[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 158 (Tuesday, August 17, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 44719]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-21283]



[[Page 44719]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 309-PA]


Pennsylvania Electric Co.; GPU Generation, Inc.; Notice of 
Scoping Meetings Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 for an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment

August 11, 1999.
    Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 1992, and as part of the 
license application, the Pennsylvania Electric Company/GPU Generation, 
Inc. (GPU) intends to prepare an Applicant Prepared Environmental 
Assessment (APEA) to file along with the license application, with the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) for the Piney Project 
No. 309. The license for the project expires on October 12, 2002.
    In February 1998, GPU started the consultation process with 
preparation and distribution of the Initial Information Package. This 
was followed by an initial consultation meeting on March 10, 1998. 
Study plans were subsequently drafted and reviewed, and field studies 
commenced in January 1999.
    Recently GPU discussed the APEA process for the relicensing of the 
Piney Project with fish and wildlife agencies, and on June 24, 1998, 
GPU requested Commission approval to enter into the alternative 
licensing process. Notice of GPU's request was issued on July 15, 1999, 
and the Commission has not acted on the request. As part of the APEA 
process, GPU has prepared a Scoping Document I (SDI), which provides 
information on the scoping process, APEA schedule, background 
information, environmental issues, and proposed project alternatives.
    The purpose of this notice is to: (1) Advise all parties as to the 
proposed scope of the environmental analysis, including cumulative 
effects, and to seek additional information pertinent to this analysis; 
and (2) advise all parties of their opportunity for comment.

Scoping Process

    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 document to be prepared pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The SDI will be 
circulated to enable appropriate federal, state, and local resource 
agencies, Indian tribes, NGOs, and other interested parties to 
participate in the scoping process. SDI provides a brief description of 
the proposed action, project alternatives, the geographic and temporal 
scope of a cumulative effects analysis, and a list of issues.

Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

    GPU and Commission staff will conduct two scoping meetings. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend and assist in identifying the scope of environmental issues that 
should be analyzed in the APEA.
    The scoping meetings will be held on August 26, 1999, at the 
Clarion Holiday Inn in Clarion, Pennsylvania. The agency scoping 
meeting will be held from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, and the public scoping 
meeting will be held from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. The public is invited to 
attend either or both meetings. For more details, interested parties 
should contact Thomas Teitt of GPU at (814) 533-8788 or (717) 948-8177, 
prior to the meeting date.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, NEP and Commission staff will: (1) 
summarize the environmental issues identified for analysis in the APEA; 
(2) solicit from the meeting 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 APEA. Individuals, organizations, and agencies with 
environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the 
meetings and to assist in defining and clarifying the issues to be 
addressed.

Meeting Procedures

    The meeting will be conducted according to the procedures used at 
Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA 
scoping meeting, the Commission will not conduct another scoping 
meeting when the application and APEA are filed with the Commission in 
the Fall of 2000.
    The meetings may be recorded by a stenographer or tape, and become 
a part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the Piney 
Project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be 
asked to identify themselves for the record. Speaking time allowed for 
individuals will be determined before each meeting, 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 no later than September 9, 1999.
    All filings should contain an original and 8 copies. Failure to 
file an original and 8 copies may result in appropriate staff not 
receiving the benefit of your comments in a timely manner. All comments 
should be submitted to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, 
and should clearly show the following captions on the first page: Piney 
Project, FERC No. 309. A copy of each filing should also be sent to 
Thomas R. Tiett, GPU Generation, Inc., 1001 Broad St., Johnstown, PA 
15907.
    Based on all written comments, a Scoping Document II (SDII) may be 
issued. SDII will include a revised list of issues, based on the 
scoping sessions.
    For further information regarding the APEA scoping process, please 
contact William Guey-Lee, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426 at (202) 219-2809, or Thomas 
Tiett (717) 948-8177.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-21283 Filed 8-16-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M