[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 95 (Wednesday, May 19, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27075-27076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-10537]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2790-074]


Boott Hydropower, 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.: 2790-074.
    c. Date Filed: April 30, 2021.
    d. Applicant: Boott Hydropower, LLC (Boott).
    e. Name of Project: Lowell Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The existing project is located on Merrimack River in 
Middlesex County, Massachusetts and Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. 
The project does not occupy any federal land but is located within the 
administrative boundary of the Lowell National Historical Park.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Kevin Webb, Licensing Manager, Boott 
Hydropower, LLC, 670 N Commercial Street, Suite 204, Manchester, NH 
03101; Phone at (978) 935-6039, or email at 
kwebb@centralriverspower.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Amy Chang, (202) 502-8250 or amy.chang@ferc.gov.
    j. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    k. Project Description: The existing Lowell Hydroelectric Project 
consists of: (1) The 1,093-foot-long, 15-foot-high Pawtucket Dam; (2) a 
720-acre impoundment with a normal maximum water surface elevation of 
92.2 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD); (3) the 5.5-
mile-long Northern and Pawtucket Canal System that includes several 
small dams and gatehouses; (4) generating facilities, including: (a) 
One powerhouse facility located on the mainstem of the Merrimack River 
(E. L. Field Powerhouse), with a total authorized installed capacity of 
15.012 MW and a 440-foot-long tailrace to the Merrimack River; and (b) 
four power stations located along the canal system (Hamilton Power 
Station, Assets Power Station, Bridge Street Power Station, and John 
Street Power Station), with a total combined authorized capacity of 
5.152 MW; (5) an approximately 2-mile-

[[Page 27076]]

long, 13.8-kilovolt. submarine cable that connects the project 
generating facilities to the regional electric grid; (6) upstream and 
downstream fish passage facilities; (7) a visitor center; and (8) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The project bypasses approximately two miles of the Merrimack 
River, including a 0.7-mile-long bypassed reach from the Pawtucket Dam 
to the E.L. Field Powerhouse tailrace and an approximately 1.3-mile-
long bypassed reach from the E.L. Field Powerhouse tailrace to the 
confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers.
    The current license requires Boott to release an instantaneous 
minimum flow of 1,990 cfs or inflow, whichever is less, downstream of 
the project. Boott provides the minimum flow through spillage over the 
Pawtucket Dam, discharge from the project turbines, and the fish 
passage facilities.
    In the license application, Boott proposes to remove the four power 
stations located along the canal system (Hamilton Power Station, Assets 
Power Station, Bridge Street Power Station, and John Street Power 
Station) and associated canals and infrastructure from the current 
project boundary, and not to include the four power stations and 
associated canals and infrastructure as part of any new license. The 
proposed project would include the portion of the Northern Canal 
necessary to operate the E.L. Field Powerhouse, and the upper portion 
of the Pawtucket Canal. Boott states that it would ``continue to manage 
the canal structures, water levels and flows using best practices and 
consistent with current agreements with the National Park Service and 
other stakeholders.''
    In the license application, Boott proposes to operate the project 
in run-of-river mode. Boott proposes to provide a minimum flow of 500 
cfs to the bypassed reach via the Pawtucket Dam fish ladder during the 
fish passage season (typically May 1-July 15), and 100 cfs outside of 
the fish passage season. Boott also proposes to replace the existing 
fish lift at the E.L. Field Powerhouse with a fish ladder to pass 
migratory fish from the E.L. Field Powerhouse tailrace to the bypassed 
reach, such that all fish would be passed upstream of the project via 
the existing fish ladder at the Pawtucket Dam. Finally, Boott proposes 
to develop a decommissioning plan for each of the four power stations 
and the canal system within 18 months of license issuance.
    l. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested individuals an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document and the 
full license application via the internet through the Commission's Home 
Page (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-2790). 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 on March 13, 2020. For 
assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll-
free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy of the full license 
application is also available for inspection and reproduction at the 
Pollard Memorial Library, 276 Broadway Street, Lowell, MA 01854, or at 
the Nashua Public Library, 2 Court Street, Nashua, NH 03060.
    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: On June 12, 2020, Commission staff issued a 
revised process plan and schedule that includes milestones and dates 
for the filing and review of Boott's outstanding study reports under 
the Integrated Licensing Process. After Boott completes and files the 
outstanding study reports, Commission staff will issue a revised 
procedural schedule with target dates for the post-filing milestones 
listed below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Milestone                           Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice of Acceptance/Notice of Ready for   TBD.
 Environmental Analysis.
Filing of recommendations, preliminary     TBD.
 terms and conditions, and fishway
 prescriptions.
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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: May 13, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-10537 Filed 5-18-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


