[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 116 (Friday, June 17, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-14749]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: June 17, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Projects No. 2325, 2389, 2552, 2555, 2556, 2557, 2559, 2329, 2671, and
2613; 11433]
Central Maine Power Co., et al; Edwards Manufacturing, Inc., and
Town of Madison, Maine; Notice of Intent To Prepare An Environmental
Impact Statement and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings
June 13, 1994.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has received an
application for license of hydroelectric projects within the Kennebec
River Basin in the State of Maine. The hydropower projects are located
north of the City of Augusta along the Kennebec River. The projects
are: Weston No. 2325, Ft. Halifax No. 2552, Automatic No. 2555, Union
Gas No. 2556, Rick Rips No. 2557, Oakland No. 2559, Wyman No. 2329,
Moosehead No. 2671, Moxie No. 2613, Edwards No. 2389 and Sandy River
No. 11433.
The FERC staff has determined that licensing these projects would
constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality
of the human environment. Therefore, the staff intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the hydroelectric projects in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act.
The staff's EIS will objectively consider both site specific and
cumulative environmental impacts of the projects and reasonable
alternatives, and will include an economic, financial and engineering
analysis.
A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all the
interested parties. All comments filed on the draft EIS will be
analyzed by the staff and considered in a final EIS. The staff's
conclusions and recommendations will then be presented for the
consideration of the Commission in reaching its final licensing
decision.
Scoping Meetings
The FERC staff will conduct two scoping meetings. An evening
scoping meeting is primarily for public input while a morning meeting
will focus on resource agency concerns. 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.
The first scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 13, 1994,
from 7:30 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. in the Cushnoc Auditorium, Augusta
Civic Center, Augusta, Maine. Issues of primary concern to to general
public will be the focus of the meeting. The second scoping meeting
will be held on Thursday, July 14, 1994, from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30
p.m. at the Augusta Civic Center Drive, in the Washington and York
rooms.
The Augusta Civic Center can be reached from the Maine Turnpike by
taking Exit 31-South onto Civic Center Drive; proceed one-half mile to
the Civic Center entrance.
Prior to the meetings, Scoping Document 1 Revised (SD 1-R) will be
mailed to the list of interested parties. SD 1-R identifies resources
issues to be address in the EIS. Copies of SD 1-R will also be
available at the scoping meetings or can be obtained by writing: FERC-
Kennebec Projects, c/o Doug Hjorth, Stone Webster, 245 Summer Street,
Boston, MA 02210.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings the staff will: (1) Summarize the
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the planned
EIS; (2) determine the relative depth of analysis for issues to be
addressed in the EIS; (3) identify resource issues that are not
important and do not require detailed analysis; (4) solicit from the
meeting participants all available information, especially quantified
data, on the resources at issue; and (5) encourage statements from
experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EIS,
including points of view in opposition to, or in support of, the
staff's preliminary views.
Procedures
The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and all statements
(oral and written) thereby become a part of the formal record of the
Commission proceedings. Individuals presenting statements at the
meetings will be asked to clearly identify themselves for the record.
Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed
in the EIS.
Participants at the public meetings are asked to keep oral comments
brief and concise.
Persons choosing not to speak at the meetings, but who have views
on the issues or information relevant to the issues, may submit written
statements for inclusion in the public record. In addition, written
scoping comments may be filed with the Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC
20426, until August 15, 1994.
All written correspondence should clearly show the following
caption on the first page: Kennebec River Basin EIS.
All those that are formally recognized by the Commission as
intervenors in the licensing proceeding are asked to refrain from
engaging staff or its contractor in discussions of the merits of the
projects outside of any announced meetings.
Further, parties are reminded of the Commission's Rules of Practice
and Procedure, requiring parties filing documents with the Commission,
to serve a copy of the document on each person whose name is on the
official service list.
For further information, please contact John Blair (202) 219-
2845.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-14749 Filed 6-16-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
