[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28460-28461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13558]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2000-010]
Power Authority of the State of New York; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold Public Scoping
Meetings on Project Relicensing
May 19, 1997.
Power Authority of the State of New York (NYPA) is the licensee for
the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, which is located on the St.
Lawrence River in St. Lawrence County, New York. The license for the
project expires October 31, 2003.
On June 3, 1996, NYPA filed a Notice of Intent to seek a new
license to continue to operate and maintain its St. Lawrence-FDR
Project.
NYPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission), the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), resource
agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
many interested members of the public have been conducting a
Cooperative Consultation Process (CCP) to identify resource issues to
be addressed during the relicensing of the project. The establishment
of the CCP Team and the commencement of the Scoping Process for the
relicensing were announced in a Notice of Memorandum of Understanding,
Formation of Cooperative Consultation Process Team, and Initiation of
Scoping Process Associated with Relicensing the St. Lawrence-FDR Power
Project, issued May 2, 1996, and published in the Federal Register
dated May 8, 1996, Volume 61, No. 90, on page 20813. Representatives of
the Canadian government, the International Joint Commission, and Mohawk
Nation communities have also attended some of the meetings. The Scoping
Process will assist the FERC and the DEC in satisfying their
requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
and Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act.
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
The Commission and DEC staffs have determined that relicensing the
existing project could constitute a major Federal action significantly
affecting the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staffs
intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the
relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Project in accordance with NEPA.
The DEC is a cooperating agency and is responsible for the issuance of
a water quality certificate under the Clean Water Act.
The EIS will consider both site specific and cumulative
environmental impacts of the proposed project and reasonable
alternatives, and will include an economic and engineering analysis.
A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all
interested stakeholders and the public. All comments filed on the draft
EIS will be analyzed by the Commission staff and considered in a final
EIS.
As part of the relicensing process, the CCP Team has prepared a
Scoping Document I (SDI), which provides information on the scoping
process, relicensing schedule, background information, environmental
issues, and the proposed project and alternatives. The issues contained
in SDI are based on agency and public comments at the CCP Team and
other meetings.
The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Advise all interested
individuals, organizations, and agencies as to the proposed scope of
the environmental analysis, including cumulative effects, and to seek
additional information pertinent to this analysis; and (2) advise all
individuals, organizations, and agencies of their opportunity for
comment.
Scoping Process
The staffs' scoping objectives are to:
Identify significant environmental issues;
Determine the depth of analysis appropriate to each issue;
Identify the resource issues not requiring detailed analysis; and
Identify reasonable project alternatives.
The purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant
issues related to the proposed action and to determined what issues
should be addressed in the EIS.
Scoping Meetings
The Commission and DEC staffs will conduct one afternoon scoping
meeting and three evening scoping meetings. All interested individuals,
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend and assist the staff
in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be
analyzed in the EIS.
To help focus discussions, SDI will be circulated to enable
appropriate federal, state, and local resource agencies, Indian tribes,
NGOs, and other interested individuals, organizations, and agencies to
participate effectively in and contribute to the scoping process. SDI
provides a brief description of the
[[Page 28461]]
proposed action, project alternatives, the geographic and temporal
scope of a cumulative effects analysis, and a list of preliminary
issues. Copies of SDI will also be made available at the meetings.
The afternoon meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 1997
beginning at 2:00 P.M. at St. Joseph's Parish Hall, 30 Bayley Road,
Massena, New York.
The first evening meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 1997
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at St. Joseph's Parish Hall, 30 Bayley Road,
Massena, New York.
The second evening meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 1997
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the United Methodist Church, State Route 37
(Lincoln Ave.), Waddington, New York.
The third evening meeting will be held on Thursday, June 26, 1997
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the Akwesasne Housing Authority Building,
State Route 37 (behind the police station), Hogansburg, New York.
At the scoping meetings, the Commission and DEC staffs will: (1)
Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis
in the EIS; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available
information, especially quantified data, on the resources at issue, and
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that
should be analyzed in the EIS. Individuals, organizations, and agencies
with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the
meetings and to assist the staffs in defining and clarifying the issues
to be addressed in the EIS.
Meeting Procedures
The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer. The minutes will
become a part of the record of the Commission proceeding on the St.
Lawrence-FDR Project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings
will be asked to identify themselves for the record.
Concerned individuals, organizations, and agencies are encouraged
to offer verbal comments during the public meetings. Speaking time will
be determined before each meeting, based on the number of persons
wishing to speak and the approximate amount of time available for the
session, but all speakers will be provided at least five minutes to
present their views.
Persons choosing not to speak but wishing to express an opinion, as
well as speakers unable to summarize their positions within their
allotted time, may submit written statements for inclusion in the
public record.
Written scoping comments may also be filed with the Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington,
D.C. 20426, no later than August 25, 1997. All filings should contain
an original and 5 copies. Failure to file an original and 5 copies may
result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of your comments
in a timely manner.
All correspondence should clearly show the following caption on the
first page: Scoping Comments, St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Project
No. 2000-010, New York.
All those attending the meeting are urged to refrain from making
any communications concerning the merits of the project to any member
of the Commission staff outside of the established process for
developing the record as stated in the record of the proceeding.
If you would like to participate in the meetings or need general
information on the CCP Team and process, as well as the relicensing
process, contact any one of the following three individuals:
Mr. Thomas R. Tatham, New York Power Authority, 212-468-6747, 212-468-
6272 (fax), EMAIL: [email protected] USA.COM
Mr. Keith Silliman, New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 518-
457-0986, 518-457-3978 (fax), EMAIL: [email protected]
Mr. Thomas Russo, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 202-219-2700,
202-219-2634 (fax), EMAIL: Thomas. [email protected]
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-13558 Filed 5-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
