[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19247-19248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10191]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Application Filed With the Commission and Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

April 13, 1998.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Proposal To Amend Minimum Flow Releases.
    b. Project No: 77-110.
    c. Date Filed: March 31, 1998.
    d. Licensee: Pacific Gas and Electric Company.
    e. Name of Project: Potter Valley Project.
    f. Location: Eel River and East Fork Russian River, in Lake and 
Mendocino Counties, California.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Licensee Contact: Mr. Terry Morford, Manager--Hydro Generation, 
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, P.O.

[[Page 19248]]

box 770000, Mail Code N11C, San Francisco, CA 94177, (415) 973-4603.
    i. FERC Contact: Dr. John M. Mudre, (202) 219-1208.
    j. Comment Date: June 8, 1998.
    k. Description: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), licensee 
for the Potter Valley Project (FERC No. 77) has filed the final report 
on its 10-year study of the effects of its article 38 minimum flow 
schedule on salmonids, and its associated proposal for changes to the 
required minimum flows at the project. The flow proposal represents the 
culmination of negotiations among technical staff of PG&E, the 
California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. Under 
these ``Joint Recommendations'' (JR), flows to the Eel River would be 
adjusted up to three times per day in response to changes in streamflow 
in the downstream Tomki Creek. The quantity of flow released would be 
proportional to Tomki Creek flow and would range, in normal years, from 
5 to 200 cfs. During dry years, ``water conservancy'' measures would be 
implemented that could reduce releases by up to one half, but flow 
would never be less than 5 cfs. The JR also reserve a block of 5,000 
acre-feet of water annually to maintain pre-specified flows during 
protracted droughts when the release schedule prescribes flow 
reductions in response to natural conditions.
    Because the project serves as an inter-basin transfer, increased 
minimum flow releases to the Eel River would result in decreases in 
diversions to the East Fork Russian River. Under the JR, diversions to 
the East Fork Russian River would decrease from an estimated 8 percent 
in the wettest years to 25 percent in the driest years. From a 
volumetric perspective, the annual reduction in diversions would range 
from an estimated 13,000 to 18,000 acre feet.
    The JR also contain non-flow provisions for protecting and 
enhancing aquatic resources. These include: (1) PG&E will provide 
$20,000 annually to fund a scientific aide position at the Van Arsdale 
Fishery Station; (2) PG&E will fund annual chinook salmon carcass 
surveys at selected sites on the Eel River and Tomki Creek; (3) PG&E 
will provide CDFG $10,000 annually for Sacramento squawfish 
suppression; (4) PG&E will provide CDFG up to $30,000 annually for 
CDFG's chinook salmon and stock rescue program; (5) PG&E will continue 
to cooperate in releasing warm water from the spillway of Scott Dam in 
the late winter/spring period to promote the timely migration of 
juvenile chinook salmon from the Eel River between Scott and Cape Horn 
Dams; (6) the Tomki Creek flow gage will be updated to improve the 
precision of low flow measurements and to allow data telemetry for flow 
calculation; and (7) Cape Horn Dam will be modified to allow accurate 
regulation of the higher minimum flows provided under the JR.
    Commission staff has determined that amendment of the minimum flow 
requirements at the Potter Valley Project could constitute a major 
Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human 
environment. Therefore, staff intends to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed amendment. The EIS will also 
consider reasonable alternatives to the proposed amendment. A draft EIS 
will be issued and circulated for review to those on the mailing list 
for this proceeding. All comments filed on the draft EIS will be 
analyzed by Commission Staff and considered in the Final EIS.
    As part of the EIS process, we will be conducting a series of 
scoping meetings in the project vicinity. The purpose of the scoping 
process is to identify the scope of environmental issues that should be 
analyzed in the EIS and to provide us with information that may be 
useful in preparing the EIS. The dates, times, and locations of the 
scoping meetings will be announced in a subsequent public notice. We 
will also accept written scoping comments from any interested party, 
either prior to, or for a limited period following, the scoping 
meetings. To help focus comments on the environmental issues, a scoping 
document outlining subject areas to be addressed in the EIS will be 
sent to those on the mailing list for this proceeding prior to the 
scoping meetings. The deadline for receiving scoping comments will be 
specified at that time. Those not on the mailing list may request a 
copy of the scoping document from the project coordinator, whose 
telephone number is listed below.
    Those wishing to be added to the mailing list or to submit 
comments, information, or other correspondence pertaining to this 
proceeding should file their correspondence with the commission at the 
following address: The Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.
    All filings should show the following on the first page: ``Potter 
Valley Project,'' FERC No. 77-110.
    For further information, please contact the FERC Project 
Coordinator, John M. Mudre, at (202) 219-1208.
    1. This notice also consists of the following standard paragraphs: 
B, C1, and D2.
    B. Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene--Anyone may submit 
comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the 
requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, 
.214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission 
will consider all protests or other comments 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 comments, protests, or 
motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified 
comment date for the particular application.
    C1. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents--Any filings must 
bear in all capital letters the title ``COMMENTS'', ``RECOMMENDATIONS 
FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS'', ``PROTEST'', OR ``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', as 
applicable, and the Project Number of the particular application to 
which the filing refers. Any of the above-named documents must be filed 
by providing the original and the number of copies provided by the 
Commission's regulations to: The Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426. A copy of 
any motion to intervene must also be served upon each representative of 
the Applicant specified in the particular application.
    D2. Agency Comments--Federal, state, and local agencies are invited 
to file comments on the described application. A copy of the 
application may be obtained by agencies directly from the Applicant. If 
an agency does not file comments within the time specified for filing 
comments, it will be presumed to have no comments. One copy of an 
agency's comments must also be sent to the Applicant's representatives.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-10191 Filed 4-16-98; 8:45 am]
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