82 FR 37856 - KEI (Maine) Power Management (III); Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 155 (August 14, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 155 (Monday, August 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37856-37857]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17090]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2809-034]


KEI (Maine) Power Management (III); Notice Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric license application 
has been filed with the Commission and is available for public 
inspection.
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License.
    b. Project No.: P-2809-034.
    c. Date filed: April 28, 2017.
    d. Applicant: KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC (KEI Power).
    e. Name of Project: American Tissue Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On Cobbosseecontee Stream, in the Town of Gardiner, 
Kennebec County, Maine. There are no Federal or tribal lands within the 
project boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Lewis C. Loon, Operations and Maintenance 
Manager, USA, KEI (Maine) Power Management (III) LLC, 423 Brunswick 
Avenue, Gardiner, ME 04345; (207) 203-3026.
    i. FERC Contact: John Baummer, 202-502-6837, or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 7, 2017.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments 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-2809-034.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice require all intervenors filing 
documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each 
person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an 
intervenor files comments or documents with the Commission relating to 
the merits of an issue that may affect the responsibilities of a 
particular resource agency, they must also serve a copy of the document 
on that resource agency.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing American Tissue Project consists of: (1) A 256-
foot-long, 23-foot-high cut granite, stone and brick masonry dam that 
includes a 61-foot-long west abutment section, a 100-foot-long spillway 
section with 12-inch-high flashboards and a crest elevation of 122.3 
feet mean sea level (msl), and a 95-foot-long east abutment section 
with an intake structure that includes: (a) Trashracks with 2-inch 
clear spacing, (b) a manually-operated headgate that controls flow to 
the penstock, and (c) three low level outlets at an elevation of about 
100 feet msl for releasing minimum flows to the bypassed reach; (2) an 
approximately 5.5-acre, 1,000-foot-long impoundment with a normal 
maximum water surface elevation of 123.3 feet msl; (3) a 280-foot-long, 
7-foot-diameter underground steel penstock; (4) a 37-foot-long, 34-
foot-wide concrete and wooden powerhouse containing a single 1.0-MW 
turbine-generator unit; (5) a 250-foot-long, 12-kilovolt transmission 
line; (6) a tailrace; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    KEI Power operates the project in a run-of-river mode with an 
average annual generation of 5,430 megawatt-hours. KEI Power proposes 
to release year-round minimum flows of 10 cubic feet per second (cfs) 
(or inflow to the impoundment, whichever is less), to the bypassed 
reach to enhance habitat for aquatic organisms and provide downstream 
passage for alewives. KEI Power also proposes to release a minimum flow 
of 52 cfs (or inflow, whichever is less) to the tailrace to protect 
aquatic resources in the downstream reach. In addition, KEI Power 
proposes to upgrade the existing downstream fish passage facility, 
construct and operate a new upstream passage facility for American eel, 
and release 40 cfs through the low level gates of the dam from 
September 1 to November 15 to facilitate downstream eel passage.
    m. A copy of the application is available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' 
link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the 
docket number field to address the document. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support. A copy is available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item (h) above.
    n. 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.

[[Page 37857]]

For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
    o. Scoping Process: The Commission staff intends to prepare a 
single Environmental Assessment (EA) for the American Tissue 
Hydroelectric Project in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.
    Commission staff does not propose to conduct any on-site scoping 
meetings at this time. Instead, we are soliciting comments, 
recommendations, and information, on Scoping Document 1 (SD1) issued on 
August 8, 2017.
    Copies of SD1 outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA 
were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list and 
the applicant's distribution list. Copies of SD1 may be viewed on the 
web at 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. For assistance, call 1-866-208-3676 or 
for TTY, (202) 502-8659.

    Dated: August 8, 2017.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-17090 Filed 8-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P