Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 248 / Friday, December 27, 2024 / Notices 105559 

believed to be confidential deleted. 

Submit these documents via email. DOE 

will make its own determination about 

the confidential status of the 

information and treat it according to its 

determination. 

Comments must be provided by the 

date provided in the DATES section of 

this notice to ensure consideration in 

preparation of the draft SEIS. DOE will 

consider late comments to the extent 

practicable. 

Please be advised that your entire 

comment—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available. It is DOE’s policy 

that all comments may be included in 

the public docket, without change and 

as received, including any personal 

information provided in the comments 

(except information deemed to be 

exempt from public disclosure). If you 

wish for DOE to withhold your name 

and/or other personally identifiable 

information, please state this 

prominently at the beginning of your 

comment. You may also submit 

comments anonymously. 

Cooperating Agencies 

Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

agencies with jurisdiction by law or 

special expertise, such as Indigenous 

Knowledge, are invited to participate in 

the preparation of the SEIS as 

cooperating agencies, as defined at 40 

CFR 1501.8. Native American Tribes are 

invited to participate as consulting 

governments. For the 2018 SSFL Area 

IV EIS, there were three cooperating 

agencies: NASA, the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, and the Santa Ynez Band of 

Chumash Indians (a federally 

recognized Native American Tribe with 

historical ties to the SSFL land). The 

EPA and DTSC were also invited to be 

cooperating agencies but declined. DOE 

is inviting these same agencies to 

participate in this SEIS as well. 

SEIS Process and Schedule 

DOE will consider all comments 

received during the public scoping 

period in preparing the draft SEIS. DOE 

anticipates issuing a draft SEIS in the 

winter of 2025–2026. The EPA will 

publish a notice of availability of the 

draft SEIS in the Federal Register, 

which will begin a minimum 45-day 

public comment period. DOE will hold 

at least one public hearing, no sooner 

than 30 days after the EPA notice of 

availability is published. DOE will 

consider comments submitted during 

the comment period on the draft SEIS 

when preparing the final SEIS. DOE 

anticipates issuing a final SEIS in the 

summer of 2026. EPA will issue a notice 

of availability of the final SEIS in the 

Federal Register. DOE anticipates 

issuing a record of decision in the fall 

of 2026 but will do so no sooner than 

30 days from the EPA notice of 

availability of the final SEIS in the 

Federal Register. 

Signing Authority 

This document of the Department of 

Energy was signed on December 17, 

2024, by Candice Trummell, Senior 

Advisor for Environmental 

Management, pursuant to delegated 

authority from the Secretary of Energy. 

That document with the original 

signature and date is maintained by 

DOE. For administrative purposes only, 

and in compliance with requirements of 

the Office of the Federal Register, the 

undersigned DOE Federal Register 

Liaison Officer has been authorized to 

sign and submit the document in 

electronic format for publication, as an 

official document of the Department of 

Energy. 

This administrative process in no way 

alters the legal effect of this document 

upon publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Signed in Washington, DC, on December 

19, 2024. 

Jennifer Hartzell, 

Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, 

U.S. Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–30795 Filed 12–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 6689–000] 

Briar Hydro Associates; Notice of 

Authorization for Continued Project 

Operation 

The license for the Penacook Upper 

Falls Hydroelectric Project No. 6689 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. 6689 

is issued to Briar Hydro Associates 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 

automatically without further order or 

notice by the Commission, unless the 

Commission orders otherwise. 

If the project is not subject to section 

15 of the FPA, notice is hereby given 

that Briar Hydro Associates is 

authorized to continue operation of the 

Penacook Upper Falls Hydroelectric 

Project under the terms and conditions 

of the prior license until the issuance of 

a subsequent license for the project or 

other disposition under the FPA, 

whichever comes first. 

Dated: December 19, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–31045 Filed 12–26–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 3342–000] 

Briar Hydro Associates; Notice of 

Authorization for Continued Project 

Operation 

The license for the Penacook Lower 

Falls Hydroelectric Project No. 3342 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 


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