[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8278-8279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02643]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14787-004]


Black Canyon Hydro, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for 
Filing With the Commission, Requesting Cooperating Agencies, and 
Soliciting Additional Study Requests

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Filing: Original major license.
    b. Project No.: 14787-004.
    c. Date Filed: January 18, 2023.
    d. Submitted By: rPlus Hydro, LLLP, on behalf of Black Canyon 
Hydro, LLC (Black Canyon Hydro).
    e. Name of Project: Seminoe Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: The project would be located at the Bureau of 
Reclamation's Seminoe Reservoir on the North Platte River in Carbon 
County, Wyoming, approximately 35 miles northeast of Rawlings, Wyoming. 
The project would occupy 820.62 acres of land managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management and 52.89 acres managed by the Bureau of Reclamation.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C.791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Lars Dorr, Program Manager for rPlus Hydro, 
LLLP, Address: Black Canyon Hydro, LLC c/o rPlus Hydro, LLLP, 201 S 
Main St., Suite 2100, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. Phone: (801) 456-
1575; (858) 925-3743.
    i. FERC Contact: Michael Tust at (202) 502-6522; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Determination under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation 
Act (FAST-41): On January 19, 2023, the project sponsor submitted a 
FAST-41 Initiation Notice to the Federal Permitting Improvement 
Steering Council for the proposed project. On February 2, 2023, 
Commission staff determined that the proposed project qualifies as a 
covered project under FAST-41, as is defined in 42 U.S.C. 4370m(6).
    k. Cooperating agencies: Under 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(a)(2)(A), as the 
lead agency, the Commission is required to: (1) identify all federal 
and non-federal agencies and governmental entities likely to have 
financing, environmental review, authorization, or other 
responsibilities with respect to the project; and (2) invite all 
federal agencies under (1) to become a cooperating or participating 
agency, as appropriate. Commission staff have identified the Bureau of 
Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Western Area Power Administration, 
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Wyoming Game & Fish 
Department, and Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office as the 
relevant agencies under (1) above. With this notice, we invite the 
Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Western Area Power 
Administration to be cooperating agencies under (2) above. Under 42 
U.S.C. 4370m-2(a)(3)(A), each invited federal agency above will be 
designated as a cooperating agency unless the agency responds in 
writing to the Commission and the Executive Director of the Federal 
Permitting Improvement Steering Council within 14 days of this notice 
stating that the agency: (1) has no jurisdiction or authority with 
respect to the proposed project; or (2) does not intend to exercise 
authority related to, or submit comments on, the proposed project.
    The federal agencies invited to cooperate above and any other 
federal, state, local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues that wish to 
cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document should 
follow the filing instructions described in item m below. Cooperating 
agencies should note the Commission's policy that agencies that 
cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document cannot also 
intervene. See 94 FERC ] 61,076 (2001).
    l. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Native-American Tribe, or person 
believes that an additional scientific study should be conducted in 
order to form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Native-American Tribe, 
or person must file a request for a study with the Commission not later 
than 60 days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a 
copy of the request on the applicant.
    m. Deadline under 42 U.S.C. 4370m-2(a)(2)(B) for responses from the 
specific federal agencies invited to cooperate in item k: February 16, 
2023.
    Deadline for filing additional study requests and deadline for 
agencies, other than the specific federal agencies invited to cooperate 
in item k, to file requests for cooperating agency status: March 19, 
2023.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 
using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (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. All filings must clearly identify the project name and 
docket number on the first page: Seminoe Pumped Storage Project (P-
14787-004).
    n. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    o. The proposed pumped storage project would use the Bureau of 
Reclamation's Seminoe Reservoir as its lower reservoir and the 
following existing facilities: an approximately 3.35-mile-long 
maintenance road for accessing the upper reservoir site and an 
approximately 0.5-mile-long maintenance road adjacent to the eastern 
shoreline of Seminoe Reservoir that would be used for accessing 
facilities connected to Seminoe Reservoir. Both of these roads are

[[Page 8279]]

currently used to maintain Western Area Power Administration 
transmission lines and would be modified to accommodate larger 
construction vehicles. The project would also involve constructing the 
following new facilities: (1) a 8,498-foot-long roller-compacted 
concrete water-retaining structure that would create a 114-acre upper 
reservoir which would be lined to reduce leakage and would be 
surrounded by a 10-foot-high chain and rail security fence; (2) a 200-
foot-long concrete ogee emergency spillway incorporated into the upper 
reservoir capable of directing emergency spill flows down a stepped 
spillway into a stilling basin and then down a natural gulley and into 
the Bureau of Reclamation's Kortes Reservoir; (3) a water conveyance 
tunnel system connecting the new upper reservoir with Seminoe Reservoir 
that consists of the following structures: (a) a 2,756-foot-long D-
shaped concrete-lined belowground headrace tunnel; (b) a 615-foot-long 
steel aboveground conduit section across a gully that is supported by 
concrete piers; (c) a 30-foot-diameter, 1,225-foot-long concrete-lined 
belowground vertical shaft; (d) a 30-foot-diameter, 123-foot-long 
concrete-lined belowground high pressure tunnel connected to a manifold 
and three separate 17-foot-diameter concrete and steel-lined 
belowground penstocks with lengths of 330 feet, 247 feet, and 165 feet; 
(e) three concrete and steel-lined 17.5-foot-diameter belowground draft 
tube extensions with lengths of 140 feet, 103 feet, and 85 feet 
connected to a manifold; (f) a 36-foot-diameter, 232-foot-long 
belowground surge chamber; and (g) a 31-foot-diameter, 4,070-foot-long 
belowground tailrace tunnel; (4) a 460-foot-long, 80-foot-wide, 142-
foot-high belowground powerhouse containing three 324-megawatt Francis 
pump-turbines and three generator-motors; (5) three busbar galleries 
approximately 170-feet-long leading to a 413-foot-long, 71-foot-wide, 
113-foot-high belowground transformer cavern containing three-phase 
step-up transformers and a switchgear switchyard; (6) two 500-kilovolt 
circuits connecting from the switchgear through a 765-foot-long 
belowground tunnel to a vertical cable shaft that emerges aboveground; 
(7) two separate 30-mile-long, 500-kilovolt overhead transmission lines 
that connect to the grid at the existing Aeolus substation; (8) a new 
40-foot-wide bridge crossing over the Seminoe Dam tailrace on the North 
Platte River that connects Morgan Creek Road on the left side of the 
river to a main access tunnel portal on the right side of the river to 
provide access to the powerhouse; (9) two other secondary tunnels for 
accessing the lower reservoir intake and surge shaft; and (10) 
appurtenant facilities. Additionally, two existing Western Area Power 
Administration transmission lines that currently cross the new upper 
reservoir site would be relocated.
    The water used to initially fill the new upper reservoir and 
provide make-up water would come from Seminoe Reservoir. The initial 
volume of water necessary to fill the upper reservoir is estimated to 
be 13,300 acre-feet and would be filled over a two- to four-week 
period. It is estimated that the project would need approximately 272 
acre-feet of water each year to replenish water lost through 
evaporation and seepage. Once the upper reservoir is filled, 
approximately 10,800 acre-feet could be cycled between the upper 
reservoir and Seminoe Reservoir each day. The project is designed to 
generate electricity on demand for up to 9.7 hours each day at the 
maximum generating capacity. The estimated annual generation is 2,916 
gigawatt-hours per year.
    p. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents 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. For assistance, contact 
FERC at [email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or 
TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    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.
    q. Procedural schedule: Consistent with the requirements in FAST-
41, a procedural schedule for processing the license application will 
be developed in consultation with the relevant agencies and 
subsequently posted to the docket.
    r. 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: February 2, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-02643 Filed 2-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


