Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 136 / Friday, July 17, 2009 / Notices 34741 

4http://www.salmonrecovery.gov/ 

Biological_opinions/FCRPS/2008_biop/docs/3-tribeAA-MOA-Final.pdf. 

5http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-HarvestHatcheries/Hatcheries/Mitchell-Act-EIS.cfm. 

Accords) 4 the Yakama Nation will 

actively seek congressional 

appropriations during fiscal years 2010 

and 2011 for additional Mitchell Act 

funding for the new Wahkiacus facility. 

Under the Accords, BPA made funding 

available, pending satisfactory results 

from its environmental compliance 

efforts, to fund hatchery facility 

improvements to increase production in 

the Klickitat Basin as described in 

alternative one below. 

The master plan was developed in 

concert with salmonid production and 

harvest agreements pursuant to U.S. v. 

Oregon, which is the primary forum for 

decisions related to salmon and 

steelhead fisheries management for the 

Columbia River Basin. U.S. v. Oregon is 

landmark litigation over Indian treaty 

fishing rights. The Federal district court 

that initially decided the case has 

retained continuing jurisdiction to 

assure the development of harvest and 

production plans follow the court’s 

decisions. Through the on-going U.S. v. 

Oregon process, the parties develop and 

update the Columbia River Fish 

Management Plan which addresses 

management of Chinook, coho, and 

steelhead in the Klickitat basin, 

including hatchery production at the 

Klickitat Hatchery. Current programs 

focus on harvest augmentation for coho 

and fall Chinook and on 

supplementation for spring Chinook and 

summer steelhead. 

The proposed Yakama NationKlickitat Hatchery Program EIS would 

respond to these master plan objectives. 

BPA, therefore, will prepare an EIS 

under NEPA to assist the agency as it 

decides whether to fund the proposed 

changes to the existing salmon and 

steelhead hatchery program in the 

Klickitat subbasin and, if a decision is 

made to fund the changes, which 

alternative to meet the master plan 

objectives should be chosen. 

Alternatives Proposed for 

Consideration. BPA will consider three 

action alternatives to meet master plan 

objectives for salmon and steelhead in 

the Klickitat Basin. One alternative, the 

Master Plan, would involve the fisheries 

managers increasing the production of 

Klickitat spring Chinook and steelhead 

at the existing Klickitat Hatchery and 

transferring artificial production of coho 

and fall Chinook to a new hatchery 

facility at Wahkiacus. This would free 

up water and space at the Klickitat 

Hatchery, ensuring optimal rearing 

densities for spring Chinook and 

summer steelhead at that facility. 

Transferring coho and fall Chinook 

production downstream would 

minimize the impact of these species on 

the spawning and rearing of wild spring 

Chinook and steelhead by reducing 

species interactions and competition for 

habitat in the 26.5-mile reach between 

Wahkiacus and Klickitat. A second 

alternative would evaluate meeting the 

same production objectives but at the 

Klickitat Hatchery alone. A third 

alternative would examine a phased 

approach to the proposed production 

changes, with a partial build-out at the 

Wahkiacus facility. The current 

Wahkiacus facility design provides for 

acclimation of up to 1,000,000 coho presmolts and rearing and release of up to 

2,000,000 fall Chinook. The partial 

build-out would consider a phased 

approach for accomplishing production 

objectives, with the associated phasing 

of the completion of project facilities. 

BPA will also consider a No-Action 

Alternative. Under the No-Action 

Alternative, production activities would 

continue as they do currently. Other 

alternatives may be identified through 

the scoping process. 

BPA will be the lead agency for 

preparation of the EIS. BPA will 

formally invite the Yakama Nation, 

WDFW, NOAA Fisheries, Klickitat 

County, and Washington Department of 

Ecology to be cooperating agencies for 

the proposed Yakama Nation-Klickitat 

Hatchery Program EIS. Other potential 

cooperating agencies may be identified 

as the proposed project proceeds 

through the NEPA process. BPA will 

also coordinate with NOAA Fisheries 

which is preparing a programmatic EIS 

on the Mitchell Act hatchery facilities it 

funds throughout the Columbia River 

Basin.5

Public Participation and 

Identification of Environmental Issues. 

The potential environmental issues 

identified for the project are anticipated 

to include land use, socioeconomic 

concerns, cultural resources, visual 

resources, sensitive plants and animals, 

fisheries, soil erosion, wetlands, 

floodplains, water quality, water 

quantity, wild and scenic rivers, and 

recreation resources. BPA has 

established a 45-day scoping period 

during which tribes, affected 

landowners, concerned citizens, special 

interest groups, local governments, 

Federal agencies, and any other 

interested parties are invited to 

comment on the scope of the proposed 

EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that 

a full range of issues related to this 

proposal is addressed in the EIS, and 

also will identify significant or 

potentially significant impacts that may 

result from the proposed project. When 

completed, the Draft EIS will be 

circulated for review and comment, and 

BPA will hold at least one public 

meeting to hear comments. The Draft 

EIS is expected to be published in fall 

2010. BPA will consider and respond to 

comments received on the Draft EIS in 

the Final EIS. The Final EIS is expected 

to be published in spring 2011. BPA’s 

decision will be documented in a 

Record of Decision that will follow the 

Final EIS. 

Issued in Portland, Oregon, on July 10, 

2009. 

Stephen J. Wright, 

Administrator and Chief Executive Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–17034 Filed 7–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No.: 2660–024] 

Domtar Maine Corporation; Notice of 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Assessment and Notice of Scoping 

Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting 

Scoping Comments 

July 10, 2009. 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

with the Commission and is available 

for public inspection. 

a. Type of Application: New License. 

b. Project No.: 2660–024. 

c. Date Filed: March 19, 2009. 

d. Applicant: Domtar Maine 

Corporation. 

e. Name of Project: Forest City Project. 

f. Location: On Forest City Stream, a 

tributary of the St. Croix River in 

Washington and Aroostock Counties, 

Maine and Canada. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act 16 U.S.C. 791 (a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Scott Beal, 

Domtar Maine Corporation, 144 Main 

Street, Baileyville, Maine 04694 (207) 

427–4004. 

i. FERC Contact: John Costello, (202) 

502–6119 or john.costello@ferc.gov. 

j. Deadline for filing scoping 

comments: September 11, 2009. 

All documents (original and eight 

copies) should be filed with: Kimberly 

D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. 

The Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedure require all intervenors 

filing documents with the Commission 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

34742 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 136 / Friday, July 17, 2009 / Notices 

to serve a copy of that document on 

each person on the official service list 

for the project. Further, if an intervenor 

files comments or documents with the 

Commission relating to the merits of an 

issue that may affect the responsibilities 

of a particular resource agency, they 

must also serve a copy of the document 

on that resource agency. 

Scoping comments may be filed 

electronically via the Internet in lieu of 

paper. The Commission strongly 

encourages electronic filings. See 18 

CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the 

instructions on the Commission’s Web 

site at http://www.ferc.gov under the 

‘‘e-Filing’’ link. 

k. This application is not ready for 

environmental analysis at this time. 

l. Project Description: The existing 

Forest City Project comprised an earth 

embankment dam containing a gated 

timber spillway and two impoundments 

(East Grand and North lakes). There are 

no generating facilities located at the 

project. Approximately one-quarter of 

the 544-foot-long dam (i.e., 

approximately 147 feet) is within the 

United States; the remaining section of 

the dam is located in Canada. The 

United States (western) section of the 

dam is an earth embankment measuring 

approximately 110-feet-long with a 

maximum height of 12 feet. The center 

section of the dam (i.e., that portion 

located in the river channel) contains a 

55-foot-wide gated timber crib spillway 

structure with three wooden gates (gates 

1 and 2 are located within the United 

States). The spillway is approximately 

33-feet-wide with an elevation of 426.61 

feet msl. A 5-foot-wide vertical slot 

design fishway is located in Canada. 

The eastern (Canadian) embankment is 

an earth structure approximately 397- 

feet-long, 30-feet-wide with a crest 

elevation of 437.27 feet msl. No new 

construction is planned. 

m. Locations of the Application: A 

copy of the application is available for 

review at the Commission in the Public 

Reference Room or may be viewed on 

the Commission’s Web site at http:// 

www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. 

Enter the docket number excluding the 

last three digits in the docket number 

field to access the document. For 

assistance, contact FERC Online 

Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or tollfree at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, (202) 

502–8659. A copy is also available for 

inspection and reproduction by 

contacting the applicant using the 

contact information in item (h) above. 

You may also register online at 

http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm 

to be notified via e-mail of new filings 

and issuances related to this or other 

pending projects. For assistance, contact 

FERC Online Support. 

n. Scoping Process: The Commission 

intends to prepare a single 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

project which will include the West 

Branch Project (FERC No. P–2618– 020) 

(no draft EA would be prepared) in 

accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act. The EA will 

consider both site-specific and 

cumulative environmental impacts and 

reasonable alternatives to the proposed 

action. 

Scoping Meetings 

Commission staff will hold two 

scoping meetings in the vicinity of the 

project at the time and place noted 

below. The daytime meeting will focus 

on resource agency, Indian tribes, and 

non-governmental organization 

concerns, while the evening meeting is 

primarily for receiving input from the 

public. We invite all interested 

individuals, organizations, and agencies 

to attend one or both of these meetings 

and to assist staff in determining the 

scope of the environmental issues to be 

addressed in the environmental 

assessment. The times and locations of 

these meetings are as follows: 

Daytime Scoping Meeting 

Date: August 13, 2009. 

Time: 10 a.m. (EST). 

Place: Conference Room, Domtar 

Maine Administration Building. 

Address: Domtar Maine Corporation, 

144 Main Street, Baileyville, Maine 

04694. 

Evening Scoping Meeting 

Date: August 13, 2009. 

Time: 6 p.m. (EST). 

Place: Conference Room, Domtar 

Maine Administration Building, 

Address: Domtar Maine Corporation, 

144 Main Street, Baileyville, Maine 

04694. 

The scoping document, which 

outlines the subject areas to be 

addressed in the environmental 

assessment, was mailed to the 

individuals and entities on the 

Commission’s mailing list. Copies of the 

scoping document will be available at 

the scoping meetings or may be viewed 

on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using 

the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link (see item m above). 

Based on all oral and written comments, 

a revised scoping document may be 

issued. 

Site Visit 

We will hold a site visit to the project 

on Wednesday, August 12, 2009, 

beginning at 9 a.m. (EST). To attend the 

site visit, meet at Domtar Maine 

Corporation’s Administration Building 

located at 144 Main Street, Baileyville, 

Maine 04694. All participants are 

responsible for their own transportation 

and lunch. Anyone with questions 

about the site visit (or for directions) 

should contact Scott Beal at (207) 427– 

4004. Those individuals planning to 

participate in the site visit should notify 

Mr. Beal of their intent, no later than 

August 6, 2009. 

Note that Commission staff may hold 

a site visit and/or meeting at the project 

at a later date to discuss any projectrelated effects to archaeological, 

historic, or traditional cultural 

properties. 

Meeting Objectives 

At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) 

Summarize the environmental issues 

tentatively identified for analysis in the 

EA; (2) solicit from meeting participants 

all available information, especially 

quantifiable data, on the resources 

issues; (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 resource issues to be 

addressed in the EA; and (5) identify 

those issues that require a detailed 

analysis, as well as those issues that do 

not require a detailed analysis. 

Meeting Procedures 

Scoping meetings will be recorded by 

a stenographer and will become part of 

the Commission’s formal record for this 

proceeding. 

Individuals, organizations, and 

agencies with environmental expertise 

and concerns are encouraged to attend 

the meetings and to assist staff in 

defining and clarifying the issues to be 

addressed in the EA. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–16991 Filed 7–16–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No.: 2618–020] 

Domtar Maine Corporation; Notice of 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Assessment and Notice of Scoping 

Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting 

Scoping Comments 

July 10, 2009. 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES