94-28210. Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., et al; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and to Conduct Site Visits

[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 16, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-28210]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 16, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket Nos. 2318, 2482, 2616 & 2539, 2318 and 2554]

 

Niagara Mohawk Power Corp., et al; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement and to Conduct Site Visits

November 9, 1994.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) has received 
applications for new license (relicense) from the current owners and 
operators of six existing hydropower projects located on the Hudson 
River and its tributaries, the Sacandaga, Hoosic, and Mohawk rivers, in 
Warren, Saratgoa, Albany, Rensselaer, and Washington counties, New 
York. The Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation (NiMO) filed applications 
for four projects: the E.J. West Project, FERC No. 2318, located in 
Saratoga County on the Sacandaga River; the Hudson River Project, FERC 
No. 2482, consisting of the Spier Falls and Sherman Island developments 
in Warren and Saratoga counties on the Hudson River; the Hoosic River 
Project, FERC No. 2616, consisting of the Johnsonville and Schaghticoke 
developments in Rensselaer and Washington counties on the Hoosic River, 
and the School Street Project, FERC No. 2539, located Albany and 
Saratoga counties on the Mohawk River. Finch, Pruyn and Company, Inc. 
filed an application for the Glens Falls Project, FERC No. 2385, 
located in Warren and Saratoga counties on the Hudson River. Moreau 
Manufacturing Corporation filed an application for the Feeder Dam 
Project, FERC No. 2554, located in Warren and Saratoga counties on the 
Hudson River.
    Upon review of the applications, supplemental filings, and 
intervenor submittals, the Commission staff has concluded that 
relicensing these six projects would constitute a major federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    Moreover, given the location and interaction of the projects, staff 
is considering preparing one multi-project Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) that describes and evaluates the probable impacts of 
the applicants' proposed and alternative operating procedures, new 
generating facilities, environmental enhancement measures, and 
associated facilities for the eight developments that comprise the six 
hydropower projects.
    The staffs EIS will consider both site specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts of relicensing the six projects, and will include 
economic and financial analyses.
    A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all 
interested parties. All comments filed on the draft EIS will by 
analyzed by the Commission staff and considered in a final EIS.
    One element of the EIS process is scoping and site visits. These 
activities are initiated early to:
     Identify reasonable alternative operational procedures and 
environmental enhancement measures that should be evaluated in the EIS;
     Identify significant environmental issues related to the 
operation of the existing projects;
     Determine the depth of the analysis for issues that will 
be discussed in the EIS; and
     Identify resource issues that are of lesser importance 
and, consequently, do not require detailed analysis in the EIS.

Site Visits

    Site visits to the eight developments that comprise the six 
projects will be held during the three-day period, December 12, 13, and 
14, 1994. The purpose of these visits is for interested persons to 
observe existing area resources and site conditions, learn the 
locations of proposed new facilities, and discuss project operational 
procedures with representatives of NiMO, Finch, Pruyn and Company, 
Inc., Moreau Manufacturing Corporation, and the Commission.
    For details concerning the site visits, please contact Jerry 
Sabattis of NiMO in Syracuse, New York at [phone], David Manny 
of Finch, Pruyn and Company, Inc. in Glens Falls, New York at (518) 
793-2541, and Kenneth Oriole of Moreau Manufacturing Corporation in 
Syracuse, New York at [phone].

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission staff will conduct two scoping meetings: the evening 
meeting will be designed to obtain input from the general public, while 
the morning meeting will focus on resource agency concerns. These 
meetings will be held in Glens Falls, New York, sometime in March, 
1995. The dates and locations of these meetings will be the subject of 
future announcement.
    For further information, please contact Edward R. Meyer in 
Washington D.C. at [phone].
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-28210 Filed 11-15-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M