[Federal Register: July 29, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 145)] [Notices] [Page 41101-41102] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr29jy99-50] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 477-000-OR] Portland General Electric Company; Scoping Meetings Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment July 23, 1999. Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Portland General Electric Company (PGE) has been using a third party contractor, alternative process, to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to file along with a relicensing application, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) for the Bull Run Project, Project No. 477. The license for the project expires on November 16, 2004. PGE will continue with the alternative process but now intends to file an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) in connection with an application to surrender its license for the project. In October 1997, state and federal agencies, local interests, and nongovernmental organizations, undertook a collaborative effort for the relicensing of the Bull Run Project. The process involved identification of environmental issues associated with the relicensing of the Bull Run Project, including public meetings in March 1999, to solicit comments on the Initial Consultation Document. In September 1998, PGE requested use of an alternative procedure, involving a third- party contractor, in filing an application for a new license for the Bull Run Project. On December 10, 1998, the Commission approved the use of an alternative licensing procedure in the preparation of the Bull Run relicensing application. In May 1999, PGE decided to pursue a surrender of its operating license and to decommission the Bull Run Project. PGE obtained support from the parties involved in the collaborative effort to pursue the APEA procedure for the decommissioning of the Bull Run Project. As part of the APEA procedure, PGE with the Commission has prepared a Scoping Document I (SDI), which provides information on the scoping process, APEA schedule, background information, environmental issues, and proposed project alternatives. The purpose of this notice is to: (1) advise all parties as to the proposed scope of the environmental analysis, including cumulative effects, and to seek additional information pertinent to [[Page 41102]] this analysis; and (2) advise all parties of their opportunity for comment. Scoping Process The purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant issues related to the proposed action and to determine what issues should be addressed in the document to be prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The SDI will be circulated to enable appropriate federal, state, and local resource agencies, Indian tribes, NGOs, and other interested parties to participate in the scoping process. SDI provides a brief description of the proposed action, project alternatives, the geographic and temporal scope of a cumulative effects analysis, and a list of issues. Scoping Meetings PGE and FERC staff will conduct two scoping meetings. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend and assist in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the APEA. The agency/public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday September 1, 1999, from 9:00 am until noon, at Two World Trade Center, Bridge Level Conference Rooms A and B, 121 SW Salmon Street, Portland, Oregon. The public scoping meeting will be held on Wednesday September 1, 1999, from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at U.S. Forest Service Mount Hood National Forest Headquarters Office, First Floor Conference Room, 16400 Champion Way, Sandy, Oregon. For more details, interested parties should contact Julie Keil, PGE, (503) 464-8864 before the meeting date. Objectives At the scoping meetings, PGE and FERC staff will: (1) summarize the environmental issues identified for analysis in the APEA; (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 APEA. Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to assist in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed. Meeting Procedures The meeting will be conducted according to the procedures used at Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA scoping meeting, the Commission will not conduct another scoping meeting when the surrender application and APEA are filed with the Commission in Spring 2000. The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer or audio tape and become a part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the Bull Run Project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to identify themselves for the record. Speaking time allowed for individuals 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. 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 no later than August 30, 1999. All filings should contain an original and 8 copies. Failure to file an original and 8 copies may result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of your comments in a timely manner. All comments should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, and should clearly show the following captions on the first page, Bull Run Project, FERC No. 477. A copy of each filing should also be sent to Julie Keil, Portland General Electric Company, 121 SW Salmon Street, 3WTC-BRHL, Portland, OR 97204. Based on all written comments, a Scoping Document II (SDII) may be issued. SDII will include a revised list of issues, based on the scoping sessions. For further information regarding the APEA scoping process, please contact Jim Hastreiter, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 101 SW Main St., Suite 905 Portland, OR, 97204 at (503) 944-6760, or Julie Keil, Portland General Electric Company, at (503) 464-8864. Linwood A. Watson, Jr., Acting Secretary. [FR Doc. 99-19382 Filed 7-28-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-M