Document ID: FERC-2014-1211-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Preliminary Permit Applications: New England Hydropower Co., LLC
Posted Date: 2014-09-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 185 (Wednesday, September 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Page 57075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22644]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14634-000]

New England Hydropower Company, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On September 5, 2014, the New England Hydropower Company, LLC, 
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 Ashton Dam Hydroelectric Project (Ashton Project or project) to be 
located on Blackstone River, near Cumberland, Providence County, Rhode 
Island. The sole 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.
    The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) An 
existing 20-foot-high, 400-foot-long masonry dam with a 250-foot-long 
main spillway and a 150-foot-long auxiliary spillway; (2) an existing 
35-acre impoundment with a normal storage capacity of 112 acre-feet at 
an operating elevation of about 74.0 feet national geodetic vertical 
datum; (3) a new 100-foot-long, 28-foot-wide, and 6.5-foot-deep intake 
canal; (4) a new 7-foot-high, 13-foot-wide hydraulically-powered sluice 
gate, with a new 7-foot-high, 41-foot-wide trashrack with 6-inch bar 
spacing; (5) two new 32-foot-long, 13-foot-wide Archimedes screw 
generator units, with an installed capacity of 300 kilowatts; (6) a new 
10-foot-high, 25.4-foot-long, 39-foot-wide concrete powerhouse 
containing the generator and a new gearbox and electrical controls; (7) 
a new above ground 830-foot-long, 13.8-kilovolt transmission line 
connecting the powerhouse to the distribution system owned by 
Narragansett Electric Company; and (8) appurtenant facilities. The 
estimated annual generation of the proposed Ashton Project would be 
about 1,613 megawatt-hours. The existing Ashton Dam and appurtenant 
works is owned by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Michael C. Kerr, P.O. Box 5524, Beverly 
Farms, MA 01915; phone: (978) 360-2547.
    FERC Contact: John Ramer; phone: (202) 502-8969 or email: 
john.ramer@ferc.gov.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications using the Commission's eFiling system at 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, (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-14634-000.
    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-14634) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: September 17, 2014.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-22644 Filed 9-23-14; 8:45 am]
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