Document ID: FERC-2011-0340-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Preliminary Permit Applications: City of Tacoma, WA
Posted Date: 2011-03-09T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 9, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12957-12958]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5321]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13885-000]

City of Tacoma, Washington; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments and Motions to 
Intervene

    On November 22, 2010, the City of Tacoma, Washington (Tacoma), 
filed an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) 
of the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of 
the Tacoma Water Supply Hydroelectric Project (Tacoma Project or 
project) to be located on the existing Tacoma Water Transmission 
System, in Pierce County, Washington.\1\ The sole

[[Page 12958]]

purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit 
holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A 
preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any 
land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters 
owned by others without the owners' express permission.
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    \1\ Tacoma filed a competing preliminary permit application in 
response to the notice for a preliminary permit application for the 
same site from Energy Exchange, Inc. for Project No. 13729. Energy 
Exchange, Inc. withdrew its application on January 6, 2011, which 
became effective January 21, 2011.
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    The proposed project has four sites that are being evaluated for 
potential hydropower installations, and would consist of the following:

Site 1--Pipeline 1 into McMillin Reservoir Alternative

    (1) A new powerhouse, located at McMillan Reservoir, containing two 
turbine/generating units with a total installed capacity of 500 
kilowatts (kW); and (2) a station transformer at the powerhouse to 
connect the turbine output to a 13.8-kilovolt (kV) distribution line 
owned by Tacoma Power. Water would enter the powerhouse from the 
existing Pipeline 1, and exit the powerhouse directly into McMillan 
Reservoir. The project would produce an estimated average annual 
generation of about 2,400 megawatt-hours (MWh).

Site 2--Second Supply Pipeline into P4

    (1) A new powerhouse, located at the Portland Avenue Reservoir, 
containing two turbine/generating units with a total installed capacity 
of 500 kW; and (2) a station transformer at the powerhouse to connect 
the turbine output to a 13.8-kV distribution line owned by Tacoma 
Power. Water would enter the powerhouse from the second supply pipeline 
and exit the powerhouse into either Pipeline 4 or into the Portland 
Avenue Reservoir. The project would produce an estimated average annual 
generation of about 2,400 MWh.

Site 3--Second Supply Pipeline at the Flow Control Facility

    (1) A new powerhouse, located at the 112th Street Flow Control 
Facility site, containing two turbine/generating units with a total 
installed capacity of 1,200 kW; and (2) a station transformer at the 
powerhouse to connect the turbine output to a 13.8-kV distribution line 
owned by Tacoma Power. Water would enter the powerhouse from the second 
supply pipeline, and exit the powerhouse back into the second supply 
pipeline. The project would produce an estimated average annual 
generation of about 5,100 MWh.

Site 4--North Fork Well Field

    (1) A new powerhouse, located at the Green River headworks at the 
lower end of the Green River Watershed, containing two turbine/
generating units with a total installed capacity of 800 kW; and (2) a 
station transformer at the powerhouse to connect the turbine output to 
a 13.8-kV distribution line owned by Tacoma Power. Water would enter 
the powerhouse from the existing pipeline that brings water to the 
headworks from the North Field wells, and exit the powerhouse back into 
the existing Headworks Reservoir. The project would produce an 
estimated average annual generation of about 3,300 MWh.
    The combined generating capacity of all four sites would be 3,000 
kW and the total estimated average annual generation would be 13,200 
MWh.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Glen George, Water Supply Manager, Tacoma 
Water, 3628 South 35th Street, Tacoma, Washington 98409-3192; phone: 
(253) 502-8737.
    FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott; phone: (202) 502-6408.
    Deadline for filing comments and motions to intervene: 60 days from 
the issuance of this notice. Comments and motions to intervene may be 
filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) 
and the instructions on the Commission's Web site http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 
6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system 
at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
(202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an 
original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20426.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-13885-000) in the docket number field to 
access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: March 2, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-5321 Filed 3-8-11; 8:45 am]
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