[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 20, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3077-3078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-1167]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meeting and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative 
Licensing Process

January 13, 1999.
    a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: 2852.
    c. Applicant: New York State Electric & Gas Corporation.
    d. Name of Project: Keuka Hydroelectric Project.
    e. Location: Between the Waneta and Lamoka Lakes impoundment and 
Keuka Lake in the Counties of Schuyler and Steuben, New York.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. Secs. 791(a)-
825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Carol Howland, New York State Electric & Gas 
Corp., Corporate Dr., Kirkwood Ind. Park, P.O. Box 5224, Binghamton, NY 
13902-5224, (607) 762-8881.
    h. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed 
to William Guey-Lee, E-mail address [email protected], or 
telephone (202) 219-2808; or John Costello, E-mail 
[email protected], or telephone (202) 219-2914.
    i. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 19, 1999.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person whose name appears on the official service 
list for the project. Further, if an intervenor files comments or 
documents with the Commission relating to the merits of an issue that 
may affect the responsibilities of a particular resource agency, they 
must also serve a copy of the document on that resource agency.
    j. Description of the Project: The project consists of: (1) The 
Bradford Dam with an overall length of about 580 feet and crest 
elevation of 1,099 feet msl, consisting of a concrete section, earthen 
embankments, outlet works, and spillway; (2) Waneta and Lamoka Lakes 
with surface areas of 781 acres and 826 acres at elevation 1,099 feet 
msl, and total storage of 27,200 acre-feet; (3) a 9,300-foot-long power 
canal; (4) a twin gated concrete box culvert, known as Wayne Gates, 
measuring 8 feet high by 6 feet wide; (5) a 70-foot-long by 16-foot-
high headgate structure; (6) a 3,450-foot-long, 4-foot-diameter 
concrete penstock; (7) an 835-foot-long, 42-inch-diameter steel 
penstock; (8) a powerhouse with one 2.0-MW generating unit; (9) and 
appurtenant equipment connecting the project generation to a 34.5 kV 
subtransmission system.
    k. Scoping Process:
    New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) intends to 
utilize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) 
alternative licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, NYSEG will prepare 
an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) and license 
application for the Keuka Hydroelectric Project.
    On November 27,1998, NYSEG made a request to use the ALP, and on 
December 8, 1998, notice of the ALP request was issued by the 
Commission.
    NYSEG expects to file with the Commission, the APEA and the license 
application for the Keuka Hydroelectric Project by February 2001.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to 
participate in the upcoming scoping meetings identified below, and to 
solicit your scoping comments.
Scoping Meetings
    NYSEG and the Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings, one 
in the daytime and one in the evening, to help us identify the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the APEA.
    The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns, 
while the evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in 
identifying the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the 
APEA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Meeting

    Tuesday, February 16, 1999, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Town Hall, Wayne, New 
York.

Evening Meeting

    Tuesday, February 16, 1999, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Town Hall, Wayne, New 
York.
    To help focus discussions, SDI was mailed in December 1998, 
outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA to the parties 
on the mailing list. Copies of the SDI also will be available at the 
scoping meetings.
    Based on all written comments received, a Scoping Document II 
(SDII) may be issued. SDII will include a revised list of issues, based 
on the scoping sessions.
Objectives
    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the APEA; 
(2) solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the APEA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the APEA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.
Procedures
    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. 
Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to sign 
in before the

[[Page 3078]]

meeting starts and to clearly identify themselves for the record.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental, 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the APEA.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-1167 Filed 1-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M