[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 48 (Thursday, March 11, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Page 11618]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-512]



[[Page 11618]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 459-128]


Union Electric Company (d/b/a/ AmerenUE); Notice of Application 
and Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Tendered for Filing 
With the Commission, Establishing Procedural Schedule for Relicensing 
and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

March 4, 2004.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New major license.
    b. Project No.: 459-128.
    c. Date Filed: February 24, 2004.
    d. Applicant: Union Electric Company (d/b/a/ AmerenUE).
    e. Name of Project: Osage Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Osage River, in Benton, Camden, Miller and 
Morgan Counties, central Missouri. The project occupies 1.6 acres of 
Federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. (( 791 (a)-
825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Jerry Hogg, Superintendent Hydro Regulatory 
Compliance, AmerenUE, 617 River Road, Eldon, MO 65026; Telephone (573) 
365-9315; e-mail [email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Allan Creamer at (202) 502-8365; or e-mail at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments on the application: 60 days from 
the filing date shown in paragraph (c), or April 26, 2004.
    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. 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. After logging into 
the e-Filing system, select ``Comment on Filing'' from the Filing Type 
Selection screen and continue with the filing process. The Commission 
strongly encourages electronic filing.
    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.
    k. 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 instruction for filing comments described in 
item j above.
    l. Status: This application has not been accepted for filing. We 
are not soliciting motions to intervene, protests, or final terms and 
conditions at this time.
    m. The Project Description: The existing project consists of: (1) A 
2,543-foot-long, 148-foot-high dam comprised of, from right to left: 
(i) A 1,181-foot-long, non-overflow section, (ii) a 520-foot-long gated 
spillway section, (iii) a 511-foot-long intake works and powerhouse 
section, and (iv) a 331-foot-long non-overflow section; (2) an 
impoundment (Lake of the Ozarks), approximately 93 miles in length, 
covering 54,000 acres at a normal full pool elevation of 660 feet mean 
sea level; (3) a powerhouse, integral with the dam, containing eight 
main generating units (172 MW) and two auxiliary units (2.1 MW each), 
having a total installed capacity of 176.2 MW; and (4) appurtenant 
facilities. The project generates an average of 636,397 megawatt-hours 
of electricity annually.
    AmerenUE currently operates, and is proposing to continue to 
operate, the Osage Project as a peaking and load regulation facility. 
AmerenUE proposes to upgrade two of the facility's eight main 
generating units and the two smaller, auxiliary generating units. With 
the proposed upgraded units, energy generation is estimated to increase 
by about 5.6 percent. In addition to the physical plant upgrades, 
AmerenUE proposes a variety of environmental and recreation measures.
    n. Locations of the Application: 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 ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number, excluding the last 
three digits in the docket number field (P-459), 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.
    o. Procedural Schedule and Final Amendments: The application will 
be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. 
Revisions to the schedule may be made as appropriate.

Milestone: Issue acceptance or deficiency letter. Target Date: May 
2004.
Milestone: Request additional information (if necessary). Target 
Date: May 2004.
Notice soliciting final terms and conditions. Target Date: July 
2004.
Notice of availability of the EA. Target Date: December 2004.
Ready for Commission Decision on the Application. Target Date: 
August 2005.

    At this time, we intend to prepare a single environmental document. 
The EA will include our recommendations for operational measures and 
environmental enhancement measures that should be part of any license 
issued by the Commission. Recipients will have 45 days to provide the 
Commission with any written comments on the EA. All comments filed with 
the Commission will be considered in the order taking final action on 
the license application. Should substantive comments, requiring 
additional analysis, be received, a revised NEPA document will be 
prepared.
    Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
soliciting final terms and conditions.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-512 Filed 3-10-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P