2021-17137. Winooski Hydroelectric Company; 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: Subsequent Minor License.

b. Project No.: 6470-008.

c. Date Filed: July 30, 2021.

d. Applicant: Winooski Hydroelectric Company (WHC).

e. Name of Project: Winooski 8 Hydroelectric Project (project).

f. Location: On the Winooski River in Washington County, Vermont. No federal lands are occupied by the project works or located within the project boundary.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Mathew Rubin, General Partner, Winooski Hydroelectric Company, 26 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602; [phone]; or email at [e-mail].

i. FERC Contact: Kristen Sinclair at [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: September 28, 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). 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: Winooski 8 Hydroelectric Project (P-6470-008).

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

n. Project Description: The existing Winooski 8 Hydroelectric Project consists of: (1) A 222.5-foot-long, 26-foot-high concrete gravity dam impounding a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 20 acre-feet at an elevation of 615 feet mean sea level; (2) a 148-foot-long spillway with 4-foot-high flashboards built into the crest of the dam; (3) a 24-foot-long, hydraulically operated crest gate built into the crest of the dam; (4) a 1,100-square-foot forebay located adjacent to the project impoundment; (5) three hydraulically operated trashracks; (6) a 1,550-square-foot powerhouse that contains two semi-Kaplan turbines and one fixed propeller turbine for a total installed capacity of 856 kilowatts; (7) a 100-foot-long tailrace; (8) a 1,000 kilovolt-amp station transformer; (9) a 30-foot long, 13-kilovolt transmission line and (10) appurtenant facilities. The project generates an annual average of 3,507 megawatt-hours. WHC proposes to continue to operate the project in an automated run-of-river mode. WHC also proposes to add 3.6 acres to the existing project boundary to enclose a 4,100-foot-long dirt road currently used by WHC to access the dam and powerhouse and to enclose an existing unimproved site that provides access to the river for boating and fishing activities downstream of the dam.

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-6470). 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 schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate.

Issue Deficiency Letter (if necessary)—August 2021

Request Additional Information (if needed)—September 2021

Issue Notice of Acceptance—December 2021

Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments—January 2022

Issue Scoping Document 2—March 2022

Issue Notice of Ready for Environmental Analysis—March 2022

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: August 5, 2021.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.