[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 7 (Tuesday, January 11, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1610-1611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-302]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[ Project No. 2246-058]


Yuba County Water Agency; Notice of Intent To File License 
Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document (PAD), Commencement of 
Pre-Filing Process, and Scoping; Request for Comments on the PAD and 
Scoping Document, and Identification of Issues and Associated Study 
Requests

January 4, 2011.
    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File License Application for 
a New License and Commencing Pre-filing Process.
    b. Project No.: 2246-058.
    c. Dated Filed: November 5, 2010.
    d. Submitted By: Yuba County Water Agency.
    e. Name of Project: Yuba River Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The Yuba River Project facilities are located on the 
western slope of the Sierra Nevada on the main stems of the Yuba River, 
the North Yuba River, the Middle Yuba River, and Oregon Creek (a 
tributary to the Middle Yuba River) in Yuba, Sierra, and Nevada 
Counties, California. Portions of the Yuba River Project occupy lands 
of the Plumas and Tahoe National Forests.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR Part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicant Contact: Curt Aikens, General Manager, Yuba 
County Water Agency, 1220 F Street, Marysville, California 95901, 530-
741-6278.
    i. FERC Contact: Alan Mitchnick at (202) 502-6074 or 
[email protected].
    j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies 
with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to 
environmental issues that wish to cooperate in the preparation of the 
environmental document should follow the instructions for filing such 
requests described in item o 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 California State 
Historic Preservation Officer, as required by section 106, National

[[Page 1611]]

Historical Preservation Act, and the implementing regulations of the 
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    l. With this notice, we are designating the Yuba County Water 
Agency as the Commission's non-federal representative for carrying out 
informal consultation, pursuant to Section 7 of the Endangered Species 
Act and section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    m. Yuba County Water Agency filed with the Commission a Pre-
Application Document (PAD; including a proposed process plan and 
schedule), pursuant to 18 CFR 5.6 of the Commission's regulations.
    n. A copy of the PAD is available for review at the Commission in 
the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the Commission's website 
(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. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in paragraph h.
    Register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp 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 PAD and 
Commission's staff Scoping Document 1 (SD1), as well as study requests. 
All comments on the PAD and SD1, and study requests should be sent to 
the address above in paragraph h. In addition, all comments on the PAD 
and SD1, study requests, requests for cooperating agency status, and 
all communications to and from Commission staff related to the merits 
of the potential application must be filed with the Commission. 
Documents may be filed electronically via the Internet. See 18 CFR 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's website 
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit 
brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, 
using the eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You must include your name and contact information at the 
end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online 
Support. Although the Commission strongly encourages electronic filing, 
documents may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, mail an original and 
seven copies to: 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 (Yuba River Hydroelectric Project) and number (P-2246-
058), and bear the appropriate 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 PAD or SD1, and any agency 
requesting cooperating status must do so by March 7, 2011.
    p. Although our current intent is to prepare an environmental 
assessment (EA), there is the possibility that an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) will be required. Nevertheless, this meeting will 
satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether an EA or 
EIS is issued by the Commission.

Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

    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 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 and Time: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: Yuba County Government Center, Conference Rooms 1 and 2, 915 
8th Street, Marysville, California

Evening Scoping Meeting

Date and Time: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Yuba County Government Center, Conference Rooms 1 and 2, 915 
8th Street, Marysville, California

    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 and Yuba County's mailing lists. 
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 may include a revised process plan and schedule, as well as 
a list of issues, identified through the scoping process.

Site Visit

Date and Time: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Meet at Yuba County Water Agency office, 1220 F Street, 
Marysville, California

    Please notify Alan Mitchnick at 202-502-6074 or 
[email protected] by January 21, 2011, if you plan to attend the 
site visit.

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 PAD in preparation for the scoping 
meetings. Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD and SD1 are 
included in item n. of this document.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will be placed 
in the public record of the project.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-302 Filed 1-10-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P