99-20277. Notice of Scoping Meeting and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative Licensing Process

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 151 (Friday, August 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42941-42942]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-20277]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meeting and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an 
Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative 
Licensing Process

August 2, 1999.
    a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: 487.
    c. Applicant: PP&L, Inc.
    d. Name of Project: Wallenpaupack.
    e. Location: On the Wallenpaupack Creek and Lackawaxen River, near 
the Borough of Hawley and the City of Scranton, in Wayne and Pike 
Counties, Pennsylvania. The project would not utilize federal lands.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Gary Petrewski, PP&L, Inc., Two North Ninth 
Street (GENN5), Allentown, PA 18101-1179, [phone].
    h. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice an the scoping 
process should be addressed to Patrick Murphy, E-mail address, 
patrick.murphyferc.fed.us, or telephone [phone].
    i. Deadlines for Filing Scoping Comments: October 15, 1999.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20416.
     The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person whose name appears 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.
    j. Description of the Project: The project consists of an 870-foot-
long, 67 foot-high concrete dam with a center spillway equipped with 
two 67.5-foot-long by 14-foot-high steel roller gates; a 13-mile-long, 
5,700 acre reservoir at a full pool elevation of 1,190 feet msl; an 
18,000-foot-long, 14-foot-diameter pipeline connecting the dam with the 
powerhouse; a powerhouse containing two generating units with a total 
installed capacity of 40,000 kW; and other appurtenances.
    k. Scoping Process: PP&L, Inc. (PP&L) intends to use the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) alternative licensing 
procedures (ALP). Under the ALP, PP&L will prepare an Applicant 
Prepared Envirnmental Assessment (APEA) and license application for the 
Wallenpaupack Project.
    On May 4, 1999, PP&L requested the Commission's approval to use the 
ALP. The Commission issued a notice of this request on June 25, 1999, 
with comments due by July 25, 1999. After receipt of comments on this 
notice, the Commission will issue an order addressing PP&L's request 
for approval to use the ALP. PP&L expects to file with the Commission, 
the APEA and license application for the Wallenpaupack Project by 
September 30, 1992. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the 
opportunity to participate in the upcoming scoping meeting identified 
below, and to solicit your scoping comments.

Scoping Meeting

    PP&L and the Commission staff will hold a public scoping meeting to 
help

[[Page 42942]]

us identify the scope of issues to be addressed in the APEA. In 
addition to the public scoping meeting, PP&L is holding an ``open 
house'' that will feature information on project operation and existing 
project facilities as well as guided tours of the dam and lake. The 
open house is an ideal opportunity to meet the PP&L staff and 
informally discuss issues relating to the relicensing of the Lake 
Wallenpaupack Project.

Open House
    Wednesday, September 1, 1999, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Lake 
Wallenpaupack Conference Center, Hawley, PA
Evening Public Meeting
    Wednesday, September 1, 1999, 7:00 p.m., Lake Wallenpaupack Area 
High School, Route 6, Hawley, PA

    To help focus discussion, PP&L will mail Scoping Document 1 (SD1) 
outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA to the parties 
on the PP&L mailing list. Copies of SD1 will also be available at the 
scoping meeting. Additionally, PP&L will mail an initial information 
package (IIP) that provides an in-depth description of the 
Wallenpaupack Project and surrounding environment.
    Based on all written comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) 
may be issued. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, based on the 
scoping meeting.

Objectives

    At the scoping meeting, PP&L will, with Commission staff's 
assistance: (1) Summarize the environmental issues tentatively 
identified for analysis in the APEA; (2) solicit from the meeting 
participants all available information, especially quantifiable data, 
on the resources at issue; (3) encourage statements from experts and 
the public on issues that should be analyzed in the APEA; (4) determine 
the resource issues to be addressed in the APEA; and (5) identify those 
resources that require a detailed study as well as those issues that do 
not require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meeting will be recorded by a stenographer and will become part 
of the formal record of the Commission's proceeding on the project. 
Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to sign 
in before the meeting starts and to clearly identify themselves for the 
record.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the public meeting and 
to assist staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the APEA.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-20277 Filed 8-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M