Environmental statements; notice of intent: Alaska Village Electric Cooperative,

[Federal Register: April 20, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 75)]

[Notices]

[Page 19487]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr20ap98-67]

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 11561 Alaska]

Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; Notice of Intent To Conduct Environmental Scoping Meetings and a Site Visit

April 14, 1998.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows applicants to prepare their own Environmental Assessment (EA) for hydropower projects and file it with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) along with their license application as part of the applicant-prepared EA (APEA) process. The Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) intends to prepare an EA to file with the Commission for the proposed Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project, No. 11561. AVEC will hold two scoping meetings, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, to identify the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.

Scoping Meetings

The times and locations of the two scoping meetings are:

Public meeting

Agency meeting

Date: Tuesday, May 12, 1998............... Time: 7:00 p.m.

Place: City Hall, Old Harbor, Alaska...... Thursday, May 14, 1998, Division of Seniors

Conference Room, 3601 C

Street, Suite 310A,

(Frontier Building), Anchorage, Alaska, 9:00

a.m.

At the scoping meetings, AVEC will: (1) summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) outline any resources they believe would not require a detailed analysis; (3) identify reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the EA; (4) solicit from the meeting participants all available information, especially quantitative data, on the resources at issues; and (5) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA.

All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited and encouraged to attend either or both meetings to assist in identifying and clarifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.

To help focus discussions at the meetings, AVEC prepared and distributed an Initial State Consultation Document (ISCD) on November 13, 1997, and a Scoping Document on April 10, 1998. Copies of the ISCD and the Scoping Document can be obtained by calling Daniel Hertrich of Polarconsult Alaska, Inc., AVEC's agent, at (907) 258-2420. Copies of both documents will also be available at both scoping meetings.

Site Visit

For those who intend to participate in scoping, AVEC will also conduct a site visit to the proposed Old Harbor Project on Tuesday, May 12, 1998. Those attending must meet at the Sitkalidak Lodge in Old Harbor, Alaska at 10:00 A.M. We will promptly leave for the project site, via helicopter. Those being shuttled by helicopter to the project site may need to sign a waiver of liability regarding helicopter use. Because of the remoteness and difficulty of ground access at the project site, those attending the site visit should be physically fit and must wear appropriate clothing and footgear. The site visit should be completed by 4:30 P.M. Participants must provide their own sack lunches.

To plan on helicopter use in advance of the visit, AVEC must identify the number of individuals interested in the site visit. Therefore, if you intend on visiting the proposed project site, you must register with Daniel Hertrich at (907) 258-2420, no later than April 24, 1998. If inclement weather prevents a site visit on May 12, the alternate date will be May 13 at the same time and location.

Meeting Procedures

The meetings will be conducted according to the procedures used at Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA scoping meeting under the APEA process, the Commission will not conduct a NEPA scoping meeting after the application and draft EA are filed with the Commission.

Both scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer or tape recorder, and will become part of the formal record of the proceedings for this project.

Those who choose not to speak during the scoping meetings may instead submit written comments on the project. Written comments must be submitted by June 15, 1998, and should be mailed to: Mr. Daniel Hertrich, Polarconsult Alaska, Inc., 1503 West 33rd Avenue, Suite 310, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. All correspondence should show the following caption on the first page:

Scoping Comments, Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project, No. 11561, Alaska

For further information please contact Daniel Hertrich at (907) 258-2420, or E-mail at Dan Hertrich ‹polarak@Alaska.NET›, or Nan Allen of the Commission at (202) 219-2938, or E-mail at nan.allen@ferc.fed.us. Linwood A. Watson, Jr., Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98-10294Filed4-17-98; 8:45 am]

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