Document ID: FERC-2014-1128-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Preliminary Permit Applications: Black Canyon Hydro, LLC
Posted Date: 2014-09-05T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 172 (Friday, September 5, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53059-53060]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21168]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14087-001]

Black Canyon Hydro, LLC; Notice of Successive Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On July 1, 2014, Black Canyon Hydro, LLC filed an application for a 
successive preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal 
Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Black Canyon 
Pumped Storage Project (project) to be located at the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation's Kortes and Seminoe Dams near Rawlins in Carbon County, 
Wyoming. 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 has five alternatives and would consist of the 
following:

East Reservoir-Kortes Alternative

    (1) The existing Kortes Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 45-foot-high, 8,724-foot-long earthen or rockfill East Reservoir 
embankment; (3) a new artificial, lined East Reservoir with a storage 
capacity of 9,700-acre-foot; (4) a 3,800-foot-long, 18.7-foot-diameter 
concrete-lined pressure shaft; (5) a 200-foot-long, 22.4-foot-diameter 
concrete-lined tailrace; (6) a 280-foot-long, 70-foot-wide, 120-foot-
high powerhouse; and (7) 0.75-mile-long, 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission 
line to an interconnection point to the Western Area Power 
Administration (WAPA) Miracle Mile-Cheyenne transmission line on the 
Seminoe Reservoir side of the project.

East Reservoir-Seminoe Alternative

    (1) The existing Seminoe Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 45-foot-high, 8,724-foot-long earthen or rockfill East Reservoir 
embankment; (3) a new artificial, lined East Reservoir with a storage 
capacity of 9,700-acre-foot; (4) a 800-foot-long, 20.4-foot-diameter 
unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; (5) a 5,800-foot-long, 
20.4-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure shaft; (6) a 200-foot-long, 
24.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined tailrace; and (7) a 280-foot-long, 70 
foot-wide, 120-foot-high powerhouse. The interconnection point to the 
WAPA Miracle Mile-Cheyenne line is adjacent to the powerhouse and a 
transmission line is not required.

North Reservoir-Kortes Alternative

    (1) The existing Kortes Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 45-foot-high, 6,280-foot-long earthen or rockfill North Reservoir 
embankment; (3) a new artificial, lined North Reservoir with a storage 
capacity of 5,322-acre-foot; (4) a 1,400-foot-long, 18.7-foot-diameter 
unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; (5) a 1,960-foot-long, 
18.7-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure tunnel; (6) a 560-foot-long, 
22.4-foot-diameter concrete-lined tailrace; (7) a 250-foot-high, 60-
foot-wide, 120-foot-high powerhouse; and (8) a 1-mile-long, 230-kV 
transmission line to an interconnection point of the WAPA Miracle Mile-
Cheyenne transmission line on the Seminoe Reservoir side of the 
project.

North Reservoir-Seminoe Alternative A

    (1) The existing Seminoe Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 45-foot-high, 6,280-foot-long earthen or rockfill North Reservoir 
embankment; (3) a new artificial, lined North Reservoir with a storage 
capacity of 5,322-acre-foot; (4) a 1,400-foot-long, 20.4-foot-diameter 
unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; (5) a 3,780-foot-long, 
20.4-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure tunnel; (6) a 1,307-foot-
long, 24.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined tailrace; (7) an 250-foot-high, 
60-foot-wide, 120-foot-high powerhouse; and (8) a 0.25-mile-long, 230-
kV transmission line interconnecting with the WAPA Miracle Mile-
Cheyenne line.

[[Page 53060]]

North Reservoir-Seminoe Alternative B

    (1) The existing Seminoe Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) the 
new North Reservoir embankment and Reservoir also proposed in North 
Reservoir-Kortes Alternative (items 2 and 3 above); (3) a 1,400-foot-
long, 20.4-foot-diameter unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; 
(4) a 3,780-foot-long, 20.4-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure 
tunnel; (5) a 1,307-foot-long, 24.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined 
tailrace; (6) an 250-foot-high, 60-foot-wide, 120-foot-high semi-
surface powerhouse; and (7) a 0.35-mile-long, 230-kV transmission line 
interconnecting with the WAPA Miracle Mile-Cheyenne line.
    The generating equipment for all of the alternatives will consist 
of three 166-megawatt (MW) adjustable-speed reversible pump-turbines 
with a total generating and pumping capacity of 500 MW. The estimated 
annual generation of the project would be 2,628 gigawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Matthew Shapiro, Black Canyon Hydro, LLC, 
1210 W. Franklin Street, Suite 2, Boise, Idaho 83702; phone: (208) 246-
9925.
    FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott; phone: (202) 502-6480.
    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:[sol][sol]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:[sol][sol]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-14087-001.
    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:[sol][sol]www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number (P-14087) in the docket number 
field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.

    Dated: August 26, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-21168 Filed 9-4-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P