Document ID: FERC-2012-1044-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Terminations of Licenses by Implied Surrenders: Crown Hydro LLC
Posted Date: 2012-06-20T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 37037]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15039]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 11175-024]

Crown Hydro LLC; Notice of Initiation of Proceeding To Terminate 
License By Implied Surrender and Soliciting Comments and Motions To 
Intervene

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric proceeding has been 
initiated by the Commission:
    a. Types of Proceeding: Termination of License by Implied 
Surrender.
    b. Project No.: 11175-024.
    c. Date Initiated: June 14, 2012.
    d. Licensee: Crown Hydro, LLC.
    e. Name and Location of Project: The 3.4-Megawatt (MW) Crown Mill 
Hydroelectric Project is located at the Upper St Anthony Falls Dam on 
the Mississippi River in the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, 
Minnesota.
    f. Proceeding Initiated Pursuant to: Standard Article 35 of the 
Project's license.
    g. FERC Contact: Mrs. Anumzziatta Purchiaroni, (202) 502-6191, 
anumzziatta.purchiaroni@Ferc.gov.
    h. Deadline for filing comments, protest, and motions to intervene: 
July 19, 2012.
    Comments, Motions to Intervene, and Protests may be filed 
electronically via the Internet. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's Web site under the ``eFiling'' 
link. Include the project number (P-11175-024) on any documents or 
motions filed. To paper-file, an original and eight copies should be 
mailed to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. For more information on how to submit 
these types of filings, please go to the Commission's Web site located 
at http://www.ferc.gov/filing-comments.asp.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person in 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.
    i. Description of Existing Facilities: The licensee has performed 
no on-site construction or ground-disturbing activities.\1\
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    \1\ The licensee met the March 2003 deadline to commence project 
construction by initiating turbine manufacture. See June 19, 2003 
letter from Commission staff.
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    j. Description of Proceeding: The Commission has initiated this 
Termination of License by Implied Surrender proceeding for the Crown 
Mill Hydroelectric Project No. 11175 because over 13 years have passed 
since the issuance of the license, the licensee has failed to complete 
construction of the project as licensed, and its filings fail to show 
it can do so in the near future.
    In 1999 the Commission issued a major license for the 3.4-megawatt 
(MW) Crown Mill Hydroelectric Project. The authorized project includes: 
A reconstructed upper canal and intake tunnel; a powerhouse located at 
the basement of the Crown Roller Mill Building and containing two 
hydropower units with a total capacity of 3.4 MW; an existing tailrace 
tunnel and a reconstructed tailrace canal; and an underground 
transmission line.
    Standard Article 35 of the license for Project No. 11175 provides, 
in pertinent part:

    If the licensee shall cause or suffer essential project property 
to be removed or destroyed or to become unfit for use, without 
adequate replacement, or shall abandon or discontinue good faith 
operation of the project or refuse or neglect to comply with the 
terms of the license and the lawful orders of the Commission mailed 
to the record address of the Licensee or its agent, the Commission 
will deem it to be the intent of the Licensee to surrender the 
license.\2\
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    \2\ Crown Hydro Co., 86 FERC ] 62, 209, at 64,289, incorporating 
by reference form L-6 (Revised Oct. 1975), entitled ``Terms and 
Conditions of License for Unconstructed Major Project Affecting 
Navigable Waters and Lands of the United States,'' 54 F.P.C. 1792 
(1975).

    In 2002, the licensee filed an application to amend the license to 
relocate the powerhouse to the east side of the West River Parkway in 
the footprint of the remains of the Holly and Cataract Mill Foundation 
owned by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (Park Board) because 
it stated it could not secure a lease agreement with the owner of the 
Crown Roller Building and, therefore, it could not construct the 
project as licensed. In 2005, the Commission dismissed the licensee's 
amendment application on the grounds that the licensee could not show 
that it could obtain the necessary property rights from the Park 
Board.\3\
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    \3\ See Crown Hydro LLC, 110 FERC ] 62,121 (2005), order denying 
reh'g and request for abeyance, 111 FERC ] 61,315 (2005).
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    On May 25, 2011, Commission staff sent the licensee a letter 
stating that the staff considered the project to have been abandoned 
and that it was the licensee's intent to surrender the license and 
asking the licensee to show cause why the Commission, based upon these 
conclusions, should not terminate the license. The licensee responded 
on June 23, 2011, stating its intent to file yet another amendment 
application to develop a substantially different project that would be 
located in the headrace canal adjacent to the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (USACE) Lock and Dam and on USACE lands. This response and 
subsequent filings of the licensee indicates that it is in the very 
early stages of preparing a license amendment application that will 
materially alter the project facilities and their locations from those 
as originally licensed. After more than 13 years since the issuance of 
the license, there is still no expectation that the licensee will 
complete construction of the project in the foreseeable future.
    k. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing 
list for this proceeding should so indicate by writing to the Secretary 
of the Commission.
    l. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents: Any filing must bear 
in all capital letters the title ``COMMENTS'', ``PROTEST'', or ``MOTION 
TO INTERVENE'', as applicable, and the Project Number of the proceeding 
(P-11175-024).
    m. Agency Comments--Federal, states, and local agencies are invited 
to file comments on the described proceeding. If an agency does not 
file comments within the time specified for filing comments, it will be 
presumed to have no comments.

    Dated: June 14, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-15039 Filed 6-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P