[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 234 (Friday, December 4, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 78316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-26712]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2530-057]


Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC; 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.: 2530-057.
    c. Date Filed: November 20, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Brookfield White Pine Hydro LLC (White Pine Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Hiram Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on the Saco River in 
the towns of Hiram, Baldwin, Brownfield, and Denmark within Oxford and 
Cumberland Counties, Maine. The project does not affect federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Luke Anderson, Licensing Manager, Brookfield 
White Pine Hydro LLC, 150 Main Street, Lewiston, ME 04240; Telephone 
(207) 755-5600.
    i. FERC Contact: Dianne Rodman, (202) 502-6077 or 
dianne.rodman@ferc.gov.
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing Hiram Project consists of a 
255-acre, 7.5-mile-long impoundment at normal full pond elevation 349.0 
feet; a 448-foot-long dam located at the top of Great Falls fitted with 
an inflatable dam across the spillway crest; an intake that is integral 
to the dam; a 320-foot-long, 15.5-foot-diameter penstock that 
bifurcates to one 170-foot-long by 10-foot-wide penstock (to Unit 1), 
and one 80-foot-long by 15.5-foot-diameter penstock (to Unit 2); a 
powerhouse containing two turbine-generator units, Unit 1 rated at 2.4 
megawatts (MW) and Unit 2 at 8.1 MW, for a total installed capacity of 
10.5 MW; and appurtenant facilities. The project's transmission 
facilities include: (1) Generator leads; (2) a substation located 
adjacent to, and north of, the powerhouse; and (3) a transmission 
circuit connecting the substation to a non-project switching station. 
The project generates an annual average of 45,142 megawatt-hours.
    White Pine Hydro proposes to continue to: operate the project in a 
run-of-river mode from October 1 through November 15, with head pond 
drawdowns limited to 1 foot or less from the full pond elevation, or 
from the spillway crest when the inflatable dam is down. From November 
16 through September 30, White Pine Hydro proposes to continue to cycle 
daily operations whereby it would turn on and off its generating units 
when inflow is sufficient to meet load demands, resulting in drawdown 
of the head pond by up to 2 feet from the full pond elevation during 
normal project operation, or from the spillway crest when the 
inflatable dam is down. During this period, White Pine Hydro would 
continue to provide a minimum flow of 300 cubic feet per second (cfs), 
of inflow, whichever is less below the powerhouse.
    White Pine Hydro proposes to remove from the current project 
boundary 152 acres of land and 25 acres of water.
    l. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well 
as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) via 
the internet through the Commission's Home Page (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 (P-
2530). At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the 
Commission's Public Reference Room due to the proclamation declaring a 
National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) 
issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC 
at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or 
(202) 502-8659 (TTY).
    m. You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx 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 Ready   January 2021.
 for Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations,             March 2021.
 preliminary terms and conditions,
 and fishway prescriptions.
Reply Comments due...................  May 2021.
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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: November 30, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-26712 Filed 12-3-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


