[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 156 (Friday, August 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50186-50187]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1815]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 11858-002]


Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, the Nevada Hydro 
Company, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement and Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting 
Scoping Comments \1\

August 9, 2004.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with Commission and is available for public inspection:
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    \1\ The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District is also using 
this notice as its notice of scoping meeting under Public Resources 
Code Section 21083.9(d), which states: ``A scoping meeting that is 
held in the city or county within which the project is located 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.) and the regulations adopted pursuant to that act shall be 
deemed to satisfy the requirement that a scoping meeting be held for 
a project subject to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) if the lead 
agency meets the notice requirements of subdivision (b) or 
subdivision (c).'' The full text of the statute can be viewed on the 
Internet at http://www.ceres.ca.gov/ceqa.
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    a. Type of Application: major unconstructed project.
    b. Project No.: 11858-02.
    c. Date filed: February 2, 2004.
    d. Applicant: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (District) 
and the Nevada Hydro Company, Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: On Lake Elsinore and San Juan Creek, near the City of 
Lake Elsinore, Riverside County, California. The project would, in 
whole or in part,

[[Page 50187]]

occupy federal lands, including lands managed by the Forest Service 
(Cleveland National Forest), Bureau of Land Management, and the 
Department of Defense (Camp Pendleton).
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Rexford Wait, The Nevada Hydro Company, Inc., 
2416 Cades Way, Vista, California 92083, (760) 599-0086.
    i. FERC Contact: \2\ Jim Fargo, 202-502-6095, [email protected].
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    \2\ The District's contact is Mr. Greg A. Morrison, Director of 
Legislative and Community Affairs, 31315 Chaney Street (P.O. Box 
3000), Lake Elsinore, California 92531-3000.
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    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: October 11, 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.
    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. 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. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The proposed project would consist of: (1) A new upper reservoir 
(Morrell Canyon) having a 180-foot-high main dam and a gross storage 
volume of at least 5,500 acre-feet, at a normal reservoir surface 
elevation of 2,880 feet above mean sea level (msl); (2) a powerhouse 
with two reversible pump-turbine units with a total installed capacity 
of 500 megawatts; (3) the existing Lake Elsinore to be used as a lower 
reservoir; (4) about 30 miles of 500 kV transmission line connecting 
the project to an existing transmission line owned by Southern 
California Edison located north of the proposed project and to an 
existing San Diego Gas & Electric Company transmission line located to 
the south, including substations and associated appurtenant facilities; 
and (5) local distribution facilities.
    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 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.
    n. Scoping Process. The Commission intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will consider both site-
specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action.

Scoping Meetings

    FERC staff will hold three scoping meetings in the project area. We 
invite all interested agencies, non-governmental organizations, Native 
American tribes, and individuals to attend one or more of the meetings 
and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of environmental 
issues to be analyzed in the EIS. The District staff will also be 
present to provide information about the project and to receive 
comments on the scope of environmental review under the California 
Environmental Quality Act. The times and locations of these meetings 
are as follows:

Evening Scoping Meetings

    When: Wednesday, September 8, 2004, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
    Where: San Juan Capistrano Community Center, 25925 Camino del 
Avion, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.
    When: Thursday, September 9, 2004, 7 p.m.-10 p.m.
    Where: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Headquarters, 31315 
Chaney Street, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531.

Afternoon Scoping Meeting

    When: Thursday, September 9, 2004, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
    Where: Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Headquarters, 31315 
Chaney Street, Lake Elsinore, CA 92531.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EIS are being distributed to the parties on the 
Commission(s mailing list under separate cover. 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 m above).

Site Visit

    We also will visit the site of the proposed project facilities on 
September 8, meeting at the District headquarters, 31315 Chaney Street, 
Lake Elsinore, at 8 a.m. Participants on the site visits will need to 
provide their own transportation and bring their own lunch.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EIS; 
(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 EIS, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff(s preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EIS; 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 EIS.

Magalie R. Salas,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1815 Filed 8-12-04; 8:45 am]
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