[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 162 (Tuesday, August 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43050-43051]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-21115]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 11393-001, AK]


City of Saxman, Alaska; Notice of Application and Applicant 
Prepared EA Accepted for Filing; Notice Requesting Interventions and 
Protests; and Notice Requesting Comments, Final Terms and Conditions, 
Recommendations and Prescriptions

August 14, 1996.
    The Applicant, City of Saxman, Alaska, (Saxman) proposes to 
construct, operate, and maintain a 9.6 megawatt (MW) hydroelectric 
project on Upper Mahoney Lake and Upper Mahoney Creek near Ketchikan in 
southeast Alaska. The project would be sited on private land claimed by 
the Cape Fox Corporation under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 
and on approximately 114 acres of National Forest System land in the 
Tongass National Forest (TNF) managed by the U.S. Forest Service (FS).
    The proposed project would involve constructing: (1) a lake tap 
near the natural outlet of Upper Mahoney Lake about 75 feet below the 
normal water surface elevation; (2) a 1,700-foot-long upper tunnel; (3) 
a buried, 12-inch-diameter bypass pipe; (4) a 1,370-foot-long 
partially-lined vertical shaft; (5) an 8-foot-diameter, 3,350-foot-long 
horseshoe-shaped lower tunnel; (6) a semi-underground powerhouse with a 
single twin-jet horizontal Pelton turbine having a generating capacity 
of 9.6 MW; (7) a 200-foot-long tailrace channel to convey water back to 
Upper Mahoney Creek; (8) 1 mile of buried 13.2-kV transmission line, 
0.5 mile of buried 34.5-kV transmission line, and 3.1 miles of 34.5-kV 
overhead transmission line; (9) a switchyard; and (10) 2.6 miles of new 
access road (see Figures 2 and 3).
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) update interested parties on 
the Mahoney Lake project application process status; (2) inform all 
interested parties that the Mahoney Lake applicant-prepared 
environmental assessment (EA) and final license application filed with 
the Commission on May 31, 1996, are hereby accepted; (3) invite 
interventions and protests; and (4) solicit comments, final 
recommendations, terms and conditions, or prescriptions on Saxman's 
applicant-prepared (EA) and final license application.

Applicant Prepared EA Process and Mahoney Lake Project Schedule

    The Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Act) gives the Commission the 
authority to allow the filing of an applicant prepared EA with a 
license application. The Act also directs the Commission to institute 
procedures, including pre-application consultations, to advise 
applicants of studies or other information foreseeably required by the 
Commission.
    On February 13, 1995, the Director, Office of Hydropower Licensing, 
waived or amended certain of the Commission's regulations to allow for 
the processes of license application and applicant prepared EA 
preparation to be coordinated. Since then, the Commission and FS staffs 
have been working cooperatively in advising Saxman of studies or other 
information foreseeably required by the Commission and the FS.
    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping was conducted on 
the project through scoping documents issued March 8, 1995 and 
September 27, 1995, and in public scoping meetings on April 13, 1995. A 
draft license application and preliminary draft EA (PDEA) were issued 
by Saxman for comment on March 1, 1996. The final license application 
and applicant prepared EA were filed with the Commission on May 31, 
1996, a copy of

[[Page 43051]]

which can be obtained from Saxman. Although the applicant prepared EA 
does not include responses to all comments received on the PDEA, Saxman 
did file the balance of their responses to the PDEA comments with the 
Commission on July 1, 1996.
    Commission staff have determined that some additional information 
is needed from Saxman, which is due on October 22, 1996. Once that 
information is received, staff will complete and issue a draft EA for 
comment. Staff anticipate issuing their draft EA by the end of 1996 or 
early 1997, and intend on incorporating final comments into the staff 
draft EA. The deadline for filing final comments on the application is 
being coordinated with the timing of the staff additional information 
request. Therefore, commenters should have sufficient time to review 
the additional information prior to filing their final comments.

Interventions and Protests

    All such filings must: (1) bear in all capital letters the title 
``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', (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 Saxman. All motions to 
intervene must be received 90 days from the date of this notice. A copy 
of any motion to intervene or protest must be served on each 
representative of Saxman specified in the final application.

Comments, Final Terms and Conditions, Recommendations and 
Prescriptions

    Interested parties have 90 days from the date of this notice to 
file with the Commission, any final comments, final recommendations, 
terms and conditions and prescriptions for the Mahoney Lake Project. 
Saxman will have 45 days to respond to those.
    Saxman intends to seek benefits under Sec. 210 of the Public 
Utility Regulatory Policy Act of 1978 (PURPA), and believes that the 
project meets the definition under Sec. 292.202(p) of 18 CFR for a new 
dam or diversion. As such, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the 
National Marine Fisheries Service, and the state agency exercising 
authority over the fish and wildlife resources of the state have 
mandatory conditioning authority under the procedures provided for at 
Sec. 30(c) of the Federal Power Act (Act).

Submission of Cost Statements

    Within 60 days after the date for filing mandatory terms and 
conditions, fish and wildlife agencies must file with the Commission a 
cost statement of the reasonable costs the agency incurred in setting 
mandatory terms and conditions for the proposed project.

Filing Requirements

    The above documents must be filed by providing an original and 8 
copies as required by the Commission's regulations to: Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, D.C. 20426.
    In addition to the above copies, commenters may also submit a copy 
of their comments or interventions on a 3\1/2\-inch diskette formatted 
for MS-DOS based computers to: Vince Yearrick, Office of Hydropower 
Licensing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE, 
Room 52-73, Washington, D.C. 20426. For Macintosh users, it would be 
helpful to save the documents in Macintosh word processor format and 
then write them to files on a diskette formatted for MS-DOS machines. 
Commenters may also submit their comments via electronic mail to: 
[email protected].
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 96-21115 Filed 8-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M