[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 136 (Friday, July 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34742-34744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16990]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No.: 2618-020]


Domtar Maine Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment and Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit 
and Soliciting Scoping Comments

July 10, 2009.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed

[[Page 34743]]

with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Type of Application: New License.
    b. Project No.: 2618-020.
    c. Date Filed: March 19, 2009.
    d. Applicant: Domtar Maine Corporation.
    e. Name of Project: West Branch Project.
    f. Location: On Grand Lake Stream, a tributary of the St. Croix 
River in Penobscot, Washington and Hancock Counties, Maine.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Scott Beal, Domtar Maine Corporation, 144 
Main Street, Baileyville, Maine 04694, (207) 427-4004.
    i. FERC Contact: John Costello, (202) 502-6119 or 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: September 11, 2009.
    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 at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. Project Description: The existing West Branch Project includes 
two developments (Sysladobsis and West Grand) comprising two dams and a 
dike. The 23,500 acre impounded waters are comprised of West Grand, 
Junior, Pocumcus, Pug, Bottle, Norway, and Scraggly lakes.
    The Sysladobsis development includes the 250-foot-long by 9-foot-
high Sysladobsis Dam (the furthest upstream), an earth embankment 
structure with a timber gate and fish facility. The dam impounds the 
5,400-acres Sysladobsis Lake and discharges directly into the West 
Grand development.
    The West Branch development includes the approximately 487-foot-
long West Grand Dam comprises a 105.9-foot-long gate structure with 
five gates. A vertical slot design upstream fish passage facility is 
located adjacent to the dam's waste gate No.1
    The West Grand development includes approximately 535-foot-long by 
15-foot-high Farm Cove Dike is located approximately 3.5 miles west of 
the main outlet dam to West Grand Lake. The dike comprises a 10-foot-
wide by 30-foot-long fishway. The dike has no gates or other flow 
controls; the only flow passing capability is through the fishway. No 
new construction is planned.
    m. Locations of the Application: 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 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 (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is 
also available for inspection and reproduction by contacting the 
applicant using the contact information in item (h) above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm to be notified via e-mail of new filings and 
issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, 
contact FERC Online Support.
    n. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare a single 
environmental assessment (EA) for the project which will include the 
Forest City Project (FERC No. P-2660- 024) (no draft EA would be 
prepared) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The 
EA will consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental 
impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of 
the project at the time and place noted below. The daytime meeting will 
focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-governmental 
organization concerns, while the evening meeting is primarily for 
receiving input from the public. We invite all interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies to attend one or both of these meetings and 
to assist staff in determining the scope of the environmental issues to 
be addressed in the environmental assessment. The times and locations 
of these meetings are as follows:
Daytime Scoping Meeting
    Date: August 13, 2009.
    Time: 10 a.m. (EST)
    Place: Conference Room, Domtar Maine Administration Building.
    Address: Domtar Maine Corporation, 144 Main Street, Baileyville, 
Maine 04694.
Evening Scoping Meeting
    Date: August 13, 2009.
    Time: 6 a.m. (EST)
    Place: Conference Room, Domtar Maine Administration Building.
    Address: Domtar Maine Corporation, 144 Main Street, Baileyville, 
Maine 04694.
    The scoping document, which outlines the subject areas to be 
addressed in the environmental assessment, was mailed to the 
individuals and entities on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of 
the scoping document will be available at the scoping meetings or may 
be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link 
(see item m above). Based on all oral and written comments, a revised 
scoping document may be issued.

Site Visit

    We will hold a site visit to the project on Wednesday, August 12, 
2009, beginning at 9 a.m. (EST). To attend the site visit, meet at 
Domtar Maine Corporation's Administration Building located at 144 Main 
Street, Baileyville, Maine 04694. All participants are responsible for 
their own transportation and lunch. Anyone with questions about the 
site visit (or for directions) should contact Scott Beal at (207) 427-
4004. Those individuals planning to participate in the site visit 
should notify Mr. Beal of their intent, no later than August 6, 2009.
    Note that Commission staff may hold a site visit and/or meeting at 
the project at a later date to discuss any project-related effects to 
archaeological, historic, or traditional cultural properties.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from meeting participants all available information, especially 
quantifiable data, on the resources issues; (3) encourage statements 
from experts and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the 
EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the 
staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be 
addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that require a 
detailed

[[Page 34744]]

analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed 
analysis.

Meeting Procedures

    Scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the Commission's formal record for this proceeding.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in 
the EA.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-16990 Filed 7-16-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P