# Banister Hydro, Inc.; 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:* New Major License.
b. *Project No.:* 9028-012.
c. *Date filed:* July 26, 2024.
d. *Applicant:* Banister Hydro, Inc. (Banister Hydro).
e. *Name of Project:* Halifax Hydroelectric Project (Halifax Project or project).
f. *Location:* On the Banister River, near the Town of Halifax in Halifax County, Virginia.
g. *Filed Pursuant to:* Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
h. *Applicant Contact:* Sherri Loon, Coordinator of Operations—USA, Banister Hydro, Inc c/o KEI (USA) Power Management Inc., 423 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner, ME 04345; (207) 203-3026; *[email protected]* or Lewis Loon, General Manager, Operations and Maintenance—USA, Banister Hydro, Inc. c/o KEI (USA) Power Management Inc., 423 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner, ME 04345; (207) 203-3027; *[email protected].*
i. *FERC Contact:* Chris Millard at (202) 502-8256, or *[email protected]* .
j. *Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and fishway prescriptions:* on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 4, 2026; reply comments are due on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time June 18, 2026.
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 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 *[email protected],* (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, Maryland 20852. All filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: Halifax Hydroelectric Project (P-9028-012).
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.
k. This application has been accepted and is ready for environmental analysis at this time.
l. The Halifax Hydroelectric Project consists of the following existing facilities: (1) a 682-foot-long and 36-foot-high dam, with a 301-foot-long concrete spillway (consisting of a 24-foot-long fixed weir, twelve 3-foot-wide piers, eleven 20-foot-wide gated bays, and a 21-foot-long fixed weir), a 73-foot-8-inch-long integral powerhouse and intake structure, and a 307-foot-8-inch-long non-overflow structure (consisting of a 57-foot-6-inch-long concrete gravity wall, 203-foot-2-inch-long sheet pile cells with earthfill, and a 47-foot-long earthfill section); (2) an approximately 374-acre impoundment with a gross storage capacity of 3,510 acre-feet at a normal water surface elevation of 351.3 feet mean sea level (MSL); [^1] (3) two 455-kilowatt (kW) turbine-generator units and a 875-kW turbine-generator unit for a total installed capacity of 1,785 kW; (4) a 486-foot-long, 4.16-kilovolt (kV) generator lead connecting to a 4.16/13.2-kV transformer, and a 26-foot-long, 13.2-kV transmission line connecting to the local distribution system; and (5) appurtenant facilities.
[^1] In a revised Exhibit A filed May 22, 2025, Banister Hydro states that elevation data expressed as MSL are equal to that of the National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 at the Halifax Project.
The Halifax Project operates in a run-of-river mode with a continuous minimum flow of 5 cubic feet per second (cfs), or inflow, whichever is less. There is minimal to no available usable storage behind the dam and if river flow is less than 135 cfs, all water is spilled over the dam. The project is typically operated remotely in automatic control mode. Banister Hydro is not proposing any new project facilities or changes to the operation of the project.
From 2019 to 2023, average annual generation at the Halifax Project was 2,403 megawatt-hours.
m. A copy of the application can 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-9028). For assistance, contact FERC Online Support (see item j above).
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; and (3) 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.
For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office of Public Participation at (202) 502-6595, or *[email protected].*
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. The license applicant must file the following on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time May 4, 2026: (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. Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 6, 2026.
(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)
Dated: March 5, 2026.
Carlos D. Clay,
Deputy Secretary.