97-8321. Alaska Power and Telephone Company [Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project]; Notice of Intent To Conduct Environmental Scoping Meetings and a Site Visit

[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 15683]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8321]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 11588 Alaska]


Alaska Power and Telephone Company [Otter Creek Hydroelectric 
Project]; Notice of Intent To Conduct Environmental Scoping Meetings 
and a Site Visit

March 27, 1997.
    The Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows applicants to prepare their 
own environmental assessment (EA) for hydropower projects and file it 
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) along with 
their license application as part of the ``applicant-prepared EA'' 
process. Alaska Power and Telephone Company (AP&T) intends to prepare 
an EA to file with the Commission for the proposed Otter Creek 
Hydroelectric Project, No. 11588. AP&T will hold two scoping meetings, 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, to 
identify the scope of issues that should be analyzed in the EA.

Scoping Meetings

    The times and locations of the two scoping meetings are:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Public meeting                       Agency meeting       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:  Tuesday, May 6, 1997...............  Date:  Thursday, May 8,     
                                             1997.                      
Place:  National Park Service, Auditorium,  Place:  U.S. Forest Service,
 Second Avenue, Skagway, Alaska.             Juneau Ranger District,    
                                             Confer. Room, Main         
                                             Building, 8465 Old Dairy   
                                             Road, Juneau, Alaska.      
Time:  7:00 P.M...........................  Time:  10:00 A.M.           
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At the scoping meetings, AP&T will: (1) Summarize the tentative 
environmental issues and concerns on the project, (2) outline those 
preliminary resources that they believe would not require a detailed 
analysis, (3) identify reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the 
EA, (4) solicit from the meeting participants all available baseline 
information, especially quantitative data, on the resource issues, and 
(5) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that 
should be analyzed in the EA, including views supporting or opposing 
AP&T's preliminary views.
    All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited 
and encouraged to attend either or both meetings to assist in 
identifying and clarifying the scope of environmental issues that 
should be analyzed in the EA.
    To help focus discussions at the meetings, AP&T will prepare and 
distribute to the participants prior to the meetings, the Initial 
Consultation Package and Scoping Document 1 for this project. Copies of 
this scoping document can be obtained by calling Mr. Glen Martin of 
AP&T at [phone], or can be obtained directly at either meeting.

Site Visit

    For those who intend to participate in scoping, AP&T will also 
conduct a site visit to the proposed Otter Creek Project on Tuesday, 
May 6, 1997. Those attending must meet at the AP&T offices in Skagway, 
Alaska, 5th and Spring Street by 7:30 AM. We will promptly leave for 
the project site, via helicopter. Because of the remoteness and 
difficulty of ground access at the proposed project site, those 
attending the site visit should be physically fit and must wear 
appropriate clothing and footgear. Those being shuttled by helicopter 
to the project site may need to sign a waiver of liability regarding 
helicopter use.
    To plan on helicopter use in advance of the visit, AP&T must 
identify the number of individuals interested in the site visit. 
Therefore, if you intend on visiting the proposed project site, you 
must first register with Mr. Stan Selmer of AP&T in Skagway at (907) 
983-2202 no later than April 18, 1997. If inclement weather prevents a 
site visit on May 6th, the alternate date will be May 7th at the same 
time.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be conducted according to the procedures used at 
Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA 
scoping meeting under the APEA process, the Commission will not conduct 
a NEPA scoping meeting after the application and draft EA are filed 
with the Commission.
    Both scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer, and thus 
will become a part of the formal record of the proceedings for this 
project.
    Those who choose not to speak during the scoping meetings may 
instead submit written comments on the project. Written comments should 
be mailed to: Mr. Glen Martin, Alaska Power and Telephone Company, P.O. 
Box 222, Port Townsend, Washington 98368. All correspondence should 
show the following caption on the first page:

Scoping Comments, Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project, Project No. 11588, 
Alaska

    For further information, please contact Mr. Glen Martin at (360) 
385-1733 or Mr. Carl Keller of the Commission at [phone].
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-8321 Filed 4-1-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M