UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Eugene Water & Electric Board Project No. 2242-159 NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT (June 11, 2026) In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) regulations, 18 C.F.R. Part 380, Commission staff reviewed Eugene Water & Electric Board's application for installing a load bank station in lieu of a turbine bypass valve at the Carmen Power Plant under Article 3 for the Carmen-Smith Hydroelectric Project No. 2242, and have prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the project. [1] The load bank station would allow for the continuous use of the Carmen Power Plant during transmission line outages to protect the Smith Bypassed Reach and its associated environment against spill events from Smith Dam. The load bank would dissipate electricity produced at the Carmen Power Plant equivalent to at least 800 cubic feet per second of spill that is required to be diverted from the Smith Bypassed Reach. The project is located on the McKenzie and Smith Rivers in Lane and Linn counties, near McKenzie Bridge, Oregon, and occupies U.S. Forest Service Land within the Willamette National Forest. The final EA contains Commission staff's analysis of the potential environmental effects of the proposed load bank station alternative, alternatives to the proposed action, and concludes that the proposed load bank with appropriate environmental protective measures, would not constitute a major federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. The final EA may be viewed on the Commission's website at http://www.ferc.gov using the "eLibrary" link. Enter the docket number (P-2242) in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. 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. All comments must be filed by 5:00 pm Eastern Time on July 13, 2026. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file comments using the Commission's eFiling system at 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. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support. 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. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-2242-159. 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 OPP@ferc.gov. For further information, contact Erich Gaedeke at 503-552-2716 or erich.gaedeke@ferc.gov. (Authority: 18 CFR 2.1) Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Secretary. [1] The unique identification number for documents relating to this environmental review is EAXX-019-20-000-1769181469. June 23 2026 LEUG0540171