2020-08629. California Department of Water Resources; 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: New Major License.

b. Project No.: 14797-001.

c. Date filed: November 20, 2019.

d. Applicant: California Department of Water Resources.

e. Name of Project: Devil Canyon Project.^[1]

f. Location: Along the East Branch of the California Aqueduct, in San Bernardino County, California. The project occupies 220.98 acres of United States lands administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, as part of the San Bernardino National Forest.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Gwen Knittweis, Chief, Hydropower License Planning and Compliance Office, California Department of Water Resources, P.O. Box 924836, Sacramento, California 94236-0001; [phone]; email—[e-mail].

i. FERC Contact: Kyle Olcott at [phone]; or email at [e-mail].

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

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file motions to intervene and protests 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-14797-001.

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 project consists of: (1) A 249-foot-tall, 2,230-foot-long zoned earth and rockfill dam impounding a 995-acre reservoir; (2) intake structures and two 1.3-mile-long steel penstocks; (3) a powerhouse with four turbine-generating units; (4) a switchyard with four step-up transformers; and (5) appurtenant facilities. The project's estimated annual generation is 836 gigawatt-hours.

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 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. 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.

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—July 2020

Request Additional Information (if necessary)—September 2020

Issue Scoping Document 2—October 2020

Issue notice of ready for environmental analysis—October 2020

Commission issues EA—April 2021

Comments on EA—May 2021

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: April 16, 2020.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  The proposed Devil Canyon Project is currently licensed as part of the South SWP Project (P-2426). The applicant proposes to relicense the Devil Canyon Project separately.