Goose River Hydro, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments

Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection:

a. Type of Application: New Minor License.

b. Project No.: 2804-035.

c. Date filed: February 2, 2018.

d. Applicant: Goose River Hydro, Inc.

e. Name of Project: Goose River Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Goose River, in Waldo County, Maine. No federal lands are occupied by the project works or located within the project boundary.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Nicholas Cabral, Goose River Hydro, Inc., 41 Sedgewood Drive, Kennebunk, ME 04043; (207) 604-4394; email—gooseriverhydro@gmail.com.

i. FERC Contact: Julia Kolberg at (202) 502-8261; or email at julia.kolberg@ferc.gov.

j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: October 26, 2018.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file motions to intervene and protests using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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 to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-2804-035.

The Commission's Rules of Practice 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, but is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. The project consists of the following existing facilities:

Swan Lake Dam

(1) a 14-foot-high, 250-foot-long rock masonry gravity dam impounding Swan Lake with a surface area of approximately 1,364 acres at an elevation of 201 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet structure; (3) three 3.5-foot-high, 4-foot-wide manually operated butterfly gates that regulate flow through the inlet structure; (4) two culverts that convey flow under Route 141; and (5) appurtenant facilities.

Mason's Dam

(1) a 15-foot-high, 86-foot-long rock masonry dam impounding a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 1,621 acre-feet at an elevation of 188 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet structure; (3) a manually operated butterfly gate regulating flow from the inlet structure to the penstock; (4) a 3-foot-diameter, 350-foot-long steel penstock; (5) a 266-square-foot concrete powerhouse containing two Kaplan turbines and generating units with a licensed capacity of 100 kW; (6) a 300-foot-long, 12-kilovolt (kV) transmission line; and (7) appurtenant facilities. Mason's Development generates when flows in excess of 5 cfs are available and when an operator is present.

Kelly Dam

(1) a 15-foot-high, 135-foot-long masonry gravity dam impounding a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 200 acre-feet at an elevation of approximately 159 feet above sea level; and (2) three 3-foot-high, 2.5-foot-wide manually operated butterfly gates.

Mill Dam

(1) a 6-foot-tall, 70-foot-wide masonry dam impounding a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 7 acre-feet at an elevation of approximately 128 feet above sea level; (2) a concrete inlet structure; (3) a trash sluice with wooden stop logs; (4) a powerhouse containing a Francis-type turbine and generator unit with a licensed capacity of 75 kW; (5) a 60-foot-wide concrete spillway; and (6) an approximately 100-foot-long, 12-kV transmission line. The penstock used to deliver water to the powerhouse has been removed due to deterioration and subsequent leakage; thus, the powerhouse is not operating.

CMP Dam

(1) a 21-foot-high, 231-foot-long buttress dam impounding a reservoir with a storage capacity of approximately 72 acre-feet at an elevation of approximately 109 feet above sea level; (2) a manually operated low-level water release lift gate; (3) a manually operated lift gate regulating flow to the penstock; (4) a 5-foot-diameter, 1,200-foot-long steel penstock; (5) a 300-square-foot concrete and timber powerhouse with a Kaplan-type turbine and generator unit with a licensed capacity of 200 kW; (6) a 42-foot-long spillway; and (7) an approximately 500-foot-long, 12-kV transmission line. The penstock used to deliver water to the powerhouse is currently out of service due to damage, deterioration, and subsequent leakage; thus, the powerhouse is not operating.

m. A copy of the application is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's website at http://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. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

n. Scoping Process.

The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental assessment (EA) on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. Although our current intent is to prepare an EA, there is a possibility that an environmental impact statement (EIS) may be required. The scoping process will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS.

Scoping Meetings

FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2018.

Time: 9:30 a.m. (EDT).

Place: Fireside Inn & Suites.

Address: 159 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, ME 04915.

Public Scoping Meeting

Date: Tuesday, September 25, 2018.

Time: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).

Place: Fireside Inn & Suites.

Address: 159 Searsport Avenue, Belfast, ME 04915.

Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link (see item m above).

Environmental Site Review

The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental Site Review beginning at 10:00 a.m. on September 25, 2018. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. All participants should meet at the southeast corner of Swan Lake, across the street from Swan Lake Grocery at 979 Swan Lake Avenue, Swanville, ME 04915. All participants are responsible for their own transportation to the site. Anyone with questions about the environmental site review (or needing directions) should contact Nicholas Cabral at gooseriverhydro@gmail.com or at (207) 604-4394.

Objectives

At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.

Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the EA.