Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 6177 

service, please e-mail 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. or call 

(866) 208–3676 (toll free). For TTY, call 

(202) 502–8659. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E8–1848 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Western Area Power Administration 

Boulder Canyon Project 

AGENCY: Western Area Power 

Administration, DOE. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Base Charge 

and Rates Adjustment. 

SUMMARY: The Western Area Power 

Administration (Western) is proposing 

an adjustment to the Boulder Canyon 

Project (BCP) electric service base 

charge and rates. The current base 

charge and rates expire September 30, 

2008, under Rate Schedule BCP–F7. The 

current base charge is not sufficient to 

cover all annual costs including 

operation, maintenance, replacements, 

and interest expense, and to repay 

investment obligations within the 

required period. The proposed base 

charge will provide sufficient revenue to 

cover all annual costs and to repay 

investment obligations within the 

allowable period. A detailed rate 

package that identifies the reasons for 

the base charge and rates adjustment 

will be available in March 2008. The 

proposed base charge and rates are 

scheduled to become effective on 

October 1, 2008, and will remain in 

effect through September 30, 2009. This 

Federal Register notice initiates the 

formal process for the proposed base 

charge and rates. 

DATES: The consultation and comment 

period will begin today and will end 

May 1, 2008. Western will present a 

detailed explanation of the proposed 

base charge and rates at a public 

information forum on April 2, 2008, 

beginning at 10:30 a.m. MST, in 

Phoenix, AZ. Western will accept oral 

and written comments at a public 

comment forum on April 23, 2008, 

beginning at 10:30 a.m. MST at the same 

location. Western will accept written 

comments any time during the 

consultation and comment period. 

ADDRESSES: The public information 

forum and public comment forum will 

be held at the Desert Southwest 

Customer Service Regional Office, 

located at 615 South 43rd Avenue, 

Phoenix, AZ, on the dates cited above. 

Send written comments to: J. Tyler 

Carlson, Regional Manager, Desert 

Southwest Customer Service Region, 

Western Area Power Administration, 

P.O. Box 6457, Phoenix, AZ 85005–

6457, e-mail carlson@wapa.gov. Written 

comments may also be faxed to (602) 

605–2490, attention: Jack Murray. 

Western will post information about the 

rate process on its Web site at http:// 

www.wapa.gov/dsw/pwrmkt/BCP/ 

RateAdjust.htm. Western will post 

official comments received via letter, 

fax, and e-mail to its Web site after the 

close of the comment period. Western 

must receive written comments by the 

end of the consultation and comment 

period to ensure they are considered in 

Western’s decision process. 

As access to Western facilities is 

controlled, any U.S. citizen wishing to 

attend any meeting held at Western 

must present an official form of picture 

identification, such as a U.S. driver’s 

license, U.S. passport, U.S. Government 

ID, or U.S. Military ID, at the time of the 

meeting. Foreign nationals should 

contact Western at least 45 days in 

advance of the meeting to obtain the 

necessary form for admittance to 

Western. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Jack Murray, Rates Team Lead, Desert 

Southwest Customer Service Region, 

Western Area Power Administration, 

P.O. Box 6457, Phoenix, AZ 85005–

6457, (602) 605–2442, e-mail 

jmurray@wapa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed base charge and rates for BCP 

electric service are designed to recover 

an annual revenue requirement that 

includes the investment repayment, 

interest, operation and maintenance, 

replacements, payment to states, visitor 

services, and uprating payments. The 

total costs are offset by the projected 

revenue from water sales, visitor 

services, water pumping energy sales, 

facilities use charges, regulation and 

spinning reserve services, miscellaneous 

leases, and late fees. The projected 

annual revenue requirement is the base 

charge for electric service and is divided 

equally between capacity dollars and 

energy dollars. Annual energy dollars 

are divided by annual energy sales, and 

annual capacity dollars are divided by 

annual capacity sales to determine the 

proposed energy rate and the proposed 

capacity rate. 

The Deputy Secretary of Energy 

approved the existing rate formula for 

calculating the base charge and rates in 

Rate Schedule BCP–F7 for BCP electric 

service on August 11, 2005, (Rate Order 

No. WAPA–120, 70 FR 50316, August 

26, 2005). The Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission) 

confirmed and approved the rate 

formula on a final basis in Docket No. 

EF05–5091–000 issued June 22, 2006 

(115 FERC ¶ 61,362). Rate Schedule 

BCP–F7 became effective on October 1, 

2005, for the period ending September 

30, 2010. The base charge for FY 2009 

is $71,211,438, the forecasted energy 

rate is 8.74 mills per kilowatthour 

(mills/kWh), the forecasted capacity rate 

is $1.77 per kilowattmonth (kWmonth), 

and the composite rate is 17.49 mills/ 

kWh. 

Under Rate Schedule BCP–F7, the 

proposed rates for BCP electric service 

will result in an overall composite rate 

decrease of about one percent. The 

following table compares the current 

and proposed base charge and rates. 

COMPARISON OF CURRENT AND PROPOSED BASE CHARGE AND RATES

Current 

October 1, 2007 

through 

September 30, 2008 

Proposed 

October 1, 2008 

through 

September 30, 2009 

% Change 

Composite Rate (mills/kWh) ............................................................................ 17.64 17.49 ¥1 

Base Charge ($) .............................................................................................. 66,975,283 71,211,438 6 

Energy Rate (mills/kWh) .................................................................................. 8.82 8.74 ¥1 

Capacity Rate ($/kWmonth) ............................................................................ 1.63 1.77 9 

The increase in the electric service 

base charge and capacity rate is 

primarily the result of projecting no 

year-end carryover from FY 2008 into 

FY 2009. Initial analysis of the projected 

financial data for FY 2009 reflects a 

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6178 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 22 / Friday, February 1, 2008 / Notices 

slight decrease in overall annual costs 

and a slight increase in other revenues 

when compared to FY 2008. However, 

since there is no projected year-end 

carryover into FY 2009 the result is an 

overall increase in the base charge for 

FY 2009. Another factor contributing to 

the increase in the capacity rate is the 

decrease in capacity sales associated 

with lower Lake Mead water elevations. 

The decrease in the composite and 

energy rates is due to a slight increase 

in the FY 2009 energy sales from FY 

2008. 

Legal Authority 

Western will hold both a public 

information forum and a public 

comment forum. After review of public 

comments and possible amendments or 

adjustments, Western will recommend 

the Deputy Secretary of Energy approve 

the proposed base charge and rates on 

a final basis. 

Western is establishing an electric 

service base charge and rates for BCP 

under the Department of Energy 

Organization Act (42 U.S.C. 7152); the 

Reclamation Act of 1902 (ch. 1093, 32 

Stat. 388), as amended and 

supplemented by subsequent laws, 

particularly section 9(c) of the 

Reclamation Project Act of 1939 (43 

U.S.C. 485h(c)), and other acts that 

specifically apply to the project 

involved. 

By Delegation Order No. 00–037.00, 

effective December 6, 2001, the 

Secretary of Energy delegated: (1) The 

authority to develop power and 

transmission rates to Western’s 

Administrator; (2) the authority to 

confirm, approve, and place such rates 

into effect on an interim basis to the 

Deputy Secretary of Energy; and (3) the 

authority to confirm, approve, and place 

into effect on a final basis, to remand or 

to disapprove such rates to the 

Commission. Existing Department of 

Energy (DOE) procedures for public 

participation in power rate adjustments 

(10 CFR part 903) were published on 

September 18, 1985. 

Availability of Information 

All brochures, studies, comments, 

letters, memorandums or other 

documents that Western initiates or uses 

to develop the proposed rates are 

available for inspection and copying at 

the Desert Southwest Customer Service 

Regional Office, Western Area Power 

Administration, located at 615 South 

43rd Avenue, Phoenix, AZ. Many of 

these documents and supporting 

information are also available on 

Western’s Web site at http:// 

www.wapa.gov/dsw/pwrmkt/BCP/ 

RateAdjust.htm. 

Ratemaking Procedure Requirements 

Environmental Compliance 

In compliance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the 

Council On Environmental Quality 

Regulations for implementing NEPA (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508), and DOE NEPA 

Implementing Procedures and 

Guidelines (10 CFR part 1021), Western 

has determined this action is 

categorically excluded from preparing 

an environmental assessment or an 

environmental impact statement. 

Determination Under Executive Order 

12866 

Western has an exemption from 

centralized regulatory review under 

Executive Order 12866, accordingly, no 

clearance of this notice by the Office of 

Management and Budget is required. 

Dated: January 10, 2008. 

Timothy J. Meeks, 

Administrator. 

[FR Doc. E8–1872 Filed 1–31–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–8523–6] 

Clean Water Act Section 303(d): 

Availability of 16 Total Maximum Daily 

Loads (TMDL) in Louisiana 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces the 

availability for comment of the 

administrative record files for 16 

TMDLs and the calculations for these 

TMDLs prepared by EPA Region 6 for 

waters listed in the Pearl River and the 

Terrebonne River Basins of Louisiana, 

under section 303(d) of the Clean Water 

Act (CWA). These TMDLs were 

completed in response to a court order 

in the lawsuit styled Sierra Club, et al. 

v. Clifford, et al., No. 96–0527, (E.D. 

La.). 

DATES: Comments must be submitted in 

writing to EPA on or before March 3, 

2008. 

ADDRESSES: Comments on the 16 

TMDLs should be sent to Diane Smith, 

Environmental Protection Specialist, 

Water Quality Protection Division, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency 

Region 6, 1445 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX 

75202–2733 or e-mail: 

smith.diane@epa.gov. For further 

information, contact Diane Smith at 

(214) 665–2145 or fax 214.665.7373. The 

administrative record files for the 16 

TMDLs are available for public 

inspection at this address as well. 

Documents from the administrative 

record files may be viewed at http://

www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6wq/npdes/

tmdl/index.htm, or obtained by calling 

or writing Ms. Smith at the above 

address. Please contact Ms. Smith to 

schedule an inspection. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Diane Smith at (214) 665–2145. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1996, 

two Louisiana environmental groups, 

the Sierra Club and Louisiana 

Environmental Action Network 

(plaintiffs), filed a lawsuit in Federal 

Court against the EPA, styled Sierra 

Club, et al. v. Clifford, et al., No. 96–

0527, (E.D. La.). Among other claims, 

plaintiffs alleged that EPA failed to 

establish Louisiana TMDLs in a timely 

manner. EPA proposes six of these 

TMDLs pursuant to a consent decree 

entered in this lawsuit. 

EPA Seeks Comment on 16 TMDLs 

By this notice EPA is seeking 

comment on the following 16 TMDLs 

for waters located within Louisiana 

basins: 

Subsegment Waterbody name Pollutant 

............................ ....................................................................................................................................

090101 ............... Pearl River—MS State Line to Pearl River Navigation Canal .................................. Fecal Coliform. 

090104 ............... Peters Creek—Headwaters to Pearl River ............................................................... Fecal Coliform. 

090106 ............... Holmes Bayou—From the Pearl River to the West Pearl River (scenic) ................. Turbidity. 

090201 ............... West Pearl River—From Headwaters to confluence with Holmes Bayou (scenic) .. Turbidity. 

090202 ............... West Pearl River—From confluence with Holmes Bayou to the Rigolets (includes 

east and west mouths) (scenic).

Turbidity. 

090301 ............... Pushepatapa Creek—MS State Line to Pearl River floodplain ................................ Fecal Coliform. 

090401 ............... Bogue Lusa Creek—Headwaters to Pearl River ...................................................... Fecal Coliform. 

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