[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6170-6171]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-02847]



[[Page 6170]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12635-002]


Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis, and 
Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and 
Prescriptions; Moriah Hydro Corporation

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Original Major License.
    b. Project No.: 12635-002.
    c. Date Filed: February 13, 2015.
    d. Applicant: Moriah Hydro Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Mineville Energy Storage Project.
    f. Location: The project would be located in an abandoned 
subterranean mine complex \1\ in the town of Moriah, Essex County, New 
York. No federal lands are occupied by project works or located within 
the project boundary.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The existing mine complex is composed of the interconnected 
Old Bed, Bonanza open pit, and Harmony mines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: James A. Besha, President, Moriah Hydro 
Corporation, c/o Albany Engineering Corporation, 5 Washington Square, 
Albany, New York 12205, (518) 456-7712.
    i. FERC Contact: Chris Millard (202) 502-8256 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this 
notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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 
[email protected], (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-12635-002.
    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. This application has been accepted and is now ready for 
environmental analysis.
    l. The proposed project consists of: (1) An upper reservoir located 
within the upper portion of the mine between elevations 495 and 1,095 
feet above mean seal level (msl), with a surface area of 4 acres and a 
storage capacity of 2,448 acre-feet; (2) a lower reservoir in the lower 
portion of the mine between elevations -1,075 and -1,555 feet msl, with 
a surface area of 5.1 acres and a storage capacity of 2,448 acre-feet; 
(3) a 14-foot-diameter and 2,955-foot-long upper reservoir shaft 
connecting the upper reservoir to the high-pressure penstock located 
below the powerhouse chamber floor; (4) a 14-foot-diameter and 2,955-
foot-long lower reservoir shaft connecting the lower reservoir and the 
lower reservoir ventilation tunnel; (5) two 6-foot-diameter emergency 
evacuation shafts located between the powerhouse chamber and the 
electrical equipment chamber; (6) a 25-foot-diameter main shaft 
extending 2, 955 feet from the surface down to the powerhouse chamber; 
(7) 15-foot-diameter high- and low-pressure steel penstocks embedded 
beneath the powerhouse chamber floor; (8) a 320-foot-long by 80-foot-
wide powerhouse chamber, containing 100 reversible pump-turbine units, 
each with a nameplate generating capacity of 2.4 megawatts; (9) a 274-
foot-long by 36-foot-wide underground electrical equipment chamber 
adjacent to the powerhouse chamber; (10) an inclined electrical tunnel 
connecting the electrical equipment chamber to a new 115-kilovolt (kV) 
substation constructed adjacent to an existing single circuit 115-kV 
transmission line located about one horizontal mile from the 
underground powerhouse chamber; and (11) appurtenant facilities. The 
project would operate as a closed-loop system to meet energy demands 
and grid control requirements. The project would have an average annual 
generation of 421 gigawatt-hours (GWh). The average pumping power used 
by the project would be 554 GWh.
    m. 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 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. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
COMMENTS, REPLY COMMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, or 
PRESCRIPTIONS; (2) set forth in the heading the name of the applicant 
and the project number of the application to which the filing responds; 
(3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the person 
submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements 
of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, recommendations, 
terms and conditions or prescriptions must set forth their evidentiary 
basis and otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). 
Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the 
applicant. Each filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all 
persons listed on the service list prepared by the Commission in this 
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    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. Public notice of the filing of the initial development 
application, which has already been given, established the due date for 
filing competing applications or notices of intent. Under the 
Commission's regulations, any competing development application must be 
filed in response to and in compliance with public notice of the 
initial development application. No competing applications or notices 
of intent may be filed in response to this notice.
    o. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of this notice: (1) A copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; 
or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.
    p. Procedural Schedule:

[[Page 6171]]

    The application will be processed according to the following 
revised Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made 
as appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Milestone                           Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filing of comments, recommendations,     April 2018.
 terms and conditions, and
 prescriptions.
Reply comments due.....................  May 2018.
Commission issues Draft EA.............  October 2018.
Comments on Draft EA...................  November 2018.
Commission issues Final EA.............  March 2019.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Dated: February 5, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-02847 Filed 2-12-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


