[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43050-43051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21115]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 11393-001, AK]
City of Saxman, Alaska; Notice of Application and Applicant
Prepared EA Accepted for Filing; Notice Requesting Interventions and
Protests; and Notice Requesting Comments, Final Terms and Conditions,
Recommendations and Prescriptions
August 14, 1996.
The Applicant, City of Saxman, Alaska, (Saxman) proposes to
construct, operate, and maintain a 9.6 megawatt (MW) hydroelectric
project on Upper Mahoney Lake and Upper Mahoney Creek near Ketchikan in
southeast Alaska. The project would be sited on private land claimed by
the Cape Fox Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act
and on approximately 114 acres of National Forest System land in the
Tongass National Forest (TNF) managed by the U.S. Forest Service (FS).
The proposed project would involve constructing: (1) a lake tap
near the natural outlet of Upper Mahoney Lake about 75 feet below the
normal water surface elevation; (2) a 1,700-foot-long upper tunnel; (3)
a buried, 12-inch-diameter bypass pipe; (4) a 1,370-foot-long
partially-lined vertical shaft; (5) an 8-foot-diameter, 3,350-foot-long
horseshoe-shaped lower tunnel; (6) a semi-underground powerhouse with a
single twin-jet horizontal Pelton turbine having a generating capacity
of 9.6 MW; (7) a 200-foot-long tailrace channel to convey water back to
Upper Mahoney Creek; (8) 1 mile of buried 13.2-kV transmission line,
0.5 mile of buried 34.5-kV transmission line, and 3.1 miles of 34.5-kV
overhead transmission line; (9) a switchyard; and (10) 2.6 miles of new
access road (see Figures 2 and 3).
The purpose of this notice is to: (1) update interested parties on
the Mahoney Lake project application process status; (2) inform all
interested parties that the Mahoney Lake applicant-prepared
environmental assessment (EA) and final license application filed with
the Commission on May 31, 1996, are hereby accepted; (3) invite
interventions and protests; and (4) solicit comments, final
recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions on Saxman's
applicant-prepared (EA) and final license application.
Applicant Prepared EA Process and Mahoney Lake Project Schedule
The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Act) gives the Commission the
authority to allow the filing of an applicant prepared EA with a
license application. The Act also directs the Commission to institute
procedures, including pre-application consultations, to advise
applicants of studies or other information foreseeably required by the
Commission.
On February 13, 1995, the Director, Office of Hydropower Licensing,
waived or amended certain of the Commission's regulations to allow for
the processes of license application and applicant prepared EA
preparation to be coordinated. Since then, the Commission and FS staffs
have been working cooperatively in advising Saxman of studies or other
information foreseeably required by the Commission and the FS.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping was conducted on
the project through scoping documents issued March 8, 1995 and
September 27, 1995, and in public scoping meetings on April 13, 1995. A
draft license application and preliminary draft EA (PDEA) were issued
by Saxman for comment on March 1, 1996. The final license application
and applicant prepared EA were filed with the Commission on May 31,
1996, a copy of
[[Page 43051]]
which can be obtained from Saxman. Although the applicant prepared EA
does not include responses to all comments received on the PDEA, Saxman
did file the balance of their responses to the PDEA comments with the
Commission on July 1, 1996.
Commission staff have determined that some additional information
is needed from Saxman, which is due on October 22, 1996. Once that
information is received, staff will complete and issue a draft EA for
comment. Staff anticipate issuing their draft EA by the end of 1996 or
early 1997, and intend on incorporating final comments into the staff
draft EA. The deadline for filing final comments on the application is
being coordinated with the timing of the staff additional information
request. Therefore, commenters should have sufficient time to review
the additional information prior to filing their final comments.
Interventions and Protests
All such filings must: (1) bear in all capital letters the title
``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', (2) set forth in the heading the name of the
applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing
responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone number of the
person protesting or intervening; and (4) otherwise comply with the
requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. Agencies may obtain
copies of the application directly from Saxman. All motions to
intervene must be received 90 days from the date of this notice. A copy
of any motion to intervene or protest must be served on each
representative of Saxman specified in the final application.
Comments, Final Terms and Conditions, Recommendations and
Prescriptions
Interested parties have 90 days from the date of this notice to
file with the Commission, any final comments, final recommendations,
terms and conditions and prescriptions for the Mahoney Lake Project.
Saxman will have 45 days to respond to those.
Saxman intends to seek benefits under Sec. 210 of the Public
Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 (PURPA), and believes that the
project meets the definition under Sec. 292.202(p) of 18 CFR for a new
dam or diversion. As such, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
National Marine Fisheries Service, and the state agency exercising
authority over the fish and wildlife resources of the state have
mandatory conditioning authority under the procedures provided for at
Sec. 30(c) of the Federal Power Act (Act).
Submission of Cost Statements
Within 60 days after the date for filing mandatory terms and
conditions, fish and wildlife agencies must file with the Commission a
cost statement of the reasonable costs the agency incurred in setting
mandatory terms and conditions for the proposed project.
Filing Requirements
The above documents must be filed by providing an original and 8
copies as required by the Commission's regulations to: Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,
Washington, D.C. 20426.
In addition to the above copies, commenters may also submit a copy
of their comments or interventions on a 3\1/2\-inch diskette formatted
for MS-DOS based computers to: Vince Yearrick, Office of Hydropower
Licensing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE,
Room 52-73, Washington, D.C. 20426. For Macintosh users, it would be
helpful to save the documents in Macintosh word processor format and
then write them to files on a diskette formatted for MS-DOS machines.
Commenters may also submit their comments via electronic mail to:
vince.yearick@ferc.fed.us.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-21115 Filed 8-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M
