[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 48 (Tuesday, March 13, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11352-11353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-4479]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2175-014]


Southern California Edison Company; Notice of Application and 
Amended Preliminary Draft Environmental Assessment Tendered for Filing 
With the Commission, and Establishing Procedual Schedule for Licensing 
and Deadline for Submission of Final Amendments

March 7, 2007.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New License for Major Project-Existing Dam.
    b. Project No: P-2175-014.
    c. Date Filed: February 23, 2007.
    d. Applicant: Southern California Edison Company.
    e. Name of Project: Big Creek Nos. 1 and 2 Hydroelectric Power 
Project.
    f. Location: In Fresno County, California, and within the Sierra 
National Forest. The project is situated along Big Creek, a tributary 
to the San Joaquin River. The project affects 1,877.96 acres of Federal 
land administered by the Sierra National Forest.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Russ W. Krieger, Vice President, Power 
Production, Southern California Edison Company, 300 North Lone Hill 
Ave., San Dimas, California 91773. Phone: (909) 394-8667.
    i. FERC Contact: Jim Fargo, (202) 502-6095, or e-mail: 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating Agencies: We are asking Federal, State, local, and 
tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect 
to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the preparation of the 
environmental document. Agencies who would like to request cooperating 
status should follow the instructions for filing comments described in 
item k below. Agencies granted cooperating status will be precluded 
from being an intervenor in this proceeding consistent with the 
Commission's regulations.
    k. Deadline for requests for cooperating agency status: 60 days 
from the date of this notice. All documents (original and eight copies) 
should be filed with: Philis J. Posey, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 
Comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper; 
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. After 
logging into the e-Filing system, select ``Comment on Filing'' from the 
Filing Type Selection screen and continue with the filing and process. 
The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing.
    l. Status: This application has not been accepted for filing. We 
are not soliciting motions to intervene, protests, or final terms and 
conditions at this time.
    m. Description of Project: The existing Big Creek Nos. 1 and 2 
Hydroelectric Power Project consists of two powerhouses, four major 
dams forming one major reservoir, one moderate dam and impoundment, 
three small diversions, and three water conveyance systems. The project 
would have an average annual generation of 657,072 megawatt-hours.
     Powerhouses (i) Powerhouse No. 1 with four turbine/
generator units and a total dependable operating capacity of about 82.9 
MW; and (ii) Powerhouse No. 2, with four turbine/generator units and a 
total dependable operating capacity of about 67.1 MW.
     Major dams and reservoirs (i) Dams 1, 2, 3, and 3a, which 
form Huntington Lake, with a capacity of about 89,166 ac-ft, at an 
elevation of about 6,950 ft above mean sea level (msl).
     Moderate dam (i) Dam 4, which forms Dam 4 Impoundment 
(Powerhouse 2 Forebay), with a capacity of about 60 ac-ft, at an 
elevation of about 4,810 ft above msl.
     Small diversions (i) Balsam Creek Diversion, with a usable 
capacity of less than 1 ac-ft, at an elevation of about 4,880 ft above 
msl; (ii) Ely Creek Diversion, with a usable capacity of less than 1 
ac-ft, at an elevation of about 4,844 ft above msl; and (iii) Adit 8 
Diversion, with a usable capacity of less than 1 ac-ft, at an elevation 
of about 4,825 ft above msl.
     Water conveyance systems (i) Tunnel No. 1, about 2 miles 
long, conveys water from Huntington Lake through an 84-inch diameter 
pipe to Big Creek Powerhouse No. 1.; (ii) Tunnel No. 2, approximately 
4.1 miles long, conveys water from the Dam 4 impoundment just 
downstream of Powerhouse 1 to Big Creek Powerhouse No. 2. Water from 
Ely and Balsam Creek diversions also enter into Tunnel No. 2 between 
the forebay and powerhouse; and (iii) The Shoo Fly, conveys water from 
Shaver Lake (FERC Project No. 67) through Tunnel 5 and into Tunnel 2 
leading to Powerhouse No. 2. The Shoo fly was used during the 
construction of

[[Page 11353]]

Shaver Lake Dam and Powerhouse No. 2A to keep water off the dam and to 
get more generation from Powerhouse No. 2. Although not currently in 
use, the Shoo fly Complex gives SCE the flexibility to divert water 
from Shaver Lake to Powerhouse No. 2, if required.
    n. 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 three digits in the docket 
number field to access the document. For assistance, please contact 
FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll free at (866) 
208-3676, or for TTY, contact (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 e-mail of new filings and 
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support.
    o. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the 
California State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), as required by 
section 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the regulations of 
the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.
    p. Procedural schedule and final amendments: The application will 
be processed according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. 
Revisions to the schedule will be made if the Commission determines it 
necessary to do so:

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             Milestone                          Tentativedate
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Issue Acceptance/Deficiency Letter   June 2007.
 and request Additional
 Information, if needed.
Notice asking for final terms and    September 2007.
 conditions.
Notice of the availability of the    March 2008.
 draft EIS.
Notice of the availability of the    September 2008.
 final EIS.
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    Final amendments to the application must be filed with the 
Commission no later than 30 days from the issuance date of the notice 
soliciting final terms and conditions.

Philis J. Posey,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-4479 Filed 3-12-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P