[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 240 (Tuesday, December 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69069-69070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33152]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 2004-073 and 11607-000]
Holyoke Water Power Company, Holyoke Gas & Electric Department,
Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant, and Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale
Electric Company; Notice Denying Extension of Time, in Part, to File
Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions
Pursuant to Our Ready for Environmental Analysis Notice
December 9, 1998.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued its Notice of
Application Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA) for both relicense
applications in the Holyoke proceeding on November 3, 1998. The REA
notices established a deadline of January 2, 1999, for filing comments,
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions in the
aforementioned proceeding.
On November 9, 1998, subsequent to issuing the REA notices, the
staff issued a request to both competing applicants, seeking
clarification of previously filed additional information. The
Commission staff's letter established deadlines of November 30 and
December 24, 1998, for responding to different elements of the request.
On or about November 19, 1998, the competing applicants jointly
requested extensions of these deadlines. The Commission staff denied
the applicants' requests by letters dated November 25, 1998.
On December 4, November 30, and November 27, 1998, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Connecticut River Watershed Council, and the
Town of South Hadley, respectively, filed requests for extension of the
January 2, 1999, deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms
and conditions, and prescriptions. These parties assert that the
current juxtaposition of the deadlines for responses by the competing
applicants to the requests for clarification of information already
filed (December 24, 1998), and the due date for comments,
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions (January 2,
1999), does not allow for an adequate review of the material filed with
the Commission and subsequent preparation and filing of comments,
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions based on that
material.
A substantial amount of information has been on file with the
Commission (with copies to the parties of the proceeding) as far back
as September 28, 1998. Our letter dated November 9, 1998, merely sought
clarification of information that had been previously filed with the
Commission, or for responses to comments made by resources agencies and
non-governmental organizations on that information. We believe that
federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other
interested parties should be able to respond to the remaining material
to be filed by the applicants within a short period of time.
Also, as far back as October 27, 1997, in our Notice Granting
Extension of Time to File comments and Requests for Additional Studies,
we established a very tight schedule so as to resolve these contested
applications for relicensing prior to the expiration of the original
license term. Again, in Scoping Documents I and II (issued January 8
and June 9, 1998, respectively), we reiterated our schedule to complete
these proceedings in the Summer/Fall of 1999. We take this schedule
very seriously, and will continue to make every effort to resolve this
relicensing prior to September 1, 1999.
We can not justify granting an extension of time to the dates
requested. However, in order to address the concerns iterated above, we
will extend the deadline to provide final comments, recommendations,
terms and conditions, and prescriptions to January 15, 1999, with the
caveat that preliminary comments, recommendations, terms and
conditions, and prescriptions must be
[[Page 69070]]
filed with the Commission by January 2, 1999.
After comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and
prescriptions are filed, applicants are given 45 days to file response
comments. Given our schedule for completing relicensing of the Holyoke
Project, we will not favorably view and requests for extensions of time
to file reply comments. Despite the additional time provided above,
reply comments are still due on or before February 18, 1999.
The Commission staff expects to issue a draft environmental impact
statement (EIS) in March 1999, with a final EIS being issued in July
1999. Parties will be given 45 days to comment on the draft EIS, and,
should there be a need, consultation pursuant Section 10(j) of the
Federal Power Act will be completed within 75 days from the issuance of
the draft EIS. Moreover, consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered
Species Act will be completed during this same period of time.
In light of our goal to act on the applications by September 1,
1999, we provided the above schedule. We do this so that participants
in the process are able to anticipate and prepare for necessary
actions, such as review of the draft EIS and 10(j) negotiations.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-33152 Filed 12-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
