[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 177 (Tuesday, September 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47239-47240]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-22091]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13234-001]


City and Borough of Sitka; Notice of Scoping Meeting and Site 
Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments for an Applicant Prepared 
Environmental Assessment Using the Alternative Licensing Process

September 4, 2009.
    a. Type of Application: Alternative Licensing Process.
    b. Project No.: 13234-001.
    c. Applicant: City and Borough of Sitka.
    d. Name of Project: Takatz Lake Hydroelectric Project.
    e. Location: On the Takatz Lake and Takatz Creek, approximately 20 
miles east of the City of Sitka, Alaska, on the east side of Baranof 
Island. The project would occupy lands of the Tongass National Forest, 
administered by the U.S. Forest Service.
    f. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    g. Applicant Contact: Christopher Brewton, Utility Manager, City 
and Borough of Sitka, Electric Department, 105 Jarvis Street, Sitka, 
Alaska 99835; (907) 747-1870, e-mail: [email protected].
    h. FERC Contact: Joseph Adamson, at (202) 502-2085; or at e-mail at 
[email protected].
    i. Deadline for filing scoping comments: December 8, 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 
interveners 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 intervener 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/docs-filing/ferconline.asp) under the 
``e-filing'' link. For a simpler method of submitting text only 
comments, click on ``Quick Comment.''
    j. The Takatz Lake project would consist of: (1) A newly 
constructed concrete arch dam with a crest elevation of 1,052 feet mean 
sea level (msl), a spillway elevation of 1,040 feet msl, and a 
structural height of 200 feet; (2) a 30-foot-high secondary saddle dam; 
(3) an increase in the Takatz Lake impoundment with a 740-acre surface 
area and a 124,000 acre-feet storage capacity at spillway elevation of 
1,040 feet msl; (4) an intake structure for a 2,800-foot-long, 6.5-foot 
by 7-foot modified unlined horseshoe tunnel, leading to a 72-inch-
diameter 1,000-foot-long steel penstock; (5) a 4,000 square foot 
powerhouse: (6) two Francis-type generating units, having a total 
installed capacity of 27.6

[[Page 47240]]

megawatts; (7) an approximately 4-mile-long access road; (8) an 
approximately 21-mile-long, 115 kilovolt (kv) or 138 kv transmission 
line that consists of a combination of submarine, overhead, and 
underground segments; and (9) other appurtenant equipment.
    k. Scoping Process: The City and Borough of Sitka (City) is using 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission) alternative 
licensing process (ALP). Under the ALP, the City will prepare an 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) and license 
application for the Takatz Lake Hydroelectric Project.
    Although it is our intent to prepare an EA, there is a possibility 
the Commission will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for 
the project. This meeting will satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements.
    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.

Scoping Meetings

    The City and the 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 in the APEA.
    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 
APEA. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Meeting

    Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 1 p.m. (Alaska ST), U.S. Forest Service 
Conference Room, 5th Floor, Room 541A, Federal Building, 709 West 9th 
Street, Juneau, AK 99801.

Evening Meeting

    Thursday, October 8, 2009, 7 p.m. (Alaska ST), Centennial Hall, 
Harrigan Centennial Hall, 330 Harbor Drive, Sitka, AK 99835.
    To help focus discussions, Scoping Document 1 was mailed September 
4, 2009, outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the APEA to the 
parties on the mailing list. 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.

Site Visit

    The potential applicant and Commission staff will conduct a site 
visit of the project on Thursday, October 8, 2009, starting at 8:30 
a.m. All participants should meet at City of Sitka's Electric 
Department at 105 Jarvis Street, Sitka, Alaska 99835. Anyone with 
questions about the site visit should contact Mr. Christopher Brewton 
of the City and Borough of Sitka at (907) 747-1870 on or before October 
2, 2009.
    Based on all written comments received, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) 
may be issued. SD2 will include a revised list of issues, based on the 
scoping sessions.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the APEA; 
(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 APEA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in 
support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource 
issues to be addressed in the APEA; and (5) identify those issues that 
require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not 
require a detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist the City in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the APEA.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-22091 Filed 9-14-09; 8:45 am]
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