[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 192 (Thursday, October 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 80553]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-22851]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project Nos. 2322-069; 2322-071; 2325-100; Project No. 2574-092; 
Project No. 2611-091]


Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC, Merimil Limited Partnership, 
Hydro-Kennebec, LLC; Notice of Revised Procedural Schedule for 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Project Relicense, 
Interim Species Protection Plan, and Final Species Protection Plan

    On January 31, 2020, Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC filed an 
application for a new license to continue to operate and maintain the 
8.65-megawatt (MW) Shawmut Hydroelectric Project No. 2322 (Shawmut 
Project). On June 1, 2021, in a separate compliance proceeding for the 
Shawmut Project, Brookfield White Pine Hydro, LLC filed an Interim 
Species Protection Plan (Interim Plan) for Atlantic salmon and 
requested Commission approval to amend the current Shawmut license to 
incorporate the Interim Plan. The Interim Plan includes measures to 
protect endangered Atlantic salmon until the Commission issues a 
decision on the relicense application for the Shawmut Project.
    Also on June 1, 2021, Brookfield Power US Asset Management, LLC 
(Brookfield), on behalf of the affiliated licensees for the 6.915-MW 
Lockwood Hydroelectric Project No. 2574, 15.433-MW Hydro-Kennebec 
Hydroelectric Project No. 2611, and 15.98-MW Weston Hydroelectric 
Project No. 2325, filed a Final Species Protection Plan (Final Plan) 
for Atlantic salmon, Atlantic sturgeon, and shortnose sturgeon and 
requested Commission approval to amend the three project licenses to 
incorporate the Final Plan. All four projects are located on the 
Kennebec River, in Kennebec and Somerset Counties, Maine.
    On November 23, 2021, Commission staff issued a notice of intent to 
prepare a draft and final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to 
evaluate the effects of relicensing the Shawmut Project and amending 
the licenses of all four projects to incorporate the measures in the 
Interim and Final Plans. The notice of intent included a schedule for 
preparing a draft and final EIS. The schedule was updated on September 
18, 2023.\1\
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    \1\ The final EIS was scheduled to be issued by September 2024.
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    The draft EIS was issued on March 28, 2024. Extensive verbal and 
written comments on the draft EIS were filed by state and federal 
resource agencies, non-governmental organizations, Indian Tribes, and 
the public. The comments need to be considered in the final EIS. 
Therefore, by this notice, Commission staff is updating the procedural 
schedule for completing the final EIS.
    The revised schedule is shown below. Further revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Issue Final EIS...........................  February 28, 2025
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    Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Marybeth Gay 
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#86cbe7f4ffe4e3f2eea8e1e7ffc6e0e3f4e5a8e1e9f0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="266b47545f4443524e0841475f664043544508414950">[email protected]</span></a> or Matt Cutlip at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3be928787ddb086879f9a83b395968190dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5b163a2f2f75182e2f37322b1b3d3e2938753c342d">[email protected]</span></a>.

    Dated: September 24, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-22851 Filed 10-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


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