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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3824-3826]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00836]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2716-051]

Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion Energy 
Virginia, Allegheny Generating Company, and Bath County Energy, LLC; 
Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and 
Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for 
Submission of Final Amendments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

[[Page 3825]]

    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2716-051.
    c. Date Filed: December 30, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Virginia Electric and Power Company d/b/a Dominion 
Energy Virginia, Allegheny Generating Company, and Bath County Energy, 
LLC (Dominion).
    e. Name of Project: Bath County Pumped Storage Project (Bath County 
Project).
    f. Location: On Back Creek and Little Back Creek in Bath, Highland, 
Augusta, and Rockbridge counties, Virginia. The current project 
boundary encompasses 3,451 acres of land, including 1,122 acres of 
Federal land in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests 
administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Corwin D. Chamberlain, Relicensing 
Project Manager, Dominion Energy, 600 Canal Place, Richmond, VA 23219-
3852; (804) 273-2948; [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Andy Bernick at (202) 502-8660 or email at 
[email protected].
    j. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Bath County Project consists of the following existing 
facilities: (1) an upper reservoir with a surface area of 278 acres and 
a gross storage capacity of 37,910 acre-feet (with an usable storage 
capacity of 23,300 acre-feet--power pool) at a normal maximum surface 
elevation of 3,321 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 
(NGVD29), created by a 2,250-foot-long, 460-foot-high, earth and rock-
fill dam across Little Back Creek with a crest elevation of 3,331 feet 
NGVD29; (2) water conduits composed of: (a) three intake structures in 
the upper reservoir; (b) two 10.75-foot by 28.6-foot wheel gates at 
each of the three intakes; (c) three concrete-lined power tunnels, 28.5 
feet in diameter with an approximately 3,300 to 3,400-foot-long upper 
horizontal section, a 980-foot-long vertical section, and an 
approximately 3,267 to 3,686-foot-long lower horizontal section, 
connecting each upper intake to two steel-lined 1,185 to 1,510-foot-
long, 18.0 to 19.5-foot-diameter underground penstocks; and (d) a 
single-shaft surge tank, approximately 44 feet in diameter, for each of 
the power tunnels; (3) a 509-foot-long, 145-foot-wide, and 203-foot-
high reinforced concrete, primarily underground powerhouse with six 65-
foot-wide bays for generation/pumping equipment and one erection bay, 
located on the west side of the lower reservoir, housing six Francis 
reversible pump-turbines each rated at 414 megawatts (MW) with a 
maximum hydraulic capacity of 4,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) in 
pumping mode and 5,000 cfs in generation mode, and a total installed 
capacity of 2,484 MW; (4) a lower reservoir with a surface area of 555 
acres and a gross storage capacity of 27,300 acre-feet (with an usable 
storage capacity of 25,620 acre-feet composed of a 22,570 acre-foot 
power pool and 3,050 acre-foot conservation pool) at a normal maximum 
surface elevation 2,118 feet NGVD29, created by a 2,100-foot-long, 135-
foot-high, earth and rock-fill dam across Back Creek with a crest 
elevation of 2,136 feet NGVD29; (5) a project switchyard on top of the 
powerhouse containing transformers to step-up the generator voltage to 
500 kilovolts (kV), the transmission line voltage; (6) two 500-kV 
transmission lines, approximately 51 miles (Valley Line) and 35 miles 
long (Lexington Line), which interconnect at substations located in 
Augusta County, near Bridgewater, Virginia, and Rockbridge County, near 
Lexington, Virginia, respectively; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    The average annual energy generation (2014 to 2023) is 3,708,814 
megawatt-hours (MWh), and the average annual pumping consumption (2000 
to 2020) is 4,599,899 MWh.
    Dominion manages three sediment ponds with a combined storage of 
about 103.5 acre-feet, located downstream of the upper reservoir on 
Little Back Creek outside of the current project boundary. The ponds 
were originally constructed to trap and limit sediment input to Little 
Back Creek following project construction in 1985, and Dominion 
continues to manage the ponds: (1) as a safety feature to protect 
Little Back Creek from excessive sediment deposition and flooding in 
the event of an emergency drawdown of the upper reservoir; (2) to 
regulate flows from upstream sources including the upper reservoir; (3) 
to supplement downstream flow; and (4) to provide recreational fishing 
opportunities. Dominion proposes to include the sediment ponds within 
the project boundary to protect Little Back Creek by trapping sediment 
in the unlikely event of an emergency drawdown of the upper reservoir 
as well as provide recreational access to the ponds over the new 
license term.
    The project also includes an existing project recreation area, 
located downstream of the lower reservoir dam near Back Creek, that 
consists of: (1) a 49-acre upper recreation pond with a one-lane 
concrete boat ramp for electric motorized and non-motorized boats, a 
fishing pier/dock, a walking trail, two tent-only campsites, and a 
parking area for 22 vehicles; (2) a 26-acre lower recreation pond with 
a swimming beach, a recreational field for soccer or baseball, a 
volleyball court, a walking trail, three picnic areas with a total of 
18 picnic tables, a pavilion with restrooms, a bathhouse with restrooms 
and showers, and a parking area for 65 vehicles; and (3) a campground 
with 30 recreational vehicle campsites (each with a gravel pad, fire 
ring, and picnic table), trash cans, a comfort station with restrooms 
and showers, and a check-in station.
    Dominion proposes to continue to operate the Bath County Project as 
required by the current license. Downstream flow releases are 
maintained in compliance with the Virginia Water Protection Permit. As 
required by the permit, under normal operating conditions: (1) the 
daily average release from the lower reservoir shall be no less than 
the difference between 15 cfs and the daily average release from the 
upper reservoir; (2) at no time shall the instantaneous release from 
the lower reservoir be less than 10 cfs; and (3) the instantaneous 
release from the upper reservoir shall be no less than 2 cfs.
    Dominion proposes to upgrade the turbine-generator units (i.e., 
replacement of turbine runners), including associated appurtenant 
facilities. No other structural or operational changes to the Bath 
County Project are proposed by Dominion at this time.
    l. In addition to publishing this notice in the Federal Register, 
the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view 
and/or print the contents of this notice, as well as other documents in 
the proceeding (e.g., license application) via the internet through the 
Commission's Home Page (http://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-2716). For assistance, 
contact FERC at [email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), 
or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). 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.
    m. 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

[[Page 3826]]

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].
    n. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate.

    Deficiency Letter (if necessary)--January 2025
    Additional Information Request (if necessary)--February 2025
    Notice of Acceptance--June 2025
    Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis--June 2025
    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: January 8, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-00836 Filed 1-14-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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