[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5812-5813]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-3037]


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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FERC, has withdrawn its proposal, and surrendered its preliminary 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