[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 153 (Friday, August 8, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47307-47308]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20254]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission, 
Soliciting Additional Study Requests, and Establishing Procedures for 
Relicensing and a Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

 August 1, 2003.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 2603-012.
    c. Date Filed: July 22, 2003.
    d. Applicant: Duke Power.
    e. Name of Project: Franklin Project.
    f. Location: On the Little Tennessee River, in Macon County, North 
Carolina. The project does not affect federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: John C. Wishon, Nantahala Area Relicensing 
Project Manager, Duke Power, 301 NP&L Loop, Franklin, NC 28734, (828) 
369-4604, energy.com">jcwishon@duke-energy.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer at (202) 502-8365, or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating Agencies: We are asking federal, state, local, and 
tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect 
to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation of the 
environmental document. Agencies who would like to request cooperating 
status should follow the instructions for filing comments described in 
item l below.
    k. Pursuant to section 4.32(b)(7) of 18 CFR of the Commission's 
regulations, if any resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person believes 
that an additional scientific study should be conducted in order to 
form an adequate factual basis for a complete analysis of the 
application on its merit, the resource agency, Indian Tribe, or person 
must file a request for a study with the Commission not later than 60 
days from the date of filing of the application, and serve a copy of 
the request on the applicant.
    l. Deadline for Filing Additional Study Requests and Requests for 
Cooperating Agency Status: 60 days from the filing date shown in 
paragraph (c), or September 22, 2003.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First

[[Page 47308]]

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The Commission's Rules of Practice 
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.
    Additional study requests may be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages 
electronic filing.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. After logging into the e-Filing system, select ``Comment 
on Filing'' from the Filing Type Selection screen and continue with the 
filing process.''
    m. Status: This application is not ready for environmental analysis 
at this time.
    n. Description of Project: The existing Franklin Project operates 
in a run-of-river mode, within a 6-inch tolerance band. Project 
operation is dependent on available flow in the Little Tennessee River. 
The Franklin Project consists of the following features: (1) A 462.5-
foot-long, 35.5-foot-high concrete masonry dam, consisting of, from 
left to right facing downstream, (a) A 15-foot-long non-overflow 
section, (b) a 54-foot-long ungated Ogee spillway, (c) a 181.5-foot-
long gated spillway section, having six gated, ogee spillway bays, (d) 
a 54-foot-long ungated Ogee spillway, (e) a 25-foot-long non-overflow 
section, (f) a 63-foot-long powerhouse, and (g) a 70-foot-long non-
overflow section; (2) a 4.6-mile-long, 174-acre impoundment at 
elevation 2000.22 msl; (3) three intake bays, each consisting of a 
flume and grated trashracks having a clear bar spacing of 3 inches; (4) 
a powerhouse containing two turbine/generating units (vertical Leffel 
Type-Z turbines), having an installed capacity of 1,040 kW; (5) a 
switchyard, with a single three-phase transformer; and (6) appurtenant 
facilities.
    Duke Power estimates that the average annual generation is 
5,313,065 kWh (1941-2002). Duke Power uses the Franklin Project 
facilities to generate electricity for use by retail customers living 
in the Duke Power-Nantahala Area.
    o. A copy of the application is available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``FERRIS'' link. 
Enter the docket number, excluding the last three digits in the docket 
number field (P-2603), to access the document. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support at [email protected], or toll-free at 1-
866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    p. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the North 
Carolina State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as required by 
Section 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the regulations of 
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.
    q. Procedural schedule and final amendments: The application will 
be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. 
Revisions to the schedule will be made if the Commission determines it 
necessary to do so:

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                Action                           Tentative date
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Issue Deficiency Letter...............  October 2003.
Issue Acceptance letter...............  December 2003.
Issue Scoping Document 1 for comments.  February 2004.
Request Additional Information........  April 2004.
Issue Scoping Document 2..............  May 2004.
Notice of application is ready for      August 2004.
 environmental analysis.
Notice of the availability of the       February 2005.
 draft EA.
Notice of the availability of the       May 2005.
 final EA.
Ready for Commission's decision on the  July 2005.
 application.
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    Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of this notice.

Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-20254 Filed 8-7-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P