[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 53 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12997-12998]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-6864]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Project No. 11243-002]


Whitewater Engineering Corporation; Notice of Application and 
Draft Environmental Assessment Accepted for Filing and Notice 
Requesting Interventions and Protests

March 13, 1997.
    Whitewater Engineering Corporation (Whitewater) has submitted an 
application for a major license for the proposed Power Creek 
Hydroelectric Project, located near Cordova, Alaska. Except for the 
transmission line, the proposed project would be located on lands owned 
by the Eyak Corporation, a native corporation. The transmission line 
would be located on lands owned by the State of Alaska and the City of 
Cordova.
    The proposed run-of-river project would consist of: (1) A 20-foot-
high concrete and earthfill diversion structure on Power Creek; (2) a 
5,900-foot-long tunnel and pipeline system; (3) a powerhouse containing 
three generating units with a total installed capacity of 6 megawatts; 
(4) a tailrace returning water to Power Creek; (5) a 7.2-mile-long 
underground transmission line; (6) 2.5 miles of access roads; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Update interested parties on 
the Power Creek Project application process status; (2) inform all 
interested parties that the Power Creek applicant-prepared 
environmental assessment (EA) and final license application filed with 
the Commission on January 6, 1997, are hereby accepted; and (3) invited 
interventions and protests.

Applicant Prepared EA Process and Power Creek 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 that may be required by the 
Commission.
    On January 25, 1996, the Director, Office of Hydropower Licensing, 
waived or amended certain of the Commission's

[[Page 12998]]

regulations to allow for the processes of license application and 
applicant-prepared EA preparation to be coordinated. Since then, 
Commission staff has been advising Whitewater of studies or other 
information that may be required by the Commission,
    National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) scoping was conducted on 
the project through scoping documents issued September 13, 1995, and 
May 31, 1996, and in public scoping meetings on October 10, 1995, in 
Cordova, and October 12, 1995, in Anchorage. A draft license 
application and preliminary draft EA (PDEA) were issued by Whitewater 
for comment on May 31, 1996. The final license application and 
applicant-prepared EA were filed with the Commission on January 6, 
1997, a copy of which can be obtained from Whitewater.
    Commission staff have determined that some additional information 
is needed from Whitewater, which is due on April 29, 1997. Once that 
information is received and found acceptable, staff will issue a notice 
soliciting comments, final terms and conditions, recommendations and 
prescriptions. Staff will then incorporate final comments into a staff 
draft EA. Staff anticipate issuing their draft EA for comment by late 
Spring 1997.

Protests or Motions to Intervene

    Anyone may submit a protest or a motion to intervene in accordance 
with the requirements of the Rules of Practice and Procedures, 18 
C.F.R. sections 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.

Filing Requirements

    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.
    This notice also consists of the following standard paragraphs: A2 
and A9.
    All filings must: (1) Bear in all capital letters the title 
``PROTESTS,'' ``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 Whitewater. All motions to intervene must be received 60 
days from the date of this notice. A copy of any motion to intervene or 
protest must be served on each representative of Whitewater specified 
in the final license application.
    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, N.E., 
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: John Smith, Office of Hydropower 
Licensing, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, 
N.E., Room 52-83, 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].
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-6864 Filed 3-18-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M