[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 243 (Thursday, December 17, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81921-81922]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-27799]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 4428-011]


Walden Hydro, LLC; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

    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.: P-4428-011.
    c. Date filed: May 29, 2020.
    d. Applicant: Walden Hydro, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Walden Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Wallkill River, in the Village of Walden, 
Orange County, New York. The project does not occupy any federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Elise Anderson, Senior Environmental 
Permitting Specialist, Walden Hydro, LLC, Enel Green Power North 
America, Inc., 100 Brickstone Square, Suite 300, Andover, MA 01810; 
Phone at (978) 447-4408 or email at Elise.Anderson@enel.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Samantha Pollak at (202) 502-6419, or 
samantha.pollak@ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 11, 2021.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You 
must include your name and contact information at the end of your 
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy. 
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other 
carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 
20852. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-
4428-011.
    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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The Walden Project consists of: (1) A 417-foot-long (consisting 
of 165-foot-long east-west and 252-foot-long north-south portions), V-
shaped concrete dam topped with 2-foot-high flashboards; (2) an 
impoundment with a surface area of 69 acres at the normal pool 
elevation of

[[Page 81922]]

321.3 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (3) an 
intake structure consisting of a 252-foot-long, 56-foot-wide, 18-foot-
deep canal forebay; (4) a 6-foot-wide sluice gate for a minimum flow of 
31 cfs; (5) four 40-foot-long steel penstocks; (6) a 60-foot-long, 45-
foot-wide, 29-foot-high powerhouse containing three horizontal double-
runner Francis turbine units with actual ratings of 740 kilowatts (kW), 
540 kW, and 360 kW, respectively, for a total capacity of 1,640 kW; \1\ 
(7) a 30-foot-long, 37-foot-wide tailrace; (8) a 230-foot-long bypassed 
reach; (9) a 115-foot-long transmission line from the project 
generators to a New York State Electric and Gas Corporation's 4.16-
kilovolt (kV) distribution line; (10) a substation with a single-phase 
13.2-kV transformer; and (11) appurtenant facilities.
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    \1\ In an October 14, 2020 filing, Walden Hydro stated that 
although the total rated capacity of the project as stated in the 
license application is 2,110 kW (980 kW, 630 kW, and 500 kW), the 
maximum achievable output from each turbine/generator unit is lower 
than the stated capacities.
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    m. 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., scoping document) 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-4428). 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, (886) 208-3673 or (202) 
502-8659 (TTY).
    n. 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.
    o. Scoping Process.
    The Commission staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment 
(EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Walden 
Hydroelectric Project in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA). The NEPA document will consider impacts and 
reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
    Commission staff does not propose to conduct any on-site scoping 
meetings at this time. Instead, we are soliciting comments, 
recommendations, and information, on the Scoping Document (SD) issued 
on December 11, 2020.
    Copies of the SD outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the 
NEPA document were distributed to the parties on the Commission's 
mailing list and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of the SD 
may be viewed on the web 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, call 1-866-
208-3676 or for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: December 11, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-27799 Filed 12-16-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


