[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 38 (Monday, February 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11577-11578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4573]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

February 20, 2001.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Subsequent License.
    b. Project No.: 2652-007.
    c. Date Filed: August 30, 2000.
    d. Applicant: PacifiCorp.
    e. Name of Project: Bigfork Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Swan River/Flathead Lake, near the town of 
Bigfork, Flathead County, Montana. The project does not occupy any 
fedeal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 USC 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Linda Prendergast, Project Manager, 
PacifiCorp, 825 N.E. Multnomah, Suite 1500, Portland, OR 97232 or 
telephone (503) 813-6625.
    i. FERC Contact: Steve Hocking, e-mail address 
[email protected], or telephone (202) 219-2656.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: April 23, 2001.
    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. Comments and protests may be 
filed electronically via the internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's web site 
at http://www.ferc.fed.us/efi/doorbell.htm.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person on the official service list for the 
project. Further, if an intervener 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. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. Description of the Project: The project consists of: (1) A 12-
foot-high, 300-foot-long concrete diversion dam with a 235-foot-long 
spillway; (2) a reservoir with 73 surface acres; (3) a water intake 
structure and 1-mile-long flowline; (4) a forebay structure that 
directs water into three steel penstocks; (5) a brick powerhouse with 
three turbine/generator units with a total installed capacity of 4,150 
kilowatts; (6) a fish ladder on the right abutment (north end of the 
dam) and; (7) appurtenant facilities.
    m. 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, DC 20426, or by calling (202) 
208-1371. The application may be viewed on http://www.ferc.fed.us/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 intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
for the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
scoping meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource 
agency and non-governmental organization concerns, while the public 
scoping meeting is intended primarily for public input. All interested 
individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or 
both of the meetings, and to assist Commission 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:

Agency Scoping Meeting

Date and Time: March 22, 2001; from 10:00 to 2:00 pm
Location: Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Park's offices at 
490 North Meridian Road in Kalispell, Montana; phone (406) 752-5501

Public Scoping Meeting

Date and Time: March 21, 2001; from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm
Location: Marina Cay Resort at 180 Vista Lane, Bigfork, Montana; phone 
(406) 837-5861

    Copies of Scoping Document 1 (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA were distributed to all parties on the 
Commission's mailing list for this project. Copies of SD1 will also be 
available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the Commission's 
website at http://www.ferc.fed.us/rims.htm. Call (202) 208-2222 for 
assistance.

Site Visit

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct a site visit to the 
project on March 21, 2001. We will meet at 9:00 am at the Bigfork 
Project powerhouse--295 Bridge Street, Bigfork, Montana. All interested 
individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. All 
participants are responsible for their own transportation to the site. 
Anyone with questions about the site visit should contact the applicant 
in item h. above.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantified 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, Commission staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the 
resource issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those 
issues that

[[Page 11578]]

require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    Scoping meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of 
the formal record for the Commission's proceeding on the project. 
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.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-4573 Filed 2-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M