NOTICE OF FILING WITH FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
Columbia Basin Hydropower (CBHP), hereby provides notice of its filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) of (1) the Notice of Intent (NOI) for the Banks Lake Pumped Storage Project (FERC No. 14329, (2) the Pre-Application Documents (PADs), and (3) a Request to use the Traditional Licensing Process (TLP) under 18 CFR Section 5.3. CBHP is seeking an original license from the Commission for the Project. The proposed Project is located on Banks Lake and Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake, near the town of Grand Coulee, Douglas and Grant counties, Washington. The Project would be located on federal lands owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and will utilize the existing Banks Lake and Roosevelt Lake and North Dam. Additionally, CBHP proposes to construct a new powerhouse, penstock, and transmission line. The Project installed capacity is anticipated to be 500 MW (scalable to 1,000 MW), and the preliminary estimate for average annual generation is 769,600 MWH.
The NOI provides notice of CBHP’s intent to apply for an original license for the Projects. The PAD summarizes relevant and available information regarding the Projects description and operation along with discussions of the potential effects of continued Project operation on environmental and cultural resources. The PAD is available for inspection at 457 1 st Avenue NW Ephrata WA, 98823 and also available at FERC’s
elibrary: http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filings/elibrary.asp.html. (reference docket number P-14329).
The project is a source of clean, renewable energy which lessens the country’s dependence on fossil resources for power generation.
The request to use the TLP is based on the belief that the TLP will be the most
appropriate process due to the following:
• Likelihood of timely license issuance: CBHP believes that using the TLP will provide local, state and federal agencies with a manageable timeframe and assist FERC to issue a timely license for the Project. In addition, because the Project subject to securing both a FERC license and a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Lease of Power Purchase, the TLP provides for more flexibility for coordination in work load and schedule between the two regulatory processes.
• Complexity of the resource issues and level of anticipated controversy: Throughout this pre PAD consultation process, CBHP has not identified resource issues that appear complex or controversial; it is anticipated that the collaborative nature of the TLP process will facilitate resolution of identified issues in a timely manner.
• Relative cost of the traditional process compared to the integrated process: CBHP believes that the use of the TLP will allow completion of a license application in less time and, therefore, for less cost, than use of the Integrated Licensing Process.
• The amount of available information and potential for significant disputes over studies: CBHP believes that there is sufficient information available on many resource areas in the existing environment surrounding the Project, as presented in the PAD. CBHP acknowledges that some resource areas will require further study and will supplement existing information with additional studies developed through consultation with state and federal resource agencies.
• The TLP will allow CBHP to coordinate a duel regulatory process with the Bureau of Reclamation’s Lease of Power Purchase process . The ILP would not lend the flexibility necessary to navigate and coordinate these two regulatory processes. Given all of the factors discussed above, CBHP considers the TLP to be the most appropriate means to obtain an original license for the hydroelectric project.
CBHP invites resource agencies, Indian tribes, and members of the public interested in the proceedings to participate in the relicensing and to comment on this notice and related matters. Mailings on this Project can be sent to Columbia Basin Hydropower, 457 1 st
Avenue NW, (P.O. Box 219) Ephrata WA, 98823, to the attention of Tim Culbertson, Secretary-General Manager
Comments on the use of the TLP are due within 30 days of filing of the request to use the TLP (on or before August 29, 2016). Comments must reference Project number P-14329 and should address, as appropriate to the circumstances of the request, the: (A) Likelihood of timely license issuance; (B) Complexity of the resource issues; (C) Level of anticipated controversy; (D) Relative cost of the traditional process compared to the integrated process; (E) The amount of available information and potential for significant disputes over studies; and (F) Other factors believed by the commenter to be pertinent. Respondents must submit an electronic filing pursuant to Sec. 385.2003(c) at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp or an original and eight
copies of their comments to the Office of Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.
#08015/5241369
Pub: July 28, 2016 & August 3, 2016