E4-841. New York State Electric & Gas Corporation; Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission, Soliciting Additional Study Requests, and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a Deadline for Submission of Final ...

April 9, 2004.

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

a. Type of Application: New major license.

b. Project No.: P-2738-054.

c. Date Filed: April 5, 2004.

d. Applicant: New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG).

e. Name of Project: Saranac River Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Saranac River, in Clinton County, New York. The project does not occupy Federal lands of the United States.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Carol Howland, New York State Electric & Gas Corporation, Corporate Drive, Kirkwood Industrial Park, P.O. Box 5224, Binghampton, NY, 13902 [phone].

i. FERC Contact: Tom Dean [phone].

j. Cooperating Agencies: We are asking Federal, State, and local agencies and Indian tribes with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation of the environmental document. Agencies who would like to request cooperating status should follow the instructions for filing comments described in item l below. The Commission policy is that entities that cooperate in preparing an environmental document cannot also file a motion to intervene to become a party to the proceeding. 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 a factual basis for 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 after the date of the application filing and serve a copy of the request on the applicant.

l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status: June 4, 2004.

All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

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.

Additional study requests may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) under the “e-Filing” link.

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

n. Project Description: The project consists of the following four developments:

The High Falls Development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 63-foot-high, 274-foot-long concrete gravity dam with spillway topped with 5-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 110-foot-long eastern wingwall and a 320-foot-long western wingwall; (3) a 46-acre reservoir; (3) an 800-foot-long, 19-foot-wide forebay canal; (4) a 11-foot by 12-foot, 3,581-foot-long tunnel; (5) a 10-foot-diameter, 1,280-foot-long penstock; (6) three 6-foot-diameter, 150-foot-long penstocks; (7) a 30-foot-diameter surge tank; (8) a powerhouse containing three generating units with a total installed capacity of 15,000 kW; (9) a 50-foot-long, 6.9-kV transmission line; and (10) other appurtenances.

The Cadyville Development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 50-foot-high, 237-foot-long concrete gravity dam with spillway topped with 2.7-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 200-acre reservoir; (3) a 58-foot-long, 20-foot-wide intake; (4) a 10-foot-diameter, 1,554-foot-long penstock; (5) a powerhouse containing three generating units with a total installed capacity of 5,525 kW; (6) a 110-foot-long, 6.6-kV transmission line; and (7) other appurtenances.

The Mill C Development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 43-foot-high, 202-foot-long stone masonry dam with spillway topped with 2-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 7.9-acre reservoir; (3) a 37-foot-long, 18-foot-wide intake; (4) a 11.5-foot to 10-foot-diameter, 494-foot-long penstock; (5) a 11.1-foot to 10-foot-diameter, 84-foot-long penstocks; (6) one powerhouse containing two generating units with a total installed capacity of 2,250 kW; (7) another powerhouse containing a single generating unit with an installed capacity of 3,800 kW; (8) a 700-foot-long, 6.6-kV transmission line; and (9) other appurtenances.

The Kents Falls Development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 59-foot-high, 172-foot-long concrete gravity dam with spillway topped with 3.5-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 34-acre reservoir; (3) a 29-foot-long, 22-foot-wide intake; (4) a 11-foot-diameter, 2,652-foot-long penstock; (5) three 6-foot-diameter, 16-foot-long penstocks; (6) a 28-foot-diameter surge tank; (7) a powerhouse containing two generating units with a total installed capacity of 12,400 kW; (8) a 390-foot-long, 6.6-kV transmission line; and (9) other appurtenances.

o. A copy of the application is on file with the Commission and is available for public inspection. This filing may also be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link—select “Docket #” and follow the instructions. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll free at [phone] or for TTY, contact [phone]. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

p. You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/​esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. To view upcoming FERC events, go to www.ferc.gov and click on “View Entire Calendar.”

q. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the New York State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as required by section 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.

r. Procedural Schedule and Final Amendments: The application will be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate. The Commission staff proposes to issue one environmental assessment (EA) rather than issue a draft and final EA. Comments, terms and conditions, recommendations, prescriptions, and reply comments, if any, will be addressed in the EA. Staff intends to give at least 30 days for entities to comment on the EA, and will take into consideration all comments received on the EA before final action is taken on the license application.

Issue Acceptance or Deficiency Letter, July 2004

Issue Scoping Document, November 2004

Notice that application is ready for environmental analysis, January 2005

Notice of the availability of the EA, July 2005

Ready for Commission decision on the application, December 2005

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.

Linda Mitry,

Acting Secretary.