rPlus Hydro, LLLP to hold scoping meetings

The proposed White Pine Project would involve constructing the following new facilities: A 5,695-foot-long lined compacted rock-fi ll dam that would create a 4,082-acre-foot upper reservoir that would be lined with an impermeable polyvinylchloride liner to reduce leakage and would be surrounded by a 10-foot-high wildlife and security fence; A 6,629-foot-long compacted earth-fi ll embankment dam that would create a 4,241-acre-foot lower reservoir that would be lined with an impermeable liner to reduce leakage and would be surrounded by a 10-foot-high wildlife and security fence; A water conveyance system connecting the upper and lower reservoirs
that consists of the following structures: An ungated vertical inlet/outlet bellmouth-type structure located at the bottom of the upper reservoir with a 65-foot-deep conical transition to provide fl ow into a 20-foot-diameter, 2,260-foothigh reinforced concrete-lined vertical headrace shaft; A 20-foot-diameter, 240-foot-long horizontal
steel-lined high-pressure headrace tunnel; Three 11-foot-diameter, 134- to- 200-foot-long steel-lined underground penstocks, each with a turbine main inlet valve just upstream of each pump-turbine unit; Three 13-foot-diameter, 352- to- 448-foot-long steel-lined draft tube tunnels of, that transition to concrete-lined tunnels of
unknown length, downstream of the transformer cavern; A 22-foot-diameter, 7,610-foot-long concrete-lined tailrace tunnel that terminates at the inlet/outlet structure; and an approximately 92.5-foot-wide intake/outlet structure with trashracks, designed as a horizontal fan-shaped diffuser, that extends more than 100 feet from
the tailrace tunnel and isolates the lower reservoir from the tailrace tunnel by a pair of 10.5- foot by 25-foot stoplogs in slots extending down from the intake/outlet structure; A 367-footlong, 83-foot-wide, 191-foot-high underground powerhouse cavern containing three 333-megawatt Francis pump-turbines and three generator-
motors; A 300-foot-long, 62-foot-wide, 93-foot-high underground transformer cavern containing three-phase step-up transformers busbar tunnels of unknown dimensions; Three 345-kilovolt underground circuits connecting from the unit transformers in the transformer cavern through a 4,950-foot-long, 24-footdiameter,
D-shaped cable tunnel to the new switchyard; A 400-foot-long by 370-foot-wide fenced outdoor switchyard where the circuits would be combined into a single 345-kilovolt transmission line; A 25-mile-long, 345 kilovolt overhead transmission line that connects to the grid at the existing NV Energy Robinson Summit substation (the point of interconnection); A 5,108-foot-long 30-foot-diameter, D-shaped shotcrete-lined main access tunnel to provide access to the powerhouse and transformer caverns; Six other secondary access tunnels for accessing the transformer and powerhouse caverns (4 tunnels), the tailrace, and the headrace; Access roads, including: 4,872-foot-long lower reservoir perimeter road; A 572-foot-long switchyard access road; A 37,300-foot-long, permanent, dual-lane paved upper reservoir access road; A
6,200-foot-long upper reservoir perimeter road; and an unknown number of access roads for transmission line access; A gated, signed, and signaled railroad crossing for construction vehicle traffic across the active Nevada Northern Railway HiLine track; A permanent, approximately 1,005,000-cubic-yard spoil disposal site; An unknown number of temporary explosives storage facilities of unknown dimensions; and appurtenant facilities. A new, alternative upper reservoir access road is being considered that would utilize an approximately 3.5-mile long, permanent, dual-lane paved roadway that would connect the proposed upper reservoir location to
White Pine County Road 29 (NV-486), through the Duck Creek Range and across Duck Creek. Additionally, a gated, signed, and signaled railroad crossing for construction vehicle traffic across the currently inactive Nevada Northern Railway Mainline track is also being considered, if the track is reactivated.

The project would also utilize existing portions of unknown lengths of U.S. highway 93 and an existing unimproved, unpaved vehicle track as the proposed western access road, and an unknown number of existing access roads and tracks of unknown length to access the proposed transmission line and temporary explosives storage facilities. Additionally, an unknown number of existing power distribution lines would need to be re-routed and upgraded before construction of the project to avoid impacts as a result of lower reservoir construction and to facilitate crossings at the western access road. Further, an unidentified ridge road of unknown length
would need to be rerouted to bypass construction and permanent facilities. NV Energy would also need to design and construct a new bay at the Robinson Summit Substation for the interconnection of the project.

The water used for construction, to initially fill the new lower reservoir, and to provide make-up water would come from a proposed wellfield pumping array composed of four new approximately 800-foot-deep, 14-inch-diameter groundwater wells. Each well would contain a submersible pump capable of continuously producing approximately 1,000 gallons per minute (gpm), resulting in 3,000 gpm for the system and a 1,000-gpm redundant reserve. Each well would connect to an approximately 4-mile-long buried pipeline that would increase from 8-inch to 16-inch-diameter and would connect to the lower reservoir through a buried concrete trench near the crest of the lower reservoir dam. The initial volume of water necessary to fill the lower reservoir is estimated to be 5,000 acre-feet and would be filled over a 12- to 18-month period. It is estimated that the project would need approximately 560 acre-feet of water each year to replenish water lost through seepage, leakage, and evaporation. Once the lower reservoir is filled, approximately 4,082 acre-feet could be cycled between the lower reservoir and upper reservoir each day. A proposed 2,600-foot-deep, 500 gpm well and water conveyance facilities would be constructed near the Duck Creek Range crest and upper reservoir to provide water for construction, ydrogeologic analysis, groundwater monitoring, and initial fill.

The project is designed to generate electricity on demand for up to 8 hours each day at the maximum generating capacity. The estimated annual generation is 2,400 gigawatt-hours per year.

Commission staff will hold three public scoping meetings at the times and locations noted below. All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend any of the meetings to assist Commission staff in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA document. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
TIME: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST
LOCATION: Bristlecone Convention Center
ADDRESS: 150 6th Street, Ely, Nevada 89301

Evening Scoping Meeting

DATE: Tuesday, October 22, 2024
TIME: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. PST
LOCATION: Bristlecone Convention Center
ADDRESS: 150 6th Street, Ely, Nevada 89301

White Pine and Commission staff will conduct an environmental site review of the project beginning at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. All interested individuals, resource agencies, Native American Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend the site review. Attendees are responsible for their own vehicle transport and
should wear appropriate outdoor clothing and footwear. The existing road to the upper reservoir site is steep and rocky; therefore, attendees wishing to see the upper reservoir site should plan on driving their own 4×4, high clearance, off-road capable vehicle to access that particular site. Persons planning on participating in the
site visit must RSVP to Mr. Gregory Copeland of rPlus Energies at gcopeland@rplusenergies.com or by phone at (801) 759-2223, no later than October 16, 2024, to register for the environmental site review. For administrative purposes, rPlus prefers interested persons to RSVP by email.

Scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter and become part of the public record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on FERC’s eLibrary system. If a significant number of people are interested in providing oral comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented
for each commenter.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file scoping comments and motions to intervene and protests 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 https://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, 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, Maryland 2024. All filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: White Pine Pumped Storage Project (P-14851-003).

For rules on filing protests, and more information will be available on www.bristleconetribune.com