[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 166 (Monday, August 27, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45027-45028]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-21552]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visits and Soliciting Scoping 
Comments

August 21, 2001.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Original Minor License.
    b. Project No.: P-11797-000.
    c. Date Filed: July 29, 1999.
    d. Applicant: Grande Pointe Power Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: Three Rivers Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the St. Joseph River in the City of Three Rivers, 
St. Joseph County, Michigan. The project does not utilize federal 
lands.
    g. File Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Monroe E. Learn, Grande Pointe Power 
Corporation, 503 West Michigan Avenue, Three Rivers, MI 54601, (616) 
273-8828.
    i. FERC Contact: Mr. Charles T. Raabe, E-mail 
[email protected] or telephone (202) 219-2811.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: 60 days from the issuance 
of this Notice.
    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. Copies of this filing are on 
file with the Commission and are available for public inspection. 
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 under the ``e-Filing'' link.
    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: This application is not ready 
for environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Description of the Project: The project consists of the 
following existing facilities: (1) a right earthen embankment 750 feet-
long and a left earthen embankment 200 feet-long, separated by a 283 
foot-long gated spillway section with a crest elevation of 792.40 feet 
NGVD; (2) a 601-acre reservoir with a normal water surface elevation of 
797.0 feet NGVD; (3) a powerhouse containing 3 vertical Francis 
turbines each connected to a generator unit for a total installed 
capacity of 900 kW; and (4) appurtenant facilities. The average annual 
energy generation is 3,844,920 kWh. Power generated by the project is 
sold to the city of Sturgis.
    m. Location 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 20426, or by calling (202) 208-1371. This filing 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) for the proposed licensing of the Three 
Rivers Project (FERC No. 11797-000) 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 actions.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission will hold two 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 meeting will focus on public concerns, while the 
daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns. All 
interested agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Native 
American tribes, and individuals to attend either of the meetings and 
to assist the staff in identifying the scope of environmental issues to 
be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as 
follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, 7 to 9 p.m.
Three Rivers Community Library, St. Joseph Room, 103 South Douglas 
Avenue, Three Rivers, MI 49093

Morning Scoping Meeting

Thursday, September 13, 2001, 9 to 11 a.m.
2651 Coolidge Road, East Lansing, MI 48823
    To help focus discussions, we will distribute to parties on the 
Commission's mailing list a Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the 
subject areas to be addressed in the EA. Copies of the SD1 will also be 
available at the scoping meetings.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues that the Commission staff tentatively has 
identified for analysis in the EA; (2) take statements from experts and 
the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA, including 
viewpoints in

[[Page 45028]]

opposition to, or in support of, those issues identified by the 
Commission staff; (3) identify those issues that require a detailed 
analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed 
analysis; and (4) solicit all available information, especially 
quantifiable data, on the resources at issue.
    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission's proceeding on the 
project. Individuals presenting statements at the meeting will be asked 
to sign in before the meeting starts and to identify themselves clearly 
for the record.

Site Visit

    The applicant and the Commission staff will conduct a project site 
visit on the morning of September 12th, 2001. We will meet at 8:30 a.m. 
at the Grande Pointe Power Corporation (GPPC) office at 503 West 
Michigan Avenue in Three Rivers, and will travel by foot to the project 
facilities. Those who wish to attend the site visit should contact Mr. 
Monroe E. Learn (GPPC) no later than Monday September 10, 2001 at (616) 
273-8828.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-21552 Filed 8-24-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P