Peak Hour Power, LLC; Notice of Preliminary Permit Application Accepted for Filing and Soliciting Comments, Motions to Intervene, and Competing Applications

On December 14, 2011, Peak Hour, LLC, filed an application for a preliminary permit, pursuant to section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), proposing to study the feasibility of the Silver Creek Pumped Storage Project to be located on Silver Creek in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The sole purpose of a preliminary permit, if issued, is to grant the permit holder priority to file a license application during the permit term. A preliminary permit does not authorize the permit holder to perform any land-disturbing activities or otherwise enter upon lands or waters owned by others without the owners' express permission.

The proposed project would consist of: (1) A new 8,000-foot-long, 125- to 175-foot-high roller-compacted concrete semi-circular dam forming an upper reservoir having a surface area of 150 acres and a total storage capacity between approximately 6,138 and 9,207 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation between 1,650 and 1,750 feet above mean sea level (msl); (2) a lower reservoir encompassing the existing Silver Creek Reservoir and neighboring abandoned mines land and having a surface area of 100 acres and a total storage capacity of 10,000 acre-feet at a normal maximum water surface elevation between 1,200 and 1,300 feet msl; (3) a 3,000-foot-long tunnel connecting the upper and lower reservoirs; (4) a powerhouse containing two turbine units with a total rated capacity of 250 megawatts; (5) a 230-kilovolt, 2-mile-long transmission line; and (6) appurtenant facilities. The project would have an annual generation of 784,750 megawatt-hours.

Applicant Contact: Paul DiRenzo, Jr., Peak Hour Power, LLC, 1389 Bunting Street, Pottsville, PA 17901; phone: 570-617-7810.

FERC Contact: Monir Chowdhury; phone: (202) 502-6736.

Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, competing applications (without notices of intent), or notices of intent to file competing applications: 60 days from the issuance of this notice. Competing applications and notices of intent must meet the requirements of 18 CFR 4.36. Comments, motions to intervene, notices of intent, and competing applications may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. 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 or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic filing, documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an original and seven copies to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.

More information about this project, including a copy of the application, can be viewed or printed on the “eLibrary” link of the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number (P-14336-000) in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.