2018-21776. Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, LP

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.: 2837-033.

c. Date filed: March 29, 2018.

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

e. Name of Project: Granby Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Oswego River in the town of Fulton in Oswego County, New York. The project does not affect federal lands.

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

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

i. FERC Contact: Allyson Conner, [phone] or [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-2837-033.

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. Project Description

The existing Granby Hydroelectric Project (Granby Project) consists of: (1) An 88-foot-wide reinforced concrete intake structure that includes two bays containing trashracks and fixed-roller, vertical-lift type gates; (2) a 17-foot-wide sluice opening adjacent to the intake structure; (3) a 112-foot-long, 88-foot-wide powerhouse containing two 5.04-megawatt (MW) turbine-generator units, with a total capacity of 10.08 MW; (4) a 3,000-foot-long, 100-foot-wide tailrace; (5) two 4.16-kilovolt, 120-foot-long underground generator leads; (6) a 60-foot-long by 48-foot-wide electrical switchyard; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

The Granby Project is operated in a modified run-of-river mode. The Granby Project and the Fulton Development at Erie's Oswego River Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 2474) are located at opposite ends of the same dam and share a single bypassed reach and reservoir. The flow and impoundment elevation requirements in the Oswego Project license,^[1] which were based on a 2004 Offer of Settlement, affect the Granby Project. The average annual generation at the Granby Project is estimated to be 44,181 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 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 staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Granby Hydroelectric 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 on September 28, 2018.

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: September 28, 2018.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  109 FERC ¶ 62, 141 (2004).