Willamette Falls Hydroelectric Project, Portland General Electric Company, and Smurfit Newsprint Corporation; Notice of Scoping Meetings Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for an Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 15, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70009-70010]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32434]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project No. 2233]


Willamette Falls Hydroelectric Project, Portland General Electric 
Company, and Smurfit Newsprint Corporation; Notice of Scoping Meetings 
Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for an 
Applicant Prepared Environmental Assessment

December 9, 1999.
    The Commission's regulations at Section 4.34 allow applicants the 
option of preparing their own Environmental Assessment (EA) for 
hydropower projects, and filing the EA with their application as part 
of an alternative licensing procedure. On December 10, 1999, the 
Commission approved the use of an alternative licensing procedure in 
the preparation of a new license application for the Willamette Falls 
Hydroelectric Project, No. 2233.
    The alternative procedures include provisions for the distribution 
of an initial information package (IIP), and for the cooperative 
scoping of environmental issues and needed studies. On December 31, 
1998, Portland General Electric (PGE) distributed the Willamette Falls 
Project IIP. Public meetings were held on the IIP on February 17 and 
February 18, 1999. Several tours of project facilities were conducted 
during 1999.
    PGE intends to distribute Scoping Document 1 (SD1) the week of 
December 13, 1999. Copies of SD1 can be obtained by calling the PGE 
hydro licensing department at 503-464-8683 or via the PGE hydro 
licensing web site located at www.pge-hl.com. Two public 
meetings will be held to discuss SD1.

Scoping Meetings

    PGE will hold public scoping meetings on January 20, 2000, pursuant 
to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969. At the scoping 
meetings, PGE 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 issue; and (5) encourage statements from experts 
and the public on issues that should be analyzed in the EA.
    Although PGE's intent is to prepare an 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.
    The times and locations of the scoping meeting are:

Morning Scoping Meeting

January 20, 2000
9 am to 12 pm  Two World Trade Center--Rooms A&B, 121 SW Salmon Street, 
Portland, OR 97204

Evening Scoping Meeting

January 20, 2000
7 pm to 9 pm  Oregon City High School Cafeteria, 1306 12th Street, 
Oregon City, OR 97045

    All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited 
and encouraged to attend any or all of the meetings to assist in 
identifying and clarifying the scope of environmental issues that 
should be analyzed in the EA.

Scoping Meeting Procedures

    The meetings will be conducted according to the procedures used at 
Commission scoping meetings. Both scoping meetings will be recorded, 
and the transcripts 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.
    Because this meeting will be a NEPA scoping meeting under the APEA 
process, the Commission does not intend to conduct a NEPA scoping 
meeting after PGE's application and EA are filed with the Commission. 
Instead, Commission staff will attend the meetings on January 20, 2000.

[[Page 70010]]

Commenting Deadline

    Written comments should be mailed or e-mailed to: Mr. David 
Heintzman, Portland General Electric (3WTC-BRHL), 121 SW Salmon Street, 
Portland, OR 97204; David__Heintzman@pgn.com
    All correspondence should be postmarked no later than March 21, 
2000. Comments should show the following caption on the first page: 
Scoping Comments, Willamette Falls Hydroelectric Project, Project No. 
2233. Any comments sent to the Commission must include an original and 
eight copies and be addressed to: David P. Boergers, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 
20426. Please put the docket number, P-2233, on the first page.
    For further information please contact Julie Keil PGE at (503) 464-
8864 or John Blair of the Commission at (202) 219-2845.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-32434 Filed 12-14-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M