[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 100 (Friday, May 23, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28460-28461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-13558]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2000-010]


Power Authority of the State of New York; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold Public Scoping 
Meetings on Project Relicensing

May 19, 1997.
    Power Authority of the State of New York (NYPA) is the licensee for 
the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, which is located on the St. 
Lawrence River in St. Lawrence County, New York. The license for the 
project expires October 31, 2003.
    On June 3, 1996, NYPA filed a Notice of Intent to seek a new 
license to continue to operate and maintain its St. Lawrence-FDR 
Project.
    NYPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission), the 
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), resource 
agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and 
many interested members of the public have been conducting a 
Cooperative Consultation Process (CCP) to identify resource issues to 
be addressed during the relicensing of the project. The establishment 
of the CCP Team and the commencement of the Scoping Process for the 
relicensing were announced in a Notice of Memorandum of Understanding, 
Formation of Cooperative Consultation Process Team, and Initiation of 
Scoping Process Associated with Relicensing the St. Lawrence-FDR Power 
Project, issued May 2, 1996, and published in the Federal Register  
dated May 8, 1996, Volume 61, No. 90, on page 20813. Representatives of 
the Canadian government, the International Joint Commission, and Mohawk 
Nation communities have also attended some of the meetings. The Scoping 
Process will assist the FERC and the DEC in satisfying their 
requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 
and Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act.

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

    The Commission and DEC staffs have determined that relicensing the 
existing project could constitute a major Federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staffs 
intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 
relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Project in accordance with NEPA. 
The DEC is a cooperating agency and is responsible for the issuance of 
a water quality certificate under the Clean Water Act.
    The EIS will consider both site specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts of the proposed project and reasonable 
alternatives, and will include an economic and engineering analysis.
    A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all 
interested stakeholders and the public. All comments filed on the draft 
EIS will be analyzed by the Commission staff and considered in a final 
EIS.
    As part of the relicensing process, the CCP Team has prepared a 
Scoping Document I (SDI), which provides information on the scoping 
process, relicensing schedule, background information, environmental 
issues, and the proposed project and alternatives. The issues contained 
in SDI are based on agency and public comments at the CCP Team and 
other meetings.
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Advise all interested 
individuals, organizations, and agencies as to the proposed scope of 
the environmental analysis, including cumulative effects, and to seek 
additional information pertinent to this analysis; and (2) advise all 
individuals, organizations, and agencies of their opportunity for 
comment.

Scoping Process

The staffs' scoping objectives are to:
    Identify significant environmental issues;
    Determine the depth of analysis appropriate to each issue;
    Identify the resource issues not requiring detailed analysis; and
    Identify reasonable project alternatives.

    The purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant 
issues related to the proposed action and to determined what issues 
should be addressed in the EIS.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission and DEC staffs will conduct one afternoon scoping 
meeting and three evening scoping meetings. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend and assist the staff 
in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be 
analyzed in the EIS.
    To help focus discussions, SDI will be circulated to enable 
appropriate federal, state, and local resource agencies, Indian tribes, 
NGOs, and other interested individuals, organizations, and agencies to 
participate effectively in and contribute to the scoping process. SDI 
provides a brief description of the

[[Page 28461]]

proposed action, project alternatives, the geographic and temporal 
scope of a cumulative effects analysis, and a list of preliminary 
issues. Copies of SDI will also be made available at the meetings.
    The afternoon meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 1997 
beginning at 2:00 P.M. at St. Joseph's Parish Hall, 30 Bayley Road, 
Massena, New York.
    The first evening meeting will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 1997 
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at St. Joseph's Parish Hall, 30 Bayley Road, 
Massena, New York.
    The second evening meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 25, 1997 
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the United Methodist Church, State Route 37 
(Lincoln Ave.), Waddington, New York.
    The third evening meeting will be held on Thursday, June 26, 1997 
beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the Akwesasne Housing Authority Building, 
State Route 37 (behind the police station), Hogansburg, New York.
    At the scoping meetings, the Commission and DEC staffs will: (1) 
Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis 
in the EIS; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available 
information, especially quantified data, on the resources at issue, and 
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that 
should be analyzed in the EIS. Individuals, organizations, and agencies 
with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the 
meetings and to assist the staffs in defining and clarifying the issues 
to be addressed in the EIS.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer. The minutes will 
become a part of the record of the Commission proceeding on the St. 
Lawrence-FDR Project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings 
will be asked to identify themselves for the record.
    Concerned individuals, organizations, and agencies are encouraged 
to offer verbal comments during the public meetings. Speaking time will 
be determined before each 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.
    Persons choosing not to speak but wishing to express an opinion, as 
well as speakers unable to summarize their positions within their 
allotted time, may submit written statements for inclusion in the 
public record.
    Written scoping comments may also be filed with the Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, 
D.C. 20426, no later than August 25, 1997. All filings should contain 
an original and 5 copies. Failure to file an original and 5 copies may 
result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of your comments 
in a timely manner.
    All correspondence should clearly show the following caption on the 
first page: Scoping Comments, St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Project 
No. 2000-010, New York.
    All those attending the meeting are urged to refrain from making 
any communications concerning the merits of the project to any member 
of the Commission staff outside of the established process for 
developing the record as stated in the record of the proceeding.
    If you would like to participate in the meetings or need general 
information on the CCP Team and process, as well as the relicensing 
process, contact any one of the following three individuals:

Mr. Thomas R. Tatham, New York Power Authority, 212-468-6747, 212-468-
6272 (fax), EMAIL: Ytathat@IP3GATE. USA.COM
Mr. Keith Silliman, New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 518-
457-0986, 518-457-3978 (fax), EMAIL: [email protected].
Mr. Thomas Russo, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 202-219-2700, 
202-219-2634 (fax), EMAIL: Thomas. [email protected]
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-13558 Filed 5-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M