[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 58 (Thursday, March 25, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15321-15322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-668]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 906-000]


Dominion Virginia Power; Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Soliciting Scoping Comments

March 19, 2004.
    a. Type of Application: Initial Consultation Document (ICD) for a 
new major license.
    b. Project No.: 906-000.
    c. Date Filed: ICD filed July 11, 2003; license application 
anticipated June 15, 2006.
    d. Applicant: Dominion Virginia Power.
    e. Name of Project: Cushaw Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the James River in Amherst and Bedford Counties, 
Virginia. The project occupies about 4.0 acres of Federal land 
administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. James Thornton, Technical Advisor, F & H 
Operations Support, 5000 Dominion Blvd., 1 N.E., Glen Allen, VA 23060, 
telephone (804) 273-3257.
    i. FERC Contact: John Smith, telephone (202) 502-8972, e-mail 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for Filing Scoping Comments: May 24, 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.
    Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in 
lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. 
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 Cushaw Project consists of the following features: (1) A 
1,550-foot-long and 27-foot-high reinforced concrete dam extending 
diagonally across the James River; (2) a 138-acre reservoir at a 
surface elevation of 656 feet mean sea level; (3) an integrated 
powerhouse containing five generating units with a

[[Page 15322]]

total installed capacity of 7,500 kilowatts; (4) 2.3-kilovolt (kV) 
generator leads; (5) a 2.3-kV cable connecting the powerhouse to the 
Cushaw substation; and (6) appurtenant facilities.
    l. A copy of the ICD 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 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    m. Scoping Process: The Commission staff intends to prepare an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) on the project in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act once the final license application is 
filed. The EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative 
environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
action.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission staff will conduct a site visit, one agency scoping 
meeting and one public meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus 
on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organization 
concerns, while the public scoping meeting is primarily for public 
input. All interested individuals, organizations, resource agencies, 
and Indian tribes 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:

Site Visit

    When: Thursday, April 22, 2004, 10 a.m. to noon.
    Where: Meet at Rocky Row Run Boat Ramp off Routes 501 and 130 
between the towns of Glasgow and Big Island, Virginia; RSVP to 
Applicant Contact (item h) by April 14.

Agency Scoping Meeting

    When: Thursday, April 22, 2004, 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    Where: Holiday Inn Express, 850 North Lee Highway, Lexington, VA.

Public Scoping Meeting

    When: Thursday, April 22, 2004, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
    Where: Big Island Elementary School, 1114 Schooldays Road, Big 
Island, VA.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meeting or may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item l above).

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the 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.

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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-668 Filed 3-24-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P