Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; Notice of Intent To Conduct Environmental Scoping Meetings and a Site Visit

[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 75 (Monday, April 20, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 19487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-10294]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 11561 Alaska]


Alaska Village Electric Cooperative; Notice of Intent To Conduct 
Environmental Scoping Meetings and a Site Visit

April 14, 1998.
    The Energy Policy Act of 1992 allows applicants to prepare their 
own Environmental Assessment (EA) for hydropower projects and file it 
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) along with 
their license application as part of the applicant-prepared EA (APEA) 
process. The Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) intends to 
prepare an EA to file with the Commission for the proposed Old Harbor 
Hydroelectric Project, No. 11561. AVEC will hold two scoping meetings, 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, to 
identify the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed in 
the EA.

Scoping Meetings

    The times and locations of the two scoping meetings are:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Public meeting                       Agency meeting       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tuesday, May 12, 1998...............   Time: 7:00 p.m.            
Place: City Hall, Old Harbor, Alaska......  Thursday, May 14, 1998,     
                                             Division of Seniors        
                                             Conference Room, 3601 C    
                                             Street, Suite 310A,        
                                             (Frontier Building),       
                                             Anchorage, Alaska, 9:00    
                                             a.m.                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At the scoping meetings, AVEC will: (1) summarize the environmental 
issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) outline any 
resources they believe would not require a detailed analysis; (3) 
identify reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the EA; (4) solicit 
from the meeting participants all available information, especially 
quantitative data, on the resources at issues; and (5) encourage 
statements from experts and the public on issues that should be 
analyzed in the EA.
    All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited 
and encouraged to attend either or both meetings to assist in 
identifying and clarifying the scope of environmental issues that 
should be analyzed in the EA.
    To help focus discussions at the meetings, AVEC prepared and 
distributed an Initial State Consultation Document (ISCD) on November 
13, 1997, and a Scoping Document on April 10, 1998. Copies of the ISCD 
and the Scoping Document can be obtained by calling Daniel Hertrich of 
Polarconsult Alaska, Inc., AVEC's agent, at (907) 258-2420. Copies of 
both documents will also be available at both scoping meetings.

Site Visit

    For those who intend to participate in scoping, AVEC will also 
conduct a site visit to the proposed Old Harbor Project on Tuesday, May 
12, 1998. Those attending must meet at the Sitkalidak Lodge in Old 
Harbor, Alaska at 10:00 A.M. We will promptly leave for the project 
site, via helicopter. Those being shuttled by helicopter to the project 
site may need to sign a waiver of liability regarding helicopter use. 
Because of the remoteness and difficulty of ground access at the 
project site, those attending the site visit should be physically fit 
and must wear appropriate clothing and footgear. The site visit should 
be completed by 4:30 P.M. Participants must provide their own sack 
lunches.
    To plan on helicopter use in advance of the visit, AVEC must 
identify the number of individuals interested in the site visit. 
Therefore, if you intend on visiting the proposed project site, you 
must register with Daniel Hertrich at (907) 258-2420, no later than 
April 24, 1998. If inclement weather prevents a site visit on May 12, 
the alternate date will be May 13 at the same time and location.

Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be conducted according to the procedures used at 
Commission scoping meetings. Because this meeting will be a NEPA 
scoping meeting under the APEA process, the Commission will not conduct 
a NEPA scoping meeting after the application and draft EA are filed 
with the Commission.
    Both scoping meetings will be recorded by a stenographer or tape 
recorder, and will become part of the formal record of the proceedings 
for this project.
    Those who choose not to speak during the scoping meetings may 
instead submit written comments on the project. Written comments must 
be submitted by June 15, 1998, and should be mailed to: Mr. Daniel 
Hertrich, Polarconsult Alaska, Inc., 1503 West 33rd Avenue, Suite 310, 
Anchorage, Alaska 99503. All correspondence should show the following 
caption on the first page:

Scoping Comments, Old Harbor Hydroelectric Project, No. 11561, 
Alaska

    For further information please contact Daniel Hertrich at (907) 
258-2420, or E-mail at Dan Hertrich , or Nan Allen 
of the Commission at (202) 219-2938, or E-mail at 
nan.allen@ferc.fed.us.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-10294 Filed 4-17-98; 8:45 am]
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