[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 240 (Tuesday, December 15, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69069-69070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33152]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 2004-073 and 11607-000]


Holyoke Water Power Company, Holyoke Gas & Electric Department, 
Ashburnham Municipal Light Plant, and Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale 
Electric Company; Notice Denying Extension of Time, in Part, to File 
Comments, Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions 
Pursuant to Our Ready for Environmental Analysis Notice

December 9, 1998.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued its Notice of 
Application Ready for Environmental Analysis (REA) for both relicense 
applications in the Holyoke proceeding on November 3, 1998. The REA 
notices established a deadline of January 2, 1999, for filing comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions in the 
aforementioned proceeding.
    On November 9, 1998, subsequent to issuing the REA notices, the 
staff issued a request to both competing applicants, seeking 
clarification of previously filed additional information. The 
Commission staff's letter established deadlines of November 30 and 
December 24, 1998, for responding to different elements of the request. 
On or about November 19, 1998, the competing applicants jointly 
requested extensions of these deadlines. The Commission staff denied 
the applicants' requests by letters dated November 25, 1998.
    On December 4, November 30, and November 27, 1998, the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service, the Connecticut River Watershed Council, and the 
Town of South Hadley, respectively, filed requests for extension of the 
January 2, 1999, deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms 
and conditions, and prescriptions. These parties assert that the 
current juxtaposition of the deadlines for responses by the competing 
applicants to the requests for clarification of information already 
filed (December 24, 1998), and the due date for comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions (January 2, 
1999), does not allow for an adequate review of the material filed with 
the Commission and subsequent preparation and filing of comments, 
recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions based on that 
material.
    A substantial amount of information has been on file with the 
Commission (with copies to the parties of the proceeding) as far back 
as September 28, 1998. Our letter dated November 9, 1998, merely sought 
clarification of information that had been previously filed with the 
Commission, or for responses to comments made by resources agencies and 
non-governmental organizations on that information. We believe that 
federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other 
interested parties should be able to respond to the remaining material 
to be filed by the applicants within a short period of time.
    Also, as far back as October 27, 1997, in our Notice Granting 
Extension of Time to File comments and Requests for Additional Studies, 
we established a very tight schedule so as to resolve these contested 
applications for relicensing prior to the expiration of the original 
license term. Again, in Scoping Documents I and II (issued January 8 
and June 9, 1998, respectively), we reiterated our schedule to complete 
these proceedings in the Summer/Fall of 1999. We take this schedule 
very seriously, and will continue to make every effort to resolve this 
relicensing prior to September 1, 1999.
    We can not justify granting an extension of time to the dates 
requested. However, in order to address the concerns iterated above, we 
will extend the deadline to provide final comments, recommendations, 
terms and conditions, and prescriptions to January 15, 1999, with the 
caveat that preliminary comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions must be

[[Page 69070]]

filed with the Commission by January 2, 1999.
    After comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and 
prescriptions are filed, applicants are given 45 days to file response 
comments. Given our schedule for completing relicensing of the Holyoke 
Project, we will not favorably view and requests for extensions of time 
to file reply comments. Despite the additional time provided above, 
reply comments are still due on or before February 18, 1999.
    The Commission staff expects to issue a draft environmental impact 
statement (EIS) in March 1999, with a final EIS being issued in July 
1999. Parties will be given 45 days to comment on the draft EIS, and, 
should there be a need, consultation pursuant Section 10(j) of the 
Federal Power Act will be completed within 75 days from the issuance of 
the draft EIS. Moreover, consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered 
Species Act will be completed during this same period of time.
    In light of our goal to act on the applications by September 1, 
1999, we provided the above schedule. We do this so that participants 
in the process are able to anticipate and prepare for necessary 
actions, such as review of the draft EIS and 10(j) negotiations.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-33152 Filed 12-14-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M