[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 133 (Thursday, July 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37318-37319]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-15057]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 15021-000]


Bard College, New York; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, and 
Terms and Conditions

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Exemption from Licensing.
    b. Project No.: 15021-000.
    c. Date filed: December 23, 2019.
    d. Applicant: Bard College, New York.
    e. Name of Project: Annandale Micro Hydropower Project (Annandale 
Project).
    f. Location: On Saw Kill, a tributary of the Hudson River, in the 
Town of Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York. The project does not 
occupy federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 
1978, 16 U.S.C. 2705, 2708 (2018), amended by the Hydropower Regulatory 
Efficiency Act of 2013, Public Law 113-23, 127 Stat. 493 (2013).
    h. Applicant Contact: Randy Clum, Director, Buildings and Grounds, 
Bard College, 30 Campus Road, Annandale-on-Hudson, NY 12504; and/or 
Joel Herm/Jan Borchert, Current Hydro, Inc., P.O. Box 224, Rhinebeck, 
NY 12572.
    i. FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury, (202) 502-6736 or 
monir.chowdhury@ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, and terms and 
conditions: 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 
comments, recommendations, and terms and conditions 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

[[Page 37319]]

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-15021-000.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners 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 intervener 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 has been accepted and is ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    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 the National Environmental 
Policy Act (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 proposed Annandale 
Project. Commission staff intends to conduct its NEPA review in 
accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. Project Description: The Annandale Project would consist of: (1) 
An existing 240-foot-long dam with a maximum height of 13 feet 
impounding a 3-acre reservoir at a normal pool elevation of 148 feet 
North American Vertical datum of 1988; (2) one new 9-foot-wide, 9-foot-
long, 8-foot-high concrete tank with a spiral internal shape and 
housing a 10-kilowatt gravitational vortex turbine-generator unit; (3) 
a new 60-foot-long, 480-volt underground generator lead connecting the 
turbine-generator unit with an electrical panel that is connected to a 
step-up transformer via a new 10-foot-long, 480-volt underground 
transmission line; (4) a new 50-foot-long, 7.6-kilovolt underground 
transmission line connecting the step-up transformer to the local grid; 
and (5) appurtenant facilities. The project is estimated to generate an 
average of 51 megawatt-hours annually. The applicant proposes to 
operate the project in a run-of-river mode.
    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.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' or ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS;'' (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, and 
terms and conditions 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.
    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.
    n. Public notice of the filing of the initial development 
application, which has already been given, established the due date for 
filing competing applications or notices of intent. Under the 
Commission's regulations, any competing development application must be 
filed in response to and in compliance with public notice of the 
initial development application. No competing applications or notices 
of intent may be filed in response to this notice.
    o. With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with 
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries under section 7 
of the Endangered Species Act and the joint agency regulations 
thereunder at 50 CFR part 402; and NOAA Fisheries under section 305(b) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and 
implementing regulations at 50 CFR 600.920. We are also initiating 
consultation with the New York State Historic Preservation Officer, as 
required by section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, and 
the implementing regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic 
Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    p. Updated procedural schedule and final amendments: The 
application will be processed according to the following procedural 
schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Deadline for Filing Comments,             September 2021.
 Recommendations, and Agency Terms and
 Conditions/Prescriptions.
Deadline for Filing Reply Comments......  October 2021.
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    q. 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: July 9, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-15057 Filed 7-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


