[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4430-4431]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-2412]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment, Conduct 
Site Visit, Solicit Interventions, Protests, and Written Scoping 
Comments

January 31, 1996
    This notice was previously published in the Federal Register and 
the Twin Falls Times-News with January 9 and 10 as the dates for the 
site visit and scoping meetings. However, Commission staff was unable 
to travel and hold the scoping meeting due to the snow storm. 
Therefore, this notice is being republished with new dates.
    a. Type of Application: Minor license (less than 5MW).
    b. Project No: 11060-001.
    c. Dated filed: December 9, 1993.
    d. Applicant: J.M. Miller Enterprises, Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Sahko Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: In the Kastelu drainage area about 0.5 miles from the 
confluence with the Snake River in Twin Falls County, Idaho, near the 
town of Filer.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. Secs. 791(a)-
825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact:

Donald W. Block, P.E., J-U-B Engineers, Inc., 800 Falls Ave., Twin 
Falls, ID 83301, (208) 733-2414
Tracy Ahrens, J-U-B Engineers, Inc., 800 Falls Ave., Twin Falls, ID 
83301, (208) 733-2414

    i. FERC Contact: Ms. Deborah Frazier-Stutely (202) 219-2842.
    j. Deadline for filing protests, motions to intervene and written 
scoping comments: March 22, 1996.
    k. Status of Environmental Analysis: The application is not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time--see attached paragraph D8.
    1. Intent to Prepare and Environmental Assessment and Invitation 
for Written Scoping Comments: The Commission staff intends to prepare 
and Environmental Assessment (EA) on this hydroelectric project in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. In the EA, we 
will consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts 
of the project and reasonable alternatives, and will include an 
economic, financial, 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 a final EA. The staff's conclusions and 
recommendations will then be presented for consideration by the 
Commission in reaching its final licensing decision.
    Site Visit: A site visit to the proposed Sahko Hydroelectric 
Project is planned for February 21, 1996. Those who wish to attend 
should plan to meet at 8:00 am at the J-U-B Engineers, Inc. Twin Falls 
Office, 800 Falls Ave., Twin Falls, ID. If you plan to attend, contact 
Mr. Tracy Ahrens by February 19, 1996, at (208) 733-2414 for directions 
or additional details.
    Scoping Meetings: Staff will hold two scoping meetings. A scoping 
meeting oriented towards the public will be held on Wednesday, February 
21, 1996, at 7:00 p.m., at Filer High School, Highway 30, Filer, Idaho. 
A scoping meeting oriented towards the agencies will be held on 
Thursday, February 22, 1996, at 9:00 a.m., at the Filer City Hall, 
Council Chambers, 300 Main Street, Filer, ID 83328.
    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 Commission mailing list. 
Copies of the scoping document will also be available at the scoping 
meetings.
    Objectives: At the scoping meetings the staff will: (1) identify 
preliminary issues related to the proposed project; (2) identify 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 

[[Page 4431]]
view in opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views.
    Procedures: The scoping meetings will be recorded by a court 
reporter and all statements (oral and written) will become a part of 
the formal record of the Commission's proceedings on the Sahko 
Hydroelectric 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 the 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 the Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, 
D.C. 20426, until March 22, 1996.
    All written correspondence should clearly show the following 
caption on the first page: Sahko Hydroelectric Project, FERC No. 11060-
000.
    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 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. All 
entities commenting on this scoping document must file an original and 
eight copies of the comments with the Secretary of the Commission.
    Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Ms. Deborah 
Frazier-Stutely, Environmental Coordinator, FERC, at (202) 219-2842.
    m. Description of Project: The proposed project would consist of: 
(1) a 12-foot-high, 12-foot-wide, 80-foot-long earthfill sediment 
collection embankment with a crest at elevation 3,397 feet mean sea 
level (mSL), containing a broadcrest weir, a 4-foot-high 14-foot-wide 
overflow spillway, and a bypass pipe; (2) a 500-foot-long bypass ditch 
to be used during maintenance; (3) a 12-foot-high, 12-foot-wide, 110-
foot-long earthfill intake embankment with a crest at elevation 3,394.5 
feet msl, containing a concrete overflow spillway, an 8-foot-wide box 
shaped intake structure, and bypass pipe; (4) two unnamed springs; (5) 
a 24-inch-diameter, 1,950-foot-long partially buried steel penstock 
with a butterfly valve; (6) a 25-foot-wide, 50-foot-long masonry block 
powerhouse containing one pelton turbine and generating unit with an 
installed capacity of 500 kW; (7) a 6-foot-wide, 3-foot-high, 30-foot-
long rock rip-rap tailrace, discharging project flows into the Snake 
River; (8) a switchyard; (9) a 2,000-foot-long, 34.5-kV transmission 
line tying into an Idaho Power Company line; and (10) related 
facilities.
    The proposed project would operate run-of-ditch, where the project 
will use whatever flows enter the sediment impoundment as either 
irrigation waste flows or as emanating from the two unnamed springs on 
the applicant's property, and would generate about 1,178,000 
kilowatthours of energy annually.
    n. Purpose of Project: Project power will be sold to a local 
utility.
    o. This notice also consists of the following standard paragraphs: 
A2, A9, B1, D8.
    p. Available Locations of Applications: A copy of the application, 
as amended and supplemented, is available for inspection and 
reproduction at the Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance 
Branch, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, 
or by calling (202) 208-1371. A copy is also available for inspection 
and reproduction at the applicant's office (see item (h) above).
    A2. Development Application--Any qualified applicant desiring to 
file a competing application must submit to the Commission, on or 
before the specified deadline date for the particular application, a 
competing development application, or a notice of intent to file such 
an application. Submission of a timely notice of intent allows an 
interested person to file the competing development application no 
later than 120 days after the specified deadline date for the 
particular application. Applications for preliminary permits will not 
be accepted in response to this notice.
    A9. Notice of Intent--A notice of intent must specify the exact 
name, business address, and telephone number of the prospective 
applicant, and must include an unequivocal statement of intent to 
submit, if such an application may be filed, either a preliminary 
permit application or a development application (specify which type of 
application). A notice of intent must be served on the applicant(s) 
names in this public notice.
    B1. Protests or Motions to Intervene--Anyone may submit a protest 
or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules 
of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, 385.211, and 385.214. In 
determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission will 
consider all protests filed, but only those who file a motion to 
intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules may become a party 
to the proceeding. Any protests or motions to intervene must be 
received on or before the specified deadline date for the particular 
application.
    D8. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents--The application is 
not ready for environmental analysis at this time; therefore, the 
Commission is not now requesting comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, or prescriptions.
    When the application is ready for environmental analysis, the 
Commission will issue a public notice requesting comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions.
    All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTEST'' or ``MOTION TO INTERVENE,'' NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE 
COMPETING APPLICATION,'' or ``COMPETING APPLICATION;'' (2) set forth in 
the heading the name of the applicant and the project number of the 
application to which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, 
address, and telephone number of the person protesting or intervening; 
and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 
through 385.2005. Agencies may obtain copies of the application 
directly from the applicant. Any of these documents must be filed by 
providing the original and the number of copies required by the 
Commission's regulations to: The Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. An additional 
copy must be sent to Director, Division of Project Review, Office of 
Hydropower Licensing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, at the 
above address. A copy of any protest or motion to intervene must be 
served upon each representative of the applicant specified in the 
particular application.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-2412 Filed 2-5-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M