Duke Energy Indiana, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments, 42664-42665 [E9-20236]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 162 (Monday, August 24, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42664-42665]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20236]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2211-004]


Duke Energy Indiana, Inc.; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Site 
Visit and Soliciting Scoping Comments

August 17, 2009.
    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with Commission and is available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 2211-004.
    c. Date filed: April 24, 2009.
    d. Applicant: Duke Energy Indiana, Inc.
    e. Name of Project: Markland Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: the Ohio River in Switzerland County, Indiana, near 
the towns of Florence and Vevay, Indiana, and Warsaw, Kentucky. The 
project affects about 1 acre of Federal lands administered by the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Tamara Styer, Duke Energy, Mail Code: EC12Y, 
P.O. Box 1006, Charlotte, NC 28201-1006, (704) 382-0293 or 
energy.com">tsstyer@duke-energy.com.
    i. FERC Contact: Dianne Rodman, (202) 502-6077 or 
Dianne.rodman@ferc.gov.
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: October 19, 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 
interveners filing documents with the Commission to serve a copy of 
that document on each person on the official service list

[[Page 42665]]

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.
    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 (https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ferconline.asp) under the 
``e-filing'' link. For a simpler method of submitting text only 
comments, click on ``Quick Comment.''
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The existing Markland Hydroelectric Project consists of a 
powerhouse integrated into the north end of the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers' (Corps) Markland dam, which was constructed by the Corps 
between 1959 and 1964. The project has a total installed capacity of 
64.8 megawatts (MW) and produces an average annual generation of 
350,454 megawatt-hours. All generated power is utilized within the 
applicant's electric utility system. The project operates in run-of-
release mode, has no storage, and only uses flows released by the 
Corps.
    The project consists of the following facilities: (1) A 96-foot-
high, 248-foot-wide intake structure, with steel trashrack panels 
installed along the east side, directing flows to the connected 
powerhouse; (2) a powerhouse, integral to the Corps' Markland dam, 
containing three vertical shaft Kaplan turbine/generator units with a 
total installed capacity of 64.8 MW; (3) a tailrace discharging flows 
immediately downstream of the dam; (4) a substation about 250 feet 
north of the powerhouse; (5) an approximately 750-foot-long existing 
access road; (6) a 9.37-mile-long, 138-kilovolt transmission line in a 
100-foot-wide right-of-way extending to Fairview, Indiana; and (7) 
appurtenant facilities. The applicant is proposing to add a new, 
approximately 300-foot-long access road, leading to a new parking area 
for recreation use at the tailrace of the dam.
    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 https://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 toll-free at 1-
866-208-3676, or for TTY, (202) 502-8659. A copy is also available for 
inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.
    You may also register online at  https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp 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 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 (NGO) 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:

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009.
    Time: 9 a.m.
    Place: Best Western Ogle Haus Meeting Rooms.
    Address: 1013 W. Main St., Vevay, Indiana.

Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: Thursday, September 17, 2009.
    Time: 7 p.m.
    Place: Best Western Ogle Haus Meeting Rooms.
    Address: 1013 W. Main St., Vevay, Indiana.
    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the EIS 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 https://www.ferc.gov 
using the ``eLibrary'' link (see item m above).

Site Visit

    The Applicant and FERC staff will conduct a project site visit 
beginning at 1 p.m. on September 17, 2009. All interested individuals, 
organizations, and agencies are invited to attend. All participants 
should meet at the parking lot of the Markland Hydroelectric Project, 
13901 State Highway 156, Florence, Indiana. All participants are 
responsible for their own transportation to the site. Anyone with 
questions about the site visit should contact Ms. Tamara Styer of Duke 
Energy at (704) 382-0293.

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 
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 will be 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-20236 Filed 8-21-09; 8:45 am]
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