[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21508-21509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-10667]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 10822-000 10823-000-CT]


Summit Hydropower [Upper and Lower Collinsville Projects]; Notice 
of Intention To Prepare an Environmental Assessment and Conduct Public 
Scoping Meetings

April 26, 1995.

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) has received 
applications for two original licenses for the construction and 
operation of the Upper Collinsville Project No. 10822; and the Lower 
Collinsville Project No. 10823. The projects are located on the 
Farmington River in Hartford County, Connecticut.
    The Commission staff has determined that licensing these projects 
would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the 
quality of the human environment. Therefore, the staff intends to 
prepare an environmental assessment (EA) on the hydroelectric projects 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The staff's 
EA will objectively consider both site specific and cumulative 
environmental effects of the projects and reasonable alternatives, and 
will include an economic, financial and engineering analysis.
    A draft EA will be issued and circulated for review by all 
interested parties. All comments filed on the draft EA will be analyzed 
by the staff and considered in a final EA. The staff's conclusions and 
recommendations will then be presented for the consideration of the 
Commission in reaching its final licensing decisions.

Scoping Meetings

    The Commission staff will conduct two scoping meetings. The evening 
scoping meeting is primarily for public input while the day-time 
meeting will focus on resource agency and non-governmental organization 
(NGO) concerns. All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies 
are invited to attend and assist the staff in identifying the scope of 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.
    To help focus discussions, a preliminary scoping document outlining 
[[Page 21509]] subject areas to be addressed at the meeting will be 
distributed by mail to interested parties on the Commission mailing 
list. Copies of the preliminary scoping document will also be available 
at the scoping meetings.
    The public scoping meeting which will be conducted by staff will be 
held at 7:30 p.m. on May 15, 1995, at the Canton Town Hall, 3rd Floor, 
Canton, Connecticut. The agency meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. on 
May 16, 1995, at the Connecticut Department of Environmental 
Protection, Holcombe Conference Room, 5th Floor, 79 Elm Street, 
Hartford, Connecticut.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the planned 
EA; (2) solicit from the meeting participants all available 
information, especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue, 
(3) encourage statements from experts and the public on issues that 
should be analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or 
in support of, the staff's preliminary views, (4) determine the 
relative depth of analysis for issues to be addressed in the EA, and 
(5) identify resource issues that are not important and do not require 
detailed analysis.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and will become 
part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the 
Farmington River projects under consideration. Individuals presenting 
statements at the meetings will be asked to sign in before the meeting 
starts and to clearly identify themselves for the record.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.
    Participants wishing to make oral comments in the public meeting 
are asked to keep them to five minutes to allow everyone the 
opportunity to speak.
    Persons choosing not to speak at the meetings, but who have views 
on the issues, may submit written statements for inclusion in the 
public record at the meeting. In addition, written scoping comments may 
be filed with the Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 
North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. All correspondence 
should clearly show one or more of the following captions on the first 
page: Upper Collinsville Project No. 10822-000; and Lower Collinsville 
Project No. 10823-000.
    All those that are formally recognized by the Commission as 
intervenors in the Collinsville Projects' proceedings are asked to 
refrain from engaging the staff in discussions of the merits of the 
projects outside of any announced meetings.
    Further, parties are reminded of the Commission's Rules of Practice 
and Procedures, which require parties filing documents with the 
Commission, to serve a copy of the document on each person whose name 
is on the official service list, including agents of the applicant.

    For further information, please contact Julie Bernt at (202) 
219-2814.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-10667 Filed 5-1-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M