[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2982-2983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01014]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 96-045]


Pacific Gas and Electric Company; Notice of Intent To File 
License Application, Filing of Pre-Application Document (Pad), 
Commencement of Pre-Filing Process, and Joint Scoping With the 
California State Water Resources Control Board; 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.: 96-045
    c. Dated Filed: November 16, 2017
    d. Submitted By: Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)
    e. Name of Project: Kerckhoff Hydroelectric Project
    f. Location: On the San Joaquin River, in Fresno and Madera 
Counties, California, about 25 miles northeast of the city of Fresno, 
California. The majority of the project is located on lands owned by 
PG&E, National Forest System Lands administered by the U.S. Forest 
Service, Sierra National Forest, and on lands managed by the U.S. 
Bureau of Land Management.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Applicant Contact: Debbie Powell, Senior Director, Power 
Generation--Operations, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, P.O. Box 
770000, MCN11D-1138, San Francisco, CA 94177-0001
    i. FERC Contact: Evan Williams at (202) 502-8462 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, (b) NOAA Fisheries under 
section 305(b)(2) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and 
Management Act; and (c) the State Historic Preservation Officer, as 
required by section 106, National Historic 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 PG&E as the Commission's 
non-federal representatives for carrying out informal consultation, 
pursuant to: Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act; section 305(b)(2) 
of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act; and 
section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
    m. On November 16, 2017, PG&E 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], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). 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 email 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. Scoping 
comments should be filed separately with the Commission and California 
State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), as noted 
below.
    Commission:
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
all documents using the Commission's eFiling system at 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 at 
[email protected]. In lieu of electronic filing, please send a 
paper copy to: Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing 
should include docket number P-96-045.
    All filings with the Commission must 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 17, 
2018.
    State Water Board:
    Written comments should be provided as noted below. When submitting 
your comments, provide the contact person's name and phone number. The 
State Water Board is seeking information regarding what type of 
environmental document should be prepared (i.e., negative declaration, 
mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report), as 
well as scoping comments.
    State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights--
Water Quality Certification Program, Attention: Philip Choy, P.O. Box 
2000, Sacramento, CA 95812-2000, Phone: (916) 341-5408, Fax: (916) 341-
5400, Email: [email protected].

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of 
the project at the times and places 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.
    These scoping meetings are being coordinated with the State Water 
Board and are considered joint scoping meetings for the purposes of 
both the National Environmental Policy Act

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(NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), should the 
State Water Board prepare an environmental impact report (EIR). (See 
Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, 15083, 15223, 15226.) This notice is intended 
to provide notice of the State Water Board's informal consultation with 
responsible and trustee agencies pursuant to section 15063 of the CEQA 
Guidelines as to the potential for the proposed action to cause a 
significant impact to the environment. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, Sec.  
15063, subd. (g).) Recipients of this notice are invited to comment on 
whether an EIR, negative declaration, or mitigated negative declaration 
should be prepared. In addition, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 
15083, subdivision (c), these meetings are intended to simultaneously 
serve the purposes identified in California Code of Regulations, title 
14, section 15082, subdivision (c). Any responsible or trustee agency 
or other interested parties that believes an EIR should be prepared 
should identify the scope and content of any environmental information 
it believes should be required, should the State Water Board prepare an 
EIR.
    The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2018.
    Time: 9:00 a.m.
    Location: Piccadilly Inn Airport, 5115 E McKinley Ave., Fresno, CA.
    Phone: (559) 375-7760.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2018.
    Time: 6:00 p.m.
    Location: Piccadilly Inn Airport, 5115 E McKinley Ave., Fresno, CA.
    Phone: (559) 375-7760.
    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. 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 (site visit) of the project at 8:00 a.m., 
Wednesday, February 14, 2018. Participants are responsible for their 
own transportation. Persons planning on participating in the site visit 
must RSVP to Ms. Lisa Whitman of PG&E at [email protected] or (415) 
973-7465, on or before February 1, 2018. Additional details concerning 
the site visit are provided in SD1.

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 
provided 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 Commission and State Water Board 
proceedings for this project.

    Dated: January 16, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-01014 Filed 1-19-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P