Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 248 / Friday, December 27, 2024 / Notices 105561 

1Qualifying Facility Rates & Requirements; 

Implementation Issues Under the Pub. Util. Regul. 

Policies Act of 1978, Order No. 872, 172 FERC 

¶ 61,041, order on reh’g, Order No. 872–A, 173 

FERC ¶ 61,158 (2020), aff’d in part and remanded 

in part sub nom. Solar Energy Indus. Ass’n v. FERC, 

80 F.4th 956 (9th Cir. 2023) (Solar Energy). 

2 16 U.S.C. 796(17)–(18), 824a–3. 

3 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.; see also 18 CFR pt. 380 

(2024) (Commission’s regulations implementing 

NEPA). 

4Solar Energy, 80 F.4th at 996–97. 

5The unique identification number for 

documents relating to this environmental review is 

EAXX–19–20–000–1726219809. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket Nos. RM19–15–002; AD16–16–002] 

Qualifying Facility Rates and 

Requirements; Implementation Issues 

Under the Public Utility Regulatory 

Policies Act of 1978; Notice of Revised 

Procedural Schedule for the 

Environmental Assessment for 

Qualifying Facility Rates and 

Requirements Implementation Issues 

Under the Public Utility Regulatory 

Policies Act of 1978 

On July 16, 2020, the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

issued Order No. 872,1 approving 

certain revisions to its regulations 

implementing sections 201 and 210 of 

the Public Utility Regulatory Policies 

Act of 1978 (PURPA).2 On September 5, 

2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 

Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) remanded 

Order No. 872, without vacatur, based 

on its finding that, pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA),3 the Commission must prepare 

an environmental assessment (EA) 

analyzing the potential impacts of the 

rule on climate change and air quality.4

On September 24, 2024, Commission 

staff issued a notice of intent to prepare 

an EA, which included an anticipated 

schedule for issuing the EA and a 

comment period. 

By this notice, Commission staff is 

updating the procedural schedule 5 and 

setting forth a revised schedule for 

completion of the EA. The revised 

schedule is shown below. 

Schedule for Environmental Review 

Issuance of EA—June 30, 2025 

End of Public Comment Period—July 

30, 2025 

If a schedule change becomes 

necessary, additional notice will be 

provided so that the relevant agencies 

are kept informed of the progress. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filing. Please file using the 

Commission’s eFiling system at http://

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 

Commenters can submit brief comments 

up to 6,000 characters, without prior 

registration, using the eComment system 

at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

ecomment.asp. You must include your 

name and contact information at the end 

of your comments. For assistance, 

please contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (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. 

The first page of any filing should 

include the docket number RM19–15– 

002. Comments emailed to Commission 

staff are not considered part of the 

Commission record. 

In order to receive notification of the 

issuance of the EA and to keep track of 

formal issuances and submittals in 

specific dockets, the Commission offers 

a free service called eSubscription. This 

service provides automatic notification 

of filings made to subscribed dockets, 

document summaries, and direct links 

to the documents. Go to https://

www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 

register for eSubscription. 

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, the 

public is encouraged to contact OPP at 

(202) 502–6595 or OPP@ferc.gov. 

Additional information about the final 

rule is available from the Commission’s 

Office of External Affairs at (866) 208– 

FERC or on the FERC website 

(www.ferc.gov). Using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ 

link, select ‘‘General Search’’ from the 

eLibrary menu, enter the selected date 

range and ‘‘Docket Number’’ excluding 

the last three digits (i.e., RM19–15), and 

follow the instructions. For assistance 

with access to eLibrary, the helpline can 

be reached at (866) 208–3676, TTY (202) 

502–8659, or at FERCOnlineSupport@

ferc.gov. The eLibrary link on the FERC 

website also provides access to the texts 

of formal documents issued by the 

Commission, such as orders, notices, 

and rule makings. 

Dated: December 18, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30865 Filed 12–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 4108–000] 

City of St. Cloud, Minnesota; Notice of 

Authorization for Continued Project 

Operation 

The license for the St. Cloud 

Hydroelectric Project No. 4108 was 

issued for a period ending November 30, 

2024. 

Section 15(a)(1) of the FPA, 16 U.S.C. 

808(a)(1), requires the Commission, at 

the expiration of a license term, to issue 

from year-to-year an annual license to 

the then licensee(s) under the terms and 

conditions of the prior license until a 

new license is issued, or the project is 

otherwise disposed of as provided in 

section 15 or any other applicable 

section of the FPA. If the project’s prior 

license waived the applicability of 

section 15 of the FPA, then, based on 

section 9(b) of the Administrative 

Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 558(c), and as 

set forth at 18 CFR 16.21(a), if the 

licensee of such project has filed an 

application for a subsequent license, the 

licensee may continue to operate the 

project in accordance with the terms 

and conditions of the license after the 

minor or minor part license expires, 

until the Commission acts on its 

application. If the licensee of such a 

project has not filed an application for 

a subsequent license, then it may be 

required, pursuant to 18 CFR 16.21(b), 

to continue project operations until the 

Commission issues someone else a 

license for the project or otherwise 

orders disposition of the project. 

If the project is subject to section 15 

of the FPA, notice is hereby given that 

an annual license for Project No. 4108 

is issued to the City of St. Cloud for a 

period effective December 1, 2024, 

through November 30, 2025, or until the 

issuance of a new license for the project 

or other disposition under the FPA, 

whichever comes first. 

If issuance of a new license (or other 

disposition) does not take place on or 

before November 30, 2025, notice is 

hereby given that, pursuant to 18 CFR 

16.18(c), an annual license under 

section 15(a)(1) of the FPA is renewed 


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