Document ID: FERC-2023-0804-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Settlement Agreement: FirstLight MA Hydro LLC, Northfield Mountain LLC
Posted Date: 2023-06-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 41609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13553]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 1889-085; Project No. 2485-071]

Firstlight MA Hydro LLC; Northfield Mountain LLC; Notice of 
Settlement Agreement and Soliciting Comments

    Take notice that the following settlement agreement has been filed 
with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Settlement Agreement.
    b. Project Nos.: 1889-085 and 2485-071.
    c. Date Filed: June 12, 2023.
    d. Applicant: FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and Northfield Mountain LLC 
(collectively FirstLight).
    e. Name of Projects: Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project and 
Northfield Mountain Pumped Storage Project (collectively, projects).
    f. Location: The existing projects are located on the Connecticut 
River in the counties of Windham, Vermont; Cheshire, New Hampshire; and 
Franklin, Massachusetts. The current project boundary for the Turners 
Falls Project includes the approximately 20-acre Silvio Conte 
Anadromous Fish Laboratory, which is administered by the U.S. 
Geological Survey.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Rule 602 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.602.
    h. Applicant Contact: Alan Douglass, Regulatory Compliance Manager, 
FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and Northfield Mountain LLC, 99 Millers Falls 
Road, Northfield, MA 01360; (413) 659-4416 or 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 502-6131, 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments: July 10, 2023. Reply comments due 
July 25, 2023.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and protests, comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions using the Commission's eFiling system at 
https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit 
brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, 
using the eComment system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You must include your name and contact information 
at the end of your comments. 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, you may submit a 
paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be 
addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly 
D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 
Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should 
include docket numbers P-1889-085 and P-2485-071.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document 
on that resource agency.
    k. FirstLight filed the Settlement Agreement on behalf of itself; 
National Park Service; Massachusetts Department of Conservation and 
Recreation; Franklin Regional Council of Governments; Towns of Erving, 
Gill, Montague, and Northfield, Massachusetts; American Whitewater; 
Appalachian Mountain Club; Crabapple Whitewater, Inc.; New England 
FLOW; Zoar Outdoor; Access Fund; and Western Massachusetts Climbers 
Coalition. The purpose of the Settlement Agreement is to resolve, among 
the signatories, relicensing issues related to protecting and enhancing 
public recreation at the projects. The Settlement Agreement includes 
proposed license articles requiring a Recreation Management Plan (RMP), 
included as part of the Settlement Agreement, and reflects agreement 
among the parties concerning the recreation-related recommendations, 
terms, and conditions to be submitted to the Commission pursuant to 
sections 10(a) of the Federal Power Act. FirstLight requests that the 
Commission approve the RMP and accept and incorporate the license 
articles into any new licenses issued for the projects.
    l. A copy of the Settlement Agreement 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 (i.e., P-1889 and P-2485). 
For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
    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.
    m. The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202)502-6595 or [email protected].

    Dated: June 20, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-13553 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P