[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 57 (Monday, March 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15517-15518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-5846]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Project No. 1881-050


PPL Holtwood, LLC; Notice of Scoping Meeting and Soliciting 
Scoping Comments

March 17, 2008.
    a. Application Type: Amendment of license to increase the installed 
capacity.
    b. Project No.: 1881-050.
    c. Date Filed: December 20, 2007, and supplemented on January 4 and 
February 20, 2008.
    d. Applicant: PPL Holtwood, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Holtwood Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The project is located on the Susquehanna River, in 
Lancaster and York Counties, Pennsylvania.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a--825r
    h. Applicant Contact: Dennis J. Murphy, Vice President & Chief 
Operating Officer, PPL Holtwood, LLC, Two North Ninth Street (GENPL6), 
Allentown, Pennsylvania 18101; telephone (610) 774-4316.
    i. FERC Contact: Linda Stewart, telephone: (202) 502-6680, and e-
mail: [email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: May 2, 2008.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
Kimberly D. Bose, 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 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. Description of Request:
    (i) Amendment to Project Design: PPL Holtwood LLC (PPL Holtwood or 
licensee) proposes to increase the installed capacity of the Holtwood 
Project by constructing a new powerhouse with two turbine generator 
units, installing two new generating units in the existing powerhouse, 
and refurbishing four generating units in the existing powerhouse 
(Units 1, 2, 4, and 7). The total installed capacity of the project 
would increase from 107.2 megawatts to 195.5 megawatts and the total 
hydraulic capacity of the project would increase from 31,500 cubic feet 
per second to approximately 61,460 cubic feet per second. PPL Holtwood 
also proposes to construct a new skimmer wall upstream of the 
powerhouses, and to perform excavation in the forebay to replace 
deteriorating infrastructure as well as enable flows to enter the new 
generating units. In order to improve fish passage at the project, PPL 
Holtwood proposes to: (1) Modify the existing fish lift; (2) reroute 
the discharge of Unit 1 in the existing powerhouse; and (3) excavate in 
the project tailrace and spillway. PPL Holtwood also proposes to 
implement additional measures to enhance migratory fish passage, 
provide for minimum flows, and perform studies and evaluations. PPL 
Holtwood requests the modification of license articles that are related 
to the above proposed design changes
    (ii) Extension of Term of License: PPL Holtwood requests a 16-year 
extension of the current license term to September 1, 2030.
    l. Scoping Process: 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. This meeting 
will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements.

Scoping Meetings

    The licensee and Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings, 
one in the daytime and one in the evening, to help us identify the 
scope of issues to be addressed.
    The daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency concerns, 
while the evening scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All 
interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist the staff in 
identifying the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

[[Page 15518]]

The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

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            Daytime meeting                      Evening meeting
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Thursday April 17, 2008                  Thursday April 17, 2008
2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Holtwood               6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.,
 Environmental Center, 9 New Village      Travellodge Inn and Suites and
 Road, Holtwood, PA 17532                 Conference Center, 1492 Lititz
                                          Pike, Lancaster, PA 17601
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    To help focus discussions, Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines 
the subject areas to be addressed in the EIS, was mailed to the 
individuals and entities on the Commission's mailing list on March 17, 
2008. 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 written comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) 
may be issued, if needed. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, as 
determined by the scoping process.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EIS; 
(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 EIS, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the EIS; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist the licensee and Commission staff in defining and clarifying the 
issues to be addressed in the EIS. Please review the SD1 in preparation 
for the scoping meetings. Instructions on how to obtain copies of the 
SD1 are included above.

Meeting Procedures

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

Site Visit

    The licensee and Commission staff will conduct a site visit of the 
project on Thursday, April 17, 2008.
    The site visit to Holtwood dam will take place at 10:30 a.m. on 
Thursday April 17, 2008. We will meet at the security gate; parking is 
limited so participants are encouraged to car pool. Access to the dam 
site is secure, and any individuals wishing to participate in the site 
visit will be required to meet the licensee's public safety 
requirements.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-5846 Filed 3-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P