2015-03263. Birch Power Company; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments

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

a. Type of Application: Original License (Major Project).

b. Project No.: 13102-003.

c. Date Filed: July 2, 2013.

d. Applicant: Birch Power Company.

e. Name of Project: Demopolis Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (Corps) Demopolis Lock and Dam, on theTombigbee River, west of the city of Demopolis in Marengo and Sumter Counties, Alabama. The proposed project would occupy approximately 23 acres of federal land administered by the Corps.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Nicholas E. Josten, GeoSense, 2742 Saint Charles Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83404, [phone].

i. FERC Contact: Adam Peer, [phone] or [e-mail].

j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 25, 2015.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file additional study requests and requests for cooperating agency status using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​efiling.asp. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail], [phone] (toll free), or [phone] (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-13102-003.

The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures require all intervenors 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 intervenor 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 proposed project would utilize the existing Corps' Demopolis Lock and Dam and Reservoir, and would consist of the following new facilities: (1) A 900-foot-long excavated intake channel (headrace); (2) two 60-foot-long by 32-foot-wide trash racks with 2.5-inch bar spacing; (3) a 201-foot-long by 80-foot-wide powerhouse containing two 24-megawatt (MW) Kaplan turbines, having a total installed capacity of 48 MW; (4) a substation; (5) a forebay oxygen diffuser line system to enhance dissolved oxygen; (6) a 1,880-foot-long excavated tailrace channel; (7) a 1,700-foot-long retaining wall along the north side of tailrace channel; (8) a 4.4-mile-long, 115-kilovolt transmission line; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The average annual generation would be about 213,000 megawatt-hours.

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. 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:

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

FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public 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 environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

DATE: Thursday, March 26, 2015.

TIME: 9:00 a.m. (EDT).

PLACE: Demopolis Civic Center.

ADDRESS: 501 N. Commissioner's Avenue, Demopolis, AL 36732.

Public Scoping Meeting

DATE: Thursday, March 26, 2015.

TIME: 7:00 p.m. (EDT).

PLACE: Demopolis Civic Center.

ADDRESS: 501 N. Commissioner's Avenue, Demopolis, AL 36732.

Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link (see item m above).

Environmental Site Review

The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental Site Review. The time and location of this meeting is as follows:

PROJECT: Demopolis Lock and Dam Hydroelectric Project.

DATE: Thursday, March 26, 2015.

TIME: 2:00 p.m. (EDT).

LOCATION: Demopolis Civic Center Parking Lot, 501 N. Commissioner's Avenue, Demopolis, AL 36732.

All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. All participants should meet at the time and location specified above. All participants are responsible for their own transportation to the site. Anyone with questions about the Environmental Site Review should contact Nicholas E. Josten, GeoSense, 2742 Saint Charles Ave., Idaho Falls, ID 83404, [phone] on or before March 19, 2015.

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 are recorded by a stenographer and 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 meeting and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the EA.

Dated: February 11, 2015.

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.