[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 215 (Monday, November 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64753-64755]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3068]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[P-2698-033, P-2686-032, P-2602-007]


Duke Power; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessmentand Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visits and Soliciting 
Scoping Comments

October 29, 2004.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with the Commission and are available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Applications: 2 New Major Licenses and 1 Surrender of 
License.
    b. Project Nos.: 2698-033, 2686-032, and 2602-007.
    c. Dates filed: July 22, 2003 and June 1, 2004.
    d. Applicant: Duke Power.
    e. Names of Projects: East Fork Hydroelectric Project No. 2698-033; 
West Fork Hydroelectric Project No. 2686-032; and Dillsboro 
Hydroelectric Project No. 2602-007.
    f. Location: On the Tuckasegee River, in Jackson County, North 
Carolina. There are 23.15 acres of United States Forest Service land 
(Nantahala National Forest) within the East Fork Project boundary. 
Neither the West Fork Project nor the Dillsboro Project affects any 
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: Carolyn Holsopple, (202) 502-6407 or 
carolyn.holsopple@ ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: January 10, 2005.
    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 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

[[Page 64754]]

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. These applications are not ready for environmental analysis at 
this time.
    l. The existing East Fork Project operates in a peaking mode and is 
comprised of three developments: Cedar Cliff, Bear Creek and Tennessee 
Creek. The Cedar Cliff development consists of the following features: 
(1) A 590-foot-long, 173-foot-high earth core and rockfill dam (Cedar 
Cliff Dam); (2) a service spillway excavated in rock at the right 
abutment; (3) a 221-foot-long emergency spillway located at the left 
abutment; (4) a 121-acre reservoir, with a normal reservoir elevation 
of 2,330 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD) and a storage 
capacity of 6,200 acre-feet; (5) a concrete powerhouse containing one 
generating unit having an installed capacity of 6.1 megawatts (MW); and 
(6) appurtenant facilities.
    The Bear Creek development consists of the following features: (1) 
A 760-foot-long, 215-foot-high earth core and rockfill dam (Bear Creek 
Dam); (2) a spillway on the right abutment; (3) a 473-acre reservoir, 
with a normal reservoir elevation of 2,560 feet NGVD and a storage 
capacity of 34,650 acre-feet; (4) a concrete powerhouse containing one 
generating unit having an installed capacity of 8.2 MW; and (5) 
appurtenant facilities.
    The Tennessee development consists of the following features: (1) A 
385-foot-long, 140-foot-high earth core and rockfill dam (Tanasee Creek 
Dam) with a 225-foot-long, 15-foot-high earth and rockfill saddle dam 
located 600 feet south of the Tanasee Creek Dam left abutment; (2) a 
spillway located in a channel excavated in the right abutment; (3) a 
810-foot-long, 175-foot-high earth core and rockfill dam (Wolf Creek 
Dam); (4) a spillway located in a channel excavated in the right 
abutment; (5) a 40-acre reservoir (Tanasee Creek Lake), with a normal 
reservoir elevation of 3,080 feet NGVD and a storage capacity of 1,340 
acre-feet; (6) a 176-acre reservoir (Wolf Creek Lake), with a normal 
reservoir elevation of 3,080 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum and 
a storage capacity of 10,040-acre-feet; (7) a concrete powerhouse 
containing one generating unit having an installed capacity of 8.75 MW.
    The existing West Fork Project operates in a peaking mode and is 
comprised of two developments: Thorpe and Tuckasegee. The Thorpe 
development consists of the following features: (1) A 900-foot-long, 
150-foot-high rockfill dam (Glenville Dam), with a 410-foot-long, 122-
foot-high earth and rockfill saddle dam located approximately 500 feet 
from the main dam left abutment; (2) a spillway for Glenville Dam 
located at the right abutment; (3) a 1,462-acre reservoir, with a 
normal reservoir elevation of 3,491.8 feet NGVD and a storage capacity 
of 72,000 acre-feet; (4) a concrete and brick powerhouse containing one 
generating unit having an installed capacity of 15.5 megawatts (MW); 
and (5) appurtenant facilities.
    The Tuckasegee development consists of the following features: (1) 
A 254-foot-long, 61-foot-high concrete arch dam (Tuckasegee Dam), with 
24 steel flashboards; (2) a 233.5-foot-long spillway; (3) a 7.9-acre 
reservoir, with a normal reservoir elevation of 2,778.75 feet NGVD and 
a storage capacity of 35 acre-feet; (4) a concrete powerhouse 
containing one generating unit having an installed capacity of 2.6 MW; 
and (5) appurtenant facilities.
    The existing Dillsboro Project operates in a run-of-river mode, 
within a 6-inch tolerance band. Project operation is dependent on 
available flow in the Tuckasegee River, which is dependent on Duke 
Power's East Fork and West Fork Tuckasegee River projects. The 
Dillsboro Project consists of the following features: (1) A 310-foot-
long, 12-foot-high concrete masonry dam, consisting of, from left to 
right facing downstream, (a) a concrete, non-overflow section, (b) a 
14-foot-long uncontrolled spillway section, (c) a 20-foot-long spillway 
section with two 6-foot-wide spill gates, (d) a 197-foot-long 
uncontrolled spillway section, (e) a 64.5-foot-long powerhouse, (f) an 
80-foot-long intake section, and (g) a concrete, non-overflow section; 
(2) a 0.8-mile-long, 15-acre impoundment at elevation 1972.00 msl; (3) 
two intake bays, each consisting of a reinforced concrete flume and 
grated trashracks having a clear bar spacing varying from 2.0 to 3.38 
inches; (4) a powerhouse containing two turbine/generating 
units(vertical Francis and Leffel Type-Z turbines), having an installed 
capacity of 225 kW; (5) a switchyard, with three single-phased 
transformers; and (6) appurtenant facilities.
    Duke Power filed an application to surrender its major license for 
the Dillsboro Hydroelectric Project. Duke requests that the Commission 
approve the following: (1) Continue operating the Dillsboro Project 
under the terms of the current license until dam removal begins; (2) 
decommission the dam and powerhouse and complete dam removal and 
powerhouse closure/removal within three years following the final FERC 
approval order; (3) prepare and obtain FERC approval of, and implement 
an environmental monitoring plan in association with the dam removal, 
including completion of the Duke implemented portions of any post-
removal stream restoration and annual monitoring within two years 
following completion of the dam removal. Also included in the surrender 
application was the Tuckasegee/Nantahala Settlement Agreements which 
were filed on January 26, 2004 as part of the relicense applications 
for the East Fork (P-2698), West Fork (P-2686), and Nantahala (P-2692) 
Hydroelectric Projects. The settlement agreements provide various 
environmental enhancement measures, which include the removal of the 
Dillsboro Dam and Powerhouse.
    m. Copies of the applications are 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 ferc.gov">FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll-free at 1-
866-208-3676, or for TTY, 1-202-502-8659. Copies are also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esuscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings and issuances 
related to these or other pending projects. For assistance, contact 
FERC Online Support.
    n. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare a single, 
combined Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed projects in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA will 
consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts and 
reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.
    Site Visits: Duke Power and the Commission staff will conduct 
project site visits on December 8 (East Fork) and December 9 (West 
Fork), 2004. We will meet at the Jackson County Justice and 
Administration Building and will then proceed to the Power Plants. Site 
visitors will be responsible for their own transportation. We will not 
be conducting a Dillsboro Hydroelectric Project site visit as one was 
held in February 2004. Anyone with questions regarding the site visits 
should contact Mr. John C. Wishon of Duke Power at (828) 369-4604. The 
times and locations of these site visits are as follows:

East Fork Site Visit

    Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2004.

[[Page 64755]]

    Time: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (e.s.t.).
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.

West Fork Site Visit

    Date: Thursday, December 9, 2004.
    Time: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (e.s.t.).
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.
    Scoping Meetings: Commission staff will conduct four public scoping 
meetings in the project area to solicit comments and viewpoints the 
public may wish to offer concerning project effects associated with the 
East Fork and West Fork Hydroelectric Projects and the Dillsboro 
Surrender. Two afternoon meetings (one for East Fork/Dillsboro and one 
for West Fork/Dillsboro) will focus on resource agency concerns and two 
evening meetings (one for East Fork/Dillsboro and one for West Fork/
Dillsboro) will focus on input from the public. All interested 
individuals, organizations, Indian tribes, and agencies are invited to 
attend any or all 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:

East Fork/Dillsboro Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, December 8, 2004.
    Time: 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (e.s.t.)
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building, 
Courtroom  2, 2nd Floor.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.

East Fork/Dillsboro Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday December 8, 2004.
    Time: 6 p.m.-9 p.m. (e.s.t.).
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building, 
Courtroom  2, 2nd Floor.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.

West Fork/Dillsboro Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Thursday December 9, 2004.
    Time: 2 p.m.-4 p.m. (est).
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building, 
Courtroom  2, 2nd Floor.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.

West Fork/Dillsboro Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: Thursday December 9, 2004.
    Time: 6 p.m.-9 p.m. (e.s.t.).
    Place: Jackson County Justice and Administration Building, 
Courtroom  2, 2nd Floor.
    Address: 401 Grindstaff Cove Road, Sylva, NC 28779.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA are being distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meetings or may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link [see item (m) above]. These meetings are 
posted on the Commission's calendar located on the Internet at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related 
information.
    Objectives: At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially empirical data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage 
statements from experts and participants 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 do 
not require a detailed analysis.
    Procedures: The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and 
become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the 
project.
    Individuals, organizations, agencies, and Indian tribes with 
environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the 
meetings and to assist Commission staff in defining and clarifying the 
issues to be addressed in the EA.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-3068 Filed 11-5-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P