[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 118 (Wednesday, June 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32918-32919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-13090]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14797-001]


California Department of Water Resources; Notice of Application 
Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, 
Recommendations, Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and Preliminary 
Fishway Prescriptions

    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.: 14797-001.
    c. Date filed: November 20, 2019.
    d. Applicant: California Department of Water Resources.
    e. Name of Project: Devil Canyon Project.\1\
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    \1\ The proposed Devil Canyon Project is currently licensed as 
part of the South SWP Project (P-2426). The applicant proposes to 
relicense the Devil Canyon Project separately.
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    f. Location: Along the East Branch of the California Aqueduct, in 
San Bernardino County, California. The project occupies 220.98 acres of 
United States lands administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Forest Service, as part of the San Bernardino National Forest.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Gwen Knittweis, Chief, Hydropower License 
Planning and Compliance Office, California Department of Water 
Resources, P.O. Box 924836, Sacramento, California 94236-0001; (916) 
557-4554; [email protected]
    i. FERC Contact: Kyle Olcott at (202) 502-8963; or email at 
kyle.olcott@ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary

[[Page 32919]]

prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply 
comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
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.. 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, Room 1A, 
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-14797-001.
    Intervenors--those on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding--are reminded that if they file comments with the 
Commission, they must also serve a copy of their filing on each person 
whose name appears on the official service list. Note that the list is 
periodically updated. The official service list can be obtained on the 
Commission's website (https://www.ferc.gov)--click on Documents and 
Filing and click on eService--or call the Office of the Secretary, 
Dockets Branch at (202) 502-8715. In addition, if any party 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 the resource 
agency.
    k. This application has been accepted for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on 
July 15, 2020, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1500-1518 
that federal agencies use to implement NEPA (see Update to the 
Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National 
Environmental Policy Act, 85 FR 43,304). The Final Rule became 
effective on and applies to any NEPA process begun after September 14, 
2020. An agency may also apply the regulations to ongoing activities 
and environmental documents begun before September 14, 2020, which 
includes the Devil Canyon Project. Commission staff intends to conduct 
its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The project consists of: (1) A 249-foot-tall, 2,230-foot-long 
zoned earth and rockfill dam impounding a 995-acre reservoir; (2) 
intake structures and two 1.3-mile-long steel penstocks; (3) a 
powerhouse with four turbine-generating units; (4) a switchyard with 
four step-up transformers; and (5) appurtenant facilities. The 
project's estimated annual generation is 836 gigawatt-hours.
    m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at https://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.
    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.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (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 submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply 
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must 
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the 
application directly from the applicant. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    n. The license applicant must file no later than 60 days following 
the date of issuance of this notice: (1) A copy of the water quality 
certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including 
proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; 
or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification. Please note 
that the certification request must be sent to the certifying authority 
and to the Commission concurrently.
    o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as 
appropriate.

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               Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for Filing Comments,            August 2021.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments.....  September 2021.
Commission Issues NEPA Document........  November 2021.
Comments on NEPA Document Due..........  December 2021.
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    p. 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: June 15, 2021.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-13090 Filed 6-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


