E8-3550. City of Kaukauna, Wisconsin; Notice Soliciting Scoping Comments

February 5, 2008.

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.: 2677-019.

c. Date Filed: August 29, 2007.

d. Applicant: City of Kaukauna, Wisconsin.

e. Name of Project: Badger-Rapide Croche Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Fox River in Outagamie County, near the city of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. The project does not affect federal lands.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Mike Pedersen, Kaukauna Utilities, 777 Island Street, P.O. Box 1777, Kaukauna, WI 54130-7077, 920-462-0220, or Arie DeWaal, Mead & Hunt, Inc., 6501 Watts Road, Madison, WI 53719, 608-273-6380.

i. FERC Contact: John Smith [phone] or [e-mail].

j. Deadline for Filing Scoping Comments: March 6, 2008.

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

The Commission's Rules of Practice 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.

Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. 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. The existing project works consist of the following two developments:

As licensed, the existing Badger Development utilizes the head created by the 22-foot-high Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) Kaukauna dam and consists of: (1) A 2,100-foot-long, 100-foot-wide power canal that bifurcates into a 260-foot-long, 200-foot-wide canal and a 250-foot-long, 80-foot-wide canal leading to; (2) the Old Badger powerhouse containing two 1,000-kilowatt (kW) generating units for a total installed capacity of 2,000 kW; and (3) the New Badger powerhouse containing two 1,800-kilowatt (kW) generating units for a total installed capacity of 3,600 kW; and (4) appurtenant facilities.

As licensed, the existing Rapide Croche Development utilizes the head created by the 20-foot-high Corps Rapide Croche dam, located approximately 4.5 miles downstream from the Badger Development and consists of: (1) A powerhouse, located on the south end of the dam, containing four 600-kW generating units for a total installed capacity of 2,400 kW; (2) the 5-mile-long, 12-kV transmission line (serving both developments); and (3) appurtenant facilities.

The license application also indicates that flashboards are used at the Kaukauna (6-inch-high) and Rapide-Croche (30-inch-high) dams to provide additional head for project generation.

The proposed project would include decommissioning the Old Badger and New Badger developments and constructing a new 7-MW powerhouse about 150 feet upstream from the existing New Badger plant site. Proposed project works would consist of: (1) A modified power canal leading to; (2) a new powerhouse with integral intake; and (3) two identical 3.5- to 3.6-MW horizontal Kaplan “S” type turbines. The Old Badger development would be converted to an alternative use. The New Badger development would be decommissioned, demolished, and removed. The existing service road would be demolished and removed. The tailrace area associated with the existing Old Badger development would be filled with soil. A new service road would be constructed over the filled area. No significant changes are proposed for the Rapide Croche development.

The existing Badger and Rapide Croche developments currently operate in run-of-river mode and as proposed, the new project would continue to operate in a run-of-river mode.

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.

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

o. Scoping Process

The Commission staff intends to prepare a single environmental assessment (EA) for the Badger-Rapide Croche Hydroelectric 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.

Commission staff does not propose to conduct any on-site scoping meetings at this time. Instead, we are soliciting comments, recommendations, and information, on the scoping document issued on February 5, 2008.

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 and the applicant's distribution list. Copies of the scoping document may be viewed on the web 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, call 1-866-208-3676 or for TTY, [phone].

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.