Document ID: FERC-2011-0326-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing, etc.: Black Canyon Hydro, LLC
Posted Date: 2011-03-08T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12727-12728]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-5212]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14087-000]

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

    On January 26, 2011, Black Canyon Hydro, 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 Black Canyon 
Pumped Storage Project (project) to be located at the U.S. Bureau of 
Reclamation's Kortes and Seminoe Dams, near Rawlins, 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 four alternatives and would consist of the 
following:

East Reservoir-Kortes Alternative

    (1) The existing Kortes Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 50-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, 50-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, 
therefore, a transmission line is not required.

North Reservoir-Kortes Alternative

    (1) The existing Kortes Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 50-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, 16.7-foot-diameter 
unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; (5) a 1,960-foot-long, 
16.7-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure tunnel; (6) a 560-foot-long, 
20.1-foot-diameter concrete-lined tailrace; (7) an 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

    (1) The existing Seminoe Reservoir as the lower reservoir; (2) a 
new, 50-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, 18.2-foot-diameter 
unlined or concrete-lined low-pressure tunnel; (5) a 3,780-foot-long, 
18.2-foot-diameter concrete-lined pressure tunnel; (6) a 1,307-foot-
long, 21.9-foot-diameter concrete-lined tailrace; (7) a 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.
    The generating equipment for the East Reservoir alternatives will 
consist of three 133-megawatt (MW) adjustable-speed reversible pump-
turbines with a total generating capacity of 400 MW. The generating 
equipment for the North Reservoir alternatives will consist of three 
100-MW adjustable-speed reversible pump-turbines with a total 
generating capacity of 300 MW.
    The estimated annual generation of the project would be 2,146.2 
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. Comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and 
competing applications may be filed electronically via the Internet. 
See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's 
Web site 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 or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, 
or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages 
electronic filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, 
mail an original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426.
    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

[[Page 12728]]

http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number 
(P-14087-000) in the docket number field to access the document. For 
assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: March 1, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-5212 Filed 3-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P