[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 9945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-813]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2710-035]


PPL Maine, LLC; Notice of Application Ready for Environmental 
Analysis, Waiving Standard Three-Stage Consultation, Establishing an 
Expedited Schedule for Relicensing, and Soliciting Comments, 
Recommendations, Terms and Conditions, and Prescriptions

February 23, 2005.
    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.: P-2710-035.
    c. Date Filed: June 25, 2004.
    d. Applicant: PPL Maine, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Orono Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Stillwater Branch of the Penobscot River, near 
the town of Buxton, Penobscot County, Maine. This project does not 
occupy federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r)
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Scott Hall, PPL Maine, LLC, Davenport 
Street, PO Box 276, Milford, Maine 04461, (207) 827-5364.
    i. FERC Contact: Patrick Murphy, (202) 502-8755, 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing comments, recommendations, terms and 
conditions, and prescriptions: 60 days from the issuance date of this 
notice; reply comments are due 105 days from 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 whose name appears 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.
    Comments and recommendations may be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages 
electronic filings. See CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on 
the Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) under the ``eFiling'' 
link.
    k. This application has been accepted, and is ready for 
environmental analysis at this time.
    l. Project Description: The Orono Hydroelectric Project consists of 
the following facilities: (1) The existing 1,174-foot-long by 15-foot-
high dam with 2.4-foot-high flashboards; (2) a 2.3-mile-long reservoir, 
which has a surface area of 175 acres at the normal full pond elevation 
of 72.4 feet above mean sea level; (3) three new 10-foot-diameter 
penstocks; (4) a new restored powerhouse containing four generating 
units with total installed generating capacity of 2.3 megawatts (MW); 
and (4) appurtenant facilities. The restored project would have an 
average annual generation of 17,821 megawatt-hours. The dam and 
existing project facilities are owned by the applicant.
    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. A copy is also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the address in item h. above.
    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.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings and 
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support.
    n. Pre-Filing Consultation and Scoping: The standard 3-stage 
consultation process required by the Commission's regulations at 18 CFR 
16.8, is hereby waived as requested in comments filed in accordance 
with the ``Lower Penobscot River Multiparty Settlement Agreement''. We 
are also substituting the pre-filing consultation process that has 
occurred on this project for our standard National Environmental Policy 
Act scoping process.
    o. Procedural Schedule: Commission staff propose to issue an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) rather than issuing a draft and final EA. 
Staff intends to allow 30 days for comments on the EA, and will take 
into consideration all comments received before final action is taken 
on the license application. The application will be processed according 
to the following schedule, but revisions to the schedule may be made as 
appropriate:

Issue Notice of availability of EA: June 30, 2005.
Ready for Commission decision on the application: August 1, 2005.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-813 Filed 2-28-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P