Document ID: FERC-2014-0423-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Hydroelectric Applications: Warmsprings Irrigation District; Environmental Site Review; Scoping Meetings
Posted Date: 2014-04-10T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 69 (Thursday, April 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19903-19904]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-08041]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 13570-002]

Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and 
Soliciting Scoping Comments: Warmsprings Irrigation District

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: New Minor License.
    b. Project No.: 13570-002.
    c. Date filed: April 15, 2013.
    d. Applicant: Warmsprings Irrigation District (WSID).
    e. Name of Project: Warm Springs Dam Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: The Warm Springs Dam Hydroelectric Project would be 
located on the Malheur River in Malheur County, Oregon, near the Town 
of Juntura. It would occupy 13.5 acres of federal land.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Randy Kinney, Warmsprings Irrigation 
District, 334 Main Street North, Vale, OR 97918; (541) 473-3951.
    i. FERC Contact: Ken Wilcox, ken.wilcox@ferc.gov, (202) 502-6835.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: May 31, 2014.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ecomment.asp. You 
must include your name and contact information at the end of your 
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., 
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-13570-002.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person on the official service list for the 
project. Further, if an intervener 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.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The Warm Springs Dam Hydroelectric Project would utilize the 
existing Warm Springs Dam and reservoir and would consist of the 
following new facilities: (1) A steel liner fitted into one of two 
existing outlets in the right abutment of the dam; (2) a 150-foot-long, 
8-foot-diameter steel penstock and increaser section conveying water 
from the outlet works to a powerhouse located at the stilling basin 
immediately downstream of the dam; (3) a 34-foot-wide by 36-foot-long 
powerhouse containing one 2.7-megawatt (MW) Francis or Kaplan turbine; 
(4) 2.2-mile-long, 25-kilovolt (kV) transmission line; and (5) 
appurtenant facilities. The project would occupy 13.5 acres of federal 
land.
    m. 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. A copy is also available for inspection and 
reproduction at the address in item h above.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email 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 an 
Environmental assessment (EA) on the project 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

    FERC staff will conduct one agency scoping meeting and one public 
meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency and 
non-governmental organization concerns, while the public scoping 
meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend one or both of the 
meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the 
environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EA.
    The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Public Scoping Meeting

DATE: Wednesday, April 30, 2014
TIME: 7:00 p.m. (MDT)
PLACE: Juntura Elementary School
ADDRESS: 5855 6th Street, Juntura, Oregon

Agency Scoping Meeting

DATE: Thursday, May 1, 2014
TIME: 9:00 a.m. (PDT)
PLACE: Harney County Community Center
ADDRESS: 484 N. Broadway, Burns, Oregon

    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EA were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the 
scoping meeting or may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

 Environmental Site Review

    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project Environmental 
Site Review beginning at 2:00 p.m. (MDT) on Wednesday, April 30, 2014. 
All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet near the bridge on Warm Springs 
Road one-half mile south of Warm Springs Dam. Alternatively, attendees 
may meet at the Oasis Cafe in Juntura (5838 Highway 20) at 1:15 p.m. to 
follow staff to the site near the bridge. All participants are 
responsible for their own transportation to the site. Anyone with 
questions about the Environmental Site Review should contact Mr. Randy 
Kinney of Warmsprings Irrigation District at (541) 473-3951. PLEASE 
NOTE: Juntura and Warm Springs Dam are located within the Mountain Time 
Zone; Burns is in the Pacific Time Zone.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2) 
solicit from the meeting participants all available information, 
especially quantifiable data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage

[[Page 19904]]

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.

Procedures

    The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the 
formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA.

    Dated: April 2, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-08041 Filed 4-9-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P