[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44965-44966]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-22440]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

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


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

August 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 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; (2) advise all 
individuals, organizations, and agencies of their opportunity for 
comment; and (3) extend for 30 days the current 60-day comment period, 
which closes August 25, 1997, on SDI.

Scoping Process

    The staffs' scoping objectives are to:


[[Page 44966]]


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 determine what issues 
should be addressed in the EIS.

Scoping Meetings

    On June 24, 25, and 26, 1997, the Commission and DEC staffs 
conducted scoping meetings, which were published in the Federal 
Register dated May 23, 1997, Volume 62, No. 100, on page 28461. Due to 
requests for an additional scoping meeting and to allow additional time 
for individuals to respond to comments received during the June scoping 
meetings, the Commission and DEC staffs will conduct two scoping 
meetings and extend for 30 days the current 60-day comment period, 
which closes August 25, 1997, on SDI. All comments will now be due no 
later than September 25, 1997. 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 has been circulated to enable 
appropriate federal, state, and local resource agencies, Native 
American 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 proposed 
action, project alternatives, the geographic of the proposed scope of a 
cumulative effects analysis, and a list of preliminary issues. Copies 
of SDI will also be made available at the meetings.
    A scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 1997, from 
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Akwesasne Housing Authority, State Route 
37 (behind the police station), Hogansburg, New York. The evening 
scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 1997, from 7:00 
p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Akwesasne Housing Authority.
    At the scoping meetings, the Commission staff will: (1) Summarize 
the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the 
EIS; (2) solicit from the meetings 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 the meetings, based on the 
number of persons wishing to speak and the approximate amount of time 
available for the session.
    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.
    All written scoping comments must be filed with the Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, 
D.C. 20426, no later than September 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 meetings 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 State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, 
518-457-0986, 518-457-3978 (fax), EMAIL: [email protected].
Ms. Patti Leppert-Slack, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 202-219-
2767, 202-219-2732 (fax), EMAIL: Patricia.LeppertSlack, @FERC.FED. US.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-22440 Filed 8-22-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M