
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 5 (Friday, January 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 930-931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-127]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2457-041]


Public Service Company of New Hampshire; Notice of Application 
Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Establishing Procedural 
Schedule for Licensing and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Major License
    b. Project No.: 2457-041
    c. Date Filed: December 18, 2015
    d. Applicant: Public Service Company of New Hampshire (PSNH)
    e. Name of Project: Eastman Falls Hydroelectric Project (Eastman 
Falls Project)
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Pemigewasset 
River in Merrimack and Belknap Counties, New Hampshire. The project 
boundary includes approximately 476 acres of federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)
    h. Applicant Contact: Curtis R. Mooney, Project Manager, Public 
Service Company of New Hampshire, 780 North Commercial Street, P.O. Box 
330, Manchester, NH 03105-0330; Telephone: (603) 744-8855 or 
curtis.mooney@eversource.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Steve Kartalia, (202) 502-6131 or 
stephen.kartalia@ferc.gov.
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. The Project Description: The Eastman Falls Project has a total 
installed capacity of 6.4-megawatts (MW). The project's average annual 
generation is 27,871 megawatt-hours. The power generated by the project 
is sold to PSNH's electrical distribution customers.
    The dam for the Eastman Falls Project is located approximately 1.5 
miles downstream of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) Franklin 
Falls Flood Control Dam (Franklin Falls Dam). While the project 
boundary for the Eastman Falls Project extends through and upstream of 
Franklin Falls Dam, it does not encompass Franklin Falls Dam or any 
Corps facilities.
    The existing project consists of: (1) A 341-foot-long, 37-foot-high 
concrete gravity dam and spillway with a crest elevation of 301 feet 
above mean sea level (msl) that includes: (i) 6-foot-high steel 
flashboards with a crest elevation of 307 feet msl; and (ii) a concrete 
waste gate structure that includes a 16-foot-high, 30-foot-wide steel 
slide gate; (2) a 582-acre, 9-mile-long impoundment, with a normal 
maximum pool elevation of 307 feet msl; (3) a 342-foot-long, 8-foot-
deep floating louver array; (4) generating facility No. 1 that 
includes: (i) A 12.5-foot-high, 15-foot-wide headgate structure with a 
23.75-foot-high, 17-foot-wide trashrack with 3.5-inch clear-bar 
spacing; (ii) a 12.5-foot-high, 12.5-foot-wide, 21-foot-long concrete 
penstock; (iii) a 40-foot-high, 20-foot-wide stop log slot; (iv) a 29-
foot-long, 29-foot-wide, 34-foot-high concrete and masonry powerhouse 
containing a single 1.8-MW turbine-generator unit; and (v) a 23-foot-
wide, 14.5-foot-high, 60-foot-long draft tube; (5) generating facility 
No. 2 facility that includes: (i) An intake structure with a 20-foot-
high, 21-foot-wide headgate with two 12.3-foot-wide, 9.3-foot-high 
trashracks with 3.5-inch clear-bar spacing; (ii) a 20.8-foot-high, 
22.4-foot-wide stop log slot; (iii) a 88-foot-long, 78-foot-wide, 56-
foot-high concrete and masonry powerhouse containing a single 4.6 MW 
turbine-generator unit; (iv) a 23-foot-wide, 14.5-foot-high, 60-foot-
long draft tube; (6) a 100-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt transmission line 
that connects the turbine-generator units to the regional grid; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The Eastman Falls Project operates in a run-of-river mode. The 
existing license (Article 401) requires that the project release a 
continuous minimum flow of 410 cubic feet per second (cfs), or inflow 
(whichever is less). PSNH proposes to continue run-of-river operation 
and to eliminate the requirement to release a minimum flow.
    l. Locations of the Application: A copy of the application is 
available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or 
may be viewed on the Commission's Web site 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. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at 
the address in item (h) above.
    m. 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.
    n. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
preliminary Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be 
made as appropriate.

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            Milestone                           Target date
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Notice of Acceptance/Notice of     February 2016.
 Ready for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations,         April 2016.
 preliminary terms and
 conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
Commission issues Non-Draft        September 2016.
 Environmental Assessment (EA).
Comments on EA...................  October 2016.

[[Page 931]]

 
Modified terms and conditions....  December 2016.
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    o. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
of ready for environmental analysis.

    Dated: January 4, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-127 Filed 1-7-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


