[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 46 (Wednesday, March 10, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11149-11150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5040]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 13526-001]
Bowersock Mills and Power Company; Notice of Application Tendered
for Filing With the Commission; Intent To Waive Stage I and Stage II
Pre-Filing Consultation Requirements and Scoping; Soliciting Additional
Study Requests; and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Licensing
March 3, 2010.
Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Original Major License.
b. Project No.: 13526-001.
c. Date Filed: February 8, 2010.
d. Applicant: Bowersock Mills Power Company (Bowersock).
e. Name of Project: Bowersock Mills and Power Company Expanded
Kansas River Hydropower Project.
f. Location: The project would be located on the Kansas River in
Douglas County, Kansas. The project would not affect Federal lands.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Sarah Hill-Nelson, The Bowersock Mills and
Power Company, P.O. Box 66, Lawrence, Kansas 66044; (785)-766-0884.
i. FERC Contact: Monte TerHaar, (202) 502-6035, or via e-mail at
[email protected].
j. Cooperating agencies: 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 instructions for filing such
requests in item l 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).
k. Pursuant to Section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian 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, Indian 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.
l. Deadline for filing requests for cooperating agency status and
additional studies: April 9, 2010.
All documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18
CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web
site (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ferconline.asp) under the ``e-
Filing'' link. For a simpler method of submitting text only comments,
click on ``Quick Comment''. For assistance, please contact FERC Online
Support at [email protected]; call toll-free at (866) 208-
3676; or, for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission
strongly encourages electronic filing, documents may also be paper-
filed. To paper-file, mail an original and eight copies to: Kimberly D.
Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this
time.
n. Project Description: The existing Bowersock dam and powerhouse
currently operates under an exemption (Project No. 2644) as a small
hydropower project of 5 megawatts (MW) or less. The proposed project
would consist of the existing Bowersock dam and two powerhouses; the
existing powerhouse on the South bank of the Kansas River, and a
proposed powerhouse on the North bank of the Kansas River. The proposed
project would have a total capacity of 6.012 MW and generate an
estimated 33 gigawatt-hours annually. The electricity produced by the
project would be sold to a local utility.
The proposed project would consist of the following:
(1) The existing 665-foot-long, 17-foot-high timber-crib Bowersock
Dam; (2) a 120-foot-long gated spillway with seven gates; (3) raising
the existing flashboards from 4 feet high to 5.5 feet high; (4) an
existing 4.3-mile-long reservoir, having a normal water surface
elevation of 813.5 feet mean sea level; (5) an existing South
powerhouse, containing seven turbine/generator units having an
installed capacity of 2.012 MW; (6) a proposed North powerhouse with
four turbine/generator units, having an
[[Page 11150]]
installed capacity of 4.6 MW; (7) a proposed 20-foot-wide roller gate;
(8) a new intake flume with trashracks; (9) a new 150-foot-long
recreational boat portage located along the north bank of the Kansas
River; (10) a new 765-foot-long, 12-kilovolt (kV) transmission line
connecting to an existing 535-foot-long 2.3-kV transmission line; and
(8) appurtenant facilities.
The project would be operated in a run-of-river mode, where water
levels in the reservoir would be maintained near the top of the flash
boards. To avoid potential flooding of upstream lands, the project
would incorporate a 20-foot-wide roller gate designed to release flows
up to 2,600 cfs. In addition, the flashboards would be designed to
collapse during periods of high inflows when the water surface
elevation rises 6 inches above the top of the flashboards.
o. A copy of the application is available for review at the
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the
Commission's Web site 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. A copy is also available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item (h) above.
You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via e-mail of new filings and
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance,
contact FERC Online Support.
p. With this notice we intend to waive stage I and stage II pre-
filing consultation requirements. On October 6, 2009 Bowersock filed a
pre-application document and request for waiver of stage I and stage II
consultation. As required by sections 5.3(d)(2) of the Commission's
regulations, on September 24, 2009 Bowersock published notice in a
local paper (the Lawrence Daily Journal) of its request to waive
consultation which specified that comments should be filed with the
Commission. The application includes letters from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, both
indicating that there is sufficient information available to make a
recommendation for licensing the project and that no further studies
are necessary. Commission staff reviewed the application and comments
received and determined that Bowersock's application adequately
addresses the issues such that no additional agency consultation is
necessary.
q. With this notice we intend to waive scoping. Based on a review
of the application filed by Bowersock, resource agency consultation
letters, and comments filed to date, Commission staff intends to
prepare a single environmental assessment (EA). The EA will assess the
potential effects of project construction and operation on geology and
soils, aquatic, terrestrial, threatened and endangered species,
recreation and land use, aesthetic, and cultural and historic
resources. Commission staff determined that the issues that need to be
addressed in its EA have been adequately identified during the pre-
filing period for the application, which includes a public meeting and
site visit conducted by Bowersock on August 13, 2009, and no new issues
are likely to be identified through additional scoping.
r. Procedural Schedule: The application will be processed according
to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule
will be made as appropriate.
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Milestone Target date
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Additional study requests and April 9, 2010.
cooperating agency request due.
Notice of Acceptance, Intervenors, April 23, 2010.
and Ready for Environmental Analysis
issued.
Recommendations, preliminary terms & June 22, 2010.
conditions, and fishway
prescriptions due.
Commission issues EA................. August 20, 2010.
Comments on EA due................... September 20, 2010.
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Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-5040 Filed 3-9-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P