[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 215 (Tuesday, November 6, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56097-56098]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-27768]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meeting and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative 
Licensing Process

October 31, 2001.
    a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: P-2586-023.
    c. Applicant: Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc.
    d. Name of Project: Conecuh River Hydroelectric Project.
    e. Location: On the Conecuh River near the towns of Gantt and River 
Falls, in Covington County, Alabama.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 USC Secs. 791(a)--
825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Mike Noel, Environmental Engineer, Alabama 
Electric Cooperative, Inc., Post Office Box 550, Andalusia, AL 36420, 
(334) 427-3248.
    h. FERC Contact: Ron McKitrick at (770) 452-3378 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 10, 2002.
    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.
    Scoping 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 (http://www.ferc.gov) under the ``e-Filing'' 
link.
    k. The Conecuh River Project consists of two developments: The 
existing Point ``A'' development consists of a 2,800-foot-long earthen 
dam, 700-acre reservoir, three generating units with an installed 
capacity of 5,200kW, and a 0.39-mile-long transmission line. The 
existing Gantt development consists of a 1,562-foot-long earthen dam, a 
2,767-acre reservoir, and two generating units with an installed 
capacity of 3,050 kW.

l. Scoping Process

    Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc., (AEC) intends to utilize the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) alternative 
licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, AEC will prepare an Applicant 
Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) and license application for 
the Conecuh River Hydroelectric Project.
    AEC expects to file with the Commission, the APEA and the license 
application for the Conecuh Hydroelectric Project by April 2003.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to 
participate in the upcoming scoping meetings identified below, and to 
solicit your scoping comments.

Scoping Meetings

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

Daytime Meeting 
Monday, December 10, 2001, 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc., Headquarter's Board Room, 2027 East 
Three Notch Street, P.O. Box 550, Andalusia, AL 36420-0550

Site Visit
Monday, December 10, 2001 from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm, depart from and 
returning to AEC Headquarters Building

Evening Meeting
Monday, December 10, 2001, 7 pm to 9:00 pm
Alabama Electric Cooperative, Inc., Headquarter's Board Room, 2027 East 
Three Notch Street, P.O. Box 550, Andalusia, AL 36420-0550
    To help focus discussions, Scoping Document 1 was mailed in 
November 2001, outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA 
to the parties on the mailing list. Copies of the SD1 also will be 
available at the scoping meetings. SD1 may also be viewed on the web at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link--select ``Docket#'' and 
follow the instructions (call 202-208-2222 for assistance).
    Based on all written comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) 
may be issued. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, based on the 
scoping sessions.

[[Page 56098]]

    Objectives.
    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the APEA; 
(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 APEA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the APEA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a 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, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist AEC in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the 
APEA.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-27768 Filed 11-5-01; 8:45 am]
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