Document

Brown Bear II Hydro, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment

Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 3428-205] On November 29, 2023, Brown Bear II Hydro, Inc. (Brown Bear Hydro) filed an application to relic...

Department of Energy
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  1. [Project No. 3428-205]

On November 29, 2023, Brown Bear II Hydro, Inc. (Brown Bear Hydro) filed an application to relicense the 19.4-megawatt Worumbo Hydroelectric Project No. 3428, located on the Androscoggin River in Androscoggin County, Maine.[1]

In accordance with the Commission's regulations, on January 14, 2026, Commission staff issued a notice that the project was ready for environmental analysis (REA Notice).[2] Based on the information in the record, including comments filed on the REA Notice, staff does not anticipate that licensing the project would constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. Therefore, staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the application to license the Worumbo Project.[3]

The EA will be issued and circulated for review by all interested parties. All comments filed on the EA will be analyzed by staff and considered in the Commission's final licensing decision.

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 .

The application will be processed according to the following schedule. The EA will be issued for a 30-day comment period. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

Milestone Target date
Commission issues EA September 10, 2027.

Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Erin Kimsey at 202-502-8621 or .

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)

Dated: October 2, 2026.

Debbie-Anne A. Reese,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  On July 27, 2026, Brown Bear Hydro amended the license application ( see Accession No. 20260727-5331).

Back to Citation

2.  In notices issued February 10, 2026 and April 23, 2026, staff granted Brown Bear Hydro's request to extend deadlines established in the REA Notice for filing motions to intervene, protests, comments, recommendations, preliminary terms and conditions, and preliminary fishway prescriptions and for Brown Bear Hydro to request water quality certification. Additional time was needed to complete ongoing evaluations of fish passage alternatives at the project in consultation with licensing stakeholders.

Back to Citation

3.  For tracking purposes under the National Environmental Policy Act, the unique identification number for documents relating to this environmental review is EAXX-019-20-000-1785830510.

Back to Citation

[FR Doc. 2026-20578 Filed 10-7-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 64363

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Brown Bear II Hydro, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment,” thefederalregister.org (October 8, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-20578/brown-bear-ii-hydro-inc-notice-of-intent-to-prepare-an-environmental-assessment.