2021-25081. Green Mountain Power Corporation; Notice of Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Motions To Intervene and Protests

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.: 5261-023.

c. Date filed: August 27, 2021.

d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation.

e. Name of Project: Newbury Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Wells River, in the town of Newbury, Orange County, Vermont. The project does not occupy any federal land.

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

h. Applicant Contact: John Greenan, Green Mountain Power Corporation, 2152 Post Road, Rutland, VT 05701; Phone at [phone], or email at [e-mail].

i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer at [phone], or [e-mail] .

j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene and protests: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/​FERCOnline.aspx. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail], [phone] (toll free), or [phone] (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, Room 1A, 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: Newbury Hydroelectric Project (P-5261-023).

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, but is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. The Newbury Project consists of: (1) An 11.4-acre impoundment at a normal water surface elevation of 463.9 feet mean sea level; (2) a 26 foot-high by 90-foot-long concrete gravity dam that includes a 73.3-foot-long spillway topped with 5-foot-high pneumatic crest gates; (3) a seasonally installed, 8-foot-long by 4-foot-wide steel sluice box on the south side of the spillway to provide downstream fish passage; (4) an 11.2-foot-wide, 9-foot-long intake structure with trash racks, connected to a 5-foot-diameter, 435-foot-long underground steel penstock; (5) a powerhouse containing a single 315-kilowatt turbine-generator unit; (6) a second 50-kilowatt turbine-generator unit located outside of the powerhouse approximately 75-feet downstream of the dam along the bypassed reach; (7) a 125-foot-long tailrace; (8) three 150-foot-long generator leads that create a 480 Volt, 3 phase 150-foot-long underground transmission line connected to three pole mounted 167 kilovolt-ampere step-up transformers; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The project creates a 590-foot-long bypassed reach of the Wells River.

The current license requires Green Mountain Power Corporation to: (1) Operate the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release a continuous bypassed reach minimum flow of 50 cubic feet per second (cfs) from April 15 to June 10 and 25 cfs during the remainder of the year; and (3) release a year-round, continuous aesthetic flow of 5 cfs over the dam. The average annual generation of the project is approximately 882 megawatt-hours.

Green Mountain Power Corporation proposes to: (1) Continue operating the project in run-of-river mode; (2) release new bypassed reach minimum flows of 35 cfs from May 15 to October 15 and 30 cfs from October 16 to May 14; (3) release a new aesthetic flow of 10 cfs over the dam from May 15 to October 15 during daytime hours and no aesthetic flow the remainder of the year; and (4) construct a hand-carry access area at the head of the project impoundment for recreational boaters.

m. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register , the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through the Commission's Home Page ( 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. 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 Online Support at [e-mail] or call toll-free, [phone] or TTY, [phone].

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.

n. Anyone may submit a protest or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, 385.211, and 385.214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission will consider all protests 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 protests or motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified deadline date for the particular application.

All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title “PROTEST” or “MOTION TO INTERVENE;” (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. 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.

o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate.

Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments—December 2021

Request Additional Information (if necessary)—February 2021

Issue Scoping Document 2—March 2021

Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis—March 2021

Dated: November 10, 2021.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.