Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

a. Type of Application: New Major License.

b. Project No.: 2535-129.

c. Date Filed: October 27, 2023.

d. Applicant: Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc. (Dominion Energy).

e. Name of Project: Stevens Creek Hydroelectric Project (Stevens Creek Project).

f. Location: At the confluence of Stevens Creek and the Savannah River in Edgefield and McCormick Counties, South Carolina, and Columbia County, Georgia. The project occupies approximately 104 acres of federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).

h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Amy Bresnahan, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Inc., 220 Operation Way, Mail ( printed page 64919) Code A221, Cayce, SC 29033; telephone at (803) 217-9965; email at Amy.Bresnahan@dominionenergy.com.

i. FERC Contact: Jeanne Edwards, Project Coordinator, South Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing, telephone at (202) 502-6181; email at jeanne.edwards@ferc.gov.

j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions: by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 6, 2026; reply comments are due by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 20, 2027.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions using the Commission's eFiling system at ferconline.ferc.gov/​FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 10,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at ferconline.ferc.gov/​QuickComment.aspx. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy via the U.S. Postal Service to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie Anne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-2535-129.

The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 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 has been accepted for filing and is ready for environmental analysis.

l. Project Description: The project consists of: (1) a 2,400-acre reservoir with a storage capacity of 23,699-acre-feet at a full pond elevation of 187.5 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum 1929 (NGVD 29); (2) a dam consisting of, from the southwestern (Georgia) shore to the northeastern (South Carolina) shore, (a) a 388-foot-long powerhouse intake, integral with the dam, protected by trashracks with 3.75-inch clear bar spacing, (b) a 102.5-foot-long non-overflow section with a top elevation of 198.54 feet NGVD 29, (c) an 85-foot-wide, 165.5-foot-long inoperable concrete gravity navigation lock, with a lock chamber that is 30-feet-wide, 150-feet-long, and has a 29-foot-lift, located between the powerhouse intake and spillway section, (d) a 1,000-foot-long, 5-foot-high flashboard section from the lock to the center of the spillway with a top elevation of 188.5 feet with the flashboards installed, (e) a 1,000 foot-long, 4-foot-high flashboard section from the center of the spillway to the South Carolina abutment with a top elevation of 187.5 feet with the flashboards installed, and (f) a 97-foot-long non-overflow section; (3) a 388-foot-long, 52-foot-wide, 57-foot-high three-story brick powerhouse, integral with the dam, containing eight vertical Francis generating units, each rated at 3,125 horsepower, a total generating capacity of 17.28 megawatts, and a total hydraulic capacity of 8,300 cubic feet per second; (4) generator leads from the powerhouse to a switchyard located approximately 100 feet from the powerhouse; and (5) ancillary equipment.

The project recreation facilities include: (1) the Stevens Creek recreation site with a parking lot with space for six trailer vehicles, a concrete boat launch, three picnic tables, and a restroom; (2) Fury's Ferry recreation site with a concrete boat ramp, two picnic tables, and gravel parking lot for either five trailer vehicles or 11 standard vehicles; (3) Chota Drive recreation site, with bank fishing, non-motorized boat launch access, and gravel parking lot for two vehicles; and (4) Betty's Branch/Riverside Park with a concrete boat ramp, a courtesy dock, a fishing pier, a canoe/kayak launch, two picnic tables, and a parking lot with four accessible spots, and with the adjacent Riverside Park with additional parking and facilities for baseball, softball, tennis, picnicking, and water-related activities.

Dominion Energy proposes to: (1) continue operating the project as a re-regulating project, mitigating the downstream effects of wide-ranging discharges from the upstream U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) J. Strom Thurmond Hydroelectric Project and maintain normal elevation fluctuations between 183.0 feet NGVD and 187.5 feet NGVD, using available storage; (2) continue updating the project operating plan every 5 years in coordination with the Corps; (3) install dissolved oxygen and temperature sensors at existing U.S. Geological Survey gages; (4) provide upstream American eel passage, conduct American eel siting studies, and develop an adaptive management fish passage plan; (5) continue to conduct annual shoreline surveys and annual funding for fish loss from entrainment; (6) develop an erosion control plan; (7) update the recreation management plan to include the removal of the Chota Drive recreation site from the project; and (8) implement a water quality adaptive management plan and draft historic properties management plan filed with the license application.

m. A copy of the application can be viewed on the Commission's website 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 (P-2535). For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title “COMMENTS,” “REPLY COMMENTS,” “RECOMMENDATIONS,” “TERMS AND CONDITIONS,” or “PRESCRIPTIONS;” (2) set forth in the heading the name of the applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name of the person submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the application directly from the applicant. Each filing must be accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding in accordance with 18 CFR 4.34(b) and 385.2010.

You may also register online at ferconline.ferc.gov/​FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

n. 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.

o. The applicant must file the following by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on December 6, 2026: (1) a copy of the water quality certification for the state of South Carolina; ^[1] (2) a copy of the ( printed page 64920) request for certification, including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; ^[2] or (3) evidence of a waiver of water quality certification.

p. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 6, 2026.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)

Footnotes