[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 248 (Wednesday, December 24, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79079-79080]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-30564]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Project Nos. 13123-000; 12509-001]


Eagle Crest Energy Company; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site 
Visit

December 17, 2008.
    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File a License Application; 
Pre-Application Document; and Request to Use the Traditional Licensing 
Process.
    b. Project Nos.: 13123-000 and 12509-001\1\.
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    \1\ Previously, the project was given FERC Project No. 12509-
001. Upon issuance of a new preliminary permit on August 13, 2008, 
the project was given FERC Project No. 13123-000.
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    c. Dated Filed: October 16, 2008.
    d. Submitted By: Eagle Crest Energy Company (Eagle Crest).
    e. Name of Project: Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project.
    f. Location: The Eagle Mountain Project would be located at two 
depleted mining pits in the Eagle Mountain Mine in Riverside County, 
California, near the town of Desert Center, California.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR Part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Applicant Contact: Arthur Lowe, Eagle Crest Energy Company, 1 El 
Paso, Suite 204, Palm Desert, California 92260.
    i. FERC Contact: Kim Nguyen (202) 502-6105 or e-mail 
[email protected].
    j. Eagle Crest filed Pre-Application Document (PAD) and draft 
License Application (LA) for the Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Project, 
including proposed process plan and schedule, with the Commission 
pursuant to 18 CFR 5.6 of the Commission's regulations.
    k. Copies of the PAD, draft LA, and Scoping Document 1 (SD1) 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, 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. The 
applicant maintains a project Web site with meeting information http://www.eaglemountainenergy.net.
    Register online at http://ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified 
via e-mail of new filings and issuances related to these or other 
pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.
    l. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on SD1. In 
addition, all comments on the PAD, draft LA, and SD1, study requests, 
requests for cooperating agency status, and all communications to 
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 relevant to the Eagle Mountain 
Hydroelectric Project must include on the first page, the project name 
and number (P-13123-000), and bear the heading, as appropriate, 
``Comments on Scoping

[[Page 79080]]

Document 1.'' Any individual or entity interested in commenting on SD1 
must do so no later than 60 days from receipt of this notice.
    Comments on SD1 and other permissible forms of communications with 
the Commission 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.
    m. At this time, Commission staff intends to prepare an 
Environmental Impact Statement for the project, in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act.
    n. Scoping Meetings.
    We will hold two scoping meetings for each project at the times and 
places noted below. The daytime meetings will focus on resource agency, 
Indian tribes, and non-governmental organization concerns, while the 
evening meetings are primarily for receiving input from the public. We 
invite all interested individuals, organizations, Indian tribes, and 
agencies to attend one or all 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:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: January 16, 2009.
    Time: 9 a.m.
    Location: University of California at Riverside, Palm Desert 
Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Room B114/117, Palm 
Desert, California 92211.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: January 15, 2009.
    Time: 7 p.m.
    Location: University of California at Riverside, Palm Desert 
Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Room B200, Palm Desert, 
California 92211.
    SD1, which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the 
environmental document, has been mailed to the individuals and entities 
on the Commission's mailing list. 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 k. Depending on the extent of 
comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may or may not be issued.

Site Visit

    The applicant will conduct a site visit of the project on January 
15, 2009 at 9 a.m. Those wishing to participate in the site visit 
should meet at the University of California at Riverside, Palm Desert 
Graduate Center, 75-080 Frank Sinatra Drive, Room B200, Palm Desert, 
California. To appropriately accommodate persons interested in 
attending the site visit, participants should contact Andrea Oliver 
with Eagle Crest at (760) 346-4900 or e-mail at 
[email protected] by January 8, 2009.

Scoping Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Present the proposed list 
of issues to be addressed in the EA; (2) review and discuss existing 
conditions and resource agency 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 requests by 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 PAD and draft LA in preparation for 
the scoping meetings. Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD, 
draft LA, and SD1 are included in item k of this notice.

Scoping Meeting Procedures

    The scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will 
become part of the formal Commission records for the projects.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-30564 Filed 12-23-08; 8:45 am]
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