80 FR 23534 - Bradley D. Reeves, Kevin Drone; Notice of Termination of Exemption by Implied Surrender and Soliciting Comments, Protests, and Motions To Intervene

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 81 (April 28, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23534-23535]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09751]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 6142-008]


Bradley D. Reeves, Kevin Drone; Notice of Termination of 
Exemption by Implied Surrender and Soliciting Comments, Protests, and 
Motions To Intervene

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric proceeding has been 
initiated by the Commission:
    a. Type of Proceeding: Termination of exemption by implied 
surrender
    b. Project No.: 6142-008
    c. Date Initiated: April 16, 2015
    d. Exemptees: Bradley D. Reeves and Kevin Drone
    e. Name and Location of Project: The Dardanelles Creek 
Hydroelectric Project is located on the Dardanelles and Pond Creeks, in 
Placer County, California, on federal lands managed by the U.S. 
Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Bureau 
of Reclamation (BOR).
    f. Issued Pursuant to: 18 CFR 4.106 (Standard Article 1 of the 
Exemption)
    g. Exemptee Contact Information: Bradley D. Reeves, 6335 Broken Bow 
Court Foresthill, CA 95631, (916) 887-1443, and Kevin Drone, 22234 Todd 
Valley Road Foresthill, CA 95631, (530) 863-3643 Or c/o Sackheim 
Consulting, 5096 Cocoa Palm Way, Fair Oaks, CA 95628, (301) 401-5978.
    h. FERC Contact: M. Joseph Fayyad, (202) 502-8759, 
[email protected].
    i. Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene and protests, 
is 30 days from the issuance date of this notice. The Commission 
strongly encourages electronic filing. All documents may be filed using 
the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 
characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your 
name and contact information at the end of your comments. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. Please include the project number (P-6142-008) on 
any comments, motions to intervene, protests, or recommendations filed.
    j. Description of Project Facilities: (1) A 5-foot-high by 20-foot-
long diversion structure on Dardanelles Creek and a 2-foot-high by 8-
foot-long diversion structure on Pond Creek; (2) a 8-inch-diameter, 
4,000-foot-long conduit from Dardanelles Creek, and a 2-foot-wide, 
2,700-foot-long ditch from Pond Creek; (3) a settling basin, 60-foot-
long, 30-foot-wide, and 8-foot-deep; (4) a 6-inch-diameter, 1,660-foot-
long penstock; (5) a powerhouse with a single Canyon turbine unit rated 
at 224 kilowatts (kW), and connected to a Toshiba induction generator 
rated at 240 kW; and (6) appurtenant facilities.
    k. Description of Proceeding: The exemptee is in violation of 
Standard Article 1 of its exemption, which was granted on October 8, 
1982 (21 FERC ]62,018). Article 1 provides, among other things, that 
the Commission may terminate an exemption if any term or condition of 
the exemption is violated.
    Commission records show The Dardanelles Creek Hydroelectric Project 
has been non-operational since before 2009. The project is located on 
lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of 
Reclamation (BOR) and has ongoing compliance issues with both agencies. 
By letter dated September 26, 2011, BLM copied the Commission on a 
fully executed duplicate original 5-year license (permit to use federal 
lands) to Mr. Bradley Reeves, exemptee for the project. On October 17, 
2011, Mr. Reeves advised the Commission that he had sold the project to 
Mr. Kevin Drone as of September 15, 2011. By letter dated October 28, 
2011, to the new owner, Mr. Drone, the Commission requested the filing 
of documentation he has the rights to use or occupy the federal lands 
affected by the project, and a plan and schedule for making the project 
operational. On March 6, 2012, Mr. Drone filed a letter with the 
Commission stating he declined the exemption transfer until Mr. Reeves 
resolves non-compliance and outstanding debt liability issues. 
Commission, BLM, and BOR staff has tried to contact both parties. The 
parties have shown no movement towards restoring project operation or 
removing abandoned equipment, and no longer claim ownership of the 
project. Last correspondence with Mr. Reeves was returned with no 
forwarding address. The Commission is pursuing an implied surrender of 
the exemption due to noncompliance with its Standard Article 1. Doing 
so will also facilitate the BLM and/or the BOR efforts to pursue 
legally the current and/or the previous owner of the project.
    l. This notice is available for review and reproduction at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room, Room 2A, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. The filing may also be viewed on the Commission's 
Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. Enter the 
Docket number (P-6142-008) excluding the last three digits in the 
docket number field to access the notice. 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, call toll-free 1-866-208-3676 or email 
[email protected]. For TTY, call (202) 502-8659.
    m. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing 
list should so indicate by writing to the Secretary of the Commission.
    n. Comments and Protests--Anyone may submit comments, protests or a 
motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210 and 385.211. In determining the 
appropriate action to take, the Commission will consider all protests 
or other comments 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 comments, protests, or motions to intervene must be 
received on or before the specified deadline date for the particular 
proceeding.
    o. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents--Any filing must (1) 
bear in all capital letters the title ``COMMENTS, PROTEST, or MOTION TO 
INTERVE'',

[[Page 23535]]

as applicable; (2) set forth in the heading the project number of the 
proceeding to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, 
and telephone number of the person commenting or protesting; and (4) 
otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 
385.2005. All comments, protests, or motion to intervene must set forth 
their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the requirements of 
18 CFR 4.34(b). All comments or protests should relate to project works 
which are the subject of the termination of exemption. A copy of any 
protest must be served upon each representative of the exemptee 
specified in item g above. A copy of all other filings in reference to 
this notice must be accompanied by proof of service on all persons 
listed in the service list prepared by the Commission in this 
proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.
    p. Agency Comments--Federal, state, and local agencies are invited 
to file comments on the described proceeding. If any agency does not 
file comments within the time specified for filing comments, it will be 
presumed to have no comments.

    Dated: April 16, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-09751 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P