[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 21, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14204-14205]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-4040]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping 
Comments for an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Using the 
Alternative Licensing Process

March 14, 2006.
    a. Subject: Alternative Licensing Process for a New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 12478-000.
    c. Applicant: Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC.
    d. Name of Project: Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project.
    e. Location: The proposed hydroelectric generating facility would 
be located at Gibson dam on the Sun River approximately 18 miles 
northwest of Augusta, MT in Teton and Lewis and Clark counties. The 
project power generating facilities would be constructed at or near the 
base of Gibson dam on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands. Gibson dam lies 
within the Lewis and Clark National Forest, administered by the U.S. 
Forest Service.
    f. The application would be filed pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 
16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Steven C. Marmon, Project Manager, Gibson Dam 
Hydroelectric Company, LLC, 3633 Alderwood Avenue, Bellingham, WA 
98225, [email protected], 360.738.9999 X 122.
    h. FERC Contact: David Turner, [email protected], 202.502.6091.
    i. Deadline for filing scoping comments: May 12, 2006.
    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.
    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.
    j. The hydroelectric project would be located at or near Gibson dam 
on the Sun River approximately 18 miles northwest of Augusta, MT. 
Gibson dam is an existing water storage and supply facility owned and 
operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation through a Memorandum of 
Understanding with the U.S. Forest Service. The project power 
generating facilities would be constructed at or near the base of 
Gibson dam on U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lands, and would consist of a 
powerhouse, a 5-35 kilovolt (kV) transformer located near the 
powerhouse, a 35kV transmission line extending from the transformer to 
a 35-69kV substation, and a 69kV overhead transmission line extending 
from the substation to the existing South Augusta substation.
    Three alternative powerhouse configurations are currently under 
consideration. All three designs would involve an approximately 60 foot 
(ft) by 160 ft powerhouse, which would house two 6-megawatt (MW) and 
two 1.5-MW horizontal shaft Francis-type turbine/generators. 
Specifically, the alternatives are: (1) Upstream Alternative, with the 
powerhouse located just downstream of and parallel to the Gibson dam; 
(2) Upstream Alternative, with the powerhouse located just downstream 
of and perpendicular to the Gibson dam; and (3) Downstream Alternative, 
with the powerhouse located adjacent to the access road approximately 
250 ft downstream from the base of the dam.
    k. Scoping Process. Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC (GDHC) 
intends to utilize the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 
(Commission) alternative licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, GDHC 
will prepare an applicant prepared Environmental Assessment (EA) and 
license application for the Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project.
    GDHC expects to file with the Commission, the applicant prepared EA 
and the license application for the Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Project by 
March 2007. Although GDHC's intent is to prepare an EA, there is the 
possibility that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) would be 
necessary to complete the NEPA process. Nevertheless, this meeting will 
satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether an EA or 
EIS is issued by the Commission.
    The purpose of this notice is to inform you of the opportunity to 
participate in the upcoming scoping meetings identified below, and to 
solicit your scoping comments.

Scoping Meetings

    GDHC and the Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings--one 
in the evening and one in the morning--to help us identify the scope of 
issues to be addressed in the applicant prepared EA. The evening 
scoping meeting will be oriented primarily for the public, while the 
morning scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and non-
governmental organization concerns. All interested individuals, 
organizations, tribes, and agencies are invited to attend one or both 
of the meetings, and to assist the Commission staff in identifying the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the applicant prepared 
EA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:
Evening Meeting
Tuesday, April 11, 2006, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (MST), Fairfield Community 
Center, Fairfield, MT.
Morning Meeting
Wednesday, April 12, 2006, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. (MST), Montana Association 
of Counties Building, 2715 Skyway Drive, Helena, MT.

    To help focus discussions, copies of SD1 outlining the subject 
areas to be

[[Page 14205]]

addressed in the applicant prepared EA were distributed to the parties 
on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 also will be 
available at the scoping meetings. SD1 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.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via e-mail of new filings and 
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support.
    Based on all comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be 
issued. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, based on the scoping 
sessions.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the 
applicant prepared 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 applicant prepared EA, including 
viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staffs preliminary 
views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in the 
applicant prepared 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 will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, tribes, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist GDHC in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in 
the applicant prepared EA.

Site Visit

    Commission staff and GDHC will conduct a site visit to the Gibson 
dam at 9 a.m. on April 11, 2006. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. Any person 
interested in attending the site visit should contact Steve Marmon no 
later than Friday April 7, 2006, at: Steven C. Marmon, Project Manager, 
Gibson Dam Hydroelectric Company, LLC, 3633 Alderwood Avenue 
Bellingham, WA 98225, 360-738-9999 X 122, [email protected].

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-4040 Filed 3-20-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P