E4-1115. Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission, Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing and a Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

May 5, 2004.

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.: 2150-033.

c. Date Filed: April 30, 2004.

d. Applicant: Puget Sound Energy.

e. Name of Project: Baker River Project.

f. Location: On the Baker River, near the Town of Concrete, in Whatcom and Skagit Counties, Washington. The project occupies about 5,207 acres of lands within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Connie Freeland, Puget Sound Energy, P.O. Box 97034 PSE-09S Bellevue, WA 98009-9734; [phone] or [e-mail].

i. FERC Contact: Steve Hocking, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426; [phone] or [e-mail].

j. Cooperating Agencies: We are asking Federal, State, local and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation of an environmental document pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act. Agencies who would like to request cooperating agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments described in item k below.

k. Deadline for filing comments and requests for cooperating status: June 30, 2004.

All documents (original and eight copies) must be filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Please put the project name “Baker River Project” and project number “P-2150-033” on the first page of all documents.

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.

Comments and requests for cooperating agency status 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.

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

m. The Baker River Project has two developments. The Upper Baker development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 312-foot-high by 1,200-foot-long concrete gravity dam impounding Baker Lake with a surface area of about 4,980 acres at a normal full pool elevation of 727.77 feet mean sea level (msl); (2) a 122-foot-long, 59-foot wide concrete and steel powerhouse at the base of the dam containing two turbine-generator units, Unit No. 1 with an authorized capacity of 52,400 kilowatts (kW) and Unit No. 2 with an authorized capacity of 38,300 kW; (3) a 115-foot-high by 1,200-foot-long earth and rock-fill dam, known as West Pass dike, located in a depression about 1,500 feet north of Upper Baker dam; (4) a 22-foot-high by 3,000-foot-long earth-filled dike, known as Pumping Pond dike, which impounds Depression Lake with a surface area of 44 acres at a normal full pool elevation of 699 feet msl; (5) a water recovery pumping station adjacent to Pumping Pond dike; (6) fish passage facilities and fish spawning facilities; and (7) appurtenant facilities.

The Lower Baker development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 285-foot-high by 550-foot-long concrete thick arch dam impounding Lake Shannon with a surface area of about 2,278 acres at a normal full pool elevation of 442.35 feet msl; (2) a concrete intake equipped with trashracks and gatehouse located at the dam's left abutment; (3) a 1,410-foot-long concrete and steel-lined pressure tunnel; (4) a concrete surge tank near the downstream end of the pressure tunnel; (5) a 90-foot-long, 66-foot-wide concrete and steel powerhouse containing one turbine-generator unit, Unit No. 3 with an authorized capacity of 79,330 kW; (6) a 750-foot-long, 115-kilovolt transmission line; (7) fish passage facilities including a 150-foot-long by 12-foot-high barrier dam; and (8) appurtenant facilities.

n. A copy of the license application is available for review in the Commission's Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site 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 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. Procedural schedule: This application will be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

Acceptance or Deficiency Letter	July 2004.
Notice (1) Accepting Application and Requesting Motions to Intervene and (2) Requesting Final Terms and Conditions	July 2004.
Notice of Draft Environmental Assessment (EA)	October 2004.
Notice of Final EA	February 2005.
Ready for Commission Decision on License Application	October 2005.

Final amendments to the application must be filed with the Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice soliciting comments and final terms and conditions.

Linda Mitry,

Acting Secretary.