[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 99 (Monday, May 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29740-29742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-12604]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2503-147]


Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; 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

    a. Type of Filing: Notice of Intent to File License Application for 
a New License and Commencing Pre-filing Process.
    b. Project No.: 2503-147.
    c. Dated Filed: November 11, 2011.
    d. Submitted By: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The Keowee-Toxaway Project is located on the Toxaway, 
Keowee, and Little Rivers in Oconee County and Pickens County, South 
Carolina and Transylvania County, North Carolina. The Keowee-Toxaway 
Project occupies no federal lands.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicant Contact: Ms. Jennifer Huff, Keowee-Toxaway 
Relicensing Project Manager, Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, EC12Y, P.O. 
Box 1006, Charlotte, North Carolina 28201-1006.
    i. FERC Contact: Stephen Bowler at (202) 502-6861, or e-mail at 
[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 National Marine Fisheries 
Service under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and the joint 
agency regulations thereunder at 50 CFR, part 402; and (b) the State 
Historic Preservation Officer, as required by section 106, National 
Historical Preservation Act, and the implementing regulations of the

[[Page 29741]]

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation at 36 CFR 800.2.
    l. On October 24, 2008, we designated Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC 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. Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC 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 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. 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, as well as 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 Web 
site 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 (Keowee-Toxaway Hydroelectric Project) and number (P-2503-
147), 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 July 15, 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

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of 
the project at the time and place noted below. 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: Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
    Time: 1 p.m.
    Location: Seneca High School Auditorium, 100 Bobcat Ridge, Seneca, 
SC 29678.
    Phone: (864) 886-4460.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
    Time: 6 p.m.
    Location: Seneca High School Auditorium, 100 Bobcat Ridge, Seneca, 
SC 29678,
    Phone: (864) 886-4460.
    The SD1, which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the 
environmental document, was mailed to the individuals and entities on 
the Commission's mailing list and (in the case of SD1 only) to those on 
the potential applicant's mailing list who did not appear 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 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.

Environmental Site Review

    The potential applicant and Commission staff will conduct an 
environmental site review of the Keowee-Toxaway Project on June 14 and 
15, 2011. We will tour the Toxaway Development on Tuesday, June 14, 
2011, starting at 1 p.m and the Keowee Development on Wednesday, June 
15, 2011 starting at 8 a.m. To register for the environmental site 
review, e-mail energy.com">ktrelicensing@duke-energy.com by May 20, 2011. For more 
details, please visit Duke's Web site at http://www.duke-energy.com/keowee-toxaway-relicensing/jocassee-keowee-tours.asp. On Tuesday we 
will meet at the Jocassee Pumped Storage Station located at 799 
Jocassee Lake Road, Salem, SC 29676. On Wednesday we will meet at the 
Oconee Nuclear Station located at 155 E Pickens Hwy., Seneca, SC 29672. 
(Participants on the Keowee Hydro Station tour must provide appropriate 
photo identification and complete a Nuclear Regulatory Commission 
registration process prior to admittance. No photography will be 
allowed inside Keowee Hydro Station.)

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 for the project.


[[Page 29742]]


    Dated: May 17, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-12604 Filed 5-20-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P