Armstrong Energy Resources; Notice of Public Scoping Meetings

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 11499-000 Tennessee]

Armstrong Energy Resources; Notice of Public Scoping Meetings

February 3, 1997.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Tennessee

Valley Authority (TVA) are reviewing a proposal from Armstrong Energy

Resources to construct and operate the 1,500-megawatt Laurel Branch

Pumped

[[Page 5813]]

Storage Project No. 11499. The Laurel Branch Project would be located

in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, seven miles northeast of Dunlap,

Tennessee.

Since the July 1996 Scoping Document I was issued for Armstrong

Energy Resources' (AER) proposed Laurel Branch Project No. 11499 and

Reynolds Creek Project No. 11500, AER has decided not to pursue the

Reynolds Creek Project. AER, by letter filed January 9, 1997 with the

FERC, has withdrawn its proposal, and surrendered its preliminary

permit for the Reynolds Creek Pumped Storage Project No. 11500. AER, in

deciding to pursue only the Laurel Branch Project, has also defined the

preferred transmission line corridor and alternative corridors for the

project and reduced the initial project boundary.

FERC and TVA staff will not prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) only for the Laurel Branch Project in accordance with

the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). FERC will be a

cooperating agency, with the TVA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

in the preparation of the EIS.

Under the joint cooperative EIS process, scoping and draft EIS

preparation will occur prior to the filing of a final license

application with FERC. Participation by interested agencies and members

of the public in the early initiation of the NEPA process is essential

because this process will not be repeated upon the filing of a final

license application.

The EIS will objectively consider both site-specific and cumulative

environmental impacts of the project and reasonable alternatives. It

will also address economic, financial and engineering analysis. A draft

EIS will be circulated to all interested parties for review. Comments

will also be requested. FERC and TVA will also hold a joint public

meeting to elicit comments on the draft EIS. All comments filed on the

draft EIS will be analyzed by staff and will be considered in a final

EIS. The staffs' conclusions and recommendations will be presented to

the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Corps of Engineers, and the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission for consideration in reaching final permit

and licensing decisions, respectively.

Scoping Process

The first scoping meeting was held at the Bledsoe High School in

Pikeville, Tennessee, on August 6, 1996. FERC and TVA will jointly

conduct a second public scoping meeting for Armstrong Energy Resources'

revised proposal on March 4, 1997. The second public scoping meeting

will be held at Sequatchie County High School on the west side of

Highway #28 in Dunlap, Tennessee. The March 4 meeting will focus on the

proposed changes to Laurel Branch Project and the proposed transmission

corridor and alternative corridors. Prior to the formal public meeting,

an Information Open House will be held from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm. The

formal public meeting will be held from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm, CDT, with

registration beginning at 5:00 pm. It will not be necessary for

participants to stay for the whole meeting in order to have their

comments recorded. During both the Information Open House or the Public

Meeting, oral comments can be recorded in a private setting. Anyone

needing sign language interpretation or other special arrangements,

please contact Ruth Horton at (423) 632-8521 no later than February 29,

1997.

The Information Open House is an informal opportunity for questions

and information about the overall project scope and environmental

review process. the public meeting is a formal meeting where a panel of

representatives from the cooperating agencies will receive public

comments concerning the proposed project and transmission corridors.

The meeting will be recorded by a stenographer and will become a part

of the formal record of the FERC and TVA proceeding. Individuals

presenting statements at the meetings will be asked to sign in before

the meeting starts and to clearly identify themselves for the record.

To help focus discussions at the meetings, we have prepared a

Revised Scoping Document I to reflect changes in AER's proposal and to

provide information on (1) the proposed transmission corridor and

alternative corridors; (2) the proposed Laurel Branch Project; (3) the

environmental review process to be followed; and (4) preliminary issues

to be addressed. The Revised Scoping Document I will be mailed to

agencies and interested individuals. Revised Scoping Document I will

also be available at the scoping meeting.

At the scoping meeting, FERC and TVA staff will: (1) identify

preliminary environmental issues related to the proposed project and

the proposed transmission facilities; (2) identify preliminary resource

issues that are not important and do not require detailed analysis; (3)

identify reasonable alternatives to be addressed in the EIS; (4)

solicit from the meeting participants all available information,

especially quantified data, on the resource issues; and (5) encourage

statements from experts and the public on issues that should be

analyzed in the EIS, including points of view in opposition to, or in

support of, the staffs' preliminary views.

We are interested in your thoughts on the issues to be addressed,

especially the proposed transmission line corridor and alternative

corridors. Your comments previously expressed on Scoping Document I

relative to the Laurel Branch Project will be considered and need not

be repeated for the Revised Scoping Document I.

Persons choosing not to speak at the meetings, but who have views

on the issues or information relevant to the issues, may submit written

statement for inclusion in the public record at the meetings. In

addition, written scoping comments may be filed with the Secretary,

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

D.C. 20425, and with Linda Oxendine, Senior Specialist, Tennessee

Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT8C-K, Knoxville, TN

37902. All written correspondence should be filed no later than March

31, 1997, in order to be included in the final scoping document, and

clearly show the following captions on the first page: Laurel Branch

Pumped Storage Project, FERC Project No. 11499-000.

For Further Information on This Process, please contact Eddie R.

Crouse, FERC, (202) 219-2794, or Linda Oxendine, TVA, (423) 632-3440.

Lois D. Cashell,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97-3037 Filed 2-6-97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-M