[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 215 (Thursday, November 5, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 70605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-24554]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 11322-000]


Tuolumne Utilities District; Notice of Existing Licensee's 
Failure To File a Notice of Intent To File a Subsequent License 
Application, And Soliciting Notices of Intent To File a License 
Application and Pre-Application Documents

    The current license for Columbia Water Supply Hydroelectric Project 
No. 11322 was issued to Tuolumne Utilities District on August 28, 1995, 
for a term of 30 years, ending July 31, 2025.\1\ The 350-kilowatt (kW) 
project is located near the town of Sonora in Tuolumne County, 
California.
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    \1\ Tuolumne Utilities Dist., 72 FERC 62,178 (1995).
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    The project consists of: (1) The 5-mile-long Columbia Ditch from 
its terminus to the project boundary of the Phoenix Hydroelectric 
Project No. 1061, licensed to Pacific Gas and Electric Company; (2) an 
intake structure on the Columbia Ditch; (3) an 18,700-foot-long steel 
penstock; (4) a powerhouse containing one generating unit with an 
installed capacity of 350 kW; (5) a 500-foot-long tailrace returning 
water to the Bureau of Reclamation's existing New Melones Reservoir; 
(6) a 2,600-foot-long transmission line; and (7) appurtenant 
facilities.
    At least five years before the expiration of a license for a minor 
water power project in which sections 14 and 15 of the Federal Power 
Act were waived, the Commission's regulations require the licensee to 
file with the Commission a notice of intent (NOI) that contains an 
unequivocal statement of the licensee's intention to file or not to 
file an application for a subsequent license, details on the principal 
project works and installed plant capacity, and other information.\2\
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    \2\ 18 CFR 16.19(b) (2020) (citing 18 CFR 16.6(b)).
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    If such a licensee does not inform the Commission that it intends 
to file an application for, in this case, a subsequent license for the 
project, the licensee may not file an application for a subsequent 
license, either individually or in conjunction with an entity or 
entities that are not currently licensees of the project.\3\
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    \3\ 18 CFR 16.24(b).
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    Because the existing license expires on July 31, 2025, the NOI was 
due to be filed no later than the close of business on July 31, 2020. 
Tuolumne Utilities District, the existing licensee for the Columbia 
Water Supply Hydroelectric Project, failed to file an NOI for the 
project by this date.
    Any party interested in filing a license application for the 
Columbia Water Supply Hydroelectric Project must first file an NOI \4\ 
and a pre-application document (PAD) \5\ pursuant to Part 5 of the 
Commission's regulations. Although the integrated licensing process 
(ILP) is the default pre-filing process, section 5.3(b) of the 
Commission's regulations allows a potential license applicant to 
request to use alternative licensing procedures when it files its 
NOI.\6\
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    \4\ 18 CFR 5.5.
    \5\ 18 CFR 5.6.
    \6\ 18 CFR 5.3(b).
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    This notice sets a deadline of 120 days from the date of this 
notice for interested applicants, other than the existing licensee, to 
file NOIs, PADs, and requests to use the traditional licensing process 
or alternative procedures.
    Applications for a subsequent license from potential applicants 
must be filed with the Commission at least 24 months prior to the 
expiration of the existing license.\7\ Because the existing license 
expires on July 31, 2025, applications for license for this project 
must be filed by July 31, 2023.\8\
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    \7\ 18 CFR 16.20.
    \8\ To the extent an interested applicant files an NOI and PAD 
and elects or is required to use the Commission's ILP, a process 
plan will be issued within 180 days of this notice, which 
accelerates the steps of the ILP to allow for filing a subsequent 
license application by the July 31, 2023 deadline.
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    Questions concerning this notice should be directed to Shannon 
Boyle at (202) 502-8417 or shannon.boyle@ferc.gov.

    Dated: October 30, 2020.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-24554 Filed 11-4-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


