2020-27534. Ampersand Moretown Hydro, LLC; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

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

a. Type of Application: New Minor License.

b. Project No.: 5944-024.

c. Date Filed: November 30, 2020.

d. Applicant: Ampersand Moretown Hydro, LLC (AMH).

e. Name of Project: Moretown #8 Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: The existing project is located on the Mad River in the the town of Moretown, Washington County, Vermont. 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: Sayad Moudachirou, Licensing Manager, Ampersand Moretown Hydro LLC, 717 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 1A, Boston, MA 02111; Telephone [phone].

i. FERC Contact: Maryam Zavareh, [phone] or [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 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 additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status: January 29, 2021. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 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).

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

n. Project Description: The existing Moretown Project consists of a 36-acre impoundment at normal maximum elevation of 524.7 feet above mean sea level (msl); a 159-foot-long overflow spillway dam with a crest elevation of 524.7 msl; a concrete intake structure with a 12.5-foot-wide, 15.1-foot-high trashrack; a 169-foot-long wingwall adjacent to spillway; a 39.4-foot-long, 8.5-foot-diameter steel penstock; a 39.4-foot-long, 19.7-foot-wide concrete powerhouse containing a single 1.25-megawatt turbine-generator unit; a tailrace; a 106-foot-long, 12.5-kilovolt transmission line; and appurtenant facilities. The project generates an annual average of 2,094 megawatt-hours.

AMH proposes to continue to operate the project in an automated run-of-river mode. The project operates within a flow range of 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) (minimum hydraulic capacity of the turbine) and 459 cfs (maximum hydraulic capacity of the turbine).

o. In addition to publishing the full text of this notice in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this notice, as well as other documents in the proceeding (e.g., license application) 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 (P-5944). A copy of the application is typically available to be viewed at the Commission in the Public Reference Room. 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 at [e-mail] or call toll-free, [phone] or [phone] (TTY).

You may also register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/​FERCOnline.aspx 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 Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

Milestone	Target date
Issue Notice of Acceptance	January 2021.
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments	May 2021.
Comments on Scoping Document 1 Due	July 2021.
Issue Scoping Document 2	August 2021.
Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis	August 2021.

q. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice of ready for environmental analysis.

Dated: December 9, 2020.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.