Power Authority of the State of New York; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold Public Scoping Meetings on Project Relicensing

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2000-010 New York]

Power Authority of the State of New York; Notice of Intent To

Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold Public Scoping

Meetings on Project Relicensing

August 19, 1997.

Power Authority of the State of New York (NYPA) is the licensee for

the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, which is located on the St.

Lawrence River in St. Lawrence County, New York. The license for the

project expires October 31, 2003.

On June 3, 1996, NYPA filed a Notice of Intent to seek a new

license to continue to operate and maintain its St. Lawrence-FDR

Project.

NYPA, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission), the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), resource

agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and

many interested members of the public have been conducting a

Cooperative Consultation Process (CCP) to identify resource issues to

be addressed during the relicensing of the project. The establishment

of the CCP Team and the commencement of the Scoping Process for the

relicensing were announced in a Notice of Memorandum of Understanding,

Formation of Cooperative Consultation Process Team, and Initiation of

Scoping Process Associated with Relicensing the St. Lawrence-FDR Power

Project, issued May 2, 1996, and published in the Federal Register

dated May 8, 1996, Volume 61, No. 90, on page 20813. Representatives of

the Canadian government, the International Joint Commission, and Mohawk

Nation communities have also attended some of the meetings. The Scoping

Process will assist the FERC and the DEC in satisfying their

requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)

and Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act.

Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement

The Commission and DEC staffs have determined that relicensing the

existing project could constitute a major Federal action significantly

affecting the quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staffs

intend to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the

relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Project in accordance with NEPA.

The DEC is a cooperating agency and is responsible for the issuance of

a water quality certificate under the Clean Water Act.

The EIS will consider both site specific and cumulative

environmental impacts of the proposed project and reasonable

alternatives, and will include an economic and engineering analysis.

A draft EIS will be issued and circulated for review by all

interested stakeholders and the public. All comments filed on the draft

EIS will be analyzed by the Commission staff and considered in a final

EIS.

As part of the relicensing process, the CCP Team has prepared a

Scoping Document I (SDI), which provides information on the scoping

process, relicensing schedule, background information, environmental

issues, and the proposed project and alternatives. The issues contained

in SDI are based on agency and public comments at the CCP and other

meetings.

The purpose of this notice is to: (1) advise all interested

individuals, organizations, and agencies as to the proposed scope of

the environmental analysis, including cumulative effects, and to seek

additional information pertinent to this analysis; (2) advise all

individuals, organizations, and agencies of their opportunity for

comment; and (3) extend for 30 days the current 60-day comment period,

which closes August 25, 1997, on SDI.

Scoping Process

The staffs' scoping objectives are to:

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Identify significant environmental issues;

Determine the depth of analysis appropriate to each issue;

Identify the resource issues not requiring detailed analysis; and

Identify reasonable project alternatives.

The purpose of the scoping process is to identify significant

issues related to the proposed action and to determine what issues

should be addressed in the EIS.

Scoping Meetings

On June 24, 25, and 26, 1997, the Commission and DEC staffs

conducted scoping meetings, which were published in the Federal

Register dated May 23, 1997, Volume 62, No. 100, on page 28461. Due to

requests for an additional scoping meeting and to allow additional time

for individuals to respond to comments received during the June scoping

meetings, the Commission and DEC staffs will conduct two scoping

meetings and extend for 30 days the current 60-day comment period,

which closes August 25, 1997, on SDI. All comments will now be due no

later than September 25, 1997. All interested individuals,

organizations, and agencies are invited to attend and assist the staff

in identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be

analyzed in the EIS.

To help focus discussions, SDI has been circulated to enable

appropriate federal, state, and local resource agencies, Native

American Tribes, NGOs, and other interested individuals, organizations,

and agencies to participate effectively in and contribute to the

scoping process. SDI provides a brief description of the proposed

action, project alternatives, the geographic of the proposed scope of a

cumulative effects analysis, and a list of preliminary issues. Copies

of SDI will also be made available at the meetings.

A scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 1997, from

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the Akwesasne Housing Authority, State Route

37 (behind the police station), Hogansburg, New York. The evening

scoping meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 9, 1997, from 7:00

p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Akwesasne Housing Authority.

At the scoping meetings, the Commission staff will: (1) Summarize

the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the

EIS; (2) solicit from the meetings participants all available

information, especially quantified data, on the resources at issue, and

(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that

should be analyzed in the EIS. Individuals, organizations, and agencies

with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the

meetings and to assist the staffs in defining and clarifying the issues

to be addressed in the EIS.

Meeting Procedures

The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer. The minutes will

become a part of the record of the Commission proceeding on the St.

Lawrence-FDR Project. Individuals presenting statements at the meetings

will be asked to identify themselves for the record.

Concerned individuals, organizations, and agencies are encouraged

to offer verbal comments during the public meetings.

Speaking time will be determined before the meetings, based on the

number of persons wishing to speak and the approximate amount of time

available for the session.

Persons choosing not to speak but wishing to express an opinion, as

well as speakers unable to summarize their positions within their

allotted time, may submit written statements for inclusion in the

public record.

All written scoping comments must be filed with the Secretary,

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington,

D.C. 20426, no later than September 25, 1997. All filings should

contain an original and 5 copies. Failure to file an original and 5

copies may result in appropriate staff not receiving the benefit of

your comments in a timely manner.

All correspondence should clearly show the following caption on the

first page: Scoping Comments, St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, Project

No. 2000-010, New York.

All those attending the meetings are urged to refrain from making

any communications concerning the merits of the project to any member

of the Commission staff outside of the established process for

developing the record as stated in the record of the proceeding.

If you would like to participate in the meetings or need general

information on the CCP Team and process, as well as the relicensing

process, contact any one of the following three individuals:

Mr. Thomas R. Tatham, New York Power Authority, 212-468-6747, 212-468-

6272 (fax), EMAIL: Ytathat@ IP3GATE.USA.COM.

Mr. Keith Silliman, New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation,

518-457-0986, 518-457-3978 (fax), EMAIL: [email protected].

Ms. Patti Leppert-Slack, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 202-219-

2767, 202-219-2732 (fax), EMAIL: Patricia.LeppertSlack, @FERC.FED. US.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-22440 Filed 8-22-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M