[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 14 (Friday, January 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-1450]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: January 21, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 

Duke Power Co.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

[Project No. 2607-001]
January 13, 1994.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has received an 
application for relicense of the existing Spencer Mountain 
Hydroelectric Project, Project No. 2607-001. The project is located on 
the South Fork Catawba River in Gaston County, North Carolina.
    The FERC staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
on the hydroelectric project in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act.
    The EA will objectively consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts of the project and reasonable alternatives, and 
will include economic and engineering analyses.
    A draft EA will be issued and circulated for review by all 
interested parties. All comments filed on the draft EA will be analyzed 
by the staff and considered in the final EA. The staff's conclusions 
and recommendations will then be presented for the consideration of the 
Commission in reaching its final licensing decision.

Scoping Meeting

    Two scoping meetings will be conducted on January 27, 1994. A 
scoping meeting oriented towards the agencies will be conducted from 1 
p.m. and a scoping meeting oriented towards the public will be 
conducted from 7 p.m. at the McAdenville Community Center, 208 Main 
Street, McAdenville, NC.
    Interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend either or both meetings and assist the staff in identifying the 
scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.
    To help focus discussions at the meetings, a scoping document 
outlining subject areas to be addressed in the EA will be mailed to 
agencies and interested individuals on the FERC mailing list. Copies of 
the scoping document will also be available at the scoping meetings.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings the FERC staff will: (1) Identify 
preliminary environmental issues related to the proposed project; (2) 
identify preliminary resource issues that are not important and do not 
require detailed analysis; (3) identify reasonable alternatives to be 
addressed in the EA; (4) solicit from the meeting participants all 
available information, especially quantified data, on the resource 
issues; and (5) encourage statements from experts and the public on 
issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including points of view in 
opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a court reporter and all 
statements (oral and written) thereby become a part of the formal 
record of the Commission proceedings on the Spencer Mountain Project. 
Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to 
clearly identify themselves for the record.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and assist 
the staff in defining and clarifying issues to be addressed in the EA.
    Persons choosing not to speak at the meetings, but who have views 
on the issues or information relevant to the issues, may submit written 
statements for inclusion in the public record at the meetings. In 
addition, written scoping comments may be filed with Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, until March 1, 1994.
    All written correspondence should clearly show the following 
caption on the first page: SPENCER MOUNTAIN HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT, FERC 
No. 2607-001.
    Intervenors--those on the Commission's service list for this 
proceeding (parties)--are reminded of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure, requiring parties filing documents with the 
Commission, to serve a copy of the document on each person whose name 
appears on the official service list. Further, if a party or interceder 
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.

Site Visit

    A site visit to the Spencer Mountain Hydroelectric Project is 
planned for January 27, 1994. Those who wish to attend should plan to 
meet at the Spencer Mountain Powerhouse at 9:00 a.m. or contact Ms. Kim 
Nguyen, Environmental Coordinator, (202) 219-2841 for details.
    Any questions regarding this notice may also be directed to Ms. Kim 
Nguyen, at (202) 219-2841.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-1450 Filed 1-19-94; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P