[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 121 (Thursday, June 24, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35341-35343]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1395]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12451-001]


SAF Hydroelectric, LLC; Notice of Application Ready for 
Environmental Analysis and Soliciting Comments, Recommendations, Terms 
and Conditions, and Prescriptions; and Revised Schedule for Processing 
Application

June 16, 2004.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Original Major License.
    b. Project No.: 12451-001.
    c. Date filed: January 20, 2004.
    d. Applicant: SAF Hydroelectric, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Lower St. Anthony Falls Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Mississippi River, in the Town of Minneapolis, 
Hennepin County, Minnesota. The project affects federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. Sec.  
791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Douglas A. Spaulding P.E., Spaulding 
Consultants, 1433 Utica Avenue South Suite 162, Minneapolis, MN 55416, 
(952) 544-8133 or Robert Larson, 33 South 6th Street, Minneapolis, MN 
55402, (612) 343-2913.
    i. FERC Contact: Kim Carter at (202) 502-6486, or 
[email protected].
    j. The deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions is 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice. Reply comments are due 105 days from the issuance date of this 
notice.
    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.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors 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 intervenor files comments or documents with the 
Commission relating to the merits of an

[[Page 35342]]

issue that may affect the responsibilities of a particular resource 
agency, they must also serve a copy of the document on that resource 
agency.
    Comments, recommendations, terms and conditions, and prescriptions 
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 ``eFiling'' link.
    k. Status of environmental analysis: This application is ready for 
environmental analysis.
    l. Description of Project: The proposed Lower St. Anthony Falls 
Hydroelectric Project would be located at the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (Corps) Lower St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and would 
utilize 5.9 acres of Corps lands. The generation turbines would be 
located in an auxiliary lock chamber adjacent to the Corp's main lock 
chamber. An auxiliary building, storage yard, and buried transmission 
line would occupy additional Corps lands. The project would operate 
according to the Corp's current operating criteria which maintain a 
constant water surface elevation of approximately 750.0 mean sea level 
in the 33.5-acre reservoir.
    The proposed project would consist of the following features: (1) 
16 turbine/generator units grouped in eight 6.2-foot-wide by 12.76-
foot-high steel modules having a total installed capacity of 8,980 
kilowatts, each module contains 2 turbine/generator sets (two 
horizontal rows of 1 unit each) installed in eight stoplog slots on the 
auxiliary lock structure; (2) trashracks located at the turbine intake; 
(3) a 1,050-foot-long, 13,800-volt buried transmission line; (4) a 21-
foot by 81-foot control building to house switchgear and controls; (5) 
a 20-foot by 30-foot project office and storage building; and (6) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The applicant estimates that the average annual generation would be 
about 57,434,000 kilowatt-hours.
    m. 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 to access the document. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll-free at (866) 
208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Copies are also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the addresses in item h above.
    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.
    All filings must: (1) Bear in all capital letters the title 
``COMMENTS'', ``REPLY COMMENTS'', ``RECOMMENDATIONS,'' ``TERMS AND 
CONDITIONS,'' or ``PRESCRIPTIONS;'' (2) set forth in the heading the 
name of the applicant and the project number of the application to 
which the filing responds; (3) furnish the name, address, and telephone 
number of the person submitting the filing; and (4) otherwise comply 
with the requirements of 18 CFR 385.2001 through 385.2005. All 
comments, recommendations, terms and conditions or prescriptions must 
set forth their evidentiary basis and otherwise comply with the 
requirements of 18 CFR 4.34(b). Agencies may obtain copies of the 
application directly from the applicant. Each filing must be 
accompanied by proof of service on all persons listed on the service 
list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 
18 CFR 4.34(b), and 385.2010.
    n. Public notice of the filing of the initial development 
application, which has already been given, established the due date for 
filing competing applications or notices of intent. Under the 
Commission's regulations, any competing development application must be 
filed in response to and in compliance with public notice of the 
initial development application. No competing applications or notices 
of intent may be filed in response to this notice.
    o. Procedures schedule: The Commission staff proposes to issue one 
Environmental Assessment (EA) rather than issuing a draft and final EA. 
Staff intends to allow at least 30 days for entities to comment on the 
EA, and will take into consideration all comments received on the EA 
before final action is taken on the license application. If any person 
or organization objects to the staff proposed alternative procedure, 
they should file comments as stipulated in item j above, briefly 
explaining the basis for their objection.
    The remaining schedule for processing this application is shown 
below. Revisions to this schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                 Action                             Target date
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Issue Notice Ready for Environmental      June 2004.
 Analysis/Soliciting Final Comments,
 Recommendations, Terms and Conditions.
Deadline for Agency Comments,             August 2004.
 Recommendations, Terms and Conditions.
Issue Notice of the availability of the   Sept./Oct. 2004.
 EA.
Public Comments on EA due...............  Oct./Nov. 2004.
Ready for Commission decision on the      December 2004.
 application.
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[[Page 35343]]

    Unless substantial comments are received in response to the EA, 
staff intends to prepare a single EA in this case. If substantial 
comments are received in response to the EA, a final EA will be 
prepared with the following modifications to the schedule.
    Notice of the availability of the final EA: January 2005.
    Ready for Commission's decision on the application: March 2005.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1395 Filed 6-23-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P