Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 11, 2025 / Notices 9341 

1 Mill Pond Associates, Inc., 19 FERC ¶ 62,045 

(1982) (Order Granting Exemption from Licensing 

of a Small Hydroelectric Project of 5 Megawatts or 

Less). Subsequently, on February 27, 2013, the 

project was transferred to Northwoods Renewables, 

LLC, and on August 15, 2022, it was transferred to 

Parker & Nelson Holdings, LLC. 

Hydroelectric Project No. 5638 was 

originally issued an exemption on April 

9, 1982.1 The project is located on the 

Squam River in Grafton County, New 

Hampshire. The transfer of an 

exemption does not require Commission 

approval. 

2. 3Phase Hydro, LLC is now the 

exemptee of the Ashland Papermill 

Hydroelectric Project No. 5638. All 

correspondence regarding the project 

should be directed to Austin Brown, 

3Phase Hydro, LLC, 39 Mill Pond Lane, 

Ashland, NH 03217, Email: 

austin.brown124@gmail.com. 

Dated: February 4, 2025. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2025–02426 Filed 2–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 1389–060] 

Southern California Edison Company; 

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. 

a. Type of Application: New Major 

License. 

b. Project No.: 1389–060. 

c. Date Filed: January 22, 2025. 

d. Applicant: Southern California 

Edison Company (SCE). 

e. Name of Project: Rush Creek 

Hydroelectric Project (project). 

f. Location: The project is located on 

Rush Creek near the unincorporated 

community of June Lake in Mono 

County, California. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Matthew 

Woodhall, Relicensing Project Manager, 

SCE at (909) 362–1764 or 

matthew.woodhall@sce.com. 

i. FERC Contact: Quinn Emmering, 

Project Coordinator at (202) 502–6382 or 

quinn.emmering@ferc.gov. 

j. The application is not ready for 

environmental analysis at this time. 

k. Project Description: The project is 

located primarily on federal lands 

within Inyo National Forest and the 

Ansel Adams Wilderness Area, both 

administered by the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Forest Service. Existing 

project facilities include: (1) the 50-foothigh, 463-foot-long Rush Meadows Dam 

impounding the 130-acre Waugh Lake; 

(2) the 84-foot-high, 688-foot-long Gem 

Dam impounding 256-acre Gem Lake; 

(3) the 30-foot-high, 278-foot-long 

Agnew Dam impounding 23-acre Agnew 

Lake; (4) a water conveyance system 

consisting of an approximately 4,584- 

foot-long buried steel flowline 

conveying water from Gem Dam to 

Agnew Junction, a 575-foot-long steel 

flowline from Agnew Dam to the Agnew 

valve house, and two 4,280-foot-long 

buried steel penstocks; (5) a powerhouse 

containing two impulse turbines and 

two horizontal-shaft generator units; (6) 

a 470-foot-long tailrace conveying water 

from the powerhouse to Rush Creek; (7) 

a 1.59-mile-long, 4-kilovolt (kV) power 

line, half of which is de-energized for 

future repairs; (8) a 150-foot-long, 2.4- 

kV power line; (9) an approximately 

1.63-mile-long communication line; (10) 

incline railroads (tramways) used to 

transport personnel and equipment, 

including a 1,490-foot-long tramway 

from Agnew Lake to Gem Dam and a 

4,280-foot-long tramway from the 

project powerhouse to Agnew Dam; (11) 

about 1,860 feet of trails to access 

project facilities; and (12) ancillary 

facilities. The project does not include 

any developed recreation facilities. 

SCE proposes to: (1) decommission 

hydroelectric operations at Rush 

Meadows Dam and Agnew Dam, 

including partial removal of the two 

dams; (2) retrofit Gem Dam with a new 

spillway and reduce the height of the 

dam to facilitate compliance with 

seismic restrictions under a probable 

maximum flood event; and (3) continue 

hydroelectric operations at Gem Dam 

and the project powerhouse. SCE does 

not propose any additional generation 

capacity or new project facilities. 

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–1389). For assistance, 

contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@

ferc.gov, (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 

landowners, community organizations, 

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 OPP@ferc.gov. 

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)— 

February 2025 

Additional Information Request (if 

necessary)—April 2025 

Notice of Acceptance—September 2025 

Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental 

Analysis—September 2025 

Filing of recommendations, preliminary 

terms and conditions, and fishway 

prescriptions—November 2025 

Commission issues Draft EA—May 2026 

Comments on Draft EA—June 2026 

Commission issues Final EA—December 

2026 

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: February 5, 2025. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2025–02473 Filed 2–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–3468–PN] 

Medicare and Medicaid Programs: 

Application From The Joint 

Commission for Continued CMSApproval of Its Hospital Accreditation 

Program 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare and 

Medicaid Services, HHS. 


KHAMMOND on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
9342 Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 11, 2025 / Notices 

ACTION: Notice with request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: This proposed notice 

acknowledges the receipt of an 

application from The Joint Commission 

for continued recognition as a national 

accrediting organization for hospitals 

that wish to participate in the Medicare 

or Medicaid programs. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at one of 

the addresses provided below, by March 

13, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, please refer 

to file code CMS–3468–PN. 

Comments, including mass comment 

submissions, must be submitted in one 

of the following three ways (please 

choose only one of the ways listed): 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

electronic comments on this regulation 

to https://www.regulations.gov. Follow 

the ‘‘Submit a comment’’ instructions. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Department of 

Health and Human Services, Attention: 

CMS–3468–PN, P.O. Box 8016, 

Baltimore, MD 21244–8010. 

Please allow sufficient time for mailed 

comments to be received before the 

close of the comment period. 

3. By express or overnight mail. You 

may send written comments to the 

following address ONLY: Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, Attention: CMS–3468–PN, 

Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

For information on viewing public 

comments, see the beginning of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Caecilia Andrews, (410) 786–2190. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Inspection of Public Comments: All 

comments received before the close of 

the comment period are available for 

viewing by the public, including any 

personally identifiable or confidential 

business information that is included in 

a comment. We post all comments 

received before the close of the 

comment period on the following 

website as soon as possible after they 

have been received: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the search 

instructions on that website to view 

public comments. CMS will not post on 

Regulations.gov public comments that 

make threats to individuals or 

institutions or suggest that the 

individual will take actions to harm the 

individual. CMS continues to encourage 

individuals not to submit duplicative 

comments. We will post acceptable 

comments from multiple unique 

commenters even if the content is 

identical or nearly identical to other 

comments. 

I. Background 

Under the Medicare program, eligible 

beneficiaries may receive covered 

services from a hospital provided 

certain requirements are met. Section 

1861(e) of the Social Security Act (the 

Act) establishes distinct criteria for 

facilities seeking designation as a 

hospital. Regulations concerning 

provider agreements are at 42 CFR part 

489 and those pertaining to activities 

relating to the survey and certification 

of facilities are at 42 CFR part 488. The 

regulations at 42 CFR part 482 specify 

the minimum conditions that a hospital 

must meet to participate in the Medicare 

program. 

Generally, to enter into an agreement, 

a hospital must first be certified by a 

state survey agency (SA) as complying 

with the conditions or requirements set 

forth in part 482 of our regulations. 

Thereafter, the hospital is subject to 

regular surveys by an SA to determine 

whether it continues to meet these 

requirements. However, there is an 

alternative to surveys by SAs. 

Section 1865(a)(1) of the Act provides 

that, if a provider entity demonstrates 

through accreditation by a Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 

approved national accrediting 

organization (AO) that all applicable 

Medicare conditions are met or 

exceeded, we will deem those provider 

entities as having met the requirements. 

Accreditation by an AO is voluntary and 

is not required for Medicare 

participation. 

If an AO is recognized by the 

Secretary of the Department of Health 

and Human Services (the Secretary) as 

having standards for accreditation that 

meet or exceed Medicare requirements, 

any provider entity accredited by the 

national accrediting body’s approved 

program would be deemed to meet the 

Medicare conditions. A national AO 

applying for approval of its 

accreditation program under part 488, 

subpart A, must provide CMS with 

reasonable assurance that the AO 

requires the accredited provider entities 

to meet requirements that are at least as 

stringent as the Medicare conditions. 

Our regulations concerning the approval 

of AOs are set forth at §§ 488.4 and 

488.5. The regulations at § 488.5(e)(2)(i) 

require AOs to reapply for continued 

approval of its accreditation program 

every 6 years or sooner as determined 

by CMS. 

The Joint Commission’s (TJC’s) 

current term of approval for their 

hospital accreditation program expires 

July 15, 2025. 

II. Approval of Deeming Organizations 

Section 1865(a)(2) of the Act and our 

regulations at § 488.5 require that our 

findings concerning review and 

approval of a national AO’s 

requirements consider, among other 

factors, the applying AO’s requirements 

for accreditation; survey procedures; 

resources for conducting required 

surveys; capacity to furnish information 

for use in enforcement activities; 

monitoring procedures for provider 

entities found not in compliance with 

the conditions or requirements; and 

ability to provide CMS with the 

necessary data for validation. 

Section 1865(a)(3)(A) of the Act 

further requires that we publish, within 

60 days of receipt of an organization’s 

complete application, a notice 

identifying the national accrediting 

body making the request, describing the 

nature of the request, and providing at 

least a 30-day public comment period. 

We have 210 days from the receipt of a 

complete application to publish notice 

of approval or denial of the application. 

The purpose of this proposed notice 

is to inform the public of TJC’s request 

for continued CMS-approval of its 

hospital accreditation program. This 

notice also solicits public comment on 

whether TJC’s requirements meet or 

exceed the Medicare conditions of 

participation (CoPs) for hospitals. 

III. Evaluation of Deeming Authority 

Request 

TJC submitted all the necessary 

materials to enable us to make a 

determination concerning its request for 

continued CMS-approval of its hospital 

accreditation program. This application 

was determined to be complete on 

December 17, 2024. Under section 

1865(a)(2) of the Act and our regulations 

at § 488.5 (Application and reapplication procedures for national 

accrediting organizations), our review 

and evaluation of TJC will be conducted 

in accordance with, but not necessarily 

limited to, the following factors: 

• The equivalency of TJC’s standards 

for hospitals as compared with CMS’ 

hospital CoPs. 

• TJC’s survey process to determine 

the following: 

++ The composition of the survey 

team, surveyor qualifications, and the 

ability of the organization to provide 

continuing surveyor training. 

++ The comparability of TJC’s 

processes to those of state agencies, 

including survey frequency, and the 


KHAMMOND on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 11, 2025 / Notices 9343 

ability to investigate and respond 

appropriately to complaints against 

accredited facilities. 

++ TJC’s processes and procedures 

for monitoring a hospital found out of 

compliance with TJC’s program 

requirements. These monitoring 

procedures are used only when TJC 

identifies noncompliance. If 

noncompliance is identified through 

validation reviews or complaint 

surveys, the SA monitors corrections as 

specified at § 488.9. 

++ TJC’s capacity to report 

deficiencies to the surveyed facilities 

and respond to the facility’s plan of 

correction in a timely manner. 

++ TJC’s capacity to provide CMS 

with electronic data and reports 

necessary for effective validation and 

assessment of the organization’s survey 

process. 

++ The adequacy of TJC’s staff and 

other resources, and its financial 

viability. 

++ TJC’s capacity to adequately fund 

required surveys. 

++ TJC’s policies with respect to 

whether surveys are announced or 

unannounced, to assure that surveys are 

unannounced. 

++ TJC’s policies and procedures to 

avoid conflicts of interest, including the 

appearance of conflicts of interest, 

involving individuals who conduct 

surveys or participate in accreditation 

decisions. 

++ TJC’s agreement to provide CMS 

with a copy of the most current 

accreditation survey together with any 

other information related to the survey 

as we may require (including corrective 

action plans). 

IV. Collection of Information 

Requirements 

This document does not impose 

information collection requirements, 

that is, reporting, recordkeeping or 

third-party disclosure requirements. 

Consequently, there is no need for 

review by the Office of Management and 

Budget under the authority of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

V. Response to Public Comments 

Because of the large number of public 

comments we normally receive on 

Federal Register documents, we are not 

able to acknowledge or respond to them 

individually. We will consider all 

comments we receive by the date and 

time specified in the DATES section of 

this preamble, and, when we proceed 

with a subsequent document, we will 

respond to the comments in the 

preamble to that document. 

The Acting Administrator of the 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services (CMS), Stephanie Carlton, 

having reviewed and approved this 

document, authorizes Vanessa Garcia, 

who is the Federal Register Liaison, to 

electronically sign this document for 

purposes of publication in the Federal 

Register. 

Vanessa Garcia, 

Federal Register Liaison, Centers for Medicare 

& Medicaid Services. 

[FR Doc. 2025–02436 Filed 2–10–25; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND 

HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 

Services 

[CMS–1838–PN] 

Medicare Program; Announcement of 

Request for an Exception From the 

Prohibition on Expansion of Facility 

Capacity Under the Hospital 

Ownership and Rural Provider 

Exceptions to the Physician SelfReferral Prohibition 

AGENCY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services (CMS), HHS. 

ACTION: Notice with request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The Social Security Act 

prohibits a hospital with physician 

ownership that relies on the exception 

to the physician self-referral law for 

hospitals outside of Puerto Rico or for 

rural providers from expanding its 

facility capacity unless the Secretary of 

the Department of Health and Human 

Services grants the hospital’s request for 

an exception from that prohibition after 

considering input on the request from 

individuals and entities in the 

community where the hospital is 

located. The Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services has received a 

request from a hospital with physician 

ownership for an exception from the 

prohibition on expansion of facility 

capacity. This notice solicits comments 

on the request from individuals and 

entities in the community in which the 

hospital is located. Community input 

may inform our decision to approve or 

deny the hospital’s request for an 

exception from the prohibition on 

expansion of facility capacity. 

DATES: To be assured consideration, 

comments must be received at one of 

the addresses provided below by April 

14, 2025. 

ADDRESSES: In commenting, refer to file 

code CMS–1838–PN. 

Comments, including mass comment 

submissions, must be submitted in one 

of the following three ways (please 

choose only one of the ways listed): 

1. Electronically. You may submit 

electronic comments on this notice to 

https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

‘‘Submit a comment’’ instructions. 

2. By regular mail. You may mail 

written comments to the following 

address ONLY: Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, Department of 

Health and Human Services, Attention: 

CMS–1838–PN, P.O. Box 8010, 

Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

Please allow sufficient time for mailed 

comments to be received before the 

close of the comment period. 

3. By express or overnight mail. You 

may send written comments to the 

following address ONLY: Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services, 

Department of Health and Human 

Services, Attention: CMS–1838–PN, 

Mail Stop C4–26–05, 7500 Security 

Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21244–1850. 

For information on viewing public 

comments, see the beginning of the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

POH-ExceptionRequests@cms.hhs.gov. 

Joi Hosley, (410) 786–2194. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Inspection of Public Comments: All 

comments received before the close of 

the comment period are available for 

viewing by the public, including any 

personally identifiable or confidential 

business information that is included in 

a comment. We post all comments 

received before the close of the 

comment period on the following 

website as soon as possible after they 

have been received: https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the search 

instructions on that website to view 

public comments. CMS will not post on 

https://www.regulations.gov public 

comments that make threats to 

individuals or institutions or suggest 

that the commenter will take actions to 

harm an individual. CMS encourages 

commenters not to submit duplicative 

comments. We will post acceptable 

comments from multiple unique 

commenters even if the content is 

identical or nearly identical to other 

comments. 

I. Background 

Section 1877 of the Social Security 

Act (the Act), also known as the 

physician self-referral law: (1) prohibits 

a physician from making referrals for 

certain designated health services 

payable by Medicare to an entity with 

which he or she (or an immediate family 

member) has a financial relationship 


KHAMMOND on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES