Document ID: FERC-2014-0979-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Preliminary Permit Applications: Haiwee Ridge Pumped Storage Project
Posted Date: 2014-07-31T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44450-44451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18044]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14286-001]

Haiwee Ridge Pumped Storage Project; Notice of Application for 
Amendment of Preliminary Permit Accepted for Filing and Soliciting 
Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Protests

    On July 2, 2014, Gridflex Energy, LLC on behalf of Haiwee Ridge 
Hydro, LLC (permitee), filed an amendment to its preliminary permit 
issued on March 23, 2012,\1\ for the proposed Haiwee Ridge Pumped 
Storage Project No. 14286 (project) to be located on the South Haiwee 
reservoir, near the Town of Olancha, Inyo County, California.\2\ The 
project would be located almost entirely on land managed by the Bureau 
of Land Management (BLM).
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    \1\ 138 FERC ] 62,298.
    \2\ On July 15, 2014, Gridflex Energy, LLC, on behalf of Haiwee 
Ridge Hydro, LLC, filed a correction to the July 2, 2014 application 
to amend the preliminary permit for the Haiwee Ridge Pumped Storage 
Project.
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    The preliminary permit issued on March 23, 2012, was issued to the 
permittee to maintain priority of application for a license during the 
term of the permit while the permittee conducts investigations and 
secures data necessary to determine the feasibility of the proposed 
project and the alternatives it considers. Each of following 
alternatives considered would consist of a project with a total 
installed capacity of 500 megawatts (MW):
    South Haiwee Alternative A: (1) An upper reservoir formed by a 160-
foot-high by 2,270-foot-long, roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam, two 
saddle dams (a 35-foot-high by 680-foot-long RCC dam and a 65-foot-high 
by 680-foot-long RCC dam) having a total storage capacity of 15,100 
acre-feet and a water surface area of 175 acres at full pool elevation 
of 5,050 feet msl; (2) a lower reservoir formed by the 81-foot-

[[Page 44451]]

high by 1,555-foot-long potentially rebuilt South Haiwee dam having a 
total storage capacity of 46,600 acre-feet and a water surface area of 
660 acres at full pool elevation of 3,756 feet msl; (3) approximately 
13,150 feet of conduit connecting the upper to the lower reservoir in 
three different sections: A 3,000-foot-long by 18.5-foot-diameter, 
concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel, a 7,850-foot-long by 18.5-foot-
diameter concrete-lined pressure shaft, and a 2,300-foot-long by 22.2-
foot diameter tailrace; and (4) an underground powerhouse located 
roughly 1,500 feet east of South Haiwee reservoir at an elevation of 
3,600 feet msl.
    South Haiwee Alternative B: (1) An upper reservoir formed by a 210-
foot-high by 1,320-foot-long, RCC dam and a 25-foot-high by 800-foot-
long RCC saddle dam having a total storage capacity of 14,235 acre-feet 
and a water surface area of 241 acres at full pool elevation of 5,000 
feet msl; (2) a lower reservoir formed by the 91-foot-high by 1,523-
foot-long potentially rebuilt South Haiwee dam having a total storage 
capacity of 46,600 acre-feet and a water surface area of 800 acres at 
full pool elevation of 3,756 feet msl; (3) approximately 14,700 feet of 
conduit connecting the upper to the lower reservoir in three different 
sections: A 5,100-foot-long by 18.9-foot-diameter, concrete-lined low-
pressure tunnel, a 5,600-foot-long by 18.9-foot-diameter concrete-lined 
pressure shaft, and a 4,000-foot-long by 22.7-foot diameter tailrace; 
and (4) an underground powerhouse located roughly 3,300 feet southeast 
of South Haiwee reservoir at an elevation of 3,580 feet msl.
    New Reservoir Alternative: (1) An upper reservoir formed by a 210-
foot-high by 1,320-foot-long, RCC dam having a total storage capacity 
of 14,235 acre-feet and a water surface area of 241 acres at full pool 
elevation of 5,000 feet msl; (2) a lower reservoir formed by a 60-foot-
high by 10,600-foot-long RCC dam having a total storage capacity of 
46,600 acre-feet and a water surface area of 800 acres at full pool 
elevation of 3,756 feet above msl; (3) approximately 12,500 feet of 
conduit connecting the upper to the lower reservoir in three different 
sections: A 3,750-foot-long by 17.5-foot-diameter, concrete-lined low-
pressure tunnel, a 6,300-foot-long by 17.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined 
pressure shaft, and a 2,500-foot-long by 21-foot diameter tailrace; and 
(4) an underground located roughly 8,500 feet southwest of South Haiwee 
reservoir at an elevation of 3,400 feet msl.
    As a result of preliminary investigations, the permittee now 
proposes to make the following changes to their issued permit: (1) 
Eliminate the lower reservoir from the New Reservoir Alternative (item 
2 in the previous paragraph); (2) change the total installed capacity 
of Alternative B from 500 MW to 250 MW; and (3) adjust the project 
boundary to remove the lands associated with the lower reservoir of the 
New Reservoir Alternative and to include additional federal lands, 
managed by the BLM, necessary for the proposed project.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Matthew Shapiro, Haiwee Ridge Hydro, LLC., 
1210 W. Franklin St., Ste. 2, Boise, ID 83702; phone (208) 246-9925.
    FERC Contact: Kenneth Hogan, 202-502-8434 or via email at: 
Kenneth.Hogan@ferc.gov.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene: 60 days from 
the issuance of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments and motions to intervene 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-14286-001.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
amendment 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-14286) in the docket number 
field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.

    Dated: July 25, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-18044 Filed 7-30-14; 8:45 am]
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