2020-00922. Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P.; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.

b. Project No.: 3452-017.

c. Date Filed: June 28, 2019.

d. Applicant: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P.

e. Name of Project: Oak Orchard Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: The project is located adjacent to the New York State Canal Corporation's barge canal in the Village of Medina, Orleans County, New York. The project does not occupy federal land.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Steven P. Murphy, Director, U.S. Licensing, Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P., 33 West 1st Street South, Fulton, NY 13069; [phone]; email—[e-mail]

i. FERC Contact: Laurie Bauer at [phone]; or email at [e-mail]

j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file scoping comments 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 [e-mail], [phone] (toll free), or [phone] (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-3452-017.

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 is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. The Oak Orchard Project consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A concrete gravity dam containing a spillway with a crest elevation of 507.6 feet mean sea level (msl) surmounted by 2-foot-high flashboards and two 5-foot-high, 5-foot-wide flood gates; (2) a forebay with a surface area of 0.25 acre and a storage capacity of 3 acre-feet at the normal pool elevation of 509.6 feet msl; (3) an intake structure with trashracks; (4) a 7-foot-diameter, 85-foot-long welded steel penstock from the intake to the turbine; (5) a 20-foot-long, 43-foot-wide powerhouse containing a single turbine-generator unit with a rated capacity of 350 kilowatts; (6) a tailrace located on the left (west) bank of Oak Orchard Creek; (7) a 55-foot-long underground generation lead; (8) three single-phase 167-kilovolt-ampere pole-mounted power transformers; (9) a 400-foot-long access road; and (10) appurtenant facilities.

Erie operates the project off of flows provided to it from the barge canal. During the navigation season, the Canal Corporation provides approximately 225 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water. Under normal operating conditions, Erie uses approximately 200 cfs of the provided water for project operation and the remaining water (approximately 25 cfs) is discharged directly to Oak Orchard Creek. During the period from 2009 to 2016, the average annual generation was approximately 1,147 megawatt-hours.

m. 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 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. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

n. 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.

o. Scoping Process

The Commission intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for the Oak Orchard Project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

Commission staff does not propose to conduct any on-site scoping meetings at this time. Instead, we are soliciting comments, recommendations, and information, on the Scoping Document 1 (SD1) issued January 14, 2020.

Copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of SD1 may be viewed on the web 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, call 1-866-208-3676 or for TTY, [phone].

Dated: January 14, 2020.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.