80 FR 32372 - Virterras Hydro Power, Inc.; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and Competing Applications

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 109 (June 8, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 109 (Monday, June 8, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 32372]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-13903]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14679-000]


Virterras Hydro Power, Inc.; Notice of Preliminary Permit 
Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To 
Intervene, and Competing Applications

    On May 1, 2015, Virterras Hydro Power, Inc., filed an application 
for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power 
Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Silver Creek 
Pumped Storage Project to be located on Silver Creek Reservoir in 
Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The sole purpose of a preliminary 
permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a 
license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does 
not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing 
activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others 
without the owners' express permission.
    The proposed project would consist of the following: (1) A new 
8,000-foot-long, 125- to 175-foot-high roller-compacted concrete or 
rock-filled semi-circular dam and/or dike forming an upper reservoir 
having a surface area of 150 acres and a total storage capacity between 
approximately 8,000 and 10,000 acre-feet at a normal maximum water 
surface elevation between approximately 1,650 and 1,750 feet above mean 
sea level (msl); (2) a lower reservoir encompassing the existing Silver 
Creek Reservoir and neighboring abandoned mines land and having a 
surface area of 100 acres and a total storage capacity of 10,000 acre-
feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation between 1,200 and 
1,300 feet msl; (3) a 3,000-foot-long tunnel connecting the upper and 
lower reservoirs; (4) a powerhouse containing two turbine units with a 
total rated capacity of 250 megawatts; (5) a 2-mile-long transmission 
line connecting to an existing 230 kilovolt (kV) line or a 4000-foot-
long transmission line connecting to an existing 69-kV line; and (6) 
appurtenant facilities. The proposed project would have an annual 
generation of 784,750 megawatt-hours.
    Applicant Contact: Kirk McAfee, Virterras Hydro Power, Inc., 
Glenmaura Professional Center, 72 Glenmaura Blvd., Suite 105, Moosic, 
PA 18057; phone: 707-888-2892.
    FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury; phone: (202) 502-6736.
    Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing 
applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file 
competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. 
Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements 
of 18 CFR 4.36.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing 
applications 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. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-14679-000.
    More information about this project, including a copy of the 
application, can be viewed or printed on the ``eLibrary'' link of 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. 
Enter the docket number (P-14679) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: June 2, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-13903 Filed 6-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P