Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 22, 2024 / Notices 84347 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 2458–273] 

Great Lakes Hydro America, LLC; 

Notice of Application Tendered for 

Filing With the Commission and 

Establishing Procedural Schedule for 

Licensing and Deadline for 

Submission of Final Amendments 

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.: 2458–273. 

c. Date Filed: September 30, 2024. 

d. Applicant: Great Lakes Hydro 

American, LLC (GLHA). 

e. Name of Project: Penobscot Mills 

Hydroelectric Project (project). 

f. Location: On the West Branch of the 

Penobscot River (West Branch) and 

Millinocket Stream in Piscataquis and 

Penobscot Counties, Maine. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Michael 

Scarzello, Licensing Manager, 

Brookfield Renewable U.S., 399 Big Bay 

Road, Queensbury, NY 12804; (315) 

566–0197; Michael.scarzello@

brookfieldrenewable.com. 

i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer, 

Project Coordinator; telephone at (202) 

502–8365; email at allan.creamer@

ferc.gov. 

j. The application is not ready for 

environmental analysis at this time. 

k. Project Description: The Penobscot 

Mills Project consists of: (1) four 

hydropower developments (North Twin, 

Millinocket, Dolby, and East 

Millinocket; located between river mile 

15 and river mile 2 on the West Branch) 

that include (a) water retaining features 

(e.g., dam/spillway, flashboards/rubber 

dam, and dikes), (b) water conduits/ 

canals and penstocks, (c) intake 

structures equipped with trashracks, (d) 

four powerhouses, and (e) transmission 

equipment (e.g., transmission lines); (2) 

a pool-and-weir fish passage facility at 

North Twin; and (3) one storage 

development (Millinocket Lake Storage 

Development; located on Millinocket 

Stream). The total rated capacity of the 

project is 67.9 megawatts. The North 

Twin impoundment is at the upstream 

end of the Penobscot Mills Project and 

receives flow from the Ripogenus 

Project. Releases from the North Twin 

Development pass through three other 

developments (i.e., Millinocket, Dolby, 

and East Millinocket). The Millinocket 

Lake Storage Development includes a 

pumping station through which water 

can be pumped to Ambajejus Lake 

(within the North Twin impoundment). 

Water not pumped to Ambajejus Lake is 

discharged to Millinocket Stream, 

which enters the West Branch at Shad 

Pond, downstream from the Millinocket 

Development, then passes through the 

Dolby and East Millinocket 

Developments. In addition to these 

developments, the project includes two 

battery energy sites that operate as a 

single Battery Energy Storage System to 

enhance system reliability. 

The five developments that compose 

the Penobscot Mills Project are operated 

as an integrated system, along with 

upstream storage projects, including the 

Ripogenus Project No. 2572, to manage 

water levels and flows downstream from 

the project. GLHA operates the North 

Twin Development as a store-andrelease facility, and uses storage in the 

Millinocket Lake Storage impoundment, 

as necessary, to maintain North Twin 

Lake levels. The two storage 

developments (North Twin and 

Millinocket Lake Storage) are located 

upstream of the run-of-release 

developments (Millinocket, Dolby, and 

East Millinocket). GLHA releases 

minimum flows from Millinocket Lake 

into Millinocket Stream, as well as a 

continuous minimum flow in the West 

Branch downstream from the North 

Twin Development. Additional details 

regarding the Penobscot Mills Project 

facilities and operations can be found in 

Exhibit A (Penobscot Mills Project) and 

Exhibit B of the license application, and 

can be access by following the 

instructions in paragraph l. 

GLHA proposes to continue to 

operate: (1) the North Twin 

Development for generation and 

seasonal storage, with target 

impoundment elevations of 490.42 feet 

National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 

1929 (NGVD 29) from May 1 through 

August 21 and 488.42 feet NGVD 29 

from August 22 through October 15, as 

well as to provide flows necessary to 

meet the 2,000-cfs flow requirement in 

the West Branch downstream from Shad 

Pond; (2) the Millinocket Lake Storage 

Development to (a) maintain 

impoundment elevations between 470 

feet and 480 feet NGVD 29, and (b) 

provide a minimum flow of 60 cubic 

feet per second (cfs), or inflow 

(seasonally), to Millinocket Stream; and 

(3) the Millinocket, Dolby, and East 

Millinocket Developments as run-ofrelease facilities. GLHA also proposes to 

continue to operate and maintain the 

upstream pool-and-weir fish passage 

structure at North Twin Dam, post lake 

level (for North Twin and Millinocket 

Lake Storage) and flow information on 

Brookfield’s existing SafeWaters 

website, maintain the 200-foot 

conservation buffer and 100-foot 

vegetation buffer around the Millinocket 

Lake Storage, North Twin, Millinocket, 

and Dolby impoundments, and maintain 

Umbazooksus Lake as wetland and 

wildlife habitat. GLHA also proposes to 

release a year-round 200-cfs minimum 

flow from Stone Dam; provide American 

eel passage, conduct eel studies, and 

develop a fishway operations and 

maintenance plan; provide seasonal 

whitewater boating flows of 600 cfs in 

Millinocket Stream; and develop an 

updated wildlife management area plan, 

a recreation plan, a shoreline 

management plan, and a historic 

properties management plan. 

l. In addition to publishing this notice 

in the Federal Register, the Commission 

provides all interested persons an 

opportunity to view and/or print the 

contents of this notice, as well as other 

documents in the proceeding (e.g., 

license application) 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 (P–2458). For assistance, 

contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@

ferc.gov, (866) 208–3676 (toll free), or 

(202) 502–8659 (TTY). 

You may also register online at 

https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERC

Online.aspx to be notified via email of 

new filings and issuances related to this 

or other pending projects. For 

assistance, contact FERC Online 

Support. 

m. 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. 

n. Procedural Schedule: The 

application will be processed according 

to the following preliminary schedule. 

Revisions to the schedule will be made 

as appropriate. 

Deficiency Letter (if necessary)

October 2024 

Additional Information Request

November 2024 

Notice of Acceptance March 2025 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
84348 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 204 / Tuesday, October 22, 2024 / Notices 

1TRU waste is defined as waste containing more 

than 100 nano-curies per gram of alpha-emitting 

radioactive isotopes, with half-lives greater than 

twenty years and atomic numbers greater than 92. 

2 61 FR 5224–5245 (February 9, 1996). 

Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental 

Analysis March 2025 

o. Final amendments to the 

application must be filed with the 

Commission no later than 30 days from 

the issuance date of the notice of ready 

for environmental analysis. 

Dated: October 15, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–24379 Filed 10–21–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0309; FRL–12263–01– 

OAR] 

Planned Change Request for Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant Replacement 

Panels 11 and 12; Reopening of Public 

Comment Period 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability with 

request for public comment; reopening 

of public comment period. 

SUMMARY: On July 16, 2024, the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 

or the Agency) announced for public 

comment the availability of a Planned 

Change Request (PCR) recently 

submitted by the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) to modify the Waste 

Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). The 

proposed change will involve adding 

two additional waste panels west of the 

current repository to replace lost 

disposal capacity resulting from the 

2014 radiological incident and resulting 

ground control issues. A 60-day 

comment period was provided for the 

PCR that expired on September 16, 

2024. A request for an extension to the 

comment period was received from 

several stakeholders, most recently at 

the Agency’s informal public meetings 

held in New Mexico in late August. EPA 

is reopening the comment period to seek 

public input on both DOE’s application 

and on what EPA should consider in its 

evaluation. 

DATES: The public comment period for 

the notice published July 16, 2024 at 89 

FR 57887, has reopened on October 22, 

2024. It will remain open until the 

Agency publishes a future notice in the 

Federal Register that specifies the end 

of the public comment period. 

ADDRESSES: You may send comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2024–0309, by any of the 

following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: 

https://www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method). Follow the online 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: a-and-r-Docket@epa.gov. 

Include Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR– 

2024–0309 in the subject line of the 

message. 

• U.S. Postal Service Mail: U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 

Docket Center, Air and Radiation 

Docket, Mail Code 28221T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, 

DC 20460. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: EPA Docket 

Center, WJC West Building, Room 3334, 

1301 Constitution Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20004. The Docket 

Center’s hours of operations are 8:30 

a.m.–4:30 p.m., Monday–Friday (except 

Federal Holidays). 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID No. EPA– 

HQ–OAR–2024–0309. Comments 

received may be posted without change 

to https://www.regulations.gov, 

including any personal information 

provided. For detailed instructions on 

sending comments, see the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. A copy of the DOE’s 

2024 PCR is linked on EPA’s WIPP 

website (https://www.epa.gov/system/ 

files/documents/2024-03/24-0168-wipppcr-panels-letter-enclosures.pdf). 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray 

Lee, Radiation Protection Division, 

Office of Radiation and Indoor Air, Mail 

Code 6608T, Environmental Protection 

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 

NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone 

number: (202) 343–9463; email address: 

lee.raymond@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Submit 

your comments, identified by Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2024–0309, at 

https://www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method), or the other methods 

identified in the ADDRESSES section. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from the docket. EPA 

may publish any comment received to 

its public docket. Do not submit 

electronically any information you 

consider to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. EPA will generally not consider 

comments or comment contents located 

outside of the primary submission (i.e., 

on the web, cloud, or other file sharing 

system). For additional submission 

methods, the full EPA public comment 

policy, information about CBI or 

multimedia submissions, and general 

guidance on making effective 

comments, please visit https://

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

Tips for preparing your comments. 

When submitting comments, remember 

to: 

• Identify the document by docket 

number, subject heading, Federal 

Register date, and page number. 

• Provide a brief description of 

yourself and your role or organization. 

• Explain why you agree or disagree; 

suggest alternatives and substitute 

language for your requested changes. 

• Describe any assumptions and 

provide any technical information and/ 

or data that you used. 

• Illustrate your concerns with 

specific examples and suggest 

alternatives. 

• Explain your views as clearly as 

possible, avoiding the use of profanity 

or personal threats. 

• Make sure to submit your 

comments by the comment period 

deadline identified. 

I. Background 

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant 

(WIPP) is a transuranic (TRU) 

radioactive waste disposal system 

developed by the DOE that is located 

near Carlsbad in southeastern New 

Mexico. TRU radioactive waste is 

emplaced about 650 meters (2,150 feet) 

underground in an ancient layer of salt 

that will eventually ‘‘creep,’’ 

encapsulate, and isolate the waste from 

the surrounding environment. The 1992 

WIPP Land Withdrawal Act (Pub. L. 

102–579) (LWA) limits radioactive waste 

disposal in the WIPP to TRU radioactive 

wastes generated by defense-related 

activities.1 The WIPP LWA provides 

EPA with authority to oversee and 

regulate the WIPP. The WIPP must meet 

EPA’s generic radioactive waste 

disposal standards at 40 CFR part 191, 

subparts B and C. These standards limit 

releases of radioactive materials from 

disposal systems for radioactive waste 

and require implementation of measures 

to provide confidence for compliance 

with the radiation release limits. 

Additionally, the regulations limit 

radiation doses to members of the 

public and protect ground water 

resources by establishing maximum 

concentrations for radionuclides in 

ground water. 

In 1996, the Agency issued the WIPP 

Compliance Criteria, which are located 

at 40 CFR part 194, as mandated by 

WIPP LWA, section 8(c).2 DOE 

submitted the initial WIPP Compliance 


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