Notice of Application for Amendment of License and Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment Accepted for Filing; Requesting Interventions and Protests; Requesting Comments, Final Terms and Conditions; Requesting Reply Comments

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 235 (Wednesday, December 8, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68678-68679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31733]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Application for Amendment of License and Applicant 
Prepared Environmental Assessment Accepted for Filing; Requesting 
Interventions and Protests; Requesting Comments, Final Terms and 
Conditions; Requesting Reply Comments

December 2, 1999.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application and 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) has been filed with 
the Commission and is available for public inspection.
    a. Application Type: Application to Amend License for the Sturgeon 
Falls Project.
    b. Project No: 2720-032.
    c. Date Filed: October 4, 1999.
    d. Applicant: City of Norway, Michigan.
    e. Name of Project: Sturgeon Falls Project.
    f. Location: This project is located on the Menominee River in 
Dickinson County, Michigan and Marinette County, Wisconsin. The project 
does not utilize lands of the United States.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mark Isackson, City Manager, City of Norway, 
915 Main Street, P.O. Box 99, Norway, MI 49870, (906) 563-80115.
    i. FERC Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed 
to Mr. Vedula Sarma at (202) 219-3273 or by e-mail at 
vedula.sarma@ferc.fed.us.
    j. Deadline for filing motions to intervene, protests, comments, 
final terms and conditions, recommendations, and prescriptions: 60 days 
from the issuance date of this notice.
    All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: 
David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    Please include the docket number (P-2720-032) on any comments or 
motions filed.

[[Page 68679]]

    k. Description of Filing: The City of Norway proposes to change the 
project's present run-of-river mode of operation to a reregulating 
project to regulate the peaking flows released from Wisconsin 
electric's hydroelectric projects located upstream of the Sturgeon 
Falls project. The City of Norway proposes to raise the existing steel 
slide gates to raise the operating head from elevation 101.9 feet 
(Plant Datum or 830.1 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD)) to 
102.8 feet (Plant Datum or 831.0 NGVD) and modify operations to release 
a continuous discharge that approximates the mean daily discharge from 
upstream hydropower projects, including the inflows from the Sturgeon 
River.
    Reregulation of flows at the Sturgeon Falls Project is an integral 
component of the Wilderness Shores Settlement Agreement, which concerns 
the following Wisconsin Electric's (WE) relicensing applications 
pending before the Commission: Way Dam (P-1759), Hemlock Falls (P-
2074), Lower Paint (P-2072), Peavy Falls (P-1759), Michigamme Falls (P-
2073), Twin Falls (P-1759), Kingsford (P-2131), Big Quinesec Falls (P-
1980), and surrender of license and removal of Sturgeon Project dam (P-
2471). Therefore, this amendment request by the City of Norway will be 
coordinated with these other actions.
    Status of Environmental Analysis: On March 25, 1996, the Director, 
Office of Hydropower Licensing approved WE's use of the Alternative 
Licensing Process. Scoping, pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, for the project was conducted through 
scoping documents issued in July 1996 and January 1997, and in public 
scoping meetings on September 16 and 17, 1996. The draft amendment 
application and APEA were distributed by the applicant for comment on 
October 20, 1998.
    The Commission staff has reviewed the amendment application and 
APEA and has determined that the application is acceptable for 
processing and no additional information or studies are needed to 
prepare the Commission's environmental assessment. Comments, as 
indicated above, are being requested from interested parties. The 
applicant must respond to those comments within 105 days from the date 
of this notice or may elect to seek a waiver of this deadline.
    l. Location of the Application: A copy of the application is 
available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, 
DC 20426, or by calling (202) 208-1371. This filing may be viewed on 
http://www.ferc.fed.us/online/rims.htm [call (202) 208-2222 for 
assistance]. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction 
at the address in item h above.
    m. Individuals desiring to be included on the Commission's mailing 
list should so indicate by writing to the Secretary of the Commission.
    Comments, Protests, or Motions to Intervene--Anyone may submit 
comments, a protest, or a motion to intervene in accordance with the 
requirements of rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, 
214. In determining the appropriate action to take, the Commission will 
consider all protests or other comments filed, but only those who file 
a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules may 
become a party to the proceeding. Any comments, protests, or motions to 
intervene must be received on or before the specified comment date for 
the particular application.
    Filing and Service of Responsive Documents--Any filings must bear 
in all capital letters the title ``COMMENTS'' ``RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 
TERMS AND CONDITIONS'', ``PROTESTS'', OR ``MOTION TO INTERVENE'', as 
applicable, and the Project Number of the particular application to 
which the filing refers. Any of the above-named documents must be filed 
by providing the original and the number of copies provided by the 
Commission's regulations to: The Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 first Street, NE, Washington, DC 20426. A copy of any 
motion to intervene must also be served upon each representative of the 
Applicant specified in the particular application.
    Agency Comments--Federal, state, and local agencies are invited to 
file comments on the described application. A copy of the application 
may be obtained by agencies directly from the Applicant. If an agency 
does not file comments within the time specified for filing comments, 
it will be presumed to have no comments. One copy of an agency's 
comments must also be sent to the Applicant's representatives.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-31733 Filed 12-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M