24–69–000, pursuant to section 

206 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), 16 

U.S.C. 824e, instituting an investigation 

to determine whether Viridon 

Midcontinent LLC’s Formula Rate 1 is 

unjust, unreasonable, unduly 

discriminatory or preferential, or 

otherwise unlawful. Viridon 

Midcontinent LLC, 186 FERC ¶ 61,138 

(2024). 

The refund effective date in Docket 

No. EL24–69–000, established pursuant 

to section 206(b) of the FPA, will be the 

date of publication of this notice in the 

Federal Register. 

Any interested person desiring to be 

heard in Docket No. EL24–69–000 must 

file a notice of intervention or motion to 

intervene, as appropriate, with the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

in accordance with Rule 214 of the 

Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure, 18 CFR 385.214 (2023), 

within 21 days of the date of issuance 

of the order. 

In addition to publishing the full text 

of this document in the Federal 

Register, the Commission provides all 

interested persons an opportunity to 

view and/or print the contents of this 

document 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. From 

FERC’s Home Page on the internet, this 

information is available on eLibrary. 

The full text of this document is 

available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. User assistance is 

available for eLibrary and the FERC’s 

website during normal business hours 

from FERC Online Support at 202–502– 

6652 (toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or 

email at ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or 

the Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the 

Public Reference Room at public.

referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filings of comments, protests 

and interventions in lieu of paper using 

the ‘‘eFile’’ link at http://www.ferc.gov. 

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 Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES