E3-00638. Little Wood River; Ranch II Hydro; Notice of Paper Scoping and Soliciting Scoping Comments

December 18, 2003.

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

a. Type of Application: Original Minor License.

b. Project No.: 12063-001.

c. Date filed: October 17, 2003.

d. Applicant: Mr. William Arkoosh.

e. Name of Project: Little Wood River Ranch II Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Little Wood River, near the Town of Shoshone, Lincoln County, Idaho. No lands of the United States would be affected.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).

h. Applicant Contact: William Arkoosh, 2005 Highway 26, Gooding, Idaho 83330, [phone].

i. FERC Contact: Gaylord Hoisington, [phone], [e-mail].

j. Deadline for filing scoping comments is January 20, 2004.

All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of that document on each person on the official service list for the project. Further, if an intervener 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 that resource agency.

Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site, http://www.ferc.gov, under the “e-Filing” link.

k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. Description of the Project: The proposed new run-of-river project would consist of: (1) A 10-foot-high, 220-foot-long rock rubble diversion dam; (2) a 2,800-foot-long open feeder canal; (3) a concrete intake structure having two parallel 5-foot-diameter, 250-foot-long steel penstocks; (4) a 60-foot-long, 20-foot-wide, 25-foot-high concrete and steel power house containing two hydraulic Francis turbines with a total installed capacity of 1,500 kilowatts; (5) a 3,500-foot-long tailrace channel; (6) a 10,500-foot-long, 12.5-kilovolt transmission line; (7) an access road and (8) appurtenant facilities.

m. A copy of the application is available for review at the Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, [phone]. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

n. Scoping Process: Scoping is intended to advise all parties regarding the proposed scope of the environmental analysis and to seek additional information pertinent to this analysis. The Commission intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) for 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.

At this time, the Commission staff do not propose to conduct any formal public or agency meetings or an on-site visit. Instead, we will solicit comments, recommendations, information, and alternatives by conducting paper scoping through issuing this scoping document.

Copies of the scoping document outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the scoping document are available for review at the Commission or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov, using the “FERRIS” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number filed to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll-free at [phone], or for TTY, contact [phone].

As part of scoping the staff will: (1) Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) solicit from comments all available information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage comments from experts and the 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. Consequently, interested entities are requested to file with the Commission any data and information concerning environmental resources and land uses in the project area and the subject project's impacts to the aforementioned.

o. The tentative schedule for preparing the Little Wood River Ranch II EA is:

Major milestone	Target date
Ready for Environmental Analysis Notice	February 2004
EA Issued	May 2004

Magalie R. Salas,

Secretary.