[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 29, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65970-65971]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-27457]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2552-058]


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Solicitation of 
Scoping Comments

October 23, 2002.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with Commission and are available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: License Surrender for the Fort Halifax 
Project.
    b. Project No.: 2552-058.
    c. Date filed: June 20, 2002.
    d. Applicant: FPL Energy Maine Hydro LLC (FPL).
    e. Name of Project: Fort Halifax Project.
    f. Location: The project is located on the Sebasticook River, in 
Kennebec County, Maine.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a) 825(r) 799 
and 801.
    h. Applicant Contact: F. Allen Wiley, FPL Energy Maine Hydro LLC, 
160 Capitol Street, Augusta, ME 04330, (207) 623-8413.
    i. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed 
to either Mrs. Jean Potvin at (202) 502-8928, or e-mail address: 
[email protected] or Mr. Robert Fletcher at (202) 502-8901, or e-
mail address: [email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: November 15, 2002.
    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. Please include the project 
number (P-2552-058) on any comments or motions filed.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person on the official service list for the 
project. Further, if an intervener 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.
    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. Description of the Project: FPL proposes to surrender the 
license for the Fort Halifax Project. As part of its request, FPL 
proposes to remove a 72-foot section of the spillway to provide 
permanent fish passage. The remainder of the dam will remain intact. 
The partial removal of the dam will result in a lowering of the Fort 
Halifax impoundment directly upstream of the dam by as much as 25 feet. 
The partial dam removal will make an additional 5.2 miles of riverine 
habitat available to anadromous fish using the Kennebec River drainage 
system.
    l. A copy of the application 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 (call 202-502-8222 for 
assistance). A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction 
at the address in item h. above.
    m. 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. As a result of the Commissions 
July 7, 2002 public notice requesting comments on the application, 
numerous filings were made raising a variety of issues related to the 
project. Commission staff will conduct a scoping meeting to receive 
additional information on the issues raised these filings.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the public 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 scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.
    The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2002.
Time: 10 am to 12 noon.
Place: Elks 905 Banquet & Conference Center.
Address: 76 Industrial Park Road, Waterville, ME.

Public Scoping Meeting

Date: Thursday, November 7, 2002.
Time: 7 pm to 9 pm.
Place: Same location as for the Agency Meeting.
Address: Same address as for the Agency Meeting.

Site Visit

    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a site visit of the 
project on November 6, 2002, between 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet at the project for a short 
overview of the hydro operations. Participants in the site visit will 
need to provide their own transportation. All participants are 
responsible for their own transportation to the site.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA 
based on comments received to date; (2) solicit from the meeting 
participants additional 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; (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.

[[Page 65971]]

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and 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 meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-27457 Filed 10-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P