63514 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 211 / Tuesday, November 2, 2004 / Notices 

and the Reporting and Dissemination 

Committees—will meet in open session. 

From 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Board 

members will receive a briefing from 

State NAEP Coordinators on their NAEP 

roles and on the use of NAEP data. This 

will be followed by Board discussion on 

NAEP Reporting Guidelines led by the 

Chair of the Reporting and 

Dissemination Committee, John Stevens, 

after which the November 19 session of 

the Board meeting will adjourn. 

On November 20, the full Board will 

meet in open session from 9 a.m. to 12 

p.m. At 9 a.m., the Board will discuss 

NAEP 12th Grade issues, led by Vice 

Chair, Sheila Ford. Board actions on 

policies and Committee reports are 

scheduled to take place between 10:45 

a.m. and 12 p.m., upon which the 

November 20, 2004 session of the Board 

meeting will adjourn. 

Detailed minutes of the meeting, 

including summaries of the activities of 

the closed sessions and related matters 

that are informative to the public and 

consistent with the policy of section 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the 

public within 14 days of the meeting. 

Records are kept of all Board 

proceedings and are available for public 

inspection at the U.S. Department of 

Education, National Assessment 

Governing Board, Suite #825, 800 North 

Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC, 

from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern standard 

time.

Dated: October 28, 2004. 

Sharif Shakrani, 

Deputy Executive Director, National 

Assessment Governing Board

[FR Doc. 04–24379 Filed 11–1–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. PP–89–1] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings 

and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands 

Involvement; Bangor Hydro-Electric 

Company

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement and to 

conduct public scoping meetings, and 

notice of floodplain and wetlands 

involvement. 

SUMMARY: Bangor Hydro-Electric 

Company (BHE) has applied to DOE to 

amend Presidential Permit PP–89, 

which authorizes BHE to construct a 

single-circuit 345,000-volt (345-kV) 

electric transmission line across the U.S. 

international border in the vicinity of 

Baileyville, Maine. The proposed 

transmission line would originate at 

BHE’s existing Orrington Substation, 

located in Orrington, Maine, and extend 

eastward approximately 85 miles to the 

international border between the United 

States and Canada where it would 

connect with similar facilities to be 

owned by New Brunswick Power 

Corporation (NB Power). DOE has 

determined that amendment of the 

Presidential permit would constitute a 

major Federal action that may have a 

significant impact upon the 

environment within the meaning of the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA). For this reason, DOE 

intends to prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS) entitled, ‘‘The 

Northeast Reliability Interconnect’’

(DOE/EIS–0372), to address potential 

environmental impacts from the 

proposed action and the range of 

reasonable alternatives. 

The purpose of this Notice of Intent 

is to inform the public about the 

proposed action, announce plans to 

conduct three public scoping meetings 

in the vicinity of the proposed 

transmission line, invite public 

participation in the scoping process, 

and solicit public comments for 

consideration in establishing the scope 

and content of the EIS. Because the 

proposed project may involve an action 

in a floodplain or wetland, the draft EIS 

will include a floodplain and wetlands 

assessment and the final EIS or record 

of decision will include a floodplain 

statement of findings in accordance 

with DOE regulations for compliance 

with floodplain and wetlands 

environmental review requirements (10 

CFR part 1022).

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, 

organizations, Native American tribes, 

and members of the public to submit 

comments or suggestions to assist in 

identifying significant environmental 

issues and in determining the 

appropriate scope of the EIS. The public 

scoping period starts with the 

publication of this notice in the Federal 

Register and will continue until 

December 2, 2004. Written and oral 

comments will be given equal weight, 

and DOE will consider all comments 

received or postmarked by December 2, 

2004, in defining the scope of this EIS. 

Comments received or postmarked after 

that date will be considered to the 

extent practicable. 

Dates for the public scoping meetings 

are:

1. November 17, 2004; 7 p.m. to 9 

p.m., Baileyville, Maine. 

2. November 18, 2004; 1 p.m. to 3 

p.m., South Lincoln, Maine. 

3. November 18, 2004; 7 p.m. to 9 

p.m., Brewer, Maine. 

Requests to speak at a public scoping 

meeting(s) should be received by Dr. 

Jerry Pell at the addresses indicated 

below on or before November 10, 2004. 

Requests to speak may also be made at 

the scoping meetings when registering 

for the meetings. However, persons who 

submitted advance requests to speak 

will be given priority if time should be 

limited during the meetings.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or 

suggestions on the scope of the EIS and 

requests to speak at the scoping 

meeting(s) should be addressed to: Dr. 

Jerry Pell, Office of Fossil Energy (FE–

27), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington DC 20585; facsimile: 202–

318–7761, or electronic mail at 

Jerry.Pell@hq.doe.gov.

Please note that regular postal mail to 

DOE tends to be delayed because of 

anthrax screening. In order to avoid 

these delays, if you wish to comment by 

mail, we suggest that your response be 

submitted either by using overnight 

service, or that your letter first be sent 

to us by fax or e-mail, and then followed 

by regular mailing of the original 

documents. 

The locations of the scoping meetings 

are: 

1. Woodland Elementary School, 23 

Fourth Avenue, Baileyville, Maine. 

2. Mattanawcook Academy, 33 Reed 

Drive, Lincoln, Maine. 

3. Jeff’s Catering Banquet & 

Convention Center, East West Industrial 

Park, 5 Coffin Avenue, Brewer, Maine.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the proposed project or 

to receive a copy of the Draft EIS when 

it is issued, contact Dr. Pell by any of 

the means listed in the ADDRESSES

section of this notice. The main text of 

the BHE application is on the DOE 

Fossil Energy Web site at http://

fossil.energy.gov/programs/

electricityregulation, under Pending 

Proceedings and PP–89–1. The complete 

BHE application, including associated 

maps and drawings, can be obtained by 

contacting Dr. Jerry Pell as noted in the 

ADDRESSES section above. Additional 

information and a description of the 

proposed project may be found on the 

BHE project Web site at http://

www.bhe.com/nri.

For general information on the DOE 

NEPA review process, contact: 

Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office 

of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH–

42), U.S. Department of Energy, 

Washington, DC 20585; phone: 202–

586–4600 or leave a message at 800–

472–2756; facsimile: 202–586–7031.

Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 211 / Tuesday, November 2, 2004 / Notices 63515

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Need for Agency 

Action 

Executive Order 10485, as amended 

by Executive Order 12038, requires that 

a Presidential permit be issued by DOE 

before electric transmission facilities 

may be constructed, operated, 

maintained, or connected at the U.S. 

international border. The Executive 

Order provides that a Presidential 

permit may be issued after a finding that 

the proposed project is consistent with 

the public interest and after concurrence 

by the Departments of State and 

Defense. In determining consistency 

with the public interest, DOE considers 

the impacts of the proposed project on 

the reliability of the U.S. electric power 

system and on the environment. The 

regulations implementing the Executive 

Order have been codified at 10 CFR 

205.320–205.329. Issuance of the permit 

indicates that there is no Federal 

objection to the project, but does not 

mandate that the project be completed. 

BHE originally applied to DOE for a 

Presidential permit on December 16, 

1988. DOE published a notice of that 

application in the Federal Register on 

January 19, 1989 (54 FR 2201), and a 

Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and to 

Conduct Public Scoping Meetings in the 

Federal Register on May 22, 1989 (54 

FR 22006). In December 1993, DOE 

published the draft EIS titled, 

‘‘Construction and Operation of the 

Proposed Bangor Hydro-Electric 

Company’s Second 345-kV 

Transmission Tie Line to New 

Brunswick.’’ (DOE/EIS–0166). DOE 

issued a final EIS in August 1995, and 

in a record of decision signed on 

January 18, 1996 (61 FR 2244), decided 

to grant Presidential Permit PP–89. 

On January 22, 1996, DOE issued 

Presidential Permit PP–89 authorizing 

BHE to construct, operate, maintain, and 

connect a 345-kV electric transmission 

line that would extend eastward 

approximately 85 miles from BHE’s 

existing Orrington Substation to the 

U.S.-Canada border near Baileyville, 

Maine. At the border, the proposed 

transmission line was to connect to 

similar facilities to be built by NB 

Power, a Crown corporation of Canada’s 

Province of New Brunswick. However, 

the authorized facilities have not been 

constructed. 

On September 30, 2003, BHE applied 

to DOE to amend Presidential Permit 

PP–89 to allow for the construction of 

the project along a different route than 

those routes analyzed in the 1995 EIS. 

Since the issuance of PP–89, a natural 

gas transmission line has been 

constructed by Maritimes & Northeast 

Pipeline, L.L.C., in the same general 

vicinity as the BHE project and in a 

corridor approved by the State of Maine 

Department of Environmental 

Protection. The Board of Environmental 

Protection, Maine’s primary 

environmental review entity, now has 

indicated its preference for BHE to 

consolidate the location of all utility 

facilities in the area by constructing the 

proposed electric transmission line 

along a route more closely aligned with 

the existing pipeline corridor. 

The international transmission line 

now proposed by BHE is identical in 

design to the line originally analyzed in 

the 1995 EIS and authorized in 

Presidential Permit PP–89. It would be 

a single-circuit 345-kV alternating 

current transmission line consisting of 

two overhead shield wires and three 

phases with two conductors per phase. 

The transmission line is proposed to 

have a thermal capacity of at least 1,000 

megawatts. The line would originate at 

BHE’s existing Orrington Substation and 

extend eastward approximately 85 

miles, crossing the U.S.-Canada border 

near Baileyville, Maine. In Canada, the 

BHE facilities would interconnect with 

similar facilities to be owned by NB 

Power and continue approximately 60 

miles to the switchyard at the Point 

Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station. 

Canada’s National Energy Board 

authorized construction of the Canadian 

portion of the facilities in May 2003. 

The proposed transmission line project 

that will be the subject of this EIS differs 

from the original project only in the 

proposed routes between the Orrington 

Substation and the international border 

crossing near Baileyville, Maine.

BHE has identified four alternative 

routes for constructing the proposed 

transmission line: (1) The Consolidated 

Corridors route; (2) the Previously 

Permitted route; (3) the Maine Electric 

Power Company (MEPCO) South route; 

and (4) BHE’s Preferred route. BHE 

states that it has identified its preferred 

alternative by working with 

representatives of large landowners, 

operators of nearby electric and pipeline 

utility facilities, state and Federal 

agencies, local tribes, and interest 

groups to develop a matrix of 

environmental factors to consider for 

route selection. BHE also states that it 

considered stakeholder and public input 

it received through outreach efforts, 

mail communications, and 

electronically via the BHE project Web 

site. BHE states that the environmental 

factors it considered in selecting its 

preferred alternative included land use, 

wetlands and water bodies, flora, fauna, 

fisheries, recreational and visual 

considerations, and cultural resources. 

All alternative routes originate at the 

Orrington Substation and generally 

parallel an existing MEPCO 

transmission line and Maritimes & 

Northeast Pipeline for approximately 12 

miles until they reach Blackman’s 

Stream. 

Consolidated Corridors route: From 

Blackman’s Stream, this route continues 

northward paralleling the existing 

MEPCO transmission line and the 

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline for an 

additional 8 miles until reaching Stud 

Mill Road. At Stud Mill Road, this route 

turns eastward generally paralleling 

Stud Mill Road and the Maritimes & 

Northeast Pipeline right-of-way for a 

distance of approximately 65 miles. The 

line would cross the international 

border at Baileyville, Maine, at the 

location previously permitted in PP–89. 

Previously Permitted Route: From 

Blackman’s Stream, this route turns 

eastward for approximately 3.5 miles 

before turning northward until it meets 

Stud Mill Road. This route then 

generally follows Stud Mill Road, but 

deviates from it in several locations 

before it crosses the international border 

at Baileyville, Maine. 

MEPCO South Route: From 

Blackman’s Stream, this route continues 

north to Chester along the MEPCO line. 

The route then heads east roughly 

paralleling State Route 6 before crossing 

the international border at Baileyville, 

Maine. 

BHE’s Preferred route: This route 

incorporates a majority of the 

Consolidated Corridors route but 

deviates from it in two locations based 

on input received from various 

stakeholders. BHE’s preferred route 

follows the three other alternative routes 

from Orrington Substation until it 

reaches Blackman’s Stream. From 

Blackman’s Stream, this route follows 

the Previously Permitted route until 

Stud Mill Road, at which point it then 

follows the Consolidated Corridors 

route until the vicinity of the Maritimes 

& Northeast Pipeline Baileyville 

Compressor Station. Near the 

compressor station, the line deviates to 

the north of the Consolidated Corridors 

route to maintain approximately 3600 

feet of separation between the 

transmission line and the Baileyville 

Compressor Station. 

All four alternative routes would 

cross primarily commercial forest in 

regrowth. All four alternative routes also 

would cross 100-year floodplains and 

wetlands, including some waterfowl 

and wading bird habitat. The MEPCO 

South Route would cross the Penobscot 

River. All alternatives would cross both 

63516 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 211 / Tuesday, November 2, 2004 / Notices 

perennial and intermittent streams, and 

may cross the Machias, East Machias 

and Narraguagus Rivers or associated 

tributaries, depending on the 

alternative. Project activities would 

include clearing rights-of-way and 

access roads, digging tower footings, 

setting transmission towers, seeding/

mulching and other erosion control 

work, and hanging transmission wires. 

The EIS will consider the 

environmental impacts of constructing 

the proposed transmission line along 

these alternative routes and the No 

Action alternative. Under the No Action 

alternative, the EIS will analyze the 

impacts associated with ‘‘no action.’’

Because the proposed action is the 

amendment of Presidential Permit PP–

89 to allow construction of the proposed 

transmission line over a different route 

from that authorized by the permit, ‘‘no 

action’’ means that the permit would 

not be amended and that the original 

permit would remain in effect. This 

would mean that the proposed 

transmission line could be constructed 

only over the Previously Permitted 

route. 

However, the EIS will consider any 

additional reasonable alternatives that 

result from comments received in 

response to the scoping process 

described in this notice. One alternative 

already identified by DOE is the 

rescission of Presidential Permit PP–89. 

Rescission of the permit would mean 

that the permitted transmission line 

could not be constructed. This 

alternative will address the 

environmental impacts that are 

reasonably foreseeable to occur if 

Presidential Permit PP–89 is rescinded 

but no new permit is issued. However, 

this would not necessarily result in 

maintenance of the status quo or no 

environmental impacts. It is possible 

that BHE and/or NB Power may take 

other actions to achieve the purpose of 

this project if the permitted or proposed 

transmission line is not built. 

Identification of Environmental Issues 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments and suggestions for 

consideration in the preparation of the 

EIS. As background for public comment, 

this notice contains a list of potential 

environmental issues that DOE has 

tentatively identified for analysis. This 

list is not intended to be all-inclusive or 

to imply any predetermination of 

impacts. Following is a preliminary list 

of issues that may be analyzed in the 

EIS: 

(1) Socioeconomic and recreational 

impacts of development of the land 

tracts and their subsequent uses; 

(2) Impacts on protected, threatened, 

endangered, or sensitive species of 

animals or plants or their critical 

habitats, including the bald eagle, 

Atlantic salmon, and shortnose 

sturgeon; 

(3) Impacts on floodplains and 

wetlands; 

(4) Impacts on archaeological, 

cultural, or historic resources; 

(5) Impacts on human health and 

safety; 

(6) Impacts on existing and future 

land uses;

(7) Visual impacts; and 

(8) Disproportionately high and 

adverse impacts on minority and lowincome populations, also known as 

environmental justice considerations. 

Scoping Process 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in the scoping process, both 

to refine the preliminary alternatives 

and environmental issues to be analyzed 

in depth, and to eliminate from detailed 

study those alternatives and 

environmental issues that are not 

feasible or pertinent. The scoping 

process is intended to involve all 

interested agencies (Federal, state, 

county, and local), public interest 

groups, Native American tribes, 

businesses, and members of the public. 

Potential cooperating agencies may 

include but may not be limited to the 

U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish 

and Wildlife Service and Bureau of 

Indian Affairs, the National Marine 

Fisheries Service, the State of Maine 

Department of Environmental 

Protection, and the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers. Public scoping meetings will 

be held at the locations, dates, and times 

indicated above under the DATES and 

ADDRESSES sections. These scoping 

meetings will be informal. The 

presiding officer will establish only 

those procedures needed to ensure that 

everyone who wishes to speak has a 

chance to do so and that DOE 

understands all issues and comments. 

Speakers will be allocated 

approximately 5 minutes for their oral 

statements. Depending upon the number 

of persons wishing to speak, the 

presiding officer may allow longer times 

for representatives of organizations. 

Consequently, persons wishing to speak 

on behalf of an organization should 

identify that organization in their 

request to speak. Persons who have not 

submitted a request to speak in advance 

may register to speak at the scoping 

meeting(s), but advance requests are 

encouraged. Meetings will begin at the 

times specified and will continue until 

all those present who wish to 

participate have had an opportunity to 

do so. Should any speaker desire to 

provide for the record further 

information that cannot be presented 

within the designated time, such 

additional information may be 

submitted in writing by the date listed 

in the DATES section. Oral, written, and 

electronic (i.e., by facsimile or by email) comments will be impartially 

considered and given equal weight by 

DOE. 

Draft EIS Schedule and Availability 

The Draft EIS is scheduled to be 

issued in June 2005, at which time its 

availability will be announced in the 

Federal Register and local media and 

public comments again will be solicited. 

The Draft EIS will be made available for 

public inspection at several public 

libraries and reading rooms in Maine, 

and notice of these locations will be 

provided in the Federal Register and 

local media at a later date. However, 

readers are cautioned that many 

considerations enter into the 

preparation of the Draft EIS and the 

actual issuance date may differ from the 

above. 

People who do not wish to submit 

comments or suggestions at this time 

but who would like to receive a copy of 

the Draft EIS for review and comment 

when it is issued should notify Dr. Pell 

as provided in the ADDRESSES section 

above.

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 27, 

2004. 

Steven V. Cary, 

Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of 

Environment, Safety and Health.

[FR Doc. 04–24404 Filed 11–1–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. RP04–574–001] 

Florida Gas Transmission Company; 

Notice of Compliance Filing 

October 26, 2004. 

Take notice that on October 22, 2004, 

Florida Gas Transmission Company 

(FGT) tendered for filing additional 

documentation and support, as directed 

by the Commission’s letter order issued 

October 1, 2004, for FGT’s Unit Fuel 

Surcharge filed to be effective October 1, 

2004, in the instant proceeding. 

Any person desiring to protest this 

filing must file in accordance with Rule 

211 of the Commission’s Rules of 

Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 

385.211). Protests to this filing will be 

considered by the Commission in