[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 53 (Friday, March 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 13560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6703]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project 2169, NC/TN]


Tapoco, Inc.; Notice of Meeting on Initial Information Package 
and Project Site Visit for an Alternative Licensing Procedure

March 15, 1999.
    The Commission's regulations allow applicants to prepare their own 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for hydropower projects and file it with 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) along with their 
license application as part of an alternative licensing procedure 
(ALP).\1\ On February 9, 1999, the Commission approved the use of an 
ALP in the preparation of the license application for Tapoco, Inc.'s 
(Tapoco) Tapoco Project, No. 2169. The 326.5-megawatt Tapoco 
(originally known as the Tallasee project) project is located on the 
Little Tennessee and its tributary, the Cheoah River, in Blount and 
Monroe Counties, Tennessee, and Graham and Swain Counties, North 
Carolina.
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    \1\ 81 FERC para. 61,103 (1997)
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    The ALP include provisions for the distribution of an initial 
information package (IIP), and for the cooperative scoping of 
environmental issues and information needs. Tapoco plans to distribute 
its IIP for the Tapoco Project on March 12, 1999 to the mailing list 
for this proceeding.

Public Meeting and Project Site Visit

    Tapoco will hold an informational meeting and project site visit on 
April 13 and 14, 1999. The purpose of the meeting is to review the 
information presented in the IIP and to initiate the identification of 
areas of interest which should be addressed in the licensing and 
related Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) processes. 
The meeting portions of the two day agenda will be held at the 
Calderwood Service Building at the Calderwood Development of the Tapoco 
Project. The specifics of the agenda will be provided in the IIP.
    The site visit is intended to provide the opportunity for 
interested individuals to learn more about the project, its operations 
and the surrounding environment. Planned activities include facility 
tours, visits to public access sites, and tours of the project 
reservoirs and waterways.
    Based on feedback received on the IIP and the project site visit, 
Tapoco will prepare a Scoping Document 1 (SD1) which will provide 
information on the scoping process, APEA schedule, background 
information, potential environmental issues, and proposed project 
alternatives. Additional meetings may be held in May and June to assist 
in the development of SD1.
    Tapoco anticipates issuing SD1 during the third quarter of 1999. 
Upon issuance of SD1, Tapoco and the Commission will issue public 
notice of its availability and will hold a public scoping meeting(s) 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
    All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited 
and encouraged to attend the information meeting on the IIP and project 
site visit and to assist in the identification of environmental issues 
that should be included in SD1.
    For further information regarding the informational meeting and 
project site visit or to be added to the mailing list for the Tapoco 
ALP, please contact Ms. Sue Fugate of Tapoco at (423) 977-3321 or 
Ronald McKitrick of the Commission's staff at (770) 452-3778.
    The IIP which includes the agenda may be viewed on the web at 
http://ww.ferc.fed.us/online/rims.htm (call 202-208-2222 for 
assistance.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-6703 Filed 3-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M