[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 94 (Wednesday, May 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34698-34699]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-12106]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Request To Use the Alternative Licensing Process in 
Preparing a License Application

May 9, 2002.
    Take notice that the following request to use the Alternative 
Licensing Process (ALP) to prepare a license application has been filed 
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission).
    a. Type of Application: Request to use the ALP to prepare a new 
license application.
    b. Project No.: 2216-058.
    c. Date Filed: March 6, 2002.
    d. Applicant: New York Power Authority.
    e. Name of Project: Robert Moses-Niagara Project.
    f. Location: On the Niagara River, in Niagara County, New York. The 
project does not occupy any Federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant To: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Keith G. Silliman, Esq., Director, Niagara 
Relicensing, New York Power Authority, 30 South Pearl Street, Albany, 
NY 12207-3425, (518) 433-6735.
    i. Commission Contact: Patti Leppert at (202) 219-2767; e-mail 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for Comments: 30 days from the date of this notice.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. All comment filings must bear 
the heading ``Comments on the Alternative Licensing Process'', and 
include the project name and number (Robert Moses-Niagara Project No. 
2216-058). 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 existing project consists of a conventional development and 
a pumped storage development for a total licensed capacity of 2,755,500 
kilowatts. Existing project facilities include two 700-foot-long intake 
structures located on the upper Niagara River about 2.6 miles upstream 
from the American Falls; two 4.3-mile-long concrete underground water 
supply conduits, each measuring 46 feet wide by 66.5 feet high; a 
forebay; the Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant, measuring 975 feet long by 
240 feet wide by 160 feet high; the 1,900-acre Lewiston reservoir at a 
maximum water surface elevation of 658 feet United States Lake Survey 
Datum; the Robert Moses Niagara Power plant, including an intake 
structure, measuring 1,100 feet long by 190 feet wide by 100 feet high; 
a switch yard; and appurtenant facilities.
    l. A copy of the request to use the ALP is on file with the 
Commission and is available for public inspection. This filing may also 
be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link, 
select ``Docket #'' and follow the instructions (for assistance call 
(202) 208-2222). A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.

[[Page 34699]]

    m. NYPA has been engaged in an extensive outreach effort with 
Federal and state resource agencies, the Tuscarora Nation, non-
governmental organizations (NGO), state and local governments, various 
companies, and the public regarding the Robert Moses-Niagara Project, 
and that a consensus exists that the use of the ALP is appropriate in 
this case. NYPA has submitted a Communications Protocol that is 
supported by most interested entities. NYPA intends to file 6-month 
progress reports during the ALP that leads to the filing of a license 
application by August 31, 2005.
    The purpose of this notice is to invite any additional comments on 
NYPA's request to use the ALP, pursuant to Section 4.34(i) of the 
Commission's regulations. Additional notices seeking comments on the 
specific project proposal, interventions and protests, and recommended 
terms and conditions will be issued at a later date. NYPA proposes to 
complete and file an Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment in 
lieu of Exhibit E of the license application. This differs from the 
traditional process, in which the applicant consults with resource 
agencies, Indian tribes, and NGOs during preparation of the application 
for the license and before filing it, but the Commission staff conducts 
the environmental review after the application is filed. The ALP is 
intended to simplify and expedite the licensing process by combining 
the pre-filing consultation and environmental review processes into a 
single process, to facilitate greater participation, and to improve 
communication and cooperation among the participants.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-12106 Filed 5-14-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P