Sierra Nevada Region 2004 Power Marketing Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration

Sierra Nevada Region 2004 Power Marketing Program Draft

Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Availability and Notice of Public Hearing.

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SUMMARY: Western Area Power Administration's (Western) Sierra Nevada

Customer Service Region announces that its 2004 Power Marketing Program

Draft Environmental Impact Statement (draft EIS) is available for

public review and comment. The Sierra Nevada Region will hold a public

hearing to receive formal comments on the draft EIS at its Folsom,

California office. The Sierra Nevada Region markets approximately 1,480

megawatts (MW) of power from the Central Valley Project (CVP) in

California and other sources, and available nonfirm energy from the

Washoe Project. All existing long-term CVP power sales contracts expire

on December 31, 2004. The Sierra Nevada Region needs to (1) determine

the level and character of capacity, energy, and other services that

will be marketed beyond 2004, and (2) establish eligibility and

allocation criteria for the allocations of electric power resources to

be marketed under contracts that will replace those expiring in 2004.

The draft EIS has been prepared in compliance with the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the

Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing

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NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and the DOE regulations for compliance

with NEPA (10 CFR Part 1021) to describe the potential environmental

consequences of the range of reasonable marketing plan alternatives.

The Sierra Nevada Region will accept written and oral comments

during the public hearing, and a court reporter will record the

proceedings. Those wishing to make oral comments will be asked to

register at the door prior to the beginning of the hearing. The Sierra

Nevada Region will respond to comments in the final EIS. There will be

an informal public information session before the hearing to describe

the results of the analysis outlined in the draft EIS. Interested

persons can discuss aspects of the draft EIS with Sierra Nevada Region

representatives at this session.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The public information session and hearing will be

held on June 13, 1996, at the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region,

114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, California. The public information session

will begin at 9 a.m., and the public hearing will begin an hour later

at 10 a.m.

Copies of the draft EIS have been distributed to interested parties

on the EIS mailing list and to various reading rooms. Copies of the

draft EIS and supporting documents are available for public review at

the locations listed below:

Shasta County Public Library, Reference Desk, 1855 Shasta Street,

Redding, CA 96001

Sacramento Public Library, Central Branch, Reference Desk, 828 ``I''

Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Fresno Public Library, Reference Desk, 2420 Mariposa Street, Fresno, CA

93721

University of California, Berkeley, General Library, Berkeley, CA 94720

Washoe Public Library, Reference Desk, 301 South Center Street, Reno,

NV 89501

California State Library, Sacramento Branch, 914 Capital Mall,

Sacramento, CA 95814

San Francisco Public Library, Civic Center (Main Library), Reference

Desk, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102

Copies of the draft EIS and supporting documents are also available

for public review at Western's offices at:

Sierra Nevada Region, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630

Corporate Services Office, 1627 Cole Boulevard, Building 19, Room 175,

Golden, CO 80401

U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Reading Room 1E-190,

1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585

Referenced material is contained in the official project file

located at the Sierra Nevada Regional Office at the above-listed

address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Sierra Nevada Region maintains a

mailing list of those interested in the 2004 Power Marketing Program

EIS. For further information, to submit written comments, or to request

a copy of the draft EIS, please call or write: Jerry W. Toeynes,

Project Manager, Western Area Power Administration, Sierra Nevada

Customer Service Region, 114 Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630-4710,

(916) 353-4455.

Written comments on the draft EIS may be sent to the Project

Manager by July 31, 1996.

For general information on DOE's NEPA review process, or for status

on the review of a specific project, please contact: Carol M.

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance, EH-42, U.S.

Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW. Washington, DC

20585, (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Sierra Nevada Region currently markets

about 1,480 MW of long-term power to approximately 80 preference

customers in northern and central California. Sources for this power

include CVP powerplants, the Washoe Project powerplant at Stampede Dam,

and other suppliers. Washoe Project power is sold as nonfirm energy. On

December 31, 2004, all of the Sierra Nevada Region's long-term CVP

power sales contracts will expire, along with its current resource

integration and transmission contract with Pacific Gas and Electric

Company. The Sierra Nevada Region is developing a 2004 Power Marketing

Plan to analyze options for replacing the expiring contracts.

The Sierra Nevada Region's power resources are also subject to

change. Determination of the electric capacity and energy to be

marketed will be influenced by expected generation at reservoirs which

have water storage and releases controlled by the Bureau of

Reclamation. Pursuant to Title 34 of Public Law 102-575, the CVP

Improvement Act of 1992, the Department of the Interior is preparing a

programmatic EIS addressing water facilities and potential changes in

CVP water operations and allocations.

On August 10 and 13, 1993, Western announced in the Federal

Register (58 FR 42536 and 43105) its intent to prepare an EIS on the

Sierra Nevada Region's electric power marketing activities extending

beyond the year 2004. Following extensive public involvement and

analysis, the draft EIS was prepared to analyze and describe the

environmental consequences of a range of marketing plan alternatives.

The Sierra Nevada Region developed four alternatives for analysis in

the draft EIS that are structured around operations of the CVP

hydroelectric system. The four alternatives are identified as No

Action, Maximize Hydropower Peaking, Baseload, and Renewable Resource

Acquisition. Each alternative includes possible power purchase and

power cost analysis options. Also, an analysis of allocations to

customer groups was done under each alternative to determine the range

of impacts that may result from changing the quantity of resources

available to different customer groups. The draft EIS evaluates the

potential impacts of these alternatives, including no action, on water

resources (water quality, temperature, pool fluctuation), biological

resources, recreation, cultural resources, socioeconomic resources, air

resources, solid wastes, and land use.

The Sierra Nevada Region is actively seeking public input on the

draft EIS in order to make a decision on a preferred alternative. No

preferred alternative is identified in the draft EIS for this reason. A

decision on a preferred alternative will be made after considering

comments on the draft EIS, and that alternative will be recommended in

the final EIS.

Issued at Golden, Colorado, May 16, 1996.

J.M. Shafer,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96-13125 Filed 5-23-96; 8:45 am]

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