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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 11, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 99851-99852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29093]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4113-067]

Oswego Hydro Partners, LP; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing and Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests

    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.: 4113-067.
    c. Date Filed: February 27, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Oswego Hydro Partners, LP.
    e. Name of Project: Phoenix Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Oswego, Oneida, and Seneca Rivers in Onondaga 
and Oswego counties, New York.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Jody Smet, Vice President Regulatory Affairs, 
Eagle Creek Renewable Energy, LLC, 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1100W, 
Bethesda, MD 20814; telephone at (240) 482-2700; email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Joshua Dub, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes 
Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-8138; 
email at [email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests: February 
3, 2025.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and protests using the Commission's eFiling system 
at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.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, MD 20852. All 
filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the 
first page: Phoenix Hydroelectric Project (P-4113-067).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors

[[Page 99852]]

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 intervenor 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, but is not ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Project Description: The project consists of a 981-foot-long 
concrete dam, known as the Phoenix Dam, that includes: (1) an 
approximately 90-foot-long, 55-foot-wide powerhouse that is integral 
with the dam and includes: (a) north and south intake openings with a 
trashrack with 1-inch clear bar spacing; and (b) two 1.59-megawatt (MW) 
vertical Kaplan turbine-generator units, for a total installed capacity 
of 3.18 MW; (2) a 25-foot-long section that includes a 10-foot-long 
debris sluice gate and a 7-foot-long sluice gate; (3) a 163-foot-long 
ogee spillway with 1-foot-high flashboards that have a crest elevation 
of 362.42 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88); (4) an 
approximately 206-foot-long section with four 46.5-foot-long Tainter 
gates; (5) a 390-foot-long ogee spillway with 1-foot-high flashboards 
that have a crest elevation of 362.42 feet NAVD 88; and (6) a 107-foot-
long section with two 41.5-foot-long Tainter gates.
    The 107-foot-long Tainter gate section of Phoenix Dam abuts Lock 
Island, which is a non-project feature that spans approximately 150 
feet of the Oswego River. In addition, a non-project lock, known as the 
Phoenix Lock, spans approximately 45 feet of the Oswego River between 
Lock Island and the east shoreline of the Oswego River. Together, the 
Phoenix Dam, Lock Island, and Phoenix Lock create an impoundment that 
has a surface area of approximately 1,400 acres at 362.42 feet NAVD 88.
    From the impoundment, water flows through the trashrack to a 
forebay, and then through the powerhouse. Water is discharged from the 
turbines to an approximately 120-foot-long tailrace that discharges to 
the Oswego River.
    The project includes a trap and transport facility for the upstream 
passage of American eel, including an eel ramp and eel collection box 
located approximately 160 feet downstream of the project dam on the 
west shoreline of the Oswego River. The project also includes a 
downstream fishway that consists of the 7-foot-long sluice gate and a 
4.8-foot-deep concrete plunge pool. Additionally, the project includes 
an aluminum walkway that provides access to the 206-foot-long Tainter 
gate section of the dam.
    The project generators are connected to the regional electric grid 
by a 4.16/34.5-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformer and a 230-foot-long, 
34.5-kV underground transmission line. The minimum and maximum 
hydraulic capacities of the powerhouse are 500 and 4,580 cubic feet per 
second (cfs), respectively. The average annual energy production of the 
project was 10,518 megawatt-hours from 2016 through 2023.
    The current license requires Oswego Hydro to operate the project in 
a run-of-river mode and maintain a maximum impoundment surface 
elevation of 362.42 feet NAVD88. Oswego Hydro currently maintains the 
surface elevation of the impoundment between 361.92 feet and 362.42 
feet NAVD 88. The current license also requires Oswego Hydro to: (1) 
release a year-round minimum flow of 300 cfs or inflow, whichever is 
less, to the Oswego River downstream of the project; and (2) when 
inflow is less than 1,900 cfs from June 1 through October 31, monitor 
water quality and, if average tailwater dissolved oxygen drops below 5 
milligrams per liter, provide mitigative flow releases for the 
protection of downstream water quality. Oswego Hydro provides upstream 
eel passage from June through October, using the trap and transport 
facility, and provides downstream fish passage year-round using the 
downstream fishway.
    Oswego Hydro proposes to continue operating the project in a run-
of-river mode and maintaining the surface elevation of the impoundment 
at 361.92 to 362.42 feet NAVD 88. Oswego Hydro proposes to continue 
releasing a year-round minimum flow of 300 cfs or inflow, whichever is 
less, to the Oswego River downstream of the project, but does not 
propose to continue water quality monitoring and mitigative flow 
releases when inflow is less than 1,900 cfs from June 1 through October 
31. In addition, Oswego Hydro proposes to continue operating and 
maintaining the trap and transport facility and the downstream fishway 
for eel and fish passage. Oswego Hydro proposes to develop a fish 
passage operation and maintenance plan, implement a Bat and Bald Eagle 
Protection Plan that it filed in the application, and maintain an 
existing interpretative display and fencing for the protection of 
historic properties.
    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, contact FERC Online 
Support. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at 
the Phoenix Public Library, 34 Elm Street, Phoenix, New York.
    You may also register online 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, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    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. 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.
    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 email 
address 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.

    Dated: December 5, 2024.
Carlos D. Clay,
Acting Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-29093 Filed 12-10-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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