[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 192 (Thursday, October 3, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62049-62050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25123]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2984-0421]


S.D. Warren Company; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit 
and Soliciting Scoping Comments for the Eel Weir Project

September 27, 2002.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is reviewing 
S.D. Warren Company's application for a new license for the continued 
operation of the Eel Weir Hydroelectric Project. Pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended, and procedures 
of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Commission staff 
intends to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Eel Weir 
Project. The EA will evaluate the environmental effects of issuing a 
new license for the project. The Eel Weir Project is located on the 
Presumpscot River, at the outlet of Sebago Lake, in Cumberland County,

[[Page 62050]]

Maine. The project does not occupy federal lands.
    The EA will objectively consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental effects, if any, of the proposed action and reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action. The preparation of the staff's EA 
will be supported by a scoping process to ensure identification and 
analysis of all pertinent issues.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity 
of the project; an evening meeting and a morning meeting. The evening 
meeting is primarily for receiving input from the public, while the 
morning meeting will focus on resource agency and non-governmental 
organization (NGO) concerns. We invite all interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies to attend one or both of the meetings, and 
to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the environmental 
issues that should be analyzed in the EA. The times and locations of 
the meetings are as follows:
Evening Scoping Meeting
When: Tuesday, October 22, 2002, From 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Where: Windham High School cafeteria, 406 Gray Road, Windham, ME 04062
Morning Scoping Meeting
When: Wednesday, October 23, 2002, From 9 a.m. until 12 noon
Where: Holiday Inn, Portland West, 81 Riverside Street, Portland, ME 
04103

    Copies of Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject 
areas to be addressed in the EA, were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of SD1 also will be available at the 
scoping meetings, or may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``FERRIS'' link. Enter the docket number, excluding the last 
three digits in the docket number field, to access the document. For 
assistance, call (202) 502-8222.

Site Visit

    The applicant and Commission staff will conduct a site visit of the 
project on Tuesday, October 22, 2002, starting at 9:00 a.m. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet at the parking lot where Rt. 35 
crosses the Eel Weir bypassed reach. All participants are responsible 
for their own transportation to the site. Anyone with questions about 
the site visit should contact Mr. Thomas Howard of S.D. Warren Company 
at (207) 856-4286 on or before October 15, 2002.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the 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 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 viewpoints 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.

Meeting Procedures

    The scoping meetings will be recorded by a court reporter, and all 
statements (oral and written) will become part of the Commission's 
public record for the project. Individuals presenting statements at the 
meetings will be asked to clearly identify themselves for the record. 
Interested individuals who choose not to speak, or are unable to attend 
the scoping meetings, may provide written comments and information to 
the Commission, as described in Section 2.3 of SD1.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues 
to be addressed in the EA. Any questions concerning the scoping process 
can be directed to Allan Creamer, the Commission's Environmental 
Coordinator for the Eel Weir Project, at (202) 502-8365.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-25123 Filed 10-2-02; 8:45 am]
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