80 FR 42490 - Application for Presidential Permit; ITC Lake Erie Connector Project

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 137 (July 17, 2015)

ITC Lake Erie Connector LLC (ITC Lake Erie) has applied for a Presidential Permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an electric transmission line across the United States border with Canada.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 137 (Friday, July 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42490-42491]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17655]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-412]


Application for Presidential Permit; ITC Lake Erie Connector 
Project

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION:  Notice of application.

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SUMMARY:  ITC Lake Erie Connector LLC (ITC Lake Erie) has applied for a 
Presidential Permit to construct, operate, maintain, and connect an 
electric transmission line across the United States border with Canada.

DATES:  Comments or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before 
August 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES:  Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed as 
follows: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected], Katherine Konieczny (Program Attorney) 
at 202-586-0503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential Permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as 
amended by E.O. 12038.
    On May 29, 2015, ITC Lake Erie filed an application with the Office 
of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the Department of 
Energy (DOE) for a Presidential Permit. ITC Lake Erie has it principal 
place of business in Novi, Michigan. ITC Lake Erie is a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of ITC Lake Erie Holdings LLC, which is, though another 
entity, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITC Holdings Corp.
    ITC Lake Erie proposes to construct and operate the ITC Lake Erie 
Connector Project (the project), a  320 kilovolt (kV) high-
voltage direct current (HVDC) bi-directional electric transmission line 
that would originate Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, and terminate 
in Erie County, Pennsylvania. The proposed project facilities would be 
capable of transmitting up to 1000 megawatts (MW) of power.
    The U.S. portion of the proposed project would cross the U.S.-
Canada border in Lake Erie as a submerged line, buried in the lake bed, 
and would run approximately 35.4 miles before reaching the shore on 
private property, west of Erie Bluffs Park. From the shore, the line 
would be buried underground for approximately 7.1 miles, along mostly 
roadway rights-of-way and terminate at the proposed Erie Converter 
Station. From the Erie Converter Station, a 345 kV alternating current 
(AC) transmission line would run approximately 1,900-3,000 feet 
(depending on final routing) underground and connect into the U.S. grid 
at the existing Erie West Substation owned by Penelec. The total length 
of the Project would be 72.4 miles, with the U.S. portion totaling 
about 42.5 miles.
    The Project would be operated in accordance with the established 
engineering and technical criteria of the Independent System Operator 
of Ontario (IESO) and the PJM Interconnection (PJM). In the U.S., the 
Project would be placed under operational control of PJM.
    Since the restructuring of the electric industry began, resulting 
in the introduction of different types of competitive entities into the 
marketplace, DOE has consistently expressed its policy that cross-
border trade in electric energy should be subject to the same 
principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination that apply 
to transmission in interstate commerce. DOE has stated that policy in 
export authorizations granted to entities requesting authority to 
export over international transmission facilities. Specifically, DOE 
expects transmitting utilities owning border facilities to provide 
access across the border in accordance with the principles of 
comparable open access and non-discrimination contained in the Federal 
Power Act and articulated in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC) Order No. 888 (Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open 
Access Non-Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; 
FERC Stats. & Regs. ]31,036 (1996)), as amended. In furtherance of this 
policy, DOE invites comments on whether it would be appropriate to 
condition any Presidential Permit issued in this proceeding on 
compliance with these open access principles.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at 
the address provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of FERC's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Two copies of each comment 
or motion to intervene should be filed with DOE on or before the date 
listed above.
    Additional copies of such motions to intervene also should be filed 
directly with: Andrew Jamieson, Counsel, ITC Holdings Corp., 27175 
Energy Way, Novi, MI 48377, [email protected] AND John R. 
Staffier, Stunz, Davis & Staffier, P.C., 555 Twelfth Street NW., Suite 
360, Washington, DC 20004, [email protected] AND Ellen S. Young, 
Stunz, Davis & Staffier, P.C., 555 Twelfth Street NW., Suite 360, 
Washington, DC 20004 [email protected].
    Before a Presidential Permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE considers the environmental impacts of the 
proposed project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, determines the project's impact on electric reliability by 
ascertaining whether the proposed project would adversely affect the 
operation of the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and 
contingency conditions, and any other factors that DOE may also 
consider relevant to the public interest. Also, DOE must obtain the 
concurrences of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential Permit application.
    Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, 
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above, or by 
accessing the program Web site at http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2.


[[Page 42491]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 13, 2015.
Christopher A. Lawrence,
Electricity Policy Analyst, National Electricity Delivery Division, 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department 
of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2015-17655 Filed 7-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P