South Sutter Water District; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions

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

a. Type of Application: Major, new license.

b. Project No.: P-2997-031.

c. Date filed: July 1, 2019.

d. Applicant: South Sutter Water District.

e. Name of Project: Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: The existing project is located on the Bear River in Yuba, Nevada, and Placer Counties, California. The project, with the proposed project boundary modifications, would occupy a total of 2,674 acres. No federal or tribal lands occur within or adjacent to the project boundary or along the Bear River downstream of the project.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Brad Arnold, General Manager, South Sutter Water District, 2464 Pacific Avenue, Trowbridge, California 95659.

i. FERC Contact: Quinn Emmering, (202) 502-6382, quinn.emmering@ferc.gov.

j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice; reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this notice.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. 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, you may submit a paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-2997-031.

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 and is ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. The existing Camp Far West Hydroelectric Project operates to provide water during the irrigation season, generate power, and meet streamflow requirements for the Bear River. The project includes: (1) A 185-foot-high, 40-foot-wide, 2,070-foot-long, earth-filled main dam; (2) a 45-foot-high, 20-foot-wide, 1,060-foot-long, earth-filled south wing dam; (3) a 25-foot-high, 20-foot-wide, 1,460-foot-long, earth-filled north wing dam; (4) a 15-foot-high, 20-foot-wide, 1,450-foot-long, earth-filled north dike; (5) a 2,020-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of about 104,000 acre-feet at the normal maximum water surface elevation (NMWSE) of 300 feet; (6) an overflow spillway with a maximum design capacity of 106,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) at a reservoir elevation of 320 feet with a 15-foot-wide concrete approach apron, 300-foot-long ungated, ogee-type concrete structure, and a 77-foot-long downstream concrete chute with concrete sidewalls and a 302.5-foot single span steel-truss bridge across the spillway crest; (7) a 1,200-foot-long, unlined, rock channel that carries spill downstream to the Bear River; (8) a 22-foot-high, concrete, power intake tower with openings on three sides protected by steel trashracks; (9) a 25-foot-4-inch-high, concrete, intake tower with openings on three sides, each of which is protected by steel trashracks that receives water for the outlet works; (10) a 760-foot-long, 8-foot-diameter concrete tunnel through the left abutment of the main dam that conveys water from the power intake to the powerhouse; (11) a steel-reinforced, concrete powerhouse with a 6.8-megawatt, vertical-shaft, Francis-type turbine, which discharges to the Bear River at the base of the main dam; (12) a 350-foot-long, 48-inch-diameter steel pipe that conveys water from the intake structure to a valve chamber for the outlet works; (13) a 400-foot-long, 7.5-foot-diameter concrete-lined horseshoe tunnel that connects to the valve chamber to a 48-inch-diameter, Howell Bunger outlet valve with a capacity of 500 cfs that discharges directly into the Bear River; (14) a fenced switchyard adjacent to the powerhouse; (15) two recreation areas with campgrounds, day-use areas, boat ramps, restrooms, and sewage holding ponds; and (16) a recreational water system that includes two pumps in the reservoir that deliver water to a treatment facility that is piped to a 60,000-gallon storage tank to supply water to recreation facilities. The project has no transmission facilities. The estimated average annual generation (2010 to 2017) is 22,637 megawatt-hours.

South Sutter Water District proposes to: (1) Raise the NMWSE of the project reservoir by 5 feet from an elevation of 300 feet to an elevation of 305 feet; (2) raise the crest of the existing spillway from an elevation of 300 feet to an elevation of 305 feet to accommodate the proposed pool raise; (3) replace and restore several recreation facilities; (4) add an existing 0.25-mile road as a primary project road to access the powerhouse and switchyard; and (5) modify the project boundary to account for the removal of the 1.9-mile-long transmission line from the license in 1991, corrections based on current project operation and maintenance, and changes under the category of a contour 20 feet above the 300-feet NMWSE or proximity of 200-horizontal-feet from the 300-foot NMWSE.

m. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through 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 (i.e., P-2997). At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

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, address, and telephone number 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 https://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. A license applicant must file no later than 60 days following the date of issuance of this notice: (1) A copy of the water quality certification; (2) a copy of the request for certification, including proof of the date on which the certifying agency received the request; or (3) evidence of waiver of water quality certification.

o. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according to the following schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made as appropriate.

Deadline for Filing Comments, Recommendations, and Agency Terms and Conditions/Prescriptions—May 17, 2021

Licensee's Reply to REA Comments—June 29, 2021

Commission issues Draft EA—January 2022

Comments on EA—February 2022

Commission issues Final EA—May 2022

Commission issues license order—August 2022