[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 31, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-21461]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 31, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 11163]

 

Consolidated Hydro Maine, Inc.; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings

August 25, 1994.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has received an 
application for license of the South Berwick Dam Hydroelectric Project, 
FERC No. 11163. The project is located on the Salmon Falls River in 
Stafford County, New Hampshire and York County, Maine.
    The FERC staff intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
on the hydroelectric project in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act.
    The staff's EA will objectively consider both site specific and 
cumulative environmental impacts of the project and reasonable 
alternatives, and will include an economic, financial and engineering 
analysis.
    A draft EA will be issued and circulated for review by all the 
interested parties. All comments filed on the draft EA will be analyzed 
by the staff and considered in a 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 Meetings

    The FERC staff will conduct two scoping meetings. An evening 
scoping meeting is primarily for public input while a morning meeting 
will focus on resource agency concerns. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend and assist the staff 
in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA. Staff will visit the project site prior to the 
meetings to become more familiar with the project and its operation.
    Both scoping meetings will be held on Thursday, September 29, 1994, 
in the South Berwick Assembly Hall, 180 Main Street, South Berwick, 
Maine. The first meeting will be held from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. and 
will focus primarily on issues of concern to resource agencies. The 
second meeting will be held from 7:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. and will focus 
primarily on issues of concern to the general public.
    Prior to the meetings, a scoping document will be mailed to the 
list of interested parties. The scoping document identifies resource 
issues to be addressed in the EA. Copies of the scoping document will 
also be available at the scoping meetings or can be obtained by 
writing: FERC--South Berwick Project, c/o J.H. Rumpp, Stone & Webster, 
245 Summer Street, Boston, MA 022010.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings the staff will: (1) summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
determine the relative depth of analysis for issues to be addressed in 
the EA' (3) identify resource issues that are not important and do not 
require detailed analysis; (4) solicit from the meeting participants 
all available information, especially quantified data, on the resources 
at issue; 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 stenographer and all statements 
(oral and written) thereby become a part of the formal record of the 
Commission proceedings. 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 to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.
    Participants at the public meetings are asked to keep oral comments 
brieff and concise.
    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. In addition, written 
scoping comments may be filed with the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC 
20426, until October 31, 1994.
    All written correspondence should clearly show the following 
caption on the first page: South Berwick EA, Project No. 11163.
    All those that are formally recognized by the Commission as 
intervenors in the licensing proceeding are asked to refrain from 
engaging staff or its contractor in discussions of the merits of the 
projects outside of any announced meetings.
    Further, 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 is on the 
official service list.
    For further information, please contact Susan Strandberg (202) 219-
2829.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-21461 Filed 8-30-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M