Notice of Joint Scoping Meetings With the California State Water Resources Control Board and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments, 61635-61637 [2014-24299]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 198 (Tuesday, October 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61635-61637]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-24299]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 12496-002; Rugraw, LLC]


Notice of Joint Scoping Meetings With the California State Water 
Resources Control Board and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting 
Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric applications have been 
filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) and are available for public inspection:
    a. Type of Application: Major Original License.
    b. Project No.: 12496-002.
    c. Date filed: April 21, 2014.
    d. Applicant: Rugraw, LLC.
    e. Name of Project: Lassen Lodge Hydroelectric Project.
    f. Location: On the South Fork Battle Creek, nearby the Town of 
Mineral, Tehama County, California. No federal lands or Indian 
reservations are located within the proposed project boundary.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: Charlie Kuffner, 70 Paseo Mirasol, Tiburon, 
CA 94920; (415) 652-8553.
    i. FERC Contact: Adam Beeco at (202) 502-8655; email-adam.beeco@ferc.gov.
    California State Water Board Contact: Michelle Lobo at (916) 327-
3117; email_michelle.lobo@waterboards.ca.gov.
    j. With this notice, we are soliciting comments on the Commission's 
staff Scoping Document 1 (SD1). Deadline for filing scoping comments: 
December 5, 2014 (5:00 p.m. EST; 2:00 p.m. PST).
    Scoping comments should be filed separately with the Commission and 
the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board), 
as noted below.
Commission
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at https://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 https://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

[[Page 61636]]

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 
20426. The first page of any filing should include docket number P-
12496-002.
    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.
State Water Board
    Written comments should be provided as noted below. When submitting 
your comments, provide the contact person's name and phone number. The 
State Water Board is seeking information regarding what type of 
environmental document should be prepared (i.e., negative declaration, 
mitigated negative declaration, or environmental impact report), as 
well as scoping comments.

State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, Water 
Quality Certification Program, Attention: Michelle Lobo, P.O. Box 2000, 
Sacramento, CA 95812-2000, Phone: (916) 327-3117, Fax: (916) 341-5400, 
Email: Michelle.Lobo@waterboards.ca.gov.

    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The proposed Lassen Lodge Project consists of: (1) A 6-foot-high 
and 94-foot-long diversion dam; (2) an impoundment of approximately 0.5 
acre; (3) a 20 by 10 foot enclosed concrete intake structure; (4) a 
7,258-foot-long pipeline and a 5,230-foot-long penstock with a net head 
of 791 feet; (5) a 50 by 50 foot powerhouse containing one generating 
unit with a 5,000-kilowatt capacity; (6) a 50 by 50 foot substation 
area; (7) a 40 by 35 foot switchyard; (8) 100 by 100 foot multipurpose 
area; and (9) a new 12-mile-long, 60-kilovolt transmission line. The 
project is estimated to produce approximately 25,000,000 kilowatt hours 
annually.
    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. 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 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.
    The State Water Board has not determined what type of environmental 
document it will prepare at this time and is seeking input from 
agencies and interested parties as part of the scoping process.

Scoping Meetings

    In addition to written comments solicited by this SD1, we will hold 
two public scoping meetings and an Environmental Site Review in the 
vicinity of the project. A daytime meeting will focus on concerns of 
the resource agencies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and Indian 
tribes. An evening meeting will focus on receiving input from the 
public. We invite all interested agencies, Indian tribes, NGOs, and 
individuals to attend one or both of the meetings to assist us in 
identifying the scope of environmental issues that should be analyzed 
in the EA and the State Water Board's environmental document.
    These scoping meetings are being coordinated with the State Water 
Board and are considered joint scoping meetings for the purposes of 
both the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California 
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), should the State Water Board prepare 
an environmental impact report (EIR). (See Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, 
15083, 15223, 15226.) This notice is intended to provide notice of the 
State Water Board's informal consultation with responsible and trustee 
agencies pursuant to section 15063 of the CEQA Guidelines as to the 
potential for the proposed action to cause a significant impact to the 
environment. (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 14, 15063, subd. (g).) Recipients 
of this notice are invited to comment on whether an EIR, negative 
declaration, or mitigated negative declaration should be prepared. In 
addition, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15083, subdivision (c), 
these meetings are intended to simultaneously serve the purposes 
identified in California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15082, 
subdivision (c). Any responsible or trustee agency or other interested 
parties that believes an EIR should be prepared should identify the 
scope and content of any environmental information it believes should 
be required, should the State Water Board prepare an EIR.
    The times and locations of the meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting

    Date and Time: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 9:00 a.m. (PST).
    Location: Cal/EPA Building at 1001 I Street, Sacramento, 
California. Byron Sher Auditorium on the 2nd floor.
    Phone number: Michelle Lobo--(916) 327-3117, Webcast: https://www.calepa.ca.gov/Broadcast/.
    Paid parking is available in the parking garage across from the 
Cal/EPA Building. Metered parking is available on nearby and adjacent 
streets. Information on traveling to the Cal/EPA Building is available 
online at: https://www.calepa.ca.gov/EPABldg/location.htm.
    Please enter the Cal/EPA Building through the public entrance at 
the corner of 10th Street and I Street. Once you enter the building, go 
to the Visitor's Center located on the left. You will need to sign-in 
at the Visitor's Center and receive a badge for the 1st and 2nd floors. 
The Byron Sher Auditorium is on the 2nd floor and may be accessed by 
using the elevator or stairs.

Evening Scoping Meeting

    Date and Time: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, 7:00 p.m. (PST).
    Location: Holiday Inn Express Hotel, 2810 Main St., Red Bluff, 
California.
    Phone number: Front Desk--(530) 528-1600.
    Copies of the 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 https://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 8:00 a.m. (PST) on Thursday, November 6, 2014. 
All interested individuals, organizations, and agencies are invited to 
attend. All participants should meet at the Walmart Parking Lot, 1025 
S. Main St., Red Bluff, California. All participants are responsible 
for their own transportation to the meeting site. Anyone with

[[Page 61637]]

questions about the Environmental Site Review (or needing directions) 
should contact Charlie Kuffner of Rugraw, LLC at (415) 652-8553 or 
email at charlie.kuffner@gmail.com. Those individuals planning to 
participate in the Environmental Site Review should notify Mr. Kuffner 
of their intent, no later than Friday, October 31, 2014. For more 
details about the Environmental Site Review, including meeting 
locations, transportation options, meal options, and the itinerary, 
please see the information in Appendix A of the SD1.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA and 
CEQA document; (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, and CEQA document, including viewpoints 
in opposition to, or in support of, the staffs' preliminary views; (4) 
determine the resource issues to be addressed in the EA and CEQA 
document; (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, 
as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis; (6) 
solicit from the meeting participants, input to the State Water Board 
on the type of CEQA document that should be prepared, and (7) solicit 
from any responsible or trustee agency or other interested parties that 
believes an EIR should be prepared, environmental information to 
identify the scope and content of an EIR should the State Water Board 
determine an EIR should be prepared.

Procedures

    The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and become part of 
the formal record of the Commission and State Water Board proceedings 
on the project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting(s) and to 
assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the EA and CEQA document.

    Dated: October 3, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-24299 Filed 10-10-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P