BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Comtu Falls Corporation

Project No. P-7888-024

Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission And Soliciting
Additional Study Requests and Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing
and a Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the
Commission and is available for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Subsequent Minor License
b. Project No.: 7888-024
c. Date filed: June 27, 2024
d. Applicant: Comtu Falls Corporation (Comtu Corporation)
e. Name of Project: Comtu Falls Hydroelectric Project
f. Location: On the Black River in Windsor County, Vermont.
g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a) - 825(r)
h. Applicant Contacts: Celeste Fay, Director Regulatory Affairs, Comtu Falls
Corporation, P.O. Box 7580, Boulder, CO 80306; (413) 262-9466; email at
celeste@gravityrenewables.com; or Jonathon Petrillo, VP Business Development, Comtu
Falls Corporation, P.O. Box 7580, Boulder, CO 80306; (413) 262-9466; email at
jon@gravityrenewables.com.
i. FERC Contact: Nathan Tatum at 202-502-8838, or nathan.tatum@ferc.gov.
j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or
special expertise with respect to environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the
preparation of the environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such
requests described in item l below. Cooperating agencies should note the Commission's
policy that agencies that cooperate in the preparation of the environmental document
cannot also intervene. See, 94 FERC ¶ 61,076 (2001).
k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's regulations, if any
resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes that an additional scientific study
should be conducted in order to form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of

the application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person must file a
request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 days from the date of filing of
the application, and serve a copy of the request on the applicant.
l. Deadline for filing additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency
status: August 26, 2024.
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file additional
study requests and requests for cooperating agency status 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, you may submit a paper copy.
Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to:
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting 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, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. All filings must
clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: Comtu Falls
Project (P-7888-024).
m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.
n. The Comtu Project consists of the following: (1) a 4-foot-high, 128-foot-long
concrete gravity dam (Comtu Falls Dam) topped with 2-foot-high wooden flashboards
with a crest elevation of 394.4 feet North American Vertical Datum of 1988 at the top of
the flashboards; (2) a 0.4-acre impoundment; (3) an intake structure on the west side of
the dam equipped with a trashrack with 1.5-inch clear bar spacing and a slide gate; (4) a
6-foot-high, 6- foot wide, 65-foot-long reinforced concrete penstock; (5) a powerhouse
with one Kaplan turbine generator unit with an authorized installed capacity of
460 kilowatts; (6) a 0.6/4.61 kilovolt (kV), 300 kilo-volt-amperes transformer; (7) a 20foot-long, 4.16-kV transmission line; and (8) appurtenant facilities.
Comtu Corporation operates the project in a run-of-river mode using an automatic
pond level control system to regulate turbine operation, such that outflow from the
project approximates inflow. The current license requires Comtu Corporation to release a
continuous minimum flow of 4 cubic feet per second or inflow, whichever is less, over
the project dam and to release all inflow over the dam when inflow is less than 44 cubic
feet per second. The project had an average annual generation of 2,340 megawatt-hours
between 2011 and 2020.
The current license also requires Comtu Corporation to provide downstream fish
passage at the project from April 1 to June 15. Comtu Corporation operates a
downstream fish passage facility consisting of a 3-foot-wide, 2-foot-deep notch in the
spillway that discharges to a concrete plunge pool.
Comtu Corporation proposes to continue operating the project in a run-of-river
mode. Comtu Corporation also proposes to: (1) increase the current year-round 0.5-inch
aesthetic flow over the spillway to 1 inch or 10 cfs; (2) operate the existing downstream

fish passage facility from April 1 to June 15 and from September 15 to November 15; and
(3) develop a flow management and monitoring plan.
o. Copies of the application 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 (P-7888). For
assistance, contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call
tollfree, (866) 208-3676 or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).
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.
The Commission’s Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful
public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help
members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, Tribal
members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission
processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions,
comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at
(202) 502-6595 or OPP@ferc.gov.
p. Procedural schedule and final amendments: The application will be processed
according to the following preliminary schedule. Revisions to the schedule will be made
as appropriate.
MILESTONE
Issue Deficiency Letter (if necessary)
Request for Additional Information
Issue Acceptance Letter
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments
Request Additional Information (if necessary)
Issue Scoping Document 2 (if necessary)

TARGET DATE
August 2024
August 2024
December 2024
December 2024
January 2025
March 2025

Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission no later
than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice of ready for environmental analysis.
Dated: July 11, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 2024-15732 Filed: 7/16/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 7/17/2024]