[Federal Register: February 18, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 32)]
[Notices]               
[Page 8192-8193]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18fe98-100]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 10847-001]

 
Creamer and Noble; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and a Site 
Visit

February 11, 1998.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is reviewing 
an application for an original license for the proposed 500-megawatt 
Crystal Creek Hydropower Project, No. 10847-001. The pumped-storage 
project, proposed by Creamer and Noble Energy, Inc., would be located 
about 26 miles northeast of San Bernardino, California. About 237 acres 
of the project would be on lands within the San Bernardino National 
Forest, administered by the U.S. Forest Service (FS) and about 270 
project acres would transect private property and lands administered by 
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Barstow Resource Area.
    The Commission intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the Project in accordance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act. In the EIS, we will consider reasonable alternatives to 
Creamer and Noble's proposed project, and analyze both site-specific 
and cumulative environmental impacts of the project, including an 
economic and engineering analysis.
    The EIS will be issued and circulated to those on the mailing list 
for this project. All comments filed on the draft EIS will be analyzed 
by the staff and considered in a final EIS. The staff's conclusions and 
recommendations presented in the final EIS will then be presented to 
the Commission to assist in making a licensing decision.

Scoping

    We are asking agencies, Indian Tribes, non-governmental 
organizations, and individuals to help us identify the scope of 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EIS, and to provide 
us with information that may be useful in preparing the EIS.

[[Page 8193]]

    To help focus comments on the environmental issues, a scoping 
document outlining subject areas to be addressed in the EIS will be 
mailed to those on the mailing list for the project. Those not on the 
mailing list may request a copy of the scoping document from the 
project coordinator, whose telephone number is listed below.
    Those with comments or information pertaining to this project 
should file it with the Commission at the following address: David P. 
Boergers, Acting Secretary, Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    The comments and information are due to the Commission by April 10, 
1998. All filings should clearly show the following on the first page: 
Crystal Creek Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 10847-001.
    In addition to written comments, we're holding two scoping meetings 
to solicit any verbal input and comments you may wish to offer on the 
scope of the EIS. An agency scoping meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on 
Wednesday, March 11, 1998, at the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water 
District, 1350 South ``E'' Street, San Bernardino, California. A public 
scoping meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, 1998, 
at the Lucerne Valley Community Center, 33187 Highway 247, Lucerne 
Valley, California. The public and agencies may attend either or both 
meetings, and we'll treat written and verbal responses equally. There 
will also be a visit to the proposed project site on March 10, 1998, to 
become more familiar with the proposed project. More information about 
these meetings and site visit is available in the scoping document.
    Any questions may be directed to Mr. Carl Keller, project 
coordinator, at (202) 219-2831, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
Office of Hydropower Licensing, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 
20426.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-3945 Filed 2-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M