[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 187 (Thursday, September 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 78861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22082]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 96-048]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment

    On November 24, 2020, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) filed 
a relicense application for the 162.72-megawatt Kerckhoff Hydroelectric 
Project No. 96 (project). The project is located on the San Juaquin 
River in Fresno and Madera Counties, California, about 25 miles 
northeast of the city of Fresno. The project currently occupies 180.5 
acres of Federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service (Forest 
Service), 92.9 acres of Federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), and 54.7 acres of land managed by the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation (BOR). As proposed, the project would occupy 67.2 less 
acres of Federal land administered by the Forest Service, an additional 
3.1 acres of land managed by the BLM, and an additional 1.8 acre of 
land managed by the BOR. As part of its relicensing proposal, PG&E 
proposes to retire the project K1 Powerhouse (one of two project 
powerhouses), thereby decreasing the generating capacity of the project 
from 162.72 to 140 megawatts.
    In accordance with the Commission's regulations, on June 27, 2024, 
Commission staff issued a notice that the project was ready for 
environmental analysis (REA Notice). Based on the information in the 
record, including comments filed on the REA Notice, staff does not 
anticipate that licensing the project would constitute a major Federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. 
Therefore, staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) on 
the application to relicense the project.\1\
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    \1\ In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's 
regulations, the unique identification number for documents relating 
to this environmental review is EAXX-019-20-000-1725537975. 40 CFR 
1501.5(c)(4) (2024).
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    The EA will be issued and circulated for review by all interested 
parties. All comments filed on the EA will be analyzed by staff and 
considered in the Commission's final licensing decision.
    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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#09465959496f6c7b6a276e667f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d59a858595b3b0a7b6fbb2baa3">[email protected]</span></a>.
    The application will be processed according to the following 
schedule. The EA will be issued for a 30-day comment period. Revisions 
to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

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              Milestone                           Target date
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Commission issues EA................  September 19, 2025.
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    Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Evan 
Williams at (202) 502-8462 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2c495a4d42025b454040454d415f6c4a495e4f024b435a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1f7a697e713168767373767e726c5f797a6d7c31787069">[email protected]</span></a>.

    Dated: September 20, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-22082 Filed 9-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


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