[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 149 (Wednesday, August 2, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47489-47490]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-19456]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visits and Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

July 27, 2000.
    Take notice that the Commission intends to hold scoping meetings 
for the following hydroelectric applications which have been filed with 
the Commission:
    a. Type of Applications: Two Original Major Licenses.
    b. Project Nos.: 10461-002 and 10462-002.
    c. Date filed: May 31, 1990.
    d. Applicant: Erie Boulevard Hydropower, L.P.
    e. Name of Project: Parishville Project and Allens Falls Project.
    f. Location: On the West Branch of the St. Regis River, near the 
village of Parishville, St. Lawrence County, New York. The projects 
would not utilize federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 USC Sec. 791 (a)-
825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Jerry L. Sabattis, Erie Boulevard 
Hydropower, L.P., Suite 201, 225 Greenfield Parkway, Liverpool, NY 
13088-6656, (315) 413-2700.
    i. FERC Contact: Peter Leitzke, (202) 219-2803.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 18, 2000.
    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.
    k. Status of environmental analysis: The applications are not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time..
    l. Description of Projects:
    Parishville Project: The project consists of the following existing 
facilities: (1) a dam composed of an earthen dike and various concrete 
structures; (2) an intake structure; (3) a penstock 2,561 feet long and 
six to 10 feet in diameter; (4) a powerhouse housing a 2,400-kilowatt 
(kW) hydropower unit; (5) at tailrace 400 feet long; (6) a 4.8-kilovolt 
(kV) transmission line; and (7) appurtenant facilities.
    Allens Falls Project: The project consists of the following 
existing facilities: (1) a concrete gravity type dam with flashboard 
two feet high; (2) an intake structure; (3) a pipeline 9,344 feet long 
and seven feet in diameter; (4) a differential surge tank; (5) a 
penstock 886 feet long and seven feet in diameter; (6) a powerhouse 
housing a 4,400-kW hydropower unit; (7) a tailrace 450 feet long; (8) a 
115-kV transmission line; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
    m. Locations of the application: A copy of the application is 
available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, 
D.C. 20426, or by calling (202) 208-1371. The application may be viewed 
on the web at http://www.ferc.fed.us/online/rims.htm (call 202-208-2222 
for assistance). A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    n. Scoping Process.
    The Commission staff intends to prepare a Multiple Project 
Environmental Assessment (MPEA) for the Parishville Project (FERC No. 
10461-002) and the Allens Falls Project (FERC No. 10462-002). The staff 
believes that combining both the projects into one environmental 
document would provide the best approach for analyzing potential 
cumulative environmental effects associated with both projects located 
relatively close to one another on the West Branch of the St. Regis 
River.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission will hold scoping meetings, one in the daytime and 
one in the evening, to identify the scope of issues to be addressed in 
the MPEA.
    The evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input, while 
the daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in 
identifying the scope of the environmental issues that should be 
analyzed in the MPEA. The times and locations of these meetings are as 
follows:

Evening Meeting
    Date: August 16, 2000
    Time: 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
    Place: Auditorium
    Parishville-Hopkinton Central School
    12 County Route 47
    Parishville, NY 13762

[[Page 47490]]

Daytime Meeting
    Date: August 17, 2000
    Time: 9 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
    Place: High School Library
    Parishville-Hopkinton Central School
    12 County Route 47
    Parishville, NY 13762

    To help focus discussions, we will distribute a Scoping Document 
(SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the MPEA to the 
parties on the Commission's mailing lists. Copies of the SD1 will also 
be available at the scoping meetings.

Site Visits

    The Applicant and Commission staff will conduct a site to the 
projects on Wednesday, August 16, 2000, starting at 10 a.m. We will 
meet at the Parishville Project dam on Route 72 in Parishville. Those 
who wish to attend the site visit should contact Peter Leitzke of FERC 
at (202) 219-2803 or Jerry Sabattis of Erie Boulevard Hydropoer, L.P., 
at (315) 413-2700 on or before August 11, 2000.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the MPEA; 
(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 MPEA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the MPEA; (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis; and (6) identify how the projects 
contribute to cumulative impacts in each project area and the West 
Branch of the St. Regis River Basin.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission's proceeding for these 
projects. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings will be 
asked to sign in before the meetings start and to identify themselves 
clearly 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 this MPEA.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-19456 Filed 8-1-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M