41450 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 5, 2000 / Notices

FERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedures

(18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Fifteen

copies of each petition and protest

should be filed with the DOE on or

before the date listed above.

Comments on the Morgan Stanley

request to export to Canada should be

clearly marked with Docket EA–185–A.

Additional copies are to be filed directly

with William H. Penniman, Esq., Danel

E. Frank, Esq. Sutherland Asbill &

Brennan LLP, 1275 Pennsylvania

Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20004–

2415 and William F. McCoy, Esq.,

Principal and Counsel, Morgan Stanley

& Co. Incorporated, 1221 Avenue of the

Americas, 27th Floor, New York, NY

10020.

DOE notes that the circumstances

described in this application are

virtually identical to those for which

export authority had previously been

granted in FE Order EA–185.

Consequently, DOE believes that it has

adequately satisfied its responsibilities

under the National Environmental

Policy Act of 1969 through the

documentation of a categorical

exclusion in the FE Docket EA–185

proceeding.

Copies of this application will be

made available, upon request, for public

inspection and copying at the address

provided above or by accessing the

Fossil Energy Home Page at http://

www.fe.doe.gov. Upon reaching the

Fossil Energy Home page, select

‘‘Regulatory Programs,’’ then

‘‘Electricity Regulation,’’ and then

‘‘Pending Proceedings’’ from the options

menus.

Issued in Washington, D.C., on June 28,

2000.

Anthony J. Como,

Deputy Director, Electric Power Regulation,

Office of Coal & Power Im/Ex, Office of Coal

& Power Systems, Office of Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 00–16930 Filed 7–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration

Condon Wind Project

AGENCY: Bonneville Power

Administration (BPA), Department of

Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

and notice of floodplain and wetlands

involvement.

SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS

on a proposed Condon Wind Project,

located northwest of the town of

Condon in Gilliam County, Oregon.

SeaWest WindPower, Inc. (SeaWest)

proposes to construct and operate the

24.3 to 24.75 megawatt (MW) wind

generation facility. BPA proposes to

purchase the electrical output from the

project and to provide transmission

services. The EIS will be site-specific as

to the potential environmental impacts

of the construction and operation of the

wind project itself, as well as all related

transmission facilities. In addition, the

EIS will take a broad programmatic look

at the balance of the project study area.

This action may involve wetlands

located in Gilliam County, Oregon. In

accordance with DOE regulations for

compliance with wetlands

environmental review requirements,

BPA will prepare a wetlands assessment

and will perform this proposed action in

a manner so as to avoid or minimize

potential harm to or within the affected

wetlands. The assessment will be

included in the EIS being prepared for

the proposed project in accordance with

the National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA).

DATES: BPA has established a 30-day

scoping period during which affected

landowners, concerned citizens, special

interest groups, local governments, and

any other interested parties are invited

to comment on the scope of the

proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA

ensure that a full range of issues related

to this proposal is addressed in the EIS,

and also will identify significant or

potentially significant impacts that may

result from the proposed project.

Written comments are due to the

address below no later than August 7,

2000. Comments may also be made at

the EIS scoping meetings to be held on

July 19 and 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: BPA invites comments and

suggestions on the proposed scope of

the Draft EIS. Send comment letters and

requests to be placed on the project

mailing list to Communications,

Bonneville Power Administration—KC–

7, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, Oregon,

97212. The phone number of the

Communications office is 503–230–3478

in Portland; toll-free 1–800–622–4519

outside of Portland. Comments may also

be sent to the BPA Internet address:

comment@bpa.gov.

The EIS scoping meetings will be held

at the City of Arlington Municipal

Building, Council Chambers, Locust and

First Streets, Arlington, Oregon, on July

19, 2000, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and at

the Gilliam County Courthouse, Circuit

Court Room, 221 S. Oregon Street,

Condon, Oregon, on July 20, 2000, from

4 p.m. to 8 p.m. At these informal

meetings, SeaWest will provide

information, including maps, about the

wind project. Written information will

be available, and BPA staff will answer

questions and accept oral and written

comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Tiffany B. B. Branum, KECP–4,

Bonneville Power Administration, P.O.

Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208–

3621, phone number 503–230–5115, fax

number 503–230–5699.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

Restructuring in the electric utility

industry has resulted in increased

demand for energy produced by new

renewable resources. Part of this

demand is due to the increased ability

consumers have to choose their power

provider. Some of these consumers want

to encourage the development of

renewable energy resources, and want

their power provider to give them

options for doing this. Some Northwest

states (such as Oregon) have passed

laws that require utilities to offer their

customers a power rate that includes

significant new renewable energy

resources. In other cases, individual

utilities have chosen to dedicate a

portion of their wholesale power

purchases to new renewable resources

and are relying on BPA to supply them.

In addition, the Northwest Power

Planning Council’s Fourth Conservation

and Electric Power Plan recommends

that Northwest utilities offer green

power purchase opportunities as a way

to help the region integrate renewable

resources into the power system in the

future.

Purpose and Need

In the face of regional growth in

electrical loads and increasing

constraints on the existing energy

resource base, BPA needs to acquire

resources that will contribute to

diversification of the long-term power

supply prospects in the region. The

purposes of acquiring a diverse resource

portfolio include:

• Protecting BPA and its customers

against risk;

• Assuring consistency with BPA’s

responsibility under the Pacific

Northwest Electric Power Planning and

Conservation Act (Northwest Power

Act) to encourage the development of

renewable energy resources;

• Meeting customer demand for

energy from renewable energy

resources, thereby assuring consistency

with BPA’s Business Plan EIS (DOE/

EIS–0183, June 1995) and Business Plan

Record of Decision (ROD);

• Assuring consistency with the

resource acquisition strategy of BPA’s

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 129 / Wednesday, July 5, 2000 / Notices 41451

Resource Programs EIS (DOE/EIS–0162,

February 1993) and ROD; and

• Meeting the objective in the January

2000 Strategic Plan of BPA’s Power

Business Line to acquire at least 150

average MW of new renewable resources

by the end of fiscal year 2006 in order

to meet customer demand for new

renewable resources.

Proposed Action

BPA proposes to execute one or more

power purchase and transmission

services agreements to acquire and

transmit up to the full electrical output

of SeaWest’s proposed Condon Wind

Project. SeaWest proposes to construct

and operate this 24.3 to 24.75 MW wind

generation facility, located in southern

Gilliam County, Oregon, northwest of

the town of Condon. The proposed

project site consists of relatively flat

plateaus located in an area of rolling,

arid hills bisected by canyons. Land

uses within the project site consist of

non-irrigated agriculture—winter wheat

and cattle grazing. The project will be

located entirely on private farmland,

and no project facilities will be

constructed upon lands owned by the

State of Oregon or by the United States.

The approximately 26 to 41 turbines

will be arranged in several ‘‘strings,’’

with generally between 250 to 425 feet

between turbines in each string.

SeaWest is considering using either 600-

kilowatt (kW) turbines similar to those

used at the existing Foote Creek Rim

Wind Project in Wyoming, or larger, up

to 950-kW turbines. If the 600-kW

turbines are used, the turbines will be

about 165 to 197 feet tall at the turbine

hub, and about 236 to 276 feet tall

including the turbine blades. The

diameter of the ‘‘swept area’’ covered by

the rotors will be about 144 to 158 feet.

Each turbine will be mounted on a

tubular steel tower installed on a

reinforced concrete foundation.

Foundations will be either tubular or

pad foundations, ranging from

approximately 15 to 20 feet in width

and extending up to 25 to 30 feet

underground. If the 750-kW, 900-kW, or

950-kW turbines are used, or an

alternative foundation design is utilized,

these dimensions may be slightly

greater. Agricultural activities generally

can continue to take place directly

adjacent to the turbine pads.

Power from all turbines in the project

will be collected by an underground and

overhead cable loop and then fed

underground to a proposed substation to

be located at the project site. The fenced

substation site will occupy

approximately one to two acres. From

the substation site, power from the

project will be transmitted by

approximately two to five miles of new

above-ground lines (likely single-pole

wood structures) to interconnect with

the existing BPA De Moss-Condon 69–

kilovolt (kV) transmission line. Other

facilities required as part of the project

are access roads, an operation and

maintenance (O&M) building, and

onsite storage. Most of the access roads

will consist of improved, graveled,

existing farm roads, with some

construction of new graveled roads in

areas where usable farm roads do not

exist. The O&M building will be on or

near the project site. SeaWest proposes

to begin construction in mid to late

2001. The Condon Wind Project is

scheduled to begin commercial

operation late in 2001, and would

operate for at least 20 years.

Process to Date

Some environmental analyses have

already been conducted by SeaWest.

Surveys for sensitive plant and wildlife

species were initiated in the spring of

2000. Scoping will help identify what

additional studies will be required.

Alternatives Proposed for

Consideration

The alternatives include the proposed

action (executing a power purchase

agreement with SeaWest for up to 24.75

MW of electrical energy from the

proposed Condon Wind Project and

authorizing transmission over BPA

power lines) and the No Action

alternative. In addition, at least two

transmission alternatives will be

examined in the EIS.

Identification of Environmental Issues

For other wind projects, noise, visual

impact, influence on cultural resources,

and effects on sensitive plant and

animal species have been identified as

potential environmental issues. The

scoping process will help identify the

range of environmental issues that

should be addressed in this EIS. Maps

and further information are available

from BPA at the address above. When

completed, the Draft EIS will be

circulated for review and comment, and

BPA will hold public comment

meetings for the Draft EIS. BPA will

consider and respond to comments

received on the Draft EIS in the Final

EIS, expected to be published in mid to

late 2001. BPA’s subsequent decision

will be documented in a Record of

Decision. The EIS will satisfy the

requirements of NEPA.

Issued in Portland, Oregon, on June 27,

2000.

Judith A. Johansen,

Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.

[FR Doc. 00–16929 Filed 7–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. EC00–98–001]

Commonwealth Edison Company;

Notice of Filing

June 28, 2000.

Take notice that on June 20, 2000,

Commonwealth Edison Company

(ComEd) tendered for filing an

amendment to the application it filed in

this proceeding on May 31, 2000.

ComEd states that it has, by mail,

served a copy of the amendment on the

Illinois Commerce Commission and on

other identified entities.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

protest such filing should file a motion

to intervene or protest with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

in accordance with Rules 211 and 214

of the Commission’s Rules of Practice

and Procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and

385.214). All such motions and protests

should be filed on or before July 11,

2000. Protests will be considered by the

Commission to determine the

appropriate action to be taken, but will

not serve to make protestants parties to

the proceedings. Any person wishing to

become a party must file a motion to

intervene. Copies of this filing are on

file with the Commission and are

available for public inspection. This

filing may also be viewed on the

Internet at http://www.ferc.fed.us/

online/rims.htm (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance).

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–16840 Filed 7–3–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M