[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 225 (Friday, November 23, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65721-65722]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-22822]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2662-009; Project No. 12968-000]


FirstLight Hydro Generating Company; City of Norwich Department 
of Public Utilities; Notice of Intent To File Competing License 
Applications, Filing of Pre-Application Documents (PADs), Commencement 
of Licensing Proceeding, Scoping, Solicitation of Study Requests and 
Comments on the PADs and Scoping Document

November 14, 2007.
    a. Type of Filing: Notices of Intent to File Competing License 
Applications for a New License and Commencing Licensing Proceeding.
    b. Project Nos.: 2662-009 & 12968-000.
    c. Date Filed: August 30, 2007.
    d. Submitted By: Existing licensee--FirstLight Hydro Generating 
Company (FirstLight); and Competitor--City of Norwich Department of 
Public Utilities (Norwich Public Utilities).
    e. Name of Project: Scotland Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the Shetucket River, in Windham County, 
Connecticut. The project does not occupy federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicants' Contacts:
    For Project No. 2662: John Whitfield, Senior Project Engineer, 
FirstLight Hydro Generating Company, 20 Church Street, Hartford, CT 
06103.
    For Project No. 12968: John F. Bilda, General Manager, Norwich 
Public Utilties, 16 South Golden Street, Norwich, CT 06360.
    i. FERC Contact: Sarah Florentino at (202) 502-6863 or e-mail at 
[email protected].
    j. 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 the paragraphs 
below. Cooperating agencies should note the Commission's policy that 
agencies that cooperate in the preparation of the environmental 
document cannot also intervene. See 94 FERC ] 61,076 (2001).
    k. With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with: 
(a) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and/or NOAA Fisheries under 
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the joint agency 
regulations thereunder at 50 CFR part 402; and (b) the State Historic 
Preservation Officer, as required by Section 106, National Historical 
Preservation Act, and the implementing regulations of the Advisory 
Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    l. By letters dated September 17, 2007, we designated FirstLight 
and Norwich Public Utilities as the Commission's nonfederal 
representatives for carrying out informal consultation pursuant to 
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    m. FirstLight and Norwich Public Utilities both filed Pre-
Application Documents (PADs; including a proposed process plan and 
schedule) with the Commission, pursuant to 18 CFR 5.6 of the 
Commission's regulations.
    n. Copies of both PADs are available for review at the Commission 
in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's Web 
site (http://www.ferc.gov), using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
docket number, excluding the last three digits

[[Page 65722]]

in the docket number field to access the documents. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or toll free 
at 1-866-208-3676, of for TTY, (202) 502-8659. Copies are also 
available for inspection and reproduction at the addresses in paragraph 
h.
    Register online at http://ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified 
via e-mail of new filing and issuances related to this or other pending 
projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
    o. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on the applicants' 
PADs and Commission staff's Scoping Document 1 (SD1), as well as study 
requests. All comments on the PADs and SD1, and study requests should 
be sent to the addresses above in paragraph h. In addition, all 
comments on the PADs and SD1, study requests, requests for cooperating 
agency status, and all communications to and from Commission staff 
related to the merits of the potential applications (original and eight 
copies) must be filed with the Commission at the following address: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. All filings with the 
Commission must include, on the first page, the project name (Scotland 
Hydroelectric Project) and number (``P-2662-009'' for FirstLight, and/
or ``P-12968-000'' for Norwich Public Utilities), and bear the heading 
``Comments on Pre-Application Document,'' ``Study Requests,'' 
``Comments on Scoping Document 1,'' ``Request for Cooperating Agency 
Status,'' or ``Communications to and from Commission Staff.'' Any 
individual or entity interested in submitting study requests, 
commenting on the PADs or SD1, and any agency requesting cooperating 
status must do so by December 31, 2007.
    Comments on the PADs and SD1, study requests, requests for 
cooperating agency status, and other permissible forms of communication 
with the Commission or its staff 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. The Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filings.
    p. At this time, Commission staff intends to prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA), in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The meetings outlined below will 
satisfy the scoping requirements of NEPA.

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of 
the project at the time and place noted below. The evening meeting is 
primarily for receiving input from the public, while the daytime 
meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-
governmental organization concerns. We invite all interested 
individuals, organizations, and agencies to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist staff in identifying particular study needs, as 
well as the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the 
environmental document. The times and locations of these meetings are 
as follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting:
    Date: Monday, November 19, 2007.
    Time: 7 p.m.
    Location: Windham High School, 355 High Street, Willimantic, CT 
06226,
    Phone: (860) 465-2480.
    Daytime Scoping Meeting:
    Date: Tuesday, November 20, 2007.
    Time: 8 a.m.
    Location: Windham Town Hall, 979 Main Street, Willimantic, CT 
06226, Phone: (860) 465-3000.

    Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be 
addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals 
and entities on the Commission's mailing list on October 30, 2007. 
Copies of SD1 will be available at the scoping meetings, or may be 
viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov, using the ``eLibrary'' link. 
Follow the directions for accessing information in paragraph n. Based 
on all oral and written comments, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be 
issued. SD2 will include any revisions to the list of issues outlined 
in SD1 that are identified during the scoping process, and may include 
a revised process plan and schedule.

Site Visit

    The potential applicants and Commission staff will conduct a site 
visit of the project on Monday, November 19, 2007, starting at 1p.m. 
All participants should meet at the Scotland Project dam, located on 
Station Road, Windham, CT, 06280. All participants are responsible for 
their own transportation. Anyone with questions about the site visit 
should contact Ms. Rosemary Plue at (860) 350-3607.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Initiate scoping of the 
issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions and resource 
management objectives; (3) review and discuss existing information and 
identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and 
discuss the process plan and schedule for pre-filing activity that 
incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission's 
regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of 
federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and 
(5) discuss the appropriateness of any federal or state agency or 
Indian tribe acting as a cooperating agency for development of an 
environmental document.
    Meeting participants should come prepared to discuss their issues 
and/or concerns. Please review the PADs in preparation for the scoping 
meetings. Instructions on how to obtain copies of the PADs and SD1 are 
included in item n, above.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.

 Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-22822 Filed 11-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P