[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 52440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22606]



[[Page 52440]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14634-001]


New England Hydropower Company, LLC; Notice of Application 
Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study 
Requests

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Exemption from Licensing.
    b. Project No.: 14634-001.
    c. Date Filed: October 1, 2018.
    d. Applicant: New England Hydropower Company, LLC (NEHC).
    e. Name of Project: Ashton Dam Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Blackstone River, near the Towns of Cumberland 
and Lincoln, Providence County, Rhode Island. No federal or tribal 
lands would be occupied by project works or located within the project 
boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 
1978, 16 U.S.C. 2705, 2708 (2012), amended by the Hydropower Regulatory 
Efficiency Act of 2013, Public Law 113-23, 127 Stat. 493 (2013).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Michael C. Kerr, 100 Cummings Center, 
Suite 451C, Beverly, MA 01915; phone (978) 360-2547 or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: John Ramer, phone: (202) 502-8969 or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating Agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item (l) below. Cooperating agencies should note 
the Commission's policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation 
of the environmental document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC 61,076 
(2001).
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of the Commission's regulations, 
if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes that an 
additional scientific study should be conducted in order to form an 
adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the application on 
its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person must file a 
request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 days from the 
date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of the request on 
the applicant.
    l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for 
cooperating agency status: December 10, 2018.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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-14634-001.
    m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    n. The proposed Ashton Dam Hydroelectric Project would consist of: 
(1) An existing concrete gravity dam that includes: (a) An 
approximately 193-foot-long western spillway section; (b) an 
approximately 57-foot-long middle spillway section with a crest gate 
proposed to be repaired; and (c) a proposed new 58-foot-long eastern 
section with three proposed 12-foot-wide, 8.8-foot-high steel sluice 
gates; (2) an existing 25-acre impoundment with a normal storage 
capacity of 200 acre-feet at an operating elevation of approximately 
73.6 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988; (3) a new 58-foot-wide 
intake canal; (4) a 39-foot-wide, 11-foot-high steel trashrack with 9-
inch clear bar spacing; (5) a new 30-foot-long, 49-foot-wide, 14-foot-
high concrete penstock; (6) a new 53-foot-long, 24-foot-wide, 18-foot-
high concrete powerhouse containing three new 20.4-foot-long, 13.5-
foot-diameter Archimedes Screw turbine-generator units, with a total 
installed capacity of 507 kilowatts, each contained in a new 15-foot-
wide steel trough; (7) a new 120-foot-long tailrace; (8) a new step-up 
transformer and 800-foot-long above-ground transmission line connecting 
the project to the distribution system owned by Narragansett Electric 
Company; (9) a new access road; and (10) appurtenant facilities.
    NEHC proposes to operate the project in a run-of-river mode with an 
estimated annual energy production of approximately 2,130 megawatt-
hours.
    o. 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.
    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.
    p. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will 
be made as appropriate (e.g., if there are no deficiencies and/or 
scoping is waived, the schedule would be shortened).

 
 
 
Issue Deficiency/AIR Letter...............  January 2019
Issue Notice of Acceptance/Ready for        April 2019
 Environmental Analysis.
Issue Notice of the Availability of         August 2019
 Environmental Assessment.
 


    Dated: October 11, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-22606 Filed 10-16-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


