[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9343-9344]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03573]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Project No. 1389-059]


Southern California Edison Company; 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.: 1389-059.
    c. Dated Filed: December 16, 2021.
    d. Submitted By: Southern California Edison Company (SCE).
    e. Name of Project: Rush Creek Hydroelectric Project (Rush Creek 
Project).
    f. Location: The project is located on Rush Creek in Mono County, 
California. The existing FERC project boundary encompasses a total of 
1,129 acres of land and occupies federal land in Inyo National Forest 
and Ansel Adams Wilderness Area administered by the U.S. Forest 
Service.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: 18 CFR part 5 of the Commission's 
Regulations.
    h. Potential Applicant Contact: Matthew Woodhall, Rush Creek 
Relicensing Project Manager, Southern California Edison Company, 1515 
Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead, CA 91770; (909) 362-1764; 
[email protected].
    i. FERC Contact: Kelly Wolcott at (202) 502-6480 or email 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 the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration Fisheries 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 Office, 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 SCE 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. SCE 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. In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents via the internet through 
the Commission's Home Page (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. At this time, the 
Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning 
the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on 
March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC at 
[email protected] or call toll-free, (866) 208-3676 or TYY, 
(202) 502-8659.
    Register online at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx 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 staff's 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 staff related to the merits of the 
potential application must be filed with the Commission.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
all documents using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at https://ferconline.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You must 
include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Support at 
[email protected]. In lieu of electronic filing, you may 
submit a paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must 
be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly 
D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 
Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The first page of any filing should 
include docket number P-1389-059.
    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 April 15, 2022.
    p. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the 
required level of analysis and satisfy the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the 
Commission prepares an environmental assessment or environmental impact 
statement.

Scoping Meetings

    Due to on-going concerns with large gatherings related to COVID-19, 
we do not intend to hold in-person public scoping meetings or an in-
person environmental site review. Rather, Commission staff will hold 
two public scoping meetings using a telephone conference line. The 
daytime scoping meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, 
and non-governmental organization (NGO) concerns, while the evening 
scoping meeting will focus on receiving input from the public. We 
invite all interested agencies, Native American tribes, NGOs, and 
individuals to attend one of these meetings to assist us in identifying 
the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in the NEPA 
document. Additionally, a virtual site tour of the Rush Creek Project 
is available on SCE's website. The dates and times of the

[[Page 9344]]

meetings as well as how to access the virtual site tour are listed 
below.

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Virtual site tour of the project:
    Access online at: https://www.sce.com/regulatory/hydro-licensing/rush-creek.
 
Meeting for resource agencies, Tribes, and NGOs:
    Monday, March 14, 2022.
    9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. PST.
    Call in number: 800-857-4233.
    Access code: 1572324.
Following entry of the access code, please provide the required details
 when prompted.
 
Meeting for the general public:
    Monday, March 14, 2022.
    6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. PST.
    Call in number: 800-857-4233.
    Access code: 1572324.
Following entry of the access code, please provide the required details
 when prompted.
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    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 SCE's distribution list. Copies of 
SD1 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.

Meeting Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) Initiate 
scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions; (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 potential 
of any federal or state agency or Indian tribe to act 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

    Commission staff will be moderating the scoping meetings. The 
meetings will begin promptly at their respective start times listed 
above.
    At the start of the meeting, staff will provide further 
instructions regarding the meeting setup, agenda, and time period for 
comments and questions. We ask for your patience as staff present 
information and field participant comments in orderly manner. To 
indicate you have a question or comment, press * and 3 to virtually 
``raise your hand''. Oral comments will be limited to 5 minutes in 
duration for each participant. The meetings will be recorded by a 
stenographer and will be filed to the public record of the project.
    Please note, that if no participants join the meetings within 15 
minutes after the start time, staff will end the meeting and conference 
call. The meetings will end after participants have presented their 
oral comments or at the specified end time, whichever occurs first.

    Dated: February 14, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-03573 Filed 2-17-22; 8:45 am]
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