[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 2225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-834]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 2004-073 and 11607-000]
Holyoke Water Power Company, Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant and
Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company; Notice of Intent to
Conduct Public Scoping Meetings for the Holyoke Project on the
Connecticut River
January 8, 1998.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is reviewing
the Holyoke Water Power Company's application for a new license for the
continued operation of the Holyoke Project on the Connecticut River,
Massachusetts. The Commission is similarly reviewing a competing
application for the Holyoke Project by Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant
and the Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company. The
Commission will hold scoping meetings on January 28 and 29, 1998, in
preparation for completing an Environmental Assessment (EA), under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for relicensing the Holyoke
Project.
Commission staff will hold the scoping meetings in the vicinity of
the Holyoke Project: One evening meeting and one morning meeting. The
evening meeting will focus on receiving input from the public, whereas
the morning meeting will focus on resource agency concerns. We invite
all interested agencies, NGOs, and individuals to attend one or both of
the meetings, and to assist staff in identifying the scope of
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and
locations of these meetings are shown below.
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date: Wednesday, January 28, 1998.
Time: 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m.
Place: Holiday Inn, 245 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke, MA 01040.
Morning Scoping Meeting
Date: Thursday, January 29, 1998.
Time: 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon.
Place: Holiday Inn, 245 Whiting Farms Road, Holyoke, MA 01040.
To help focus discussions, we will distribute a Scoping Document
(SDI) outlining the areas to the addressed at the meetings to the
parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SDI also will
be available at the scoping meetings.
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 on environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA,
including opinions in favor of, or in opposition to, the staff's
preliminary list of issues; (4) determine the depth of analysis for
issues addressed in the EA; and (5) identify resource issues that will
not require detailed analysis in the EA.
The scoping meetings will be recorded by a court reporter, and all
statements (oral and written) will become part of the Commission's
public record for the project. Before each meeting starts, all
individuals who attend, especially those individuals that intend to
make statements during the meeting, will be asked to sign in and
clearly identify themselves for the record prior to speaking. Time
allotted for representations will be determined by staff based on the
length of the meetings and the number of people wanting to speak. All
speakers will be provided at least five minutes to present their views.
Interested parties who choose not to speak, or are unable to attend
the scoping meetings, may provide written comments and information to
the Commission until February 13, 1998. Written comments and
information should be submitted to the Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.
The first page of all filings should indicate ``Holyoke Project,
FERC No. 2004-073 and/or Holyoke Project, FERC No. 11607-000'' at the
top of the page. All filings sent to the Secretary of the Commission
should contain an original and eight copies. Failure to file an
original and eight copies may result in appropriate staff not receiving
the benefit of your comments in a timely manner. Furthermore,
participants in this proceeding are reminded that if they file comments
with the Commission, they must serve a copy of their filing to the
parties on the Commission's service list.
For further information, please contact Allan Creamer at (202) 219-
0365.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-834 Filed 1-13-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
