[Federal Register: February 26, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 38)] [Notices] [Page 9499-9500] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr26fe99-54] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. February 22, 1999. a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process. b. Project No.: 469. c. Applicant: Minnesota Power, Inc. d. Name of Project: Winton Hydroelectric Project. e. Location: On the Kawishiwi River, in Lake and St. Louis Counties, Minnesota. The project is located within the Superior National Forest administered by the U.S. Forest Service. f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. Secs. 791(a)-- 825(r). g. Applicant Contact: John Paulson, Minnesota Power, Inc., Land and Water Section, 30 West Superior Street, Duluth, MN 55802, (218) 722- 5642 (ext. 3569). h. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed to Tom Dean, E-mail address thomas.dean@ferc.fed.us, or telephone (202) 219-2778. i. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 23, 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 20426. 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 the following two developments: The Winton Development consists of the following existing facilities: (1) a concrete dam comprising: (a) a 176-foot-long spillway section; (b) a 84-foot-long Taintor gate section; (c) a 80-foot-long stop-log gate section; (d) a 111-foot-long and 120-foot-long non-over- flow section; and (e) a 161-foot-long intake section; (2) approximately 1,500-foot-long earth dikes; (3) a 2,982-acre reservoir comprising the Garden, Farm, South Farm, and Friday Lakes at normal water surface elevation of 1,388.0 feet msl; (4) two 250-foot-long, 9-foot-diameter penstocks extending to; (5) a powerhouse containing two generating units with a total installed capacity of 4,000 kW; and (6) other appurtenances. The Birch Lake Reservoir Development consists of: (1) a 227-foot- long rock-filled timber crib dam comprising; (a) a 72-foot-long Taintor gate section; and (b) a 85-foot-long sluice gate section; and (2) the 7,624-acre Birth Lake reservoir at normal water surface elevation of 1,418.0 feet msl. This development provides water storage for the Winton Development. k. Scoping Process: Minnesota Power, Inc. (Minnesota Power) intends to utilize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) alternative licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, Minnesota Power will prepare an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) and license application for the Winton Hydroelectric Project. On March 30, 1998, Minnesota Power requested, and on May 7, 1998, obtained the Commission's approval to use the ALP. Minnesota Power expects to file with the Commission, the APEA and the license application for the Winton Hydroelectric Project by October 2001. The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to participate in the upcoming scoping meetings identified below, and to solicit your scoping comments. Scoping Meetings Minnesota Power and the Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings, one in the daytime and one in the evening, to help us identify the scope of issues to be addressed in the APEA. The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns, while the evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the APEA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows: Daytime Meeting Tuesday, March 23, 1999, 10:00 a.m., Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, Sunset Room, 400 North Pioneer Road, Sunset Room, Ely, Minnesota 55731. Evening Meeting Tuesday, March 23, 1999, 7:00 p.m., Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, Sunset Room, 400 North Pioneer Road, Sunset Room, Ely, Minnesota 55731. To help focus discussions, Minnesota Power will mail SDI outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA to the parties on the Minnesota Power's mailing list. Copies of the SDI also will be available at the scoping meetings. Based on all written comments received, a Scoping Document II (SDII) may be issued. SDII will include a revised list of issues, based on the scoping sessions. Ojbectives At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (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, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in [[Page 9500]] the APEA; and (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis. Procedures The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become part of the formal record of the Commission 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 meetings and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the APEA. David P. Boergers, Secretary. [FR Doc. 99-4788 Filed 2-25-99; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-M