80 FR 48092 - Liquid Sun Hydro, LLC; 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 154 (August 11, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 48092]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19694]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 14678-000]


Liquid Sun Hydro, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application 
Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions To Intervene, and 
Competing Applications

    On May 1, 2015, the Liquid Sun Hydro, LLC, 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 Bear Creek 
Hydroelectric Project (Bear Creek Project or project) to be located on 
Bear Creek, near Concrete, Skagit County, Washington. 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 two developments: The Upper 
Bear Creek and the Lower Bear Creek, using some of the existing 
facilities from Puget Sound Power and Light Co.'s Bear Creek Project 
(P-3286) which was surrendered in 1983.

Upper Bear Creek Development

    The Upper Bear Creek development would consist of the following 
existing facilities: (1) A reservoir with a surface area of one acre 
and storage capacity of two acre-feet; (2) a 100-foot-long, 6-foot-high 
diversion with an integrated 30-foot-long, 6-foot-high ungated overflow 
spillway, (3) a powerhouse containing a 250-kilowatt (kW) Francis 
turbine; (4) an 8-foot-wide tailrace; and (5) a total of 1,850 feet of 
access roads. All of these facilities will be renovated or repaired. 
The Upper Bear Creek development would also consist of the following 
new facilities: (1) A 400-foot-long, 36-inch-diameter above-ground 
steel penstock routed through the existing penstock alignment; (2) a 
250-kW generator; (3) a 350-foot-long, 12.5-kilovolt (kV) three-phase 
transmission line interconnecting with the existing Bear Creek Project 
transmission line; and (4) appurtenant facilities. The estimated annual 
generation of the Upper Bear Creek development would be 1.2 gigawatt-
hours (GWh).

Lower Bear Creek Development

    The Lower Bear Creek development would consist of the following 
existing facilities: (1) A reservoir with a surface area of 1.7 acre; 
(2) a 235-foot-long, 24-foot-high diversion structure with an 
integrated 82-foot-long, 24-foot-high ungated overflow spillway; (3) a 
powerhouse containing three 600-kW Pelton turbines; (4) two tailraces; 
and (5) a total of 4,350 feet of access roads. All of these facilities 
will be renovated or repaired. The Lower Bear Creek development would 
also consist of the following new facilities: (1) A 2,800-foot-long, 
36-inch-diameter above-ground steel penstock routed through the 
existing penstock alignment; (2) a 4,000-kW Francis replacing the 
existing three Pelton turbines; (3) a 3.5-mile-long, 12.5-kV three-
phase transmission line interconnecting with the Puget Sound Energy 
transmission lines at Lake Tyree; and (4) appurtenant facilities. The 
estimated annual generation of the Lower Bear Creek development would 
be 15 GWh.
    Both developments would be operated as a run-of-river facilities 
and have no usable storage. The estimated total annual generation of 
the project would be 16.2 GWh.
    Applicant Contact: Mr. Terrance Meyer, Liquid Sun Hydro, LLC, 55753 
State Route 20, P.O. Box 205, Rockport, Washington 98283; phone: (785) 
865-8758.
    FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott; phone: (202) 502-6480.
    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-14678-000.
    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-14678) in the docket number field to access 
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

    Dated: August 5, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-19694 Filed 8-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P