82 FR 58799 - City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Notice of Preliminary Determination of a Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility and Soliciting Comments and Motions To Intervene

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 239 (December 14, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 239 (Thursday, December 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58799-58800]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26924]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CD18-3-000]


City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts; Notice of Preliminary 
Determination of a Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility and 
Soliciting Comments and Motions To Intervene

    On December 1, 2017, the City of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, filed a 
notice of intent to construct a qualifying conduit hydropower facility, 
pursuant to section 30 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), as amended by 
section 4 of the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 (HREA). 
The proposed Narrows Road Pressure Reduction Valve (PRV) Station 
Project would have an installed capacity of up to 10 kilowatts (kW), 
and would be located along an existing municipal water supply line 
within the Narrows Road PRV station near the City of Fitchburg, 
Worcester County, Massachusetts.
    Applicant Contact: Weston & Sampson Engineers, Inc., 100 
International Drive, Suite 152, Portsmouth, NH 03801, Phone No. (603) 
431-3937.
    FERC Contact: Christopher Chaney, Phone No. (202) 502-6778, email: 
[email protected].
    Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility Description: The proposed 
project would consist of: (1) One pump as turbine unit with a nameplate 
capacity of 10 kW located within the existing Narrows Road PRV station; 
and (2) appurtenant facilities. The proposed project would have an 
estimated annual generating capacity of about 65,000 kilowatt-hours.
    A qualifying conduit hydropower facility is one that is determined 
or deemed to meet all of the criteria shown in the table below.

                          Table 1--Criteria for Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility
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           Statutory provision                                  Description                      Satisfies (Y/N)
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FPA 30(a)(3)(A), as amended by HREA......  The conduit the facility uses is a tunnel, canal,                  Y
                                            pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar
                                            manmade water conveyance that is operated for the
                                            distribution of water for agricultural, municipal,
                                            or industrial consumption and not primarily for the
                                            generation of electricity.
FPA 30(a)(3)(C)(i), as amended by HREA...  The facility is constructed, operated, or maintained               Y
                                            for the generation of electric power and uses for
                                            such generation only the hydroelectric potential of
                                            a non-federally owned conduit.
FPA 30(a)(3)(C)(ii), as amended by HREA..  The facility has an installed capacity that does not               Y
                                            exceed 5 megawatts.
FPA 30(a)(3)(C)(iii), as amended by HREA.  On or before August 9, 2013, the facility is not                   Y
                                            licensed, or exempted from the licensing
                                            requirements of Part I of the FPA.
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    Preliminary Determination: The proposed addition of the 
hydroelectric project along the existing municipal water supply line 
will not alter its primary purpose. Therefore, based upon the above 
information and criteria, Commission staff preliminarily determines 
that the proposal satisfies the requirements for a qualifying conduit 
hydropower facility, which is not required to be licensed or exempted 
from licensing.
    Comments and Motions to Intervene: Deadline for filing comments 
contesting whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria is 45 
days from the issuance date of this notice.

[[Page 58800]]

    Deadline for filing motions to intervene is 30 days from the 
issuance date of this notice.
    Anyone may submit comments or a motion to intervene in accordance 
with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 
385.210 and 385.214. Any motions to intervene must be received on or 
before the specified deadline date for the particular proceeding.
    Filing and Service of Responsive Documents: All filings must (1) 
bear in all capital letters the COMMENTS CONTESTING QUALIFICATION FOR A 
CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FACILITY'' or ``MOTION TO INTERVENE, as applicable; 
(2) state in the heading the name of the applicant and the project 
number of the application to which the filing responds; (3) state the 
name, address, and telephone number of the person filing; and (4) 
otherwise comply with the requirements of sections 385.2001 through 
385.2005 of the Commission's regulations.\1\ All comments contesting 
Commission staff's preliminary determination that the facility meets 
the qualifying criteria must set forth their evidentiary basis.
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    \1\ 18 CFR 385.2001-2005 (2017).
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    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
motions to intervene and 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. A copy of all other filings in 
reference to this application 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.
    Locations of Notice of Intent: Copies of the notice of intent can 
be obtained directly from the applicant or such copies can be viewed 
and reproduced at the Commission in its Public Reference Room, Room 2A, 
888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. The filing may also be 
viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp using 
the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number (i.e., CD18-3) in the 
docket number field to access the document. For assistance, call toll-
free 1-866-208-3676 or email [email protected]. For TTY, call 
(202) 502-8659.

    Dated: December 7, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-26924 Filed 12-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P