Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 74 / Friday, April 17, 1998 / Notices 19247

1 81 FERC ¶ 61,103 (1997).

SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy of

the Department of Energy gives notice

that it issued DOE/FE Order No. 1373

on April 7, 1997, granting Husky Gas

Marketing Inc. long-term authorization

to import up to 21,881 Mcf per day of

natural gas from Canada. The term

extends from the date of authorization

until August 1, 2003. This gas will be

sold to San Diego Gas & Electric

Company (SDG&E). SDG&E is a public

utility which provides electric, gas, and

steam service to customers in San Diego

and Orange counties, California. The

natural gas will be imported near

Eastport, Idaho, under a supply

arrangement with Husky Oil Operations

Ltd.

This order is available for inspection

and copying in the Office of Natural Gas

& Petroleum Import and Export

Activities, Fossil Energy, Room 3E–042,

Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence

Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20585–

0350, (202) 586–9478. The docket room

is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m.

and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays.

Issued in Washington, D.C., April 13, 1998.

John W. Glynn,

Manager, Natural Gas Regulation, Office of

Natural Gas & Petroleum Import and Export

Activities, Office of Fossil Energy.

[FR Doc. 98–10238 Filed 4–16–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 2016, WA]

City of Tacoma, Washington; Notice of

Scoping Meeting Pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 for an Applicant Prepared

Environmental Assessment and a Site

Visit

April 13, 1998.

The Commission’s regulations allow

applicants to prepare their own

Environmental Assessment (EA) for

hydropower projects and file it with the

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

(Commission) along with their license

application as part of the applicantprepared EA (APEA) process.1 On

February 24, 1998, the Commission

approved the use of the APEA process

in the preparation of license application

for Tacoma Public Utilities’ (Tacoma)

Cowlitz Hydroelectric Project, No. 2016.

Tacoma will hold three public

meetings, pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of

1969, to identify the scope of

environmental issues that should be

analyzed in the EA. At the scoping

meetings, Tacoma will: (1) Summarize

the environmental issues tentatively

identified for analysis in the EA; (2)

outline any resources they believe

would not require a detailed analysis;

(3) identify reasonable alternatives to be

addressed in the EA; (4) solicit from the

meeting participants all available

information, especially quantitative

data, on the resources at issue; and (5)

encourage statements from experts and

the public on issues that should be

analyzed in the EA.

Although Tacoma’s intent is to

prepare an EA, there is the possibility

that an Environmental Impact Statement

(EIS) will be required. Nevertheless, this

meeting will satisfy the NEPA scoping

requirements, irrespective of whether an

EA or EIS is issued by the Commission.

Scoping Meetings

The times and locations of the

scoping meeting are:

Agency Scoping Meeting

May 5, 1998—1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, US

Fish and Wildlife Service Office,

510 Desmond Drive, Sawyer Hall,

Lacey, WA

Public Scoping Meetings

May 6, 1998—7:00 pm to 10:00 pm,

Lewis County, Courthouse Annex,

345 W. Main St., Room 1, Chehalis,

WA

May 7, 1998—7:00 pm to 10:00 pm,

Mossyrock High School

Gymnasium, Mossyrock, WA

All interested individuals,

organizations, and agencies are invited

and encouraged to attend any or all of

the meetings to assist in identifying and

clarifying the scope of environmental

issues that should be analyzed in the

EA.

To help focus discussions, Tacoma

prepared and distributed a scoping

document on April 3, 1998. Copies of

the Scoping Document can be obtained

by calling Joan Nichol, Harza

Engineering Company, at (425) 602–

4000. Copies of the document will also

be available at the scoping meetings.

Site Visit

Tocoma has also scheduled a site visit

to the Cowlitz River Project on

Thursday, May 7, 1998, if sufficient

interest exists. Those wishing to attend

the site visit must notify Toby Freeman,

Tacoma City Light at (253) 502–8862 by

April 24, 1998. Also contact Toby for

information on the meeting time and

place.

Meeting Procedures

The meetings will be conducted

according to the procedures used at

Commission scoping meetings. Because

this meeting will be a NEPA scoping

meeting under the APEA process, the

Commission does not intend to conduct

a NEPA scoping meeting after the

application and draft EA are filed with

the Commission. Instead, Commission

staff will attend the meetings on May 5,

6, and 7, 1998.

All the scoping meetings will be

recorded by a stenographer or tape

recorder, and will become part of the

formal record of the proceedings for this

project.

Those who choose not to speak during

the scoping meetings may instead

submit written comments on the project.

Written comments should be mailed to:

Joan Nichol, Harza Engineering

Company, 2353 130th Avenue N.E.,

Bellevue, WA 98005, by June 8, 1998.

All correspondence should show the

following caption on the first page:

Scoping Comments, Cowlitz River

Hydroelectric Project (2016).

For further information please contact

Joan Nichol at (425) 602–4000 or David

Turner of the Commission at (202) 219–

2844.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10192 Filed 4–16–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

Notice of Application Filed With the

Commission and Intent To Prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement

April 13, 1998.

Take notice that the following

hydroelectric application has been filed

with the Commission and is available

for public inspection:

a. Type of Application: Proposal To

Amend Minimum Flow Releases.

b. Project No: 77–110.

c. Date Filed: March 31, 1998.

d. Licensee: Pacific Gas and Electric

Company.

e. Name of Project: Potter Valley

Project.

f. Location: Eel River and East Fork

Russian River, in Lake and Mendocino

Counties, California.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power

Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r).

h. Licensee Contact: Mr. Terry

Morford, Manager—Hydro Generation,

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, P.O.
19248 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 74 / Friday, April 17, 1998 / Notices

box 770000, Mail Code N11C, San

Francisco, CA 94177, (415) 973–4603.

i. FERC Contact: Dr. John M. Mudre,

(202) 219–1208.

j. Comment Date: June 8, 1998.

k. Description: Pacific Gas and

Electric Company (PG&E), licensee for

the Potter Valley Project (FERC No. 77)

has filed the final report on its 10-year

study of the effects of its article 38

minimum flow schedule on salmonids,

and its associated proposal for changes

to the required minimum flows at the

project. The flow proposal represents

the culmination of negotiations among

technical staff of PG&E, the California

Department of Fish and Game (CDFG),

the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and

the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Under these ‘‘Joint Recommendations’’

(JR), flows to the Eel River would be

adjusted up to three times per day in

response to changes in streamflow in

the downstream Tomki Creek. The

quantity of flow released would be

proportional to Tomki Creek flow and

would range, in normal years, from 5 to

200 cfs. During dry years, ‘‘water

conservancy’’ measures would be

implemented that could reduce releases

by up to one half, but flow would never

be less than 5 cfs. The JR also reserve

a block of 5,000 acre-feet of water

annually to maintain pre-specified flows

during protracted droughts when the

release schedule prescribes flow

reductions in response to natural

conditions.

Because the project serves as an interbasin transfer, increased minimum flow

releases to the Eel River would result in

decreases in diversions to the East Fork

Russian River. Under the JR, diversions

to the East Fork Russian River would

decrease from an estimated 8 percent in

the wettest years to 25 percent in the

driest years. From a volumetric

perspective, the annual reduction in

diversions would range from an

estimated 13,000 to 18,000 acre feet.

The JR also contain non-flow

provisions for protecting and enhancing

aquatic resources. These include: (1)

PG&E will provide $20,000 annually to

fund a scientific aide position at the Van

Arsdale Fishery Station; (2) PG&E will

fund annual chinook salmon carcass

surveys at selected sites on the Eel River

and Tomki Creek; (3) PG&E will provide

CDFG $10,000 annually for Sacramento

squawfish suppression; (4) PG&E will

provide CDFG up to $30,000 annually

for CDFG’s chinook salmon and stock

rescue program; (5) PG&E will continue

to cooperate in releasing warm water

from the spillway of Scott Dam in the

late winter/spring period to promote the

timely migration of juvenile chinook

salmon from the Eel River between Scott

and Cape Horn Dams; (6) the Tomki

Creek flow gage will be updated to

improve the precision of low flow

measurements and to allow data

telemetry for flow calculation; and (7)

Cape Horn Dam will be modified to

allow accurate regulation of the higher

minimum flows provided under the JR.

Commission staff has determined that

amendment of the minimum flow

requirements at the Potter Valley Project

could constitute a major Federal action

significantly affecting the quality of the

human environment. Therefore, staff

intends to prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed

amendment. The EIS will also consider

reasonable alternatives to the proposed

amendment. A draft EIS will be issued

and circulated for review to those on the

mailing list for this proceeding. All

comments filed on the draft EIS will be

analyzed by Commission Staff and

considered in the Final EIS.

As part of the EIS process, we will be

conducting a series of scoping meetings

in the project vicinity. The purpose of

the scoping process is to identify the

scope of environmental issues that

should be analyzed in the EIS and to

provide us with information that may be

useful in preparing the EIS. The dates,

times, and locations of the scoping

meetings will be announced in a

subsequent public notice. We will also

accept written scoping comments from

any interested party, either prior to, or

for a limited period following, the

scoping meetings. To help focus

comments on the environmental issues,

a scoping document outlining subject

areas to be addressed in the EIS will be

sent to those on the mailing list for this

proceeding prior to the scoping

meetings. The deadline for receiving

scoping comments will be specified at

that time. Those not on the mailing list

may request a copy of the scoping

document from the project coordinator,

whose telephone number is listed

below.

Those wishing to be added to the

mailing list or to submit comments,

information, or other correspondence

pertaining to this proceeding should file

their correspondence with the

commission at the following address:

The Secretary, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20426.

All filings should show the following

on the first page: ‘‘Potter Valley

Project,’’ FERC No. 77–110.

For further information, please

contact the FERC Project Coordinator,

John M. Mudre, at (202) 219–1208.

1. This notice also consists of the

following standard paragraphs: B, C1,

and D2.

B. Comments, Protests, or Motions to

Intervene—Anyone may submit

comments, a protest, or a motion to

intervene in accordance with the

requirements of Rules of Practice and

Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210, .211, .214.

In determining the appropriate action to

take, the Commission will consider all

protests or other comments filed, but

only those who file a motion to

intervene in accordance with the

Commission’s Rules may become a

party to the proceeding. Any comments,

protests, or motions to intervene must

be received on or before the specified

comment date for the particular

application.

C1. Filing and Service of Responsive

Documents—Any filings must bear in

all capital letters the title

‘‘COMMENTS’’,

‘‘RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TERMS

AND CONDITIONS’’, ‘‘PROTEST’’, OR

‘‘MOTION TO INTERVENE’’, as

applicable, and the Project Number of

the particular application to which the

filing refers. Any of the above-named

documents must be filed by providing

the original and the number of copies

provided by the Commission’s

regulations to: The Secretary, Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C.

20426. A copy of any motion to

intervene must also be served upon each

representative of the Applicant

specified in the particular application.

D2. Agency Comments—Federal,

state, and local agencies are invited to

file comments on the described

application. A copy of the application

may be obtained by agencies directly

from the Applicant. If an agency does

not file comments within the time

specified for filing comments, it will be

presumed to have no comments. One

copy of an agency’s comments must also

be sent to the Applicant’s

representatives.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–10191 Filed 4–16–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

[FRL–5998–5]

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request; Municipal Water

Pollution Prevention Program

Evaluation (Self-Audit)

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice.