96-26402. Upper Peninsula Power Company; Notice of Site Visits and Public Scoping Meetings

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53910-53911]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26402]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 10855-002-MI]


Upper Peninsula Power Company; Notice of Site Visits and Public 
Scoping Meetings

October 9, 1996.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is reviewing 
an application for license for the existing unlicensed Dead River 
Project on the Dead River, Michigan.
    The purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant 
issues related to the proposed action and the continued operation of 
hydropower projects in the basin and to determine what issues should be 
covered in the environmental document. The document entitled ``Scoping 
Document I'' is being circulated to enable appropriate federal, state, 
and local resource agencies, developers, Indian tribes, non-
governmental organizations, and other interested parties to effectively 
participate in and contribute to the scoping process. This scoping 
document provides a brief description of the proposed actions, the 
potential alternatives, the geographic and temporal scope of a 
cumulative effects analysis, and a preliminary schedule for preparing 
the environmental document.
    The staff's environmental document will consider both site specific 
and cumulative environmental effects of the proposed actions and 
reasonable alternatives, and will include an economic, financial and 
engineering analysis. A draft environmental document will be issued and 
circulated for review by all interested parties. All comments filed on 
the draft environmental document will be analyzed by the Commission 
staff and considered in a final environmental document.

Project Site Visit

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct a project site 
visit of the Dead River Project. The site visit will start at 9:00 a.m. 
on October 29, 1996. All interested individuals, organizations, and 
agencies are invited to attend. All participants are responsible for 
their own transportation to the starting point. For more details, 
interested parties should contact Mr. Max Curtis at [phone] or 
Charlie Streicher at [phone] prior to the site visit date.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission staff will conduct one evening scoping meeting and 
one morning scoping meeting. All interested individuals, organizations, 
and agencies are invited to attend and assist the staff in identifying 
the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the 
environmental document.
    The evening meeting will be held on October 29, 1996, from 7:00 
p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Don H. Bottum University Center, 540 West K 
Avenue, Marquette, MI, in the Ontario Room, on the Campus of Northern 
Michigan University.
    The morning agency meeting will be held on October 30, 1996, from 
9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Don H. Bottum University Center, 540 West K 
Avenue, Marquette, MI, in the Ontario Room, on the Campus of Northern 
Michigan University.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the Commission staff will: (1) Summarize 
the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the 
environmental document; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all 
available information, especially quantified data, on the resources at 
issue, and (3) encourage statements from experts and the public on 
issues that

[[Page 53911]]

should be analyzed in the environmental document.
    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 environmental document.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and, thereby, will 
become a part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the 
Dead River Project under consideration. Individuals presenting 
statements at the meetings will be asked to identify themselves for the 
record.
    Concerned parties are encouraged to offer us verbal guidance during 
public meetings. Speaking time allowed for individuals will be 
determined before each meeting, based on the number of persons wishing 
to speak and the approximate amount of time available for the session, 
but all speakers will be provided at least five minutes to present 
their views.
    Persons choosing not to speak but wishing to express an opinion, as 
well as speakers unable to summarize their positions within their 
allotted time, may submit written statements for inclusion in the 
public record.
    Written scoping comments may also be filed with the Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, 
DC 20426, until December 2, 1996. All filings should contain an 
original and 8 copies. Failure to file an original and 8 copies may 
result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of your comments 
in a timely manner. See 18 C.F.R. 4.34(h).
    All correspondence should clearly show the following captions on 
the first page: Dead River Project, FERC No. 10855.
    All those attending the meeting are urged to refrain from making 
any communications concerning the merits of the application to any 
member of the Commission staff outside of the established process for 
developing the record as stated into the record of the proceeding.
    Further, interested persons are reminded of the Commission's Rules 
of Practice and Procedures, requiring parties or interceders (as 
defined in 18 CFR 385.2010) to file documents on each person whose name 
is on the official service list for this proceeding. See 18 CFR 
4.23(b).
    For further information, please contact Robert Bell, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, Office of Hydropower Licensing, 888 First 
Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20426 (Telephone [phone]), Lee Emery 
(Telephone [phone]), or Pete Leitzke (Telephone [phone].
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-26402 Filed 10-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M