On September 10, 2024, PacifiCorp filed an application seeking an exemption from the licensing requirements of Part 1 of the Federal Power Act (conduit exemption, Pioneer Project No. 15373), and an administrative surrender of the license for the Pioneer Project No. 2722. The project is located along the Ogden Canyon Conduit, near Ogden, in Weber County, Utah, and occupies federal lands within the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

PacifiCorp's application seeks a conduit exemption for the hydropower project currently licensed as the Pioneer Project No. 597, and an administrative surrender of the project's license. The proposal does not involve any construction, modification, deconstruction, or ground disturbance. PacifiCorp would continue operating the project as it currently does; however, certain currently licensed facilities would be administratively removed from the Commission's jurisdiction as part of the license surrender ( i.e., an intake structure; a 75-inch-diameter, 5.5-mile-long flowline (Ogden Canyon Conduit); a 27-foot-high by 35-foot-diameter surge tank; a 6-foot-diameter, 4,564-foot-long steel penstock; a 3,000-foot-long tailrace canal; and other appurtenances). Other facilities would remain under the Commission's jurisdiction as part of the conduit exemption ( i.e., a powerhouse containing two generating units with an installed capacity of 5 megawatts and appurtenances).

On May 19, 2025, Commission staff issued public notice of the application and established deadlines for filing comments, motions to intervene, and protests by July 18, 2025, and reply comments by September 2, 2025. On July 1, 2025, the Forest Service filed a notice of intervention.

This notice identifies Commission staff's intention to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) for the project.^[1] Commission staff plans to issue an EA by November 6, 2026. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate. The EA will be issued for a 30-day comment period. All comments filed on the EA will be reviewed by staff and considered in the Commission's final decision on the proceeding.

For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office of Public Participation at (202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov.

Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Christopher Chaney at (202) 502-6778 or christopher.chaney@ferc.gov.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)