79288 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Notices 

Commission’s Regulations (18 CFR 

385.211) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

time on the specified comment date. 

The filings are accessible in the 

Commission’s eLibrary system (https://

elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/fercgen

search.asp) by querying the docket 

number. 

eFiling is encouraged. More detailed 

information relating to filing 

requirements, interventions, protests, 

service, and qualifying facilities filings 

can be found at: http://www.ferc.gov/ 

docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For 

other information, call (866) 208–3676 

(toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659. 

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. 

Dated: September 23, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22222 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 14851–003] 

White Pine Waterpower, LLC; Notice of 

Application Accepted for Filing, 

Scoping Meetings, and Environmental 

Site Review; Soliciting Motions To 

Intervene and Protests; and Soliciting 

Scoping Comments 

Take notice that the following 

application has been filed with the 

Commission and is available for public 

inspection. 

a. Type of Application: Original Major 

License. 

b. Project No.: P–14851–003. 

c. Date filed: February 27, 2023. 

d. Applicant: rPlus Hydro, LLLP, on 

behalf of White Pine Waterpower, LLC 

(White Pine Waterpower). 

e. Name of Project: White Pine 

Pumped Storage Project (White Pine 

Project or project). 

f. Location: The proposed project 

would be located approximately 8 miles 

northeast of the City of Ely, in White 

Pine County, Nevada. The project would 

occupy 1,096.01 acres of Federal land 

managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Greg 

Copeland, Program Manager for rPlus 

Hydro, LLLP. Address: White Pine 

Waterpower, LLC c/o rPlus Hydro, LLLP 

201 S Main St., Suite 2100, Salt Lake 

City, Utah 84111. Phone: (801) 759– 

2223. Email: gcopeland@

rplusenergies.com. 

i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams, (202) 

502–8462, or email at evan.williams@

ferc.gov. 

j. Deadline for filing scoping 

comments: November 22, 2024. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filing. Please file scoping 

comments and motions to intervene and 

protests 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. 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. All 

filings must clearly identify the project 

name and docket number on the first 

page: White Pine Pumped Storage 

Project (P–14851–003). 

The Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedure 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 intervener 

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 

for filing, but is not ready for 

environmental analysis at this time. 

l. Project Description: The proposed 

White Pine Project would involve 

constructing the following new 

facilities: (1) a 5,695-foot-long lined 

compacted rock-fill dam that would 

create a 4,082-acre-foot upper reservoir 

that would be lined with an 

impermeable polyvinylchloride liner to 

reduce leakage and would be 

surrounded by a 10-foot-high wildlife 

and security fence; (2) a 6,629-foot-long 

compacted earth-fill embankment dam 

that would create a 4,241-acre-foot 

lower reservoir that would be lined with 

an impermeable liner to reduce leakage 

and would be surrounded by a 10-foothigh wildlife and security fence; (3) a 

water conveyance system connecting 

the upper and lower reservoirs that 

consists of the following structures: (a) 

an ungated vertical inlet/outlet 

bellmouth-type structure located at the 

bottom of the upper reservoir with a 65- 

foot-deep conical transition to provide 

flow into a 20-foot-diameter, 2,260-foothigh reinforced concrete-lined vertical 

headrace shaft; (b) a 20-foot-diameter, 

240-foot-long horizontal steel-lined 

high-pressure headrace tunnel; (c) three 

11-foot-diameter, 134- to- 200-foot-long 

steel-lined underground penstocks, each 

with a turbine main inlet valve just 

upstream of each pump-turbine unit; (d) 

three 13-foot-diameter, 352- to- 448-footlong steel-lined draft tube tunnels of, 

that transition to concrete-lined tunnels 

of unknown length, downstream of the 

transformer cavern; (e) a 22-footdiameter, 7,610-foot-long concrete-lined 

tailrace tunnel that terminates at the 

inlet/outlet structure; and (f) an 

approximately 92.5-foot-wide intake/ 

outlet structure with trashracks, 

designed as a horizontal fan-shaped 

diffusor, that extends more than 100 feet 

from the tailrace tunnel and isolates the 

lower reservoir from the tailrace tunnel 

by a pair of 10.5-foot by 25-foot stoplogs 

in slots extending down from the 

intake/outlet structure; (4) a 367-footlong, 83-foot-wide, 191-foot-high 

underground powerhouse cavern 

containing three 333-megawatt Francis 

pump-turbines and three generatormotors; (5) a 300-foot-long, 62-footwide, 93-foot-high underground 

transformer cavern containing threephase step-up transformers connected to 

the powerhouse cavern by three busbar 

tunnels of unknown dimensions; (6) 

three 345-kilovolt underground circuits 

connecting from the unit transformers in 

the transformer cavern through a 4,950- 

foot-long, 24-foot-diameter, D-shaped 

cable tunnel to the new switchyard; (7) 

a 400-foot-long by 370-foot-wide fenced 

outdoor switchyard where the circuits 

would be combined into a single 345- 

kilovolt transmission line; (8) a 25-milelong, 345 kilovolt overhead 

transmission line that connects to the 

grid at the existing NV Energy Robinson 

Summit substation (the point of 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Notices 79289 

interconnection); (9) a 5,108-foot-long 

30-foot-diameter, D-shaped shotcretelined main access tunnel to provide 

access to the powerhouse and 

transformer caverns; (10) six other 

secondary access tunnels for accessing 

the transformer and powerhouse 

caverns (4 tunnels), the tailrace, and the 

headrace; (11) access roads, including: 

(a) 4,872-foot-long lower reservoir 

perimeter road; (c) a 572-foot-long 

switchyard access road; (d) a 37,300- 

foot-long, permanent, dual-lane paved 

upper reservoir access road; (e) a 6,200- 

foot-long upper reservoir perimeter 

road; and (f) an unknown number of 

access roads for transmission line 

access; (12) a gated, signed, and signaled 

railroad crossing for construction 

vehicle traffic across the active Nevada 

Northern Railway HiLine track; (13) a 

permanent, approximately 1,005,000- 

cubic-yard spoil disposal site; (14) an 

unknown number of temporary 

explosives storage facilities of unknown 

dimensions; and (15) appurtenant 

facilities. A new, alternative upper 

reservoir access road is being 

considered that would utilize an 

approximately 3.5-mile long, 

permanent, dual-lane paved roadway 

that would connect the proposed upper 

reservoir location to White Pine County 

Road 29 (NV–486), through the Duck 

Creek Range and across Duck Creek. 

Additionally, a gated, signed, and 

signaled railroad crossing for 

construction vehicle traffic across the 

currently inactive Nevada Northern 

Railway Mainline track is also being 

considered, if the track is reactivated. 

The project would also utilize existing 

portions of unknown lengths of U.S. 

highway 93 and an existing 

unimproved, unpaved vehicle track as 

the proposed western access road, and 

an unknown number of existing access 

roads and tracks of unknown length to 

access the proposed transmission line 

and temporary explosives storage 

facilities. Additionally, an unknown 

number of existing power distribution 

lines would need to be re-routed and 

upgraded before construction of the 

project to avoid impacts as a result of 

lower reservoir construction and to 

facilitate crossings at the western access 

road. Further, an unidentified ridge road 

of unknown length would need to be 

rerouted to bypass construction and 

permanent facilities. NV Energy would 

also need to design and construct a new 

bay at the Robinson Summit Substation 

for the interconnection of the project. 

The water used for construction, to 

initially fill the new lower reservoir, 

and to provide make-up water would 

come from a proposed wellfield 

pumping array composed of four new 

approximately 800-foot-deep, 14-inchdiameter groundwater wells. Each well 

would contain a submersible pump 

capable of continuously producing 

approximately 1,000 gallons per minute 

(gpm), resulting in 3,000 gpm for the 

system and a 1,000-gpm redundant 

reserve. Each well would connect to an 

approximately 4-mile-long buried 

pipeline that would increase from 8- 

inch to 16-inch-diameter and would 

connect to the lower reservoir through 

a buried concrete trench near the crest 

of the lower reservoir dam. The initial 

volume of water necessary to fill the 

lower reservoir is estimated to be 5,000 

acre-feet and would be filled over a 12- 

to 18-month period. It is estimated that 

the project would need approximately 

560 acre-feet of water each year to 

replenish water lost through seepage, 

leakage, and evaporation. Once the 

lower reservoir is filled, approximately 

4,082 acre-feet could be cycled between 

the lower reservoir and upper reservoir 

each day. A proposed 2,600-foot-deep, 

500 gpm well and water conveyance 

facilities would be constructed near the 

Duck Creek Range crest and upper 

reservoir to provide water for 

construction, hydrogeologic analysis, 

groundwater monitoring, and initial fill. 

The project is designed to generate 

electricity on demand for up to 8 hours 

each day at the maximum generating 

capacity. The estimated annual 

generation is 2,400 gigawatt-hours per 

year. 

m. A copy of the application can be 

viewed on the Commission’s website at 

https://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, please contact 

FERC Online Support (see item j above). 

You may also register at https://ferc

online.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be 

notified via email of new filings and 

issuances related to this or other 

pending projects. For assistance, please 

contact FERC Online Support (see item 

j above). 

n. Anyone may submit a protest or a 

motion to intervene in accordance with 

the requirements of Rules of Practice 

and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, 

385.211, and 385.214. In determining 

the appropriate action to take, the 

Commission will consider all protests 

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 protests or 

motions to intervene must be received 

on or before the specified deadline date 

for the particular application. 

When the application is ready for 

environmental analysis, the 

Commission will issue a public notice 

requesting comments, 

recommendations, terms and 

conditions, or prescriptions. 

All filings must (1) bear in all capital 

letters the title ‘‘PROTEST’’ or 

‘‘MOTION TO INTERVENE;’’ (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 

protesting or intervening; and (4) 

otherwise comply with the requirements 

of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. 

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. 

o. 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. 

p. The Commission’s scoping process 

will help determine the required level of 

analysis and satisfy the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

scoping requirements, irrespective of 

whether the Commission issues an 

environmental assessment or an 

environmental impact statement. 

Scoping Meetings 

In addition to written comments 

solicited by this notice, Commission 

staff will hold three public scoping 

meetings at the times and locations 

noted below. All interested individuals, 

resource agencies, Native American 

Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend 

any of the meetings to assist 

Commission staff in identifying the 

scope of environmental issues that 

should be analyzed in the NEPA 

document. The times and locations of 

these meetings are as follows: 

Daytime Scoping Meeting 

Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024. 

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST. 

Location: Bristlecone Convention 

Center. 

Address: 150 6th Street, Ely, Nevada 

89301. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
79290 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 188 / Friday, September 27, 2024 / Notices 

1The appendix referenced in this notice will not 

appear in the Federal Register. Copies of the 

appendix were sent to all those receiving this notice 

in the mail and are available at http://www.ferc.gov 

using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. For assistance, please 

contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call (866) 208– 

3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 (TTY). 

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– 

1725634364. 40 CFR 1501.5(c)(4) (2024). 

Evening Scoping Meeting 

Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2024. 

Time: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PST. 

Location: Bristlecone Convention 

Center. 

Address: 150 6th Street, Ely, Nevada 

89301. 

Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which 

outlines the subject areas to be 

addressed in the environmental 

document, was mailed to the 

individuals and entities on the 

Commission’s mailing list. Copies of 

SD1 will be available at the scoping 

meetings, or may be viewed on the web 

at http://www.ferc.gov, using the 

‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Follow the directions 

for accessing information in paragraph 

m. 

Environmental Site Review 

White Pine and Commission staff will 

conduct an environmental site review of 

the project beginning at 8:00 a.m. on 

Wednesday, October 23, 2024. All 

interested individuals, resource 

agencies, Native American Tribes, and 

NGOs are invited to attend the site 

review. Attendees are responsible for 

their own vehicle transport and should 

wear appropriate outdoor clothing and 

footwear. The existing road to the upper 

reservoir site is steep and rocky; 

therefore, attendees wishing to see the 

upper reservoir site should plan on 

driving their own 4x4, high clearance, 

off-road capable vehicle to access that 

particular site. Persons planning on 

participating in the site visit must RSVP 

to Mr. Gregory Copeland of rPlus 

Energies at gcopeland@

rplusenergies.com or by phone at (801) 

759–2223, no later than October 16, 

2024, to register for the environmental 

site review. For administrative 

purposes, rPlus prefers interested 

persons to RSVP by email. 

Meeting Procedures 

Individuals, NGOs, Native American 

Tribes, and agencies with 

environmental expertise and concerns 

are encouraged to attend the meetings 

and to assist the staff in defining and 

clarifying the issues to be addressed in 

the NEPA document. At the start of each 

meeting, Commission staff will provide 

a brief overview of the meeting format 

and objectives. Individual oral 

comments will be taken on a one-on-one 

basis with a court reporter (with 

Commission staff present). This format 

is designed to receive the maximum 

number of oral comments in a 

convenient way during the timeframe 

allotted. If you wish to speak, 

Commission staff will hand out 

numbers in the order of your arrival. If 

all individuals who wish to provide 

comments have had an opportunity to 

do so, Commission staff may conclude 

the meeting a half hour earlier than the 

scheduled time. Please see appendix 1 

for additional information on the 

session format and conduct.1

Scoping comments will be recorded 

by the court reporter and become part of 

the public record for this proceeding. 

Transcripts will be publicly available on 

FERC’s eLibrary system. If a significant 

number of people are interested in 

providing oral comments in the one-onone settings, a time limit of 5 minutes 

may be implemented for each 

commentor. 

It is important to note that the 

Commission provides equal 

consideration to all comments received, 

whether filed in writing or provided 

orally at a scoping session. Although 

there will not be a formal presentation, 

Commission staff will be available 

throughout the scoping session to 

answer your questions about the 

environmental review process. 

Representatives from White Pine will 

also be present to answer projectspecific questions. 

q. Procedural schedule: The 

application will be processed according 

to the following anticipated processing 

schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 

be made as appropriate. The schedule 

for issuing draft and final NEPA 

documents is consistent with the 

Commission’s Notice of Revised 

Schedule issued November 15, 2023: 

Scoping Document 1 Issued— 

September 2024. 

Acceptance and Scoping Notice 

Issued—September 2024. 

Scoping Document 1 Comments 

Due—November 2024. 

Issue Scoping Document 2 (if 

needed)—December 2024. 

Issue Notice of Ready for 

Environmental Analysis—April 2025. 

Comments, Recommendations and 

Agency Terms and Conditions/ 

Prescriptions Due—June 2025. 

Applicant’s Reply Comments Due— 

July 2025. 

Commission Issues Draft NEPA 

Document—January 2026. 

Commission Issues Final NEPA 

Document—July 2026. 

Dated: September 23, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–22227 Filed 9–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 8377–030] 

Isabella Partners; Notice of Intent To 

Prepare an Environmental Assessment 

On February 20, 2024, Isabella 

Partners (licensee) filed an application 

for a capacity amendment for the 

Isabella Hydroelectric Project No. 8377. 

The project is located on the Kern River 

in Kern County, California at the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)’ 

Isabella Dam on lands administered by 

the Corps. 

Isabella Partners proposes to construct 

and operate a new 5-megawatt (MW) 

generating unit which would be located 

in a new 40-foot-by-45-foot concrete 

structure adjacent to the existing 

powerhouse, resulting in an increase of 

the project’s total installed capacity 

from 12.8 MW to 17.8 MW. Currently, 

flows greater than the 100 cubic feet per 

second (cfs) capacity of Unit 3 and less 

than the 500 cfs minimum operating 

range of Units 1 and 2 are discharged 

through the existing bypass channel. 

The proposed 5–MW addition (Unit 4) 

would allow Isabella Partners to 

generate power at flows between 100 

and 500 cfs. Water released from the 

proposed unit would be discharged 

through the existing tailrace. Isabella 

Partners would continue to operate the 

project under the 1993 Corps 

Memorandum of Agreement and there 

would be no changes in water releases 

to the Kern River as a result of the 

proposed action. 

On June 18, 2024, the Commission 

issued a public notice for the proposed 

amendment. On July 17, 2024, the 

California State Water Resources 

Control Board filed a motion to 

intervene. 

This notice identifies Commission 

staff’s intention to prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

project.1 The planned schedule for the 

completion of the EA is June 9, 2025. 

Revisions to the schedule may be made 

as appropriate. The EA will be issued 

and made available for review by all 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1