Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 108 / Monday, June 8, 2009 / Notices 27135 

submits an executed Amended and 

Restates Large Generator 

Interconnection Agreement among the 

Midwest ISO, et al. limited liability 

corporation, etc. 

Filed Date: 05/27/2009. 

Accession Number: 20090528–0059. 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. 

Take notice that the Commission 

received the following open access 

transmission tariff filings: 

Docket Numbers: OA09–29–000. 

Applicants: Avista Corporation. 

Description: Avista Corporation’s 

Informational Filing of Operational 

Assessments and Distributions as 

Required by Order Nos. 890 and 890–A. 

Filed Date: 05/26/2009. 

Accession Number: 20090526–5163. 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on Tuesday, June 16, 2009. 

Take notice that the Commission 

received the following electric 

reliability filings: 

Docket Numbers: RD09–7–000. 

Applicants: North American Electric 

Reliability Corporation. 

Description: Petition of the North 

American Electric Reliability 

Corporation for Approval of Version 2 

Critical Infrastructure Protection 

Standards. 

Filed Date: 05/22/2009. 

Accession Number: 20090522–5150. 

Comment Date: 5 p.m. Eastern Time 

on Monday, June 29, 2009. 

Any person desiring to intervene or to 

protest in any of the above proceedings 

must file in accordance with Rules 211 

and 214 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 

and 385.214) on or before 5 p.m. Eastern 

time on the specified comment date. It 

is not necessary to separately intervene 

again in a subdocket related to a 

compliance filing if you have previously 

intervened in the same docket. Protests 

will be considered by the Commission 

in determining the appropriate action to 

be taken, but will not serve to make 

protestants parties to the proceeding. 

Anyone filing a motion to intervene or 

protest must serve a copy of that 

document on the Applicant. In reference 

to filings initiating a new proceeding, 

interventions or protests submitted on 

or before the comment deadline need 

not be served on persons other than the 

Applicant. 

The Commission encourages 

electronic submission of protests and 

interventions in lieu of paper, using the 

FERC Online links at http:// 

www.ferc.gov. To facilitate electronic 

service, persons with Internet access 

who will eFile a document and/or be 

listed as a contact for an intervenor 

must create and validate an 

eRegistration account using the 

eRegistration link. Select the eFiling 

link to log on and submit the 

intervention or protests. 

Persons unable to file electronically 

should submit an original and 14 copies 

of the intervention or protest to the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 

888 First St., NE., Washington, DC 

20426. 

The filings in the above proceedings 

are accessible in the Commission’s 

eLibrary system by clicking on the 

appropriate link in the above list. They 

are also available for review in the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room in 

Washington, DC. There is an 

eSubscription link on the Web site that 

enables subscribers to receive e-mail 

notification when a document is added 

to a subscribed dockets(s). For 

assistance with any FERC Online 

service, please e-mail 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call 

(866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call 

(202) 502–8659. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–13330 Filed 6–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Southwestern Power Administration 

White River Minimum Flows—Draft 

Addendum to Final Determination of 

Federal and Non-Federal Hydropower 

Impacts 

AGENCY: Southwestern Power 

Administration, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of public review and 

comment. 

SUMMARY: Southwestern Power 

Administration (Southwestern) has 

developed a draft addendum to its 

January 2009 Final Determination 

Report concerning the Federal and nonFederal hydropower impacts of the 

White River Minimum Flows project. 

The draft addendum documents 

proposed changes to Southwestern’s 

final determination. The proposed 

changes include: (1) Accounting for the 

impacts that the increase in average 

pool elevation has on the operation of 

the Federal Bull Shoals and Norfork 

projects, and (2) the inclusion of an 

additional discount rate source to be 

used by Southwestern in determination 

of the present value of the losses to both 

Federal projects and Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC) Project 

No. 2221. 

Assuming a January 1, 2011, date of 

implementation for the White River 

Minimum Flows project and current 

values for the specified parameters, 

Southwestern’s modified final 

determination results in a present value 

of $22,340,800 for the estimated future 

lifetime replacement costs of the 

electrical energy and capacity at FERC 

Project No. 2221. Southwestern’s 

modified final determination results in 

a present value of $60,851,800 for the 

estimated future lifetime replacement 

costs of the electrical energy and 

capacity for Federal hydropower. 

DATES: The consultation and comment 

period will begin on the date of 

publication of this Federal Register 

notice and will end on July 8, 2009. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on 

Southwestern’s draft addendum to its 

final determination should be submitted 

to George Robbins, Director, Division of 

Resources and Rates, Southwestern 

Power Administration, U.S. Department 

of Energy, One West Third Street, Tulsa, 

Oklahoma 74103, or e-mail 

george.robbins@swpa.gov. Comments 

will be accepted only on the proposed 

changes in the draft addendum and not 

on any other aspect of Southwestern’s 

final determination. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

George Robbins, Director, Division of 

Resources and Rates, Southwestern 

Power Administration, U.S. Department 

of Energy, One West Third Street, Tulsa, 

Oklahoma 74103, (918) 595–6680, 

george.robbins@swpa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Discussion 

Originally established by Secretarial 

Order No. 1865 dated August 31, 1943, 

as an agency of the U.S. Department of 

the Interior, Southwestern is now an 

agency within the U.S. Department of 

Energy which was created by an Act of 

the U.S. Congress, entitled the 

Department of Energy Organization Act, 

Public Law 95–91 (1977). Southwestern 

markets power from 24 multi-purpose 

reservoir projects with hydroelectric 

power facilities constructed and 

operated by the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (Corps). These projects are 

located in the states of Arkansas, 

Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. 

Southwestern’s marketing area includes 

these states plus Kansas and Louisiana. 

Section 132 of Public Law 109–103 

(2005) authorized and directed the 

Secretary of the Army to implement 

alternatives BS–3 and NF–7, as 

described in the Corps’ White River 

Minimum Flows Reallocation Study 

Report, Arkansas and Missouri, dated 

July 2004. The law provides that the 


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27136 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 108 / Monday, June 8, 2009 / Notices 

Administrator of Southwestern, in 

consultation with the project licensee 

and the relevant state public utility 

commissions, shall determine any 

impacts on electric energy and capacity 

generated at FERC Project No. 2221 

caused by the storage reallocation at 

Bull Shoals Lake. Further, the licensee 

of Project No. 2221 is to be fully 

compensated by the Corps for those 

impacts on the basis of the present value 

of the estimated future lifetime 

replacement costs of the electrical 

energy and capacity at the time of 

implementation of the White River 

Minimum Flows project. 

The law also provides that losses to 

the Federal hydropower purpose at the 

Bull Shoals and Norfork Projects shall 

be offset by a reduction in the costs 

allocated to the Federal hydropower 

purpose. Further, such reduction in 

costs shall be determined by the 

Administrator of Southwestern on the 

basis of the present value of the 

estimated future lifetime replacement 

cost of the electrical energy and capacity 

at the time of implementation of the 

White River Minimum Flows project. 

In accordance with the legislation, 

Southwestern developed a procedure for 

calculating projected energy and 

capacity losses for FERC Project No. 

2221 and the Bull Shoals and Norfork 

projects, including additional losses 

related to the reallocation for minimum 

flows as appropriate. Input from 

affected parties and from the public was 

invited and utilized in the development 

of the determination. 

Southwestern’s draft determination 

was published by Federal Register 

Notice (73 FR 6717) dated February 5, 

2008. Written comments were invited 

through March 6, 2008. All public 

comments received were considered, 

and Southwestern’s draft determination 

was revised as necessary to incorporate 

the public comments. Since there were 

significant changes to Southwestern’s 

draft determination, Southwestern 

published a proposed determination for 

additional public review and comment 

prior to its final determination. 

Southwestern’s proposed 

determination was published by Federal 

Register Notice (73 FR 38198) on July 3, 

2008. Written comments were invited 

through August 4, 2008. After receiving 

several requests for additional time to 

provide public comments, Southwestern 

reopened the public comment period 

through September 18, 2008, by Federal 

Register Notice (73 FR 46901) dated 

August 12, 2008. All public comments 

received were considered in revising the 

proposed determination and developing 

Southwestern’s final determination. 

Southwestern’s final determination 

was published by Federal Register 

Notice (74 FR 4183) on January 23, 

2009. Southwestern’s final 

determination is fully documented in its 

Final Determination Report dated 

January 2009, which was prepared in 

consultation with the non-Federal 

licensee and the relevant public utility 

commissions. The report documents the 

procedure to be used to calculate the 

present value of the future lifetime 

replacement cost of the electrical energy 

and capacity lost due to the White River 

Minimum Flows project at the nonFederal FERC Project No. 2221 and the 

Federal Bull Shoals and Norfork 

projects. 

As a result of an extensive internal 

review of its calculations in the final 

determination, Southwestern discovered 

an inadvertent omission of a portion of 

the energy benefits associated with the 

higher pools at the Federal Bull Shoals 

and Norfork projects. A detailed review 

of the energy loss calculations revealed 

that a portion of the energy benefits at 

the Federal projects which were 

believed to be included in the 

calculations had been inadvertently 

omitted from the calculations. While the 

gains from the increase in head (the 

vertical distance between the lake, or 

pool elevation, and the river, or 

tailwater elevation) that resulted from 

the higher pool elevations were 

included in the computation of benefits 

received from the generation of 

minimum flows releases at Bull Shoals, 

including an additional gain from a 

lower tailwater, the head gains were 

omitted for the remainder of the 

generation. Southwestern’s draft 

addendum corrects the computation of 

energy loss and associated replacement 

costs for both Federal projects to 

include those gains. 

The portion of the energy benefits due 

to higher head from the raised pools that 

were omitted amounted to an additional 

11,669 megawatt-hours (MWh) at Bull 

Shoals and 1,459 MWh at Norfork. 

Inclusion of those benefits reduces the 

net energy losses at Bull Shoals and 

Norfork, respectively. The net annual 

energy loss at Bull Shoals will be 12,186 

MWh, and the net annual energy loss at 

Norfork will be 12,065 MWh. As 

discussed in Southwestern’s Final 

Determination Report, all of the lost 

energy at Bull Shoals is considered offpeak energy, and the lost energy at 

Norfork is considered one-half on-peak 

energy and one-half off-peak energy. 

There are no changes in the capacity 

loss at Norfork or in the capacity or 

energy loss at the non-Federal project. 

As part of its review of the impacts 

that the average pool elevation increase 

has on the normal operation of the 

Federal projects, Southwestern also 

believed it should quantify dissolved 

oxygen (DO) impacts due to the average 

increase in pool elevation. In 

Southwestern’s final determination it 

was recognized that generation at both 

Bull Shoals and Norfork is impacted 

annually due to low DO conditions. It 

was also noted that the higher pool 

elevations at both projects will cause the 

hypolimnion to be higher relative to the 

penstock elevations at both projects, 

causing water with lower DO levels to 

flow through the turbines during 

generation. Southwestern noted but did 

not quantify the value of the potential 

DO impact in its final determination. 

Southwestern has developed a 

procedure for quantifying the estimated 

impacts and costs of lower DO levels on 

Federal hydropower. The procedure 

estimates the costs of mitigating the DO 

impacts resulting from the increased 

pool elevations at the Federal projects. 

A number of alternative solutions have 

been proposed for improving DO levels 

downstream of the Federal projects. 

Southwestern considered the initial 

capital cost and annual operation and 

maintenance expenses associated with 

these systems in determining the total 

impacts of the White River Minimum 

Flows project on hydropower 

production. The procedure is based on 

historical DO level data and is detailed 

in Southwestern’s draft addendum. 

Based on the procedure and on current 

values of the specified parameters, the 

present value of the lifetime impact of 

lower DO levels on Federal hydropower 

is $10,207,900. It should be noted that 

the $10,207,900 amount only addresses 

the incremental impact of the increased 

pool elevation on DO levels and is not 

representation of an amount to satisfy 

all DO issues at the Federal projects. 

Southwestern is also proposing to 

include an additional source for the 

discount rate to be used in the present 

value computation for all three projects. 

The 30-year Treasury bond rates in 

effect at the time of publication of 

Southwestern’s draft, proposed, and 

final determinations were as high as 5.0 

percent. The recent changes in the 

investment sector have resulted in the 

current rate being artificially lowered. In 

early 2009, the rate dropped as low as 

3.5 percent. The rate is currently 4.25 

percent. The discount rate used should 

be reflective of the ‘‘cost of cash’’ during 

the period of analysis. If the discount 

rate drops below the cost of long-term 

debt for either the Federal or nonFederal projects it is reasonable to 

assume that any offset or compensation 

would wisely be used to pay off those 

debts rather than invest the funds in 


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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 108 / Monday, June 8, 2009 / Notices 27137 

lower interest bearing accounts. 

Therefore, using the lower 30-year 

Treasury bond rate for the present value 

calculation would not be appropriate 

and would result in too much 

compensation for the losses. 

Southwestern’s draft addendum revises 

the discount rate selection for 

calculation of the present value of the 

losses as follows: In calculating the 

present value of the Federal and nonFederal losses, Southwestern will use 

the higher of the current 30-year 

Treasury bond rate or each entity’s, 

Southwestern and Empire, respectively, 

cost of long-term debt. 

Based on an analysis of the long-term 

debt for Southwestern, the current 30- 

year Treasury bond rate is higher than 

Southwestern’s cost of long-term debt. 

Using the updated procedure, the 

current discount rate to be used in the 

calculation of the present value of the 

Federal hydropower losses is the 30- 

year Treasury bond rate. Based on an 

analysis of the long-term debt for the 

non-Federal licensee utilizing 

information in its filings with FERC, the 

current 30-year Treasury bond rate is 

lower than the non-Federal licensee’s 

cost of long-term debt. The updated 

procedure results in the use of the nonFederal licensee’s cost of long-term debt 

as the current discount rate in the 

calculation of the present value of the 

non-Federal hydropower losses. 

Southwestern’s draft addendum 

details the proposed changes to 

Southwestern’s final determination. 

Assuming a January 1, 2011 date of 

implementation for the White River 

Minimum Flows project and current 

values for the specified parameters, 

Southwestern’s modified final 

determination results in a present value 

for the estimated future lifetime 

replacement costs of the electrical 

energy and capacity at FERC Project No. 

2221 of $22,340,800. Southwestern’s 

modified final determination results in 

a present value for the estimated future 

lifetime replacement costs of the 

electrical energy and capacity for 

Federal hydropower of $60,851,800. The 

actual compensation values are to be 

calculated using the method presented 

in Southwestern’s modified final 

determination and current values for the 

specified parameters based on the 

official implementation date. 

II. Public Review and Comment 

Procedures 

Opportunity is presented for 

interested parties to receive copies of 

Southwestern’s draft addendum 

detailing the proposed changes to 

Southwestern’s final determination of 

the Federal and non-Federal 

hydropower impacts. If you desire a 

copy of the draft addendum, submit 

your request to Mr. George Robbins, 

Director, Division of Resources and 

Rates, Southwestern Power 

Administration, One West Third Street, 

Tulsa, OK 74103, (918) 595–6680, 

george.robbins@swpa.gov. 

Written comments on Southwestern’s 

draft addendum are due on or before 

July 8, 2009. Comments should be 

submitted to George Robbins, Director, 

Division of Resources and Rates, 

Southwestern, at the above-mentioned 

address for Southwestern’s offices. 

Comments will be accepted only on the 

proposed changes in the draft 

addendum and not on any other aspect 

of Southwestern’s final determination. 

Southwestern will review and address 

the written comments, making any 

necessary changes to the draft 

addendum. The Administrator will 

publish the results of Southwestern’s 

finalized addendum in the Federal 

Register. 

Dated: June 1, 2009. 

Jon C. Worthington, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E9–13322 Filed 6–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 1354–081] 

Pacific Gas & Electric Company; 

Notice of Availability of Environmental 

Assessment 

June 1, 2009. 

In accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended, and the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission’s (Commission) 

regulations (18 CFR Part 380), 

Commission staff has reviewed plans, 

filed May 13, 2008, and supplemented 

April 17, 2009, to perform seismic 

remediation work at Crane Valley Dam, 

part of the Crane Valley Hydroelectric 

Project. The project occupies 

approximately 738 acres of federal lands 

within Sierra National Forest, 

approximately 40 miles northeast of the 

city of Fresno in Modesto County, 

California. Crane Valley Dam is located 

on North Fork Willow Creek, in the San 

Joaquin River Basin. An environmental 

assessment (EA) has been prepared as 

part of staff’s review. 

The project licensee, Pacific Gas and 

Electric Company (PG&E), at the request 

of the California Department of Water 

Resources, Division of Safety of Dams 

(DSOD), revised the seismic stability 

analyses for Crane Valley Dam, finding 

that modifications to the dam are 

necessary to correct a possible 

vulnerability during a seismic event that 

could lead to an uncontrolled release, 

endangering downstream residents. 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

required remediation under Part 12 of 

its regulations. 

PG&E proposes to increase the 

seismic stability of Crane Valley Dam 

by: (1) Adding approximately 200,000 

cubic yards of rock fill to areas on the 

upstream and downstream faces of the 

dam; and (2) raising the elevation of the 

dam by approximately 10 feet, to 

increase freeboard, using approximately 

10,000 cubic yards of earth fill. 

Consultation among the Commission, 

DSOD, and the licensee has also 

determined that Bass Lake’s normal 

recreational elevation should be 

reduced 10 feet in 2009 and 2010 to 

reduce pressure on the dam until the 

remediation work is complete. The 

proposed work would be performed 

within the project boundary and on U.S. 

Forest Service lands. 

In the EA, Commission staff analyzes 

the probable environmental effects of 

the proposed work and has concluded 

that approval of the work, with 

appropriate environmental measures, 

would not constitute a major Federal 

action significantly affecting the quality 

of the human environment. 

A copy of the EA is available for 

review at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, or it may be viewed on 

the Commission’s Web site at http:// 

www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. 

Enter the docket number (P–1354) in the 

docket number field to access the 

document. For assistance, call (202) 

502–8222, or (202) 502–8659 (for TTY). 

Any comments should be filed by July 

1, 2009, and should be addressed to 

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 

Washington, DC 20426. Please reference 

the Crane Valley Project No. 1354 on all 

comments. For further information on 

this notice, please contact B. Peter 

Yarrington at (202) 502–6129. 

Comments may be filed electronically 

via the Internet in lieu of paper. See 18 

CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the 

instructions on the Commission’s Web 

site at www.ferc.gov under the e-Filing 

link. The Commission strongly 

encourages electronic filing. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–13235 Filed 6–5–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


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