[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 91 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25210-25211]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11611]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 1962-000-CA]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment and to Conduct a Site Visit and Two Scoping 
Meetings for the Rock Creek--Cresta Project

May 5, 1995.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) has received 
an application for a new license (relicense) from the Pacific Gas and 
Electric Company (PG&E or applicant) for the constructed and operating 
Rock Creek--Cresta Project, located on the North Fork Feather River 
near the towns of Quincy and Oroville, in Butte, Plumas, Sutter, and 
Yuba Counties, California.
    Upon review of the application and supplemental filings, the 
Commission staff has concluded that relicensing the two developments 
that comprise the existing project would not constitute a major federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. 
Consequently, staff will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) that 
describes and evaluates the probable impacts of implementing the 
applicant's proposed and alternative; operational and maintenance 
procedures; environmental enhancement measures; and improved public 
recreational access and facilities at the Rock Creek and Cresta 
Developments.
    The staff's EA: will consider both site specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts of relicensing the project; and will include 
economic and financial analyses of applicant's proposed and alternative 
environmental enhancement measures and sediment management procedures.
    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 FERC staff and considered in a final EA.
    One element of the EA process is scoping and a site visit. These 
activities are initiated early to:
     Identify reasonable alternative operational procedures and 
environmental enhancement measures that should be evaluated in the EA;
     Identify significant environmental issues related to the 
operation of the existing project;
     Determine the depth of analysis for issues that will be 
discussed in the EA; and
     Identify resource issues that are of lessor importance 
and, consequently, do not require detailed analysis in the EA.

Site Visit

    A site visit to the Rock Creek and Cresta Developments will be held 
on Wednesday, June 14, 1995, starting at 9:00 A.M. at PG&E's Rodgers 
Flat operational headquarters, located off Highway 70 in Storrie, 
California. The purpose of the visit is for interested persons to 
observe existing area resources and site conditions, learn the 
locations of proposed new recreational facilities, and discuss project 
operational procedures with representatives of PG&E and the Commission.
    For details concerning the site visit, please contact Bill Zemke of 
PG&E in San Francisco, California at (415) 973-1646.

Scoping Meetings

    The FERC staff will conduct two scoping meetings: the evening 
meeting is designed to obtain input from the general public, while the 
morning meeting will focus on resource agency [[Page 25211]] concerns. 
All interested individuals, organizations, agencies, and Indian Tribes 
are invited to attend either or both meetings in order to assist staff 
in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA.
    To help focus discussions, an EA scoping document will be 
distributed by mail to all persons and entities on the FERC mailing 
list for the Rock Creek--Cresta Project. Copies of the scoping document 
also will be made available at the scoping meetings.
    The evening meeting for the general public will be held from 7:00 
P.M. until 10:00 P.M. on Wednesday, June 14, 1995, in the conference 
room at the Oroville Public Library, located at 1820 Mitchell Avenue, 
Oroville, CA 95966. (From Highway 70 take Oroville Dam Boulevard east 
to Lincoln Avenue; then, north (left) onto Lincoln. The library is 
situated at the corner of Lincoln and Mitchell Avenues.)
    The agency meeting will be held from 9:30 A.M. until 12:00 Noon on 
Thursday, June 15, 1995, in the conference room at the Oroville-La 
Porte Forest Service Ranger Station, located at 875 Mitchell Avenue, 
Oroville, CA 95965. (From Highway 70 take Oroville Dam Boulevard east; 
north (left) onto Fifth Avenue; then, east (right) on Mitchell Avenue.)

Scoping Meeting Procedures

    Both meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission's proceeding on the Rock 
Creek--Cresta Project. Individuals presenting statements at the 
meetings will be asked to sign in before the meetings start and 
identify themselves for the record.
    Concerned parties are encouraged to offer us verbal guidance during 
the public meetings. Speaking time allowed for individuals at the 
evening public meeting will be determined before that meeting, based on 
the number of persons wishing to speak and the approximate amount of 
time available for the session, but all speakers will be provided at 
least five minutes to present their views.

Scoping Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will:
     Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified 
for analysis in the EA;
     Identify resource issues that are of lessor importance 
and, therefore, do not required detailed analysis;
     Solicit from the meeting participants all available 
information, especially quantifiable data, concerning significant local 
resources; and
     Encourage statement from experts and the public on issues 
that should be analyzed in the EA.

Information Requested

    Federal and state resources agencies, local government officials, 
interested groups, area residents, and concerned individuals are 
requested to provide any information they believe will assist the 
Commission staff to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with 
relicensing the project. The types of information sought included the 
following:

     Data, reports, and resource plans that characterize the 
physical, biological or social environments in the vicinity of the 
projects; and

     Information and data that help staff identify or evaluate 
significant environmental issues.

    Scoping information and associated comments should be submitted to 
the Commission no later than July 16, 1995. Written comments should be 
provided at the scoping meeting or mailed to the Commission, as 
follows: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Energy Federal Regulatory Commission, 
825 North Capitol St., N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426.

    All filings sent to the Secretary of the Commission should contain 
an original and 8 copies. Failure to file an original and 8 copies may 
result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of your comments 
in a timely manner. See 18 CFR 4.34(h).

    All correspondence should show the following caption on the first 
page: FERC No. 1962-000--CA; Rock Creek--Cresta Project.

    Intervenors and interceders (as defined in 18 CFR 385.2010) who 
file documents with the Commission are reminded of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure requiring them to serve a copy of all 
documents filed with the Commission on each person whose name is listed 
on the official service list for this proceeding.

    For further information, please contact Jim Haimes in Washington, 
D.C. at (202) 219-2780.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95-11611 Filed 5-10-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M