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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 103818-103819]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-30277]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 175-032]

Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice 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: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: P-175-032.
    c. Date Filed: April 18, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
    e. Name of Project: Balch Hydroelectric Project (Balch Project or 
project).
    f. Location: The existing project is located about 45 miles 
northeast of the city of Fresno, on the North Fork Kings River, in 
Fresno and Madera Counties, California (Figure 1). The project 
currently occupies 491.5 acres of Federal land administered by the U.S. 
Forest Service (Forest Service).
    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: Benjamin Mann, (202) 502-8462, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 12, 2025.\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: Balch Hydroelectric 
Project (P-175-032).
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. Project Description: The existing Balch Hydroelectric Project 
(project) includes the following facilities: (1) a 135-foot-high, 396-
foot-long diversion dam with a crest elevation of 4,098 feet that 
includes a 364-foot-long spillway and is located on the North Fork 
Kings River 9.9 miles upstream of the confluence with Kings River; (2) 
the 35-acre Black Rock Reservoir with a usable storage capacity of 
1,260 acre-feet at a normal water surface elevation of 4,097 feet; (3) 
an 11-foot-high, concrete tunnel intake; (4) a water conveyance system 
consisting of: (a) a 19,336-foot-long tunnel with a maximum hydraulic 
capacity of 760 cubic feet per second (cfs) that includes the 308-foot-
long Black Rock Adit, the 350-foot-long Weir Creek Adit, an unlined 
surge chamber, and two sluice channels; (5) a 4,905.6-foot-long 
penstock leading to the Balch No. 1 Powerhouse and a 4,933.3-foot-long 
penstock leading to the Balch No. 2 Powerhouse; (6) the 65.5-foot-long, 
80.5-foot-wide Balch No. 1 Powerhouse housing one turbine-generator 
unit with an authorized installed capacity of 31.02 megawatts (MW) and 
a maximum hydraulic capacity of 213 cfs; (7) the 149-foot-long, 84-
foot-wide Balch No. 2 Powerhouse housing two turbine-generator units 
with a total authorized installed capacity of 105 MW and a maximum 
hydraulic capacity of 315 cfs; (8) a 165-foot-high, 238-foot-long 
afterbay dam with a crest elevation of 1,704 feet that includes a 238-
foot-long spillway; (9) a 7-acre afterbay with a usable storage 
capacity of 135 acre-feet; (10) project roads and trails; (11) 
recreation facilities; (12) a 22-mile-long, 115-kilovolt (kV) 
transmission line connecting the project with the grid at Piedra 
Junction; (13) the 76-acre Balch Camp, which is the project operating 
headquarters and includes personnel housing; (14) a 6.2-mile-line, 12-
kV distribution line connecting Balch Camp with the project's diversion 
dam; and (15) appurtenant facilities.
    The Balch Project is located downstream of PG&E's Haas-Kings River 
Hydroelectric Project No. 1988 and Helms Pumped Storage Project No. 
2735, which use the same reservoirs (Courtright Lake and Lake Wishon) 
for operation. The project is operated as a peaking facility to 
generate power that is released from upstream storage to meet power 
demand and for irrigation

[[Page 103819]]

purposes. Project operation is coordinated with Project No. 1988, whose 
releases from Lake Wishon largely control inflow to Black Rock 
Reservoir; however, spill fluctuations at the project are possible at 
times when inflow exceeds powerhouse capacity and during powerhouse 
outages.
    The current license requires PG&E to maintain the following 
continuous minimum flows in the North Kings River: (1) during normal 
water years: (a) from June 1 through November 31, 5 cfs from Black Rock 
Reservoir, 15 cfs from Balch Afterbay, and 30 cfs of total river flow; 
and (b) from December 1 through May 31, 2.5 cfs from Black Rock 
Reservoir, 10 cfs from Balch Afterbay, and 30 cfs of total river flow; 
(2) during dry water years, as defined by the California Department of 
Water Resources, year-round flows of 2.5 cfs from Black Rock Reservoir, 
10 cfs from Balch Afterbay, and 20 cfs of total river flow.
    PG&E proposes to continue operating the project in a manner that is 
consistent with current operation, with the exception of the following 
new proposed measures: (1) minimum flows and water year types, (2) a 
recreation plan, (3) a biological resources management plan, (4) a 
historic properties management plan, (5) low-level operations, (6) 
flood period operations, (7) a hazardous substance plan, (8) a gaging 
plan, (9) visual resources management, (10) a fire management and 
response plan, and (11) a transportation system management plan.
    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-175). 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 December 13, 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 https://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' 
link. Follow the directions for accessing information in paragraph m.

    Dated: December 13, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-30277 Filed 12-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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