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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 230 (Friday, November 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 94725-94726]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27968]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2735-104]

Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments: Pacific Gas and Electric 
Company

    Take notice that the following application has been filed with the 
Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: P-2735-104.
    c. Date filed: April 18, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
    e. Name of Project: Helms Pumped Storage Project (Helms Project or 
project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located approximately 50 miles 
northeast of the city of Fresno, on the North Fork Kings River and 
Helms Creek, in Fresno and Madera Counties, California. The project 
currently occupies 3,346.6 acres of federal land administered by the 
U.S. Forest Service, 28.36 acres of federal land managed by the U.S. 
Bureau of Reclamation, and 0.07 acre of land managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management. The project, if relicensed with the proposed project 
boundary modifications, would occupy a total of 2,887.7 acres of 
federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service, 28.5 acres of 
federal land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and 2.22 acres 
of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Dave Gabbard, Vice President Power 
Generation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 300 Lakeside Drive, 
Oakland, CA 94612; telephone at (650) 207-9705; email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams, (202) 502-8462, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: December 21, 2024.\1\
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    \1\ If the due date falls on a weekend or holiday, the due date 
is the following business day.
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    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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 
[email protected], (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, 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, 
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: Helms Pumped Storage 
Project (P-2735-104).
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. Project Description: The existing Helms Project (project) 
includes: (1) a 132-foot-long, 89-foot-wide, 58.5-foot-high concrete 
intake-discharge structure (Courtright Intake-Discharge Structure), 
with metal trash racks, in Courtright Lake; (2) one 4,243-foot-long 
tunnel (Tunnel 1) composed of two sections: (a) a 3,312-foot-long, 27-
foot-diameter concrete-lined section; and (b) a 931-foot-long, 22-foot-
diameter steel-lined section; (3) a 32.5-foot-long, 38-foot-wide, 45-
foot-high gatehouse; (4) a 206-foot-long, 22-foot-diameter, above-
ground steel pipe that connects Tunnel 1 and Tunnel 2; (5) one 9,016-
foot-long tunnel (Tunnel 2) composed of two sections: (a) a 764-foot-
long, 22-foot-diameter steel-lined section; and (b) a 8,252-foot-long, 
27-foot-diameter concrete-lined section; (6) a 600-foot-long adit of an 
unknown diameter, with an adit plug with frame and gate; (7) a 535-
foot-high, vertical shaft surge chamber for Tunnel 2 with a 47-foot-
diameter lower section and 60-foot-diameter upper section, with 12 feet 
of the chamber exposed above grade; (8) a 2,205-foot-long penstock 
composed of three sections: (a) a 1,070-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter 
concrete-lined section; (b) a 300-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-
lined section; and (c) a 330-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter concrete-lined 
manifold section, that branches into three, 505-foot-long steel-lined 
penstocks, that reduce in diameter from 15.5 feet, to 11.5 feet, to 
10.5 feet until connecting to the turbine-generator; (9) a 336-foot-
long, 83-foot-wide, 125-foot-high excavated rock chamber underground 
powerhouse that includes three, 360-megawatt (MW) vertical Francis-type 
pump-turbine units, for a total installed capacity of 1,080 MW, and 
three, vertical indoor generators with an approximate total nameplate 
capacity of 1,212 MW; (10) a 3,727-foot-long, 27-foot-diameter 
concrete-lined tunnel (Tunnel 3); (11) a 984-foot-tall, vertical shaft 
surge chamber for Tunnel 3 with a 27-foot-diameter lower section and a 
44-foot-diameter upper section that transitions into a 10-foot-diameter 
air shaft topped by a 10-foot-tall, 14-foot-diameter protective device 
above grade; (12) an 88-foot-long, 78-foot-wide, 51-foot-high concrete 
intake-discharge structure (Wishon Intake-Discharge Structure), with 
metal trash racks, in Lake Wishon; (13) a 220-foot by- 265-foot above 
ground, fenced switchyard; (14) an underground transformer bank of 10 
transformers with a capacity of 150,000 kilo-volt-amperes each; (15) a 
3,723-foot-long, 30-foot-wide, 25-foot-high powerhouse access tunnel; 
and (16) appurtenant facilities.
    Although the project facilities do not include any dam or 
reservoir, PG&E operates the project for power generation using 
Courtright Lake (upper

[[Page 94726]]

reservoir) and Lake Wishon (lower reservoir), impounded by Courtright 
Dam and Wishon Dam, respectively, which are licensed project facilities 
of the Hass-Kings River Hydroelectric Project (Project No. P-1988). 
Courtright Lake has a usable storage area of approximately 123,184 
acre-feet and normal maximum and minimum water surface elevations of 
8,184 feet and 8,050 feet, respectively. Lake Wishon has a usable 
storage area of approximately 128,606 acre-feet and normal maximum and 
minimum water surface elevations of 6,550 feet and 6,428.9 feet, 
respectively. To generate power, water is released from Courtright Lake 
through the Courtright Intake-Discharge Structure, Tunnel 1, Tunnel 2, 
and the penstock, into the powerhouse and is discharged through Tunnel 
3 and the Wishon Intake-Discharge Structure into Lake Wishon. During 
periods of low energy demand, water is pumped through these project 
facilities in reverse (i.e., from Lake Wishon to Courtright Lake).
    The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid 
by: (1) an underground transformer bank of 10 transformers with a 
capacity of 150,000 kilo-volt-amperes each; (2) a 220-foot by- 265-foot 
above ground, fenced switchyard; and (3) a 60.7-mile-long, double-
circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line that connects the Helms 
switchyard to PG&E's interconnection point with the grid at the non-
project Gregg Substation. The project also includes an approximately 
1.8-mile-long, 21-kV distribution line from the non-project Woodchuck 
Substation to the Helms Headquarters and Helms Powerhouse and an 
approximately 2-mile-long, 21-kV distribution line from the non-project 
Woodchuck Substation to the Helms Support Facility and non-project 
Wishon Village Recreational Vehicle Park.
    The project also includes: (1) the Helms Headquarters facility with 
ancillary facilities; (2) the Helms Support Facility with ancillary 
facilities; (3) project recreation facilities including the: (a) 
Courtright Boat Launch; (b) Trapper Springs Campground; (c) Marmot Rock 
Campground; (d) Wee-Mee-Kute Fishing Access; (e) Wishon Boat Launch; 
(f) Lily Pad Campground; (g) Upper Kings River Group Campground; (h) 
Wishon Dam Fishing Access; (i) Short Hair Creek Fishing Access; (j) 
Coolidge Meadow Fishing Access; (k) Helms Picnic Area; (l) Upper Kings 
River Fishing Access, and their ancillary facilities and amenities; (4) 
an approximately 80-acre Wildlife Habitat Management Area; (5) three, 
approximately 87-foot-diameter asphalt-surfaced helicopter landing 
pads; (6) 36.45 miles of non-recreation, vehicular project roads and 
trails; and (7) 1.08 miles of non-recreation, pedestrian project 
trails.
    Although water is typically released from Courtright Lake into Lake 
Wishon for approximately 6 hours daily to generate electricity the 
timeframe can range from 4- to- 12 hours. The estimated annual 
generation from 2015 through 2022 was approximately 745 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 (P-2735). For assistance, please contact 
FERC Online Support (see item j above).
    You may also register 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, please 
contact FERC Online Support (see item j above).
    n. 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 [email protected].
    o. Scoping Process
    Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental assessment 
(EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) (collectively referred 
to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and evaluates the probable 
effects, including an assessment of the site-specific and cumulative 
effects, if any, of the proposed action and alternatives. The 
Commission's scoping process will help determine the required level of 
analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of 
whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS. At this time, we do not 
anticipate holding an on-site scoping meeting. Instead, we are 
soliciting written comments and suggestions on the preliminary list of 
issues and alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA document, as 
described in scoping document 1 (SD1), issued November 21, 2024.
    Copies of SD1, which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in 
the NEPA document, were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may 
be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' 
link. Follow the directions for accessing information in paragraph m.

    Dated: November 21, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-27968 Filed 11-27-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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