[Federal Register: August 27, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 45027-45028]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27au01-57]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visits and Soliciting Scoping
Comments
August 21, 2001.
Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
a. Type of Application: Original Minor License.
b. Project No.: P-11797-000.
c. Date Filed: July 29, 1999.
d. Applicant: Grande Pointe Power Corporation.
e. Name of Project: Three Rivers Hydroelectric Project.
f. Location: On the St. Joseph River in the City of Three Rivers,
St. Joseph County, Michigan. The project does not utilize federal
lands.
g. File Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Monroe E. Learn, Grande Pointe Power
Corporation, 503 West Michigan Avenue, Three Rivers, MI 54601, (616)
273-8828.
i. FERC Contact: Mr. Charles T. Raabe, E-mail
Charles.Raabe@FERC.FED.US or telephone (202) 219-2811.
j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: 60 days from the issuance
of this Notice.
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. Copies of this filing are on
file with the Commission and are available for public inspection.
Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically via
the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the
instructions on the Commission's web site under the ``e-Filing'' link.
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.
k. Status of environmental analysis: This application is not ready
for environmental analysis at this time.
l. Description of the Project: The project consists of the
following existing facilities: (1) a right earthen embankment 750 feet-
long and a left earthen embankment 200 feet-long, separated by a 283
foot-long gated spillway section with a crest elevation of 792.40 feet
NGVD; (2) a 601-acre reservoir with a normal water surface elevation of
797.0 feet NGVD; (3) a powerhouse containing 3 vertical Francis
turbines each connected to a generator unit for a total installed
capacity of 900 kW; and (4) appurtenant facilities. The average annual
energy generation is 3,844,920 kWh. Power generated by the project is
sold to the city of Sturgis.
m. Location of the Application: A copy of the application is
available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public
Reference Room, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington,
DC 20426, or by calling (202) 208-1371. This filing may be viewed on
the web at http://www.ferc.fed.us/online/rims.htm (call 202-208-2222
for assistance). A copy is also available for inspection and
reproduction at the address in item h above.
n. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare an
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed licensing of the Three
Rivers Project (FERC No. 11797-000) in accordance with the National
environmental Policy Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and
cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the
proposed actions.
Scoping Meetings
The Commission will hold two scoping meetings, one in the evening
and one in the daytime, to help us identify the scope of issues to be
addressed in the EA.
The evening meeting will focus on public concerns, while the
daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns. All
interested agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Native
American tribes, and individuals to attend either of the meetings and
to assist the staff in identifying the scope of environmental issues to
be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as
follows:
Evening Scoping Meeting
Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 7 to 9 p.m.
Three Rivers Community Library, St. Joseph Room, 103 South Douglas
Avenue, Three Rivers, MI 49093
Morning Scoping Meeting
Thursday, September 13, 2001, 9 to 11 a.m.
2651 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, MI 48823
To help focus discussions, we will distribute to parties on the
Commission's mailing list a Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the
subject areas to be addressed in the EA. Copies of the SD1 will also be
available at the scoping meetings.
Objectives
At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the
environmental issues that the Commission staff tentatively has
identified for analysis in the EA; (2) take statements from experts and
the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including
viewpoints in
[[Page 45028]]
opposition to, or in support of, those issues identified by the
Commission staff; (3) identify those issues that require a detailed
analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed
analysis; and (4) solicit all available information, especially
quantifiable data, on the resources at issue.
The meetings 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 meeting will be asked
to sign in before the meeting starts and to identify themselves clearly
for the record.
Site Visit
The applicant and the Commission staff will conduct a project site
visit on the morning of September 12th, 2001. We will meet at 8:30 a.m.
at the Grande Pointe Power Corporation (GPPC) office at 503 West
Michigan Avenue in Three Rivers, and will travel by foot to the project
facilities. Those who wish to attend the site visit should contact Mr.
Monroe E. Learn (GPPC) no later than Monday September 10, 2001 at (616)
273-8828.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-21552 Filed 8-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P