2018-22606. New England Hydropower Company, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission 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 Application: Exemption from Licensing.

b. Project No.: 14634-001.

c. Date Filed: October 1, 2018.

d. Applicant: New England Hydropower Company, LLC (NEHC).

e. Name of Project: Ashton Dam Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Blackstone River, near the Towns of Cumberland and Lincoln, Providence County, Rhode Island. No federal or tribal lands would be occupied by project works or located within the project boundary.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C. 2705, 2708 (2012), amended by the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013, Public Law 113-23, 127 Stat. 493 (2013).

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Michael C. Kerr, 100 Cummings Center, Suite 451C, Beverly, MA 01915; phone [phone] or email at [e-mail].

i. FERC Contact: John Ramer, phone: [phone] or email at [e-mail].

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 described 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 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 additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status: December 10, 2018.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​efiling.asp. 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-14634-001.

m. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

n. The proposed Ashton Dam Hydroelectric Project would consist of: (1) An existing concrete gravity dam that includes: (a) An approximately 193-foot-long western spillway section; (b) an approximately 57-foot-long middle spillway section with a crest gate proposed to be repaired; and (c) a proposed new 58-foot-long eastern section with three proposed 12-foot-wide, 8.8-foot-high steel sluice gates; (2) an existing 25-acre impoundment with a normal storage capacity of 200 acre-feet at an operating elevation of approximately 73.6 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988; (3) a new 58-foot-wide intake canal; (4) a 39-foot-wide, 11-foot-high steel trashrack with 9-inch clear bar spacing; (5) a new 30-foot-long, 49-foot-wide, 14-foot-high concrete penstock; (6) a new 53-foot-long, 24-foot-wide, 18-foot-high concrete powerhouse containing three new 20.4-foot-long, 13.5-foot-diameter Archimedes Screw turbine-generator units, with a total installed capacity of 507 kilowatts, each contained in a new 15-foot-wide steel trough; (7) a new 120-foot-long tailrace; (8) a new step-up transformer and 800-foot-long above-ground transmission line connecting the project to the distribution system owned by Narragansett Electric Company; (9) a new access road; and (10) appurtenant facilities.

NEHC proposes to operate the project in a run-of-river mode with an estimated annual energy production of approximately 2,130 megawatt-hours.

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 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.

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.

p. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate (e.g., if there are no deficiencies and/or scoping is waived, the schedule would be shortened).

Issue Deficiency/AIR Letter	January 2019
Issue Notice of Acceptance/Ready for Environmental Analysis	April 2019
Issue Notice of the Availability of Environmental Assessment	August 2019

Dated: October 11, 2018.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.