[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 29 (Monday, February 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9274-9275]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-03010]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2466-037]


Appalachian Power Company; Notice of Application Accepted for 
Filing, Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests, 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.: 2466-037.
    c. Date Filed: February 28, 2022.
    d. Applicant: Appalachian Power Company (Appalachian).
    e. Name of Project: Niagara Hydroelectric Project (Niagara 
Project).
    f. Location: The project is located on the Roanoke River, in 
Roanoke County, Virginia. The project occupies 0.9 acre of federal land 
managed by the National Park Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Jonathan Magalski, Environmental 
Supervisor, Renewables, American Electric Power Service Corporation c/o 
Appalachian Power Company, 1 Riverside Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215; Phone 
at (614) 716-2240 or email at [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Laurie Bauer at (202) 502-6519, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests, comments, 
recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary 
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 
motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary 
terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions using the 
Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 
characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. 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, 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: Niagara Hydroelectric Project (P-2466-037).
    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 has been accepted for filing and is now ready 
for environmental analysis.
    The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a final rule on 
April 20, 2022, revising the regulations under 40 CFR parts 1502, 1507, 
and 1508 that federal agencies use to implement the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (see National Environmental Policy Act 
Implementing Regulations Revisions, 87 FR 23453-70). The final rule 
became effective on May 20, 2022. Commission staff intends to conduct 
its NEPA review in accordance with CEQ's new regulations.
    l. The existing Niagara Project consists of: (1) a 52-foot-high, 
462-foot-long concrete dam, inclusive of the right non-overflow 
abutment (70 feet long) and main spillway (392 feet long) with a crest 
elevation of 885 feet; \1\ (2) a 62-acre impoundment with a gross 
storage capacity of 425 acre-feet at the normal pool elevation of 884.4 
feet; (3) an 11-foot-diameter, 500-foot-long corrugated metal pipe 
penstock with associated entrance and discharge structures; (4) a 
1,500-foot-long bypassed reach; (5) a 92-foot-long, 58-foot-wide, 42-
foot-high concrete powerhouse containing two generating units with a 
total authorized installed capacity of 2.4 megawatts (MW); (6) a 103-
foot-long auxiliary spillway with a crest elevation of 886 feet located 
downstream of the upstream intake; (7) transmission facilities 
consisting of 50-foot-long, 2.4-kilovolt (kV) generator leads and a 3-
phase, 2.4/12-kV, 2,500-kilovolt ampere (kVA) step-up transformer; and 
(8) appurtenant facilities.
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    \1\ All elevations are in National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 
1929.
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    The Niagara Project operates in a run-of-river (ROR) mode under all 
flow conditions, where outflow approximates inflow, with an average 
annual generation of 8,557 megawatt-hours between 2018 and 2021. The 
project is operated to maintain the impoundment at or near elevation 
884.4 feet, which is 0.6 foot below the crest of the main spillway. 
During extreme flow conditions, such as rapidly changing inflows, 
Appalachian operates the project with a minimum impoundment elevation 
of 883.4 feet. Appalachian provides a minimum flow of 50 cubic feet per 
second (cfs), or inflow to the impoundment, whichever is less, below 
the project as measured at the U.S. Geological Survey gage located 
approximately 200 feet downstream of the powerhouse. When the project 
is not generating, this flow is provided over the spillway. Appalachian 
also provides a year-round minimum flow of 8 cfs into the bypassed 
reach through the sluice gate or over the spillway.
    Appalachian proposes to continue operating the project in a ROR 
mode and to increase the existing minimum flow provided to the bypassed 
reach from 8 cfs to 30 cfs to protect water quality and aquatic 
resources in the bypassed reach.
    m. A copy of the application may be viewed on the Commission's 
website 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, contact FERC Online 
Support. 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 [email protected] or call toll-free, (886) 208-3676 or 
TTY, (202) 502-8659.
    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. Anyone may submit comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene 
in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 
18 CFR 385.210, .211, and .214. In determining

[[Page 9275]]

the appropriate action to take, the Commission will consider all 
protests or other comments filed, but only those who file a motion to 
intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules may become a party 
to the proceeding. Any comments, protests, or motions to intervene must 
be received on or before the specified comment date for the particular 
application.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST,'' ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' ``COMMENTS,'' ``REPLY COMMENTS,'' 
``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``PRELIMINARY TERMS AND CONDITIONS,'' or 
``PRELIMINARY FISHWAY 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 protesting or intervening; 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. A copy of any protest or 
motion to intervene must be served upon each representative of the 
applicant specified in the particular application. A copy of all other 
filings in reference to this application must be accompanied by proof 
of service on all persons listed in the service list prepared by the 
Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 
385.2010.
    o. Procedural Schedule:
    The application will be processed according to the following 
schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                 Milestone                           Target date
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Filing of Comments, Recommendations,        April 2023.
 Preliminary Terms and Conditions, and
 Preliminary Fishway Prescriptions.
Filing of Reply Comments..................  May 2023.
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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 this notice.
    q. The 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 comply with 40 CFR 121.5(b), 
including documentation that a pre-filing meeting request was submitted 
to the certifying authority at least 30 days prior to submitting the 
certification request. Please also note that the certification request 
must be sent to the certifying authority and to the Commission 
concurrently.

    Dated: February 7, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-03010 Filed 2-10-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


