[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 181 (Monday, September 18, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56299-56300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-23834]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2721-013; Maine]


Penobscot Hydro, LLC; Notice of Intent To Conduct Public Scoping 
Meetings and Site Visit

September 12, 2000.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission/FERC) received 
an application from the Penobscot Hydro, (LLC Penobscot) to relicense 
the Howland Hydroelectric Project No. 2721-013. The 1.875-megawatt 
project is located on Piscataquis River in Penobscot County, Maine. The 
Commission will hold public and agency scoping meetings on October 3 
and 4, 2000, for preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) under 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the issuance of a 
major license for the project.

Scoping Meetings

    Scoping meeting will focus on public and resource agency and non-
governmental organization (NGO) 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 EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:
Evening Scoping Meeting
Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2000
Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Place: Howland Town Hall
Address: 8 Main Street, Howland, Maine
Morning Scoping Meeting
Date: Wednesday, October 4, 2000
Time: 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Place: Howland Town Hall
Address: 8 Main Street, Howland, Maine
    To help focus discussion, we will distribute a Scoping Document 
(SD1) outlining the subject areas to be

[[Page 56300]]

addressed at the meeting to the parties on the Commission's mailing 
list. Copies of the SD1 also will be available at the scoping meetings.

Site Visits

    Penobscot and FERC staff will conduct a project site visit 
beginning at 2:00 p.m. on October 3, 2000. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. All participants 
should meet at the Howland Project powerhouse, off Route 116 in 
Howland, Maine. All participants are responsible for their own 
transportation to the site. Anyone who wishes to attend the site visit, 
or with questions about the visit, should contact Mr. Scott Hall of 
Penobscot at (207) 827-5364.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (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 EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the relative 
depth of analysis for issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) 
identify resource issues that are of lesser importance, and, therefore, 
do not require 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 meeting starts and to clearly identify themselves for the 
record. Speaking time for attendees at the meetings will be determined 
before the meeting, based on the number of persons wishing to speak and 
the approximate amount of time available for the session. All speakers 
will be provided at least 5 minutes to present their views.
    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 EA.
    Persons choosing not to speak at the meetings, but who have views 
on the issues, may submit written statements for inclusion in the 
public record at the meeting. In addition, written scoping comments may 
be filed with the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426, until November 6, 2000. All 
filings should contain an original and eight copies, and must clearly 
show at the top of the first page ``Howland Hydroelectric Project, FERC 
No. 2721-013.''
    For further information, please contact Ed Lee at (202) 219-2809 or 
e-mail at [email protected] and Peter Foote at (716) 568-0425 or e-
mail at [email protected].

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-23834 Filed 9-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M