48682 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 179 / Tuesday, September 16, 1997 / Notices

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 8th day

of September 1997.

For the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission.

John W.N. Hickey,

Chief, Low-Level Waste and Decommissioning

Projects Branch, Division of Waste

Management, Office of Nuclear Material

Safety and Safeguards.

[FR Doc. 97–24557 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

PACIFIC NORTHWEST ELECTRIC

POWER AND CONSERVATION

PLANNING COUNCIL

Northwest Conservation and

Electronic Power Plan Draft

Amendments and Addendum

AGENCY: Pacific Northwest Electric

Power and Conservation Planning

Council (Northwest Power Planning

Council, Council).

ACTION: Notice of availability of the

Addendum to the Draft Fourth

Northwest Conservation and Electric

Power Plan.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Pacific

Northwest Electric Power Planning and

Conservation Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C.

839, et seq.) (Act), in April 1983 the

Council adopted a regional electric

power plan, the Northwest Conservation

and Electric Power Plan (plan). The plan

was completely amended in 1986.

Although the Act requires the Council

to review the plan at least every five

years, the Council has revised certain

parts of the plan more often, to respond

to ongoing changes in the regional

energy picture and to incorporate the

most recent technology and analysis.

For example, the Council updated

certain technical data in a 1989

Supplement to the 1986 Power Plan. In

April 1991, the Council adopted another

complete amendment of the plan. In

March 1996, the Council released for

public comment the Draft Fourth Power

Plan.

In the face of nationwide initiatives

for restructuring the electrical industry,

the governors of Idaho, Montana,

Oregon and Washington convened a

Comprehensive Review of the

Northwest Energy System in late 1995.

The Council recognized that many of

the issues to be considered in its plan

would also be taken up by the

Comprehensive Review and therefore

decided to wait until the review had

issued its final report before completing

the plan amendment process.

The Addendum to the Draft Fourth

Northwest Power Plan has two principal

objectives. First, it reviews important

developments since the release of the

draft power plan. These developments

include what has happened with respect

to: Generation and conservation

resources; gas and electricity markets;

electricity loads; institutions; and

policies. The more important

developments include the creation of

new institutions in response to the

increasingly competitive utility industry

and the continued evolution of policies

at the state and federal levels designed

to facilitate competitive electricity

markets.

The second purpose of the Addendum

is to examine the relationships between

the analysis contained in the draft

power plan and the recommendations

from the Comprehensive Review. In

several instances, the Addendum

suggests approaches that would help

move the Northwest from the usually

general nature of the Comprehensive

Review’s recommendations to the

specifics that will have to be addressed

by legislatures, and state and local

regulators.

During the next several months,

hearings in each of the four Northwest

states will be scheduled, as required by

the Act. The public is invited to

comment on both the Draft Fourth

Northwest Power Plan and the

Addendum. Note that the text of the

Draft Fourth Power Plan remains

unchanged. It is the Addendum that

contains revisions that reflect the

recommendations of the Comprehensive

Review.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

electricity industry nationwide is

undergoing a radical restructuring. To

ensure that the four Northwest states

have a voice in how this restructuring

affects the region, in late 1995 the

governors of these states convened a

‘‘Comprehensive Review of the

Northwest Energy System.’’ The steering

committee of the review presided over

30 day-long meetings and almost 400

people were involved in more than 100

meetings of various work groups. The

steering committee took public

comment at 10 hearings on its draft

report and presented its final

recommendations to the four governors

in December 1996.

To accommodate this regional review,

the Council’s draft plan took a different

approach from that of earlier plans. The

1991 Power Plan, for example, had as its

theme: ‘‘A Time for Action.’’ In contrast,

this draft plan focuses on ‘‘Northwest

Power In Transition: Issues and

Opportunities.’’ The 1996 draft set out

few policy determinations or

recommended actions. Instead, it was

designated to serve as a reference for the

regional review. The goal of the draft

plan reflected that of the governors in

convening the regional review: To

develop, through a public process,

recommendations for changes in the

institutional structure of the region’s

electric utility industry.

This draft plan and Addendum meet

the requirements of the Northwest

Power Act, which specifies what

components the plan is to contain. The

Act requires the plan to include a

number of elements, including, but not

limited to: An energy conservation

program; a recommendation for research

and development; a methodology for

determining quantifiable environmental

costs and benefits; a 20-year demand

forecast; a forecast of power resources

that the Bonneville Power

Administration will need to meet its

obligations; an analysis of reserve and

reserve reliability requirements; and a

surcharge methodology. The plan also

includes the Council’s Columbia River

Basin Fish and Wildlife Program,

developed pursuant to other procedural

requirements under the Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Please

contact the Council’s Central Office if

you would like a copy of the Draft

Fourth Northwest Power Plan,

Document Number 96–5, and/or the

Addendum, Document Number 97–7.

The Council’s address is 851 SW. 6th

Avenue, Suite 1100, Portland, Oregon

97204. The Council’s telephone

numbers are: (503) 222–5161 and (toll

free) (800) 222–3355. The Council’s

FAX number is (503) 795–3370. Copies

of each document can also be obtained

from the Council’s internet site:

www.nwppc.org.

When submitting comments, please

note prominently that you are

commenting on Council Document

Number 96–5 for the Draft Fourth

Northwest Power Plan or Council

Document Number 97–7 for the

Addendum. Comments may be

submitted by mail, by facsimile

transmission (FAX), or by electronic

mail at: comments@nwppc.org. The

Council will accept written comments

through close of business on Friday,

October 31, 1997. The Council may hold

consultations after than date, as

necessary.

Stephen L. Crow,

Executive Director.

[FR Doc. 97–23943 Filed 9–15–97; 8:45 am]

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