[Federal Register: August 22, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 50765-50766]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au03-63]
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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 18, 2003.
a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process.
b. Project No.: 2101.
c. Applicant: Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD).
d. Name of Project: Upper American River Project.
e. Location: In the Rubicon River, Silver Creek, and South Fork
American River watersheds in El Dorado and Sacramento counties,
California. The project occupies federal lands within the El Dorado
National Forest.
f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
[[Page 50766]]
g. Applicant Contact: David F. Hanson, Project Manager, Hydro
Relicensing at (916) 732-6703.
h. FERC Contact: James Fargo at (202) 502-6095; e-mail
james.fargo@ferc.gov. j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 17, 2003.
All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with:
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of
that document on each person on the official service list for the
project. Further, if an intervener 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.
Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in
lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings.
See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's
Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the ``e-library'' link.
k. The Upper American River Project facilities consist of several
existing reservoirs, a series of powerhouses and about 180 miles of
transmission line. The project has a total installed capacity of
688,000 kilowatts.
Scoping Process
SMUD will complete and file a preliminary Environmental Assessment,
in lieu of Exhibit E of the license application. This differs from the
traditional process, in which an applicant consults with agencies,
Indian tribes, NGOs, and other parties during preparation of the
license application and before filing the application, but the
Commission staff performs the environmental review after the
application is filed. The alternative procedures are intended to
simplify and expedite the licensing process by combining the pre-filing
consultation and environmental review processes into a single process,
to facilitate greater participation, and to improve communication and
cooperation among the participants.
SMUD expects to file the APEA and the license application for the
Upper American River Project with the Commission by July 2005. Although
SMUD's intent is to prepare an EA, there is the possibility that an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will be required. Nevertheless,
this meeting will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective
of whether an EA or EIS is issued by the Commission.
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
SMUD and the Commission staff will hold three scoping meetings, (1)
in the daytime and (2) 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 meetings are primarily for public input. All
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to
attend any of the meetings, and to help the staff in identifying the
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the APEA. The times and
locations of these meetings are as follows:
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Date Time Location
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September 9, Tuesday............. 6 p.m.-8 p.m................... SMUD Customer Services Center, 6301 S
Street, Sacramento.
September 10, Wednesday.......... 9 a.m.-4 p.m................... SMUD Customer Services Center, 6301 S
Street, Sacramento.
September 11, Thursday........... 6 p.m.-8 p.m................... Building C, County Government Center, 2850
Fairlane Court, Placerville.
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To help focus discussions, Scoping Document 1 is available for
public review at the Sacramento Public Library (828 I Street), the El
Dorado County Library (345 Fair Lane, Placerville) and on SMUD's hydro
relicensing Web page http://www.smud.org/relicensing. Scoping Document
1 outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA.
SD1 is available for review at the Commission in the Public
Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov
using the ``FERRIS'' link. Enter the docket number
excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access
the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY,
(202) 502-8659.
You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm
to be notified via email of new filings and issuances
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC
Online Support.
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 sessions.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings, the SMUD and FERC 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 staffs' preliminary views; (4) determine the
resource issues to be addressed in 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, organizations, and agencies with environmental
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to
help define and clarify the issues to be addressed in the APEA.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-21529 Filed 8-21-03; 8:45 am]
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