27938 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 98 /Thursday, May 21, 1998 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 2077–000–NY/VT]

New England Power Company; Notice

of Scoping Meetings Pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 for an Applicant Prepared

Environmental Assessment

May 15, 1998.

Pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of

1992, and as part of the license

application, the New England Power

Company (NEP) intends to prepare an

Applicant Prepared Environmental

Assessment (APEA) to file along with

the license application, with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission

(Commission) for the Fifteen Mile Falls

(FMF) Project No. 2077. The license for

the project expires on July 31, 2001.

In October 1995, NEP initiated the

cooperative consultation process, and in

December 1995, state and federal

agencies, local interests, and

nongovernmental organizations (NGOs),

undertook a cooperative effort for the

relicensing of the FMF Project. The

process involved identification of

environmental issues associated with

the relicensing of the FMF Project,

including: a public informational

meeting in February 1996, a project site

visit for agencies/stakeholders, and a

public meeting to solicit comments on

the Initial Consultation Document (ICD)

in June 1996.

As a result of the cooperative

consultation process, settlement

negotiation meetings were conducted

during the spring of 1997, resulting in

a signed Settlement Agreement on

August 6, 1997.

NEP obtained support from the parties

involved in the cooperative process and

Settlement Agreement to pursue the

APEA process for the relicensing of the

FMF Project. On March 9, 1998, NEP

requested, and on April 22, 1998,

obtained FERC’s approval to enter the

APEA process. As part of the APEA

process, NEP has prepared a Scoping

Document I (SDI), which provides

information on the scoping process,

APEA schedule, background

information, environmental issues, and

proposed project alternatives.

The purpose of this notice is to: (1)

advise all parties as to the proposed

scope of the environmental analysis,

including cumulative effects, and to

seek additional information pertinent to

this analysis; and (2) advise all parties

of their opportunity for comment.

Scoping Process

The purpose of the scoping process is

to identify significant issues related to

the proposed action and to determine

what issues should be addressed in the

document to be prepared pursuant to

the National Environmental Policy Act

of 1969 (NEPA). The SDI will be

circulated to enable appropriate federal,

state, and local resource agencies,

Indian tribes, NGOs, and other

interested parties to participate in the

scoping process. SDI provides a brief

description of the proposed action,

project alternatives, the geographic and

temporal scope of a cumulative effects

analysis, and a list of issues.

Scoping Meetings and Site Visit

NEP and FERC staff will conduct two

scoping meetings and a site visit. All

interested individuals, organizations,

and agencies are invited to attend and

assist in identifying the scope of

environmental issues that should be

analyzed in the APEA.

The public scoping meeting will be

held on June 4, 1998, from 7:00 to 9:00

pm at the Littleton Opera House, Main

Street, Littleton, NH. The agency

scoping meeting will be held on June 5,

1998, from 9:30 to 12:00 am at the North

Country Council Conference Room, 107

Glessner Road, Bethlehem, NH. The site

visit will commence at 9:30 am on June

4, 1998. Those persons interested

should meet at Moore Visitor Center,

Rtes. 135/18, Littleton, NH. For more

details, interested parties should contact

John Ragonese, NEP, (603)–443–9229,

prior to the meeting date.

Objectives

At the scoping meetings, NEP and

FERC staff will: (1) summarize the

environmental issues identified for

analysis in the APEA; (2) solicit from

the meeting participants all available

information, especially quantified data,

on the resources at issue, and (3)

encourage statements from experts and

the public on issues that should be

analyzed in the APEA. Individuals,

organizations, and agencies with

environmental expertise and concerns

are encouraged to attend the meetings

and to assist in defining and clarifying

the issues to be addressed.

Meeting Procedures

The meeting will be conducted

according to the procedures used at

Commission scoping meetings. Because

this meeting will be a NEPA scoping

meeting, the Commission will not

conduct another scoping meeting when

the application and APEA are filed with

the Commission in Spring 1999.

The meetings will be recorded by a

stenographer and become a part of the

formal record of the Commission

proceeding on the FMF Project.

Individuals presenting statements at the

meetings will be asked to identify

themselves for the record. Speaking

time allowed for individuals will be

determined before each meeting, based

on the number of persons wishing to

speak and the approximate amount of

time available for the session. Persons

choosing not to speak but wishing to

express an opinion, as well as speakers

unable to summarize their positions

within their allotted time, may submit

written statements for inclusion in the

public record no later than June 19,

1998.

All filings should contain an original

and 8 copies. Failure to file an original

and 8 copies may result in appropriate

staff not receiving the benefit of your

comments in a timely manner. All

comments should be submitted to the

Office of the Secretary, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426,

and should clearly show the following

captions on the first page: Fifteen Mile

Falls Project, FERC No. 2077. A copy of

each filing should also be sent to John

Ragonese, New England Power

Company, 407 Miracle Mile, Suite 2,

Lebanon, NH 02766.

Based on all written comments, a

Scoping Document II (SDII) may be

issued. SDII will include a revised list

of issues, based on the scoping sessions.

For further information regarding the

APEA scoping process, please contact

William Guey-Lee, Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission, 888 First

Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20426 at

(202) 219–2794, or John Ragonese, New

England Power Company, at (603) 443–

9229.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 98–13482 Filed 5–20–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. CP98–531–000]

NorAm Gas Transmission Company;

Notice of Request Under Blanket

Authorization

May 15, 1998.

Take notice that on May 11, 1998,

NorAm Gas Transmission Company

(NGT), 1600 Smith Street, Houston,

Texas 77002, filed in Docket No. CP98–

531–000 a request pursuant to Sections