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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 5, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9022-9024]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-02225]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2302-101]

Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC; Notice of Application Accepted 
for Filing, Scoping Meetings, and Environmental Site Review; Soliciting 
Motions To Intervene and Protests; and 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-2302-101.
    c. Date filed: August 28, 2024.
    d. Applicant: Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Lewiston Falls Hydroelectric Project (project).
    f. Location: On the Androscoggin River in the Cities of Lewiston 
and Auburn, and the Town of Durham, Androscoggin County, Maine.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Luke T. Anderson, Brookfield Renewable, 150 
Main Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240; (207) 755-5613; email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Lauren Townson at (202) 502-8572, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments and motions to intervene 
and protests: March 31, 2025.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments and motions to intervene and protests 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: Lewiston Falls Project (P-2302-101).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors 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 intervener 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 for filing, but is not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Project Description: The Lewiston Falls Project consists of: (1) 
a dam consisting of 5 distinct sections: (a) a 154-foot-long stone 
masonry section topped with a single rubber dam for a total elevation 
of 169.07 feet, (b) a 279-foot-long stone masonry section topped with a 
single rubber dam for a total elevation of 169.07 feet, (c) a 161-foot-
long stone masonry section topped with a single rubber dam for a total 
elevation of 168.60 feet, (d) a 162-foot-long stone masonry section 
topped with a single rubber dam for a total elevation of 168.60 feet, 
and (e) a 57-foot-long concrete section topped with 1.34-foot-high 
flashboards for a total elevation of 168.17 feet; (2) a 2.5-mile-long, 
169-acre impoundment at a full pond elevation of 168.17 feet; (3) an 
85.16-foot-long, 60-foot-high reinforced concrete intake with 3.25-inch 
spaced trashracks; (4) four 16.8-foot wide intake tubes, each pair 
converging into one; (4) a reinforced concrete powerhouse containing 
two vertical Kaplan turbine generators for a total installed capacity 
of 28.44 megawatts; (5) a 400-foot-long, 75-foot-wide excavated 
tailrace; (6) a 111.6-foot-long, 26.3-foot-wide masonry canal gatehouse 
located at the southeast corner of the impoundment diverting flow to a 
canal system; (7) a 12.5 to 34.5-kilovolt (kV) transformer; (8) a 125-
foot-long underground transmission line connected to Central Maine 
Power's distribution system; and (8) appurtenant facilities. The 
project average annual generation between 2013 and 2023 was 157,614 
megawatt-hours (MWh).

[[Page 9023]]

    Brookfield currently operates the project in a run-of-river mode by 
typically limiting impoundment drawdowns to no more than 1 foot below 
the normal elevation of 168.17 feet. However, the project is licensed 
to operate with up to four feet of impoundment drawdowns. The current 
license requires Brookfield to release a minimum flow of 1,430 cfs or 
inflow, whichever is less. Brookfield states that it meets this 
requirement by releasing 50 cfs from the impoundment to the Lewiston 
Canal System and 1,380 cfs to the river downstream of the project. The 
maximum hydraulic capacity of the project's generating units is 6,600 
cfs and the minimum hydraulic capacity of a single unit is 
approximately 800 cfs.
    The licensee is proposing to remove an existing building from the 
project boundary. The building is a non-project facility and is located 
near the Canal Gatehouse. The building is privately owned and serves no 
project purpose, according to Brookfield's application. In total, this 
change will remove 0.08 acre from the project boundary, resulting in a 
total of 237.88 acres remaining within the project boundary.
    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, 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. 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.
    When the application is ready for environmental analysis, the 
Commission will issue a public notice requesting comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions.
    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 telephone 
number 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.
    o. 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, 
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].
    p. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the 
required level of analysis and satisfy the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the 
Commission issues an environmental assessment or an environmental 
impact statement.

Scoping Meetings

    In addition to written comments solicited by this notice, 
Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings at the times and 
locations noted below. All interested individuals, resource agencies, 
Native American Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend any of the 
meetings to assist Commission staff in identifying the scope of 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA document.
    The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: February 19, 2025.
    Time: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. EST.
    Location: Hampton Inn Lewiston/Auburn Hotel.
    Address: 15 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: February 19, 2025.
    Time: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST.
    Location: Hampton Inn Lewiston/Auburn Hotel.
    Address: 15 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240.
    Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be 
addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals 
and entities on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of SD1 will be 
available at the scoping meetings, or may be viewed on the web at 
https://www.ferc.gov, using the ``eLibrary'' link. Follow the 
directions for accessing information in paragraph m.

Environmental Site Review

    Brookfield White Pine and Commission staff will conduct an 
environmental site review of the project beginning at 8 a.m. on 
February 20, 2025. We recommend meeting at the Hampton Inn Lewiston/
Auburn Hotel (located at 15 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, Maine 04240) to 
carpool to project.
    All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American 
Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend the site review. Attendees 
should wear appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear. Persons planning 
on participating in the site visit must RSVP to Mr. Luke Anderson of 
Brookfield at [email protected] or by phone at 
(207) 755-5613, no later than February 10, 2025, to register for the 
environmental site review.

Meeting Procedures

    Individuals, NGOs, Native American Tribes, and agencies with 
environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the 
meetings and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues 
to be addressed in the NEPA document. At the start of each meeting, 
Commission staff will provide a brief overview of the meeting format 
and objectives. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one 
basis with a court reporter (with Commission staff present). This 
format is designed to receive the maximum number of oral comments in a 
convenient way during the timeframe allotted. If you wish to speak, 
Commission staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival. If 
all individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to 
do so, Commission staff may conclude the meeting a half hour earlier 
than the scheduled time. Please see appendix 1 for additional 
information on the session format and conduct.\1\
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    \1\ The appendix referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendix were sent to all those 
receiving this notice in the mail and are available at https://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. For assistance, please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or call 
(866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).

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[[Page 9024]]

    Scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter and become 
part of the public record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be 
publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system. If a significant number 
of people are interested in providing oral comments in the one-on-one 
settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented for each 
commentor.
    It is important to note that the Commission provides equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in writing or 
provided orally at a scoping session. Although there will not be a 
formal presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the 
scoping session to answer your questions about the environmental review 
process. Representatives from White Pine will also be present to answer 
project-specific questions.
    q. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following anticipated processing schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule will be made as appropriate. The schedule for issuing draft 
and final NEPA documents is consistent with the Commission's Notice of 
Revised Schedule issued November 15, 2023:

Scoping Document 1 Issued--January 2025
Acceptance and Scoping Notice Issued--January 2025
Scoping Document 1 Comments Due--March 2025
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if needed)--April 2025
Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis--August 2025
Comments, Recommendations and Agency Terms and Conditions/Prescriptions 
Due--October 2025
Applicant's Reply Comments Due--November 2025
Commission Issues Draft NEPA Document--April 2026
Commission Issues Final NEPA Document--October 2026

    Dated: January 29, 2025.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025-02225 Filed 2-4-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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