Public comments requested on environmental issues for Lake Flower Dam project.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

LEGAL NOTICE





UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION




Village of Saranac Lake Project No. 8369-050




NOTICE OF SCOPING PERIOD REQUESTING COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES FOR THE PROPOSED

LAKE FLOWER DAM HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT 




(March 27, 2026)




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




a. Type of Application: Subsequent License




b. Project No.: 8369-050




c. Date Filed : September 30, 2025




d. Applicant: Village of Saranac Lake (Village)




e. Name of Project: Lake Flower Dam Hydroelectric Project




f. Location: On the Saranac River in Franklin and Essex Counties, New York




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




h. Applicant Contact: Bachana Tsiklauri, Village Manager, Village of Saranac Lake, 39 Main Street, Saranac Lake, New York 12983; telephone at (518) 891-4150; email at manager@saranaclakeny.gov 




i. FERC Contact: Arash Barsari, Project Coordinator, Great Lakes Branch, Division of Hydropower Licensing; telephone at (202) 502-6207; email at Arash.JalaliBarsari@ferc.gov




j. The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) will prepare an environmental document that will discuss the environmental effects of relicensing the Weyauwega Hydroelectric Project. The Commission will use this environmental document in its decision-making process to determine whether to issue a new license for the project.




k. This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested agencies regarding the project. This notice is intended to advise all participants as to the potential scope of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) document and to seek additional information pertinent to this analysis. Commission staff does not intend to issue a separate scoping document.




As part of the NEPA review process, the Commission takes into account concerns the public may have about proposals and the environmental effects that could result from its action whenever it considers the issuance of a hydropower license. This gathering of public input is referred to as “scoping.” The main goal of the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the environmental document on the important environmental issues.




l. Scoping Comments: By this notice, the Commission requests written public comments on the scope of issues to address in the environmental document. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please submit your comments so that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on April 27, 2026 .




Comments should focus on the potential environmental effects and reasonable alternatives. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the environmental document. Commission staff will consider all written comments during the preparation of the environmental document.




The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file scoping comments using the Commission’s eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx . Commenters can submit brief comments up to 10,000 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, 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, 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: Lake Flower Dam Hydroelectric Project (P-8369-050).




The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure 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.




m. The application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.




n. Project Description: The project includes a 134-foot-long, 33-foot-high dam that includes a 49-foot-long spillway with a crest elevation of 1,528.0 feet National Geodetic Vertical Dam of 1929 (NGVD 29), two 8-foot-long slide gates, and two 6-foot-long sluice gates with trashracks that have 1.75-inch clear bar spacing. The dam creates an impoundment that has a surface area of 1,455 acres at an elevation of 1,528.67 feet NGVD 29. From the impoundment, water flows through an intake structure that includes two 8.5-foot-long slide gates located on the southern shoreline of the impoundment, approximately 100 feet upstream of the dam. The intake structure includes two trashracks with 1-inch clear bar spacing. From the intake structure, water flows to a powerhouse that contains a 200-kilowatt Kaplan turbine-generator unit. Water discharges from the powerhouse to a tailrace that empties into the Saranac River.




Electricity generated at the powerhouse is transmitted to the electric grid via an underground generator lead line, three 0.48/13.2-kilovolt (kV) step-up transformers, and a 130-foot-long, 13.2-kV overhead transmission line.




Project recreation facilities include: (1) Riverside Park that includes picnic tables and a pavilion; (2) Hydropoint Park that includes a hand-carry boat access site on the shoreline of the impoundment; (3) Beaver Park that includes a hand-carry boat put-in site on the west bank of the Saranac River downstream of the dam; and (4) the River Walk that includes a recreation trail along the Saranac River.




The Village proposes to: (1) continue operating the project in a run-of-river mode such that project outflow approximates inflow to the impoundment and the normal maximum surface elevation of the impoundment is maintained at 1,528.67 feet NGVD 29; (2) continue releasing a minimum flow of 55 cubic feet per second or inflow, whichever is less, as measured immediately downstream of the dam; (3) continue maintaining the project recreation facilities; (4) develop a whitewater park (Boothe River Park) downstream of the dam; and (5) implement an invasive species plan, bat and bald eagle plan, impoundment drawdown plan, and operation and compliance monitoring plan filed with the license application.




o. A copy of the application, with details of the proposed project, can be viewed on the Commission's website at https://www.ferc.gov using the "eLibrary" link. Enter the project’s docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document (P-8369). For assistance, contact FERC at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov , (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-8659 (TTY).




p. NEPA Process and the Environmental Document: Any environmental document issued by the Commission will discuss effects that could occur as a result of the project’s relicensing under the relevant general resource areas, such as:




·

geology and soils;

·

aquatic resources;

·

terrestrial resources;

·

threatened and endangered species;

·

recreation, land use, and aesthetic resources;

·

cultural resources; and

·

developmental resources.




Commission staff will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the project and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid effects on the various resource areas. Your comments will help Commission staff identify and focus on the issues that might have an effect on the human environment and potentially eliminate others from further discussion in the environmental document.




Following this scoping period, Commission staff will determine whether to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EA or EIS will present Commission staff’s independent analysis of the issues. If Commission staff prepares an EA, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment will be issued. The EA may be issued for an allotted public comment period. The Commission would consider timely comments on the EA before making its decision regarding the proposed project. If Commission staff prepares an EIS, a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement will be issued. Staff will then prepare a draft EIS which will be issued for public comment. Commission staff will consider all timely comments re