99-33871. Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73547-73548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33871]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

December 23, 1999.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2090-003.
    c. Date filed: August 31, 1999.
    d. Applicant: Green Mountain Power Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Waterbury Project.
    f. Location: On Little River in Washington County, Vermont. No 
Federal Lands used in this project.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Craig T. Myotte, Green Mountain Power 
Corporation, 163 Action Lane, Colchester, VT 05446, [phone].
    i. FERC Contact: Robert Bell, E-mail address, 
[e-mail], or telephone [phone].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: February 12, 2000.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
David P. Boergers, 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.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing project consists of: (1) 1,845-foot-long, 158-foot-
high rolled earth embankment Waterbury Dam; (2) an impounding having a 
surface area of 1,330-acres, with a storage capacity of 64,700 acre-
feet and a normal water surface elevation of 593.00 feet msl; (3) a 
submerged concrete intake structure; (4) two 205-foot-long, 54-inch 
diameter steel penstocks which connects to a 79-inch diameter penstock; 
(4) a powerhouse having one generating unit with an installed capacity 
of 5,520-kW; (5) a tailrace; (9) four-mile-long, 33-kV transmission 
line; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    m. A copy of the application is available for inspection and 
reproduction at the Commission's Public Reference Room, located at 888 
First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling (202) 
208-1371. The application may be viewed on http://www.ferc.fed.us/
rims.htm (call [phone] for assistance). A copy is also available 
for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.
    n. Scoping Process.
    The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
on 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.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission will hold scoping meetings, one in the daytime and 
one in the evening, to help us identify the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the EA.
    The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns, 
while the evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in 
identifying the scope of the

[[Page 73548]]

environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:
    Daytime Meeting: Wednesday, January 12, 2000, 2:00 PM, Chapel 
Conference Room, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 103 South Main 
Street, Waterbury, Vermont.
    Evening Meeting: Wednesday, January 12, 2000, 7:30 PM, Chapel 
Conference Room, Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 103 South Main 
Street, Waterbury, Vermont.
    To help focus discussions, we will distribute a Scoping Document 
(SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA to the 
parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the DS1 also will 
be available at the scoping meetings.

Site Visit

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct a project site 
visit on Wednesday, January 13, 2000. We will meet at 8 AM at the 
project site.

Objectives

    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 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.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    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 EA.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-33871 Filed 12-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M