Environmental statements; availability, etc.: Hydroelectric applications,

[Federal Register: August 23, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 162)]

[Notices]

[Page 45963-45964]

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

[DOCID:fr23au99-68]

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments

August 17, 1999.

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

1. Type of Application: Minor License.

2. Project No.: P-11730-000.

3. Dated Filed: April 21, 1999.

4. Applicant: Black River Limited Partnership.

5. Name of Project: Alverno Hydroelectric Project.

6. Location: On the Black River in the Townships of Aloha, Benton, and Grant, in Cheboygan County, Michigan.

7. FiledPursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).

8. Applicant Contact: Frank O. Christie, President, Franklyn Hydro, Inc., 8 East Main Street, Malone, New York 12953, (518) 483-1961.

9. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed to John Costello, E-mail address john.costello@ferc.fed.us or telephone at (202) 219-2914.

10. Deadline for filing scoping comments: 60 days from the issuance date of this notice.

    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filedwith: David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.

    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 whose name appears on the official serve 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 the resource agency.

11. Status of Environmental Analysis: This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

12. Description of Project: The constructed project consists of a 360-foot-long earth filled dam with a power plant located on the right riverbank and a gated spillway near the left bank. The project impoundment extends approximately 2.5 miles upstream. The powerhouse contains 2 horizontal turbine/generator sets.

13. Locations of the Application: A copy of the application is available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public Reference and Files and Maintenance Branch, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A-1, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling (202) 208- 2326. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the Cheboygan Public Library, 107 South Ball Street, Cheboygan, Michigan.

14. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA will consider both site- specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

    Scoping Meetings

    The Commission will hold scoping meetings, one in the daytime and one in the evening, to help us identify the scope of issues to be addressed in the EA.

    The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns, while the evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows: Daytime Meeting

    Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 1:00 PM, Benton Town Hall, corner of North Black River Road, and Orchard Beach Road, (Alverno Corner)

    Evening Meeting

    Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 7:00 PM, Benton Town Hall, corner of North Black River Road, and Orchard Beach Road, (Alverno Corner)

    To help focus discussions, we will distribute a Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 also will be available at the scoping meetings.

    Site Visit

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct a project site visit on Tuesday, September 21, 1999. We will meet at the project's powerhouse at 10:30 AM. If you would like to attend, please call Frank Christie, Black River Limited Partnership, at (518) 483-1961, no later than September 17, 1999.

    [[Page 45964]]

    Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage statements from experts and public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to sign in before the meeting starts and to clearly identify themselves for the record.

    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the EA. Linwood A. Watson, Jr., Acting Secretary.

    [FR Doc. 99-21763Filed8-20-99; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 6717-01-M