[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 73 (Tuesday, April 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15611-15612]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07534]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14633-001]


New England Hydropower Company, LLC; Notice of Application 
Accepted for Filing, and Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests

    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.: 14633-001.
    c. Date filed: October 1, 2018.
    d. Applicant: New England Hydropower Company, LLC (NEHC).
    e. Name of Project: Albion 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: Michael C. Kerr, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 
451C, Beverly, MA 01915; (978) 360-2547 or email at 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Patrick Crile, (202) 502-8042, or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests: 60 days 
from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and protests 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-14633-001.
    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 for filing, but is not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time.
    l. The proposed Albion Dam Hydroelectric Project would consist of: 
(1) An approximately 266-foot-long existing concrete gravity dam with 
an ogee spillway; (2) an existing 20.4-acre impoundment with a normal 
storage capacity of 235 acre-feet at an operating elevation of 
approximately 87.0 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988; (3) a 
new 51-foot-long, 45.75-foot-wide intake canal; (4) two new 14-foot-
wide, 10.4-foot-high hydraulically-powered sluice gates, each equipped 
with a 15-foot-wide, 9.7-foot-high steel trashrack with 9-inch clear-
bar spacing; (5) two new 30-foot-long, 15-foot-wide, 9.7-foot-high 
concrete penstocks; (6) a new 50-foot-long, 24-foot-wide, 18-foot-high 
concrete powerhouse containing two 210-kilowatt (kW) Archimedes Screw 
turbine-generator units, for a total installed capacity of 420 kW; (7) 
a new 50-foot-long concrete tailrace; (8) a new step-up transformer and 
500-foot-long, above-ground transmission line connecting the project to 
the distribution system owned by the Narragansett Electric Company; (9) 
a new access road; and (10) appurtenant facilities. The existing Albion 
Dam and appurtenant works are owned by the State of Rhode Island.
    NEHC proposes to operate the project in a run-of-river mode with an 
estimated annual energy production of approximately 2,034 megawatt-
hours.
    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

[[Page 15612]]

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.
    n. Any qualified applicant desiring to file a competing application 
must submit to the Commission, on or before the specified intervention 
deadline date, a competing development application, or a notice of 
intent to file such an application. Submission of a timely notice of 
intent allows an interested person to file the competing development 
application no later than 120 days after the specified intervention 
deadline date. Applications for preliminary permits will not be 
accepted in response to this notice.
    A notice of intent must specify the exact name, business address, 
and telephone number of the prospective applicant, and must include an 
unequivocal statement of intent to submit a development application. A 
notice of intent must be served on the applicant(s) named in this 
public notice.
    Anyone may submit a protest or a motion to intervene in accordance 
with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 
385.210, 385.211, and 385.214. In determining the appropriate action to 
take, the Commission will consider all protests filed, but only those 
who file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's 
Rules may become a party to the proceeding. Any protests or motions to 
intervene must be received on or before the specified deadline date for 
the particular application.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST'', ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE 
COMPETING APPLICATION,'' or ``COMPETING APPLICATION;'' (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 protesting or intervening; 
and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 
through 385.2005. Agencies may obtain copies of the application 
directly from the applicant. A copy of any protest or motion to 
intervene must be served upon each representative of the applicant 
specified in the particular application.
    o. Waiver of Pre-filing Consultation: Based on a review of the 
application, resource agency consultation letters, and comments filed 
to date, we accept the consultation that has occurred on this project 
as satisfying our requirements for the standard 3-stage consultation 
process under 18 CFR 4.38, and are waiving the requirement to conduct 
second stage consultation pursuant to section 4.38(c)(4) of the 
regulations, as requested by NEHC.

    Dated: April 10, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-07534 Filed 4-15-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


