[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 2, 1997)] [Notices] [Page 15683] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-8321] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [Project No. 11588 Alaska] Alaska Power and Telephone Company [Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project]; Notice of Intent To Conduct Environmental Scoping Meetings and a Site Visit March 27, 1997. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows applicants to prepare their own environmental assessment (EA) for hydropower projects and file it with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) along with their license application as part of the ``applicant-prepared EA'' process. Alaska Power and Telephone Company (AP&T) intends to prepare an EA to file with the Commission for the proposed Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project, No. 11588. AP&T will hold two scoping meetings, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, to identify the scope of issues that should be analyzed in the EA. Scoping Meetings The times and locations of the two scoping meetings are: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Public meeting Agency meeting ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Tuesday, May 6, 1997............... Date: Thursday, May 8, 1997. Place: National Park Service, Auditorium, Place: U.S. Forest Service, Second Avenue, Skagway, Alaska. Juneau Ranger District, Confer. Room, Main Building, 8465 Old Dairy Road, Juneau, Alaska. Time: 7:00 P.M........................... Time: 10:00 A.M. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At the scoping meetings, AP&T will: (1) Summarize the tentative environmental issues and concerns on the project, (2) outline those preliminary resources that they believe would not require a detailed analysis, (3) identify reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the EA, (4) solicit from the meeting participants all available baseline information, especially quantitative data, on the resource issues, and (5) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including views supporting or opposing AP&T's preliminary views. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited and encouraged to attend either or both meetings to assist in identifying and clarifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. To help focus discussions at the meetings, AP&T will prepare and distribute to the participants prior to the meetings, the Initial Consultation Package and Scoping Document 1 for this project. Copies of this scoping document can be obtained by calling Mr. Glen Martin of AP&T at (360) 385-1733, or can be obtained directly at either meeting. Site Visit For those who intend to participate in scoping, AP&T will also conduct a site visit to the proposed Otter Creek Project on Tuesday, May 6, 1997. Those attending must meet at the AP&T offices in Skagway, Alaska, 5th and Spring Street by 7:30 AM. We will promptly leave for the project site, via helicopter. Because of the remoteness and difficulty of ground access at the proposed project site, those attending the site visit should be physically fit and must wear appropriate clothing and footgear. Those being shuttled by helicopter to the project site may need to sign a waiver of liability regarding helicopter use. To plan on helicopter use in advance of the visit, AP&T must identify the number of individuals interested in the site visit. Therefore, if you intend on visiting the proposed project site, you must first register with Mr. Stan Selmer of AP&T in Skagway at (907) 983-2202 no later than April 18, 1997. If inclement weather prevents a site visit on May 6th, the alternate date will be May 7th at the same time. Meeting Procedures The meetings will be conducted according to the procedures used at Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA scoping meeting under the APEA process, the Commission will not conduct a NEPA scoping meeting after the application and draft EA are filed with the Commission. Both scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer, and thus will become a part of the formal record of the proceedings for this project. Those who choose not to speak during the scoping meetings may instead submit written comments on the project. Written comments should be mailed to: Mr. Glen Martin, Alaska Power and Telephone Company, P.O. Box 222, Port Townsend, Washington 98368. All correspondence should show the following caption on the first page: Scoping Comments, Otter Creek Hydroelectric Project, Project No. 11588, Alaska For further information, please contact Mr. Glen Martin at (360) 385-1733 or Mr. Carl Keller of the Commission at (202) 219-2831. Lois D. Cashell, Secretary. [FR Doc. 97-8321 Filed 4-1-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-M