[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 8, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23250-23251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11481]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Soliciting Scoping Comments

May 2, 2001.
    Take notice the following hydroelectric application has been filed 
with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: New major license.
    b. Project No.: P-2142-031.
    c. Date filed: December 28, 1999.
    d. Applicant: FPL Energy Maine Hydro, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Indian Pond Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Kennebec River, near the town of The Forks, 
Somerset and Piscataquis counties, Maine. The project would not utilize 
federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contacts: Kenneth P. Hoffman, Vice President; FPL 
Energy Maine Hydro, LLC; 700 Universe Boulevard Juno Beach, FL 33408; 
(561) 694-4000 and Robert C. Richter III; Senior Environmental 
Coordinator; FPL Energy Maine Hydro, LLC; 100 Middle Street; Portland, 
ME 04101; (207) 771-3536.
    i. FERC Contact: Kevin Whalen (202) 219-2790; email: 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: July 9, 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, protests and 
interventions 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 
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.
    Protests, comments on filings, comments on environmental 
assessments and environmental impact statements, and reply comments 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.
    k. Status of environmental analysis: This application is not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Description of the Project: The proposed peaking project 
consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 2,000-foot-long 
dam, consisting of (a) a 270-foot-long, 175-foot-high concrete section, 
(b) a 200-foot-long attached powerhouse section, and (c) an earthen 
section in excess of 1,500 feet in length; (2) four steel penstocks 
ranging from 6 feet to 24 feet in diameter; (3) a concrete powerhouse 
containing four generating units, having a total rated hydraulic 
capacity of 7,140 cubic feet per second and installed generation 
capacity of 76.4 megawatts (4) a 3,746-acre impoundment varying in 
width from 0.9 to 1.5 miles, extending about 9 miles upstream, that has 
a usable storage capacity of 850 million cubic feet; and (5) 
appurtenant facilities. The applicant estimates the total average 
annual generation would be approximately 202 million kilowatt hours.
    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, 
DC 20246, 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 intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
on 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

    The Commission will hold scoping meetings, one in the evening and 
one in the daytime, to help us identify the scope of issues to be 
addressed in the EA.
    The evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input and 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

[[Page 23251]]

environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and 
locations of these meetings are as follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting

Date: June 6, 2001
Time: 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Place: The Forks Town Hall, US Route 201, The Forks, Maine

Daytime Scoping Meeting

Date: June 7, 2001
Time: 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Place: Best Western Senator Inn (Embassy Room), 284 Western Avenue at 
I-95, Augusta, Maine

    Individuals needing directions to the scoping meetings should 
contact Mr. Robert Richter, FPL Energy Maine Hydro, LLC, at (207) 771-
3536. Commission staff previously conducted a site visit of the Indian 
Pond Hydroelectric Project on September 28 and 29, 2000. No additional 
site visit is planned at this time.
    To help focus discussions, we will distribute a Scoping Document 
(SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EA to the 
parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 also will 
be available at the scoping meeting.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, 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 view points in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.
    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.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in 
the EA.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-11481 Filed 5-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M