Document ID: FERC-2018-1482-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Hydroelectric Applications: City of Woonsocket
Posted Date: 2018-11-23T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 226 (Friday, November 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59373-59374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25472]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2972-027]

City of Woonsocket; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing 
With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests and 
Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a 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: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 2972-027.
    c. Date filed: November 1, 2018.
    d. Applicant: City of Woonsocket, Rhode Island (City).
    e. Name of Project: Woonsocket Falls Project.
    f. Location: On the Blackstone River in the City of Woonsocket, 
Providence County, Rhode Island. The project diverts water from the 
impoundment created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) 
Woonsocket Falls Dam; however, there are no federal or tribal lands 
within the project boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Michael Debroisse, City of Woonsocket, 
Engineering, 169 Main Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895; (401) 767-9213.
    i. FERC Contact: Patrick Crile, (202) 502-8042 or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note 
the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation 
of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 
61,076 (2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of the Commission's regulations, 
if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes that an 
additional scientific study should be conducted in order to form an 
adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the application on 
its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person must file a 
request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 days from the 
date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of the request on 
the applicant.

[[Page 59374]]

    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: December 31, 2018.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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, please send a paper copy 
to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 
NE, Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-2972-027.
    m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. The City electronically filed the application with the 
Commission after the close of business on October 31, 2018. Pursuant to 
18 CFR 385.2001(a)(2), any document received after regular business 
hours is considered filed on the next regular business day. By this 
notice, the requirement under 18 CFR 16.20(c) to file the subsequent 
license application at least 24 months before the expiration of the 
existing license (i.e., no later than October 31, 2018) is waived.
    o. The Woonsocket Falls Project utilizes water from the impoundment 
created by the Corps' Woonsocket Falls Dam, and consists of: (1) A 14-
foot-wide, 20.5-foot-high concrete intake structure located about 60 
feet upstream of the Woonsocket Falls Dam and fitted with a 12-foot-
wide, 18-foot-high steel trash rack having 3.5-inch clear bar spacing; 
(2) a 275-foot long, 12-foot-wide, 10-foot-high concrete penstock; (3) 
a 65-foot-long, 25-foot-wide, 20-foot-high concrete powerhouse 
containing one adjustable blade turbine-generator unit with an 
authorized capacity of 1,200 kilowatts; (4) a 50-foot-long, 12.5-foot-
diameter steel draft tube; (5) an approximately 50-foot-long, 20-foot-
wide, 15-foot-deep tailrace; (6) a 35-foot-long 4.16 kilovolt (kV) 
generator lead line, a 4.16/13.8-kV step-up transformer, a 1,200-foot-
long, and a 13.8-kV transmission line connecting the project generator 
to the regional grid; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    The project bypasses approximately 360 feet of the Blackstone River 
and there is currently no required minimum instream flow for the 
bypassed reach. However, the City operates the project in a run-of-
river (ROR) mode and voluntarily maintains a minimum flow of 20 cubic 
feet per second (cfs) over the crest of the dam to the bypassed reach 
using an automatic pond level controller. The Woonsocket Falls project 
has an average annual generation of approximately 4,580 megawatt-hours.
    The City proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in a ROR 
mode; (2) provide a year-round minimum flow of 20 cfs into the bypassed 
reach; (3) provide upstream eel passage at the project; and (4) 
implement targeted nighttime turbine shutdowns to facilitate downstream 
eel passage.
    p. A copy of the application is available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's website at 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. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    q. Procedural schedule and final amendments: The application will 
be processed according to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions 
to the schedule will be made as appropriate.

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Issue Deficiency Letter (if            January 2019.
 necessary).
Request Additional Information.......  January 2019.
Issue Acceptance Letter..............  April 2019.
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments  May 2019.
Request Additional Information (if     July 2019.
 necessary).
Issue Scoping Document 2.............  August 2019.
Issue Notice of Ready for              August 2019.
 Environmental Analysis.
Issue Notice of Availability of        February 2020.
 Environmental Assessment.
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    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: November 15, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-25472 Filed 11-21-18; 8:45 am]
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