Beaver Falls Municipal Authority; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments, 20194-20196 [2024-06043]

Download as PDF lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 20194 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 56 / Thursday, March 21, 2024 / Notices purchase firm power to serve PF-eligible load up to a contractually defined amount, referred to as the customer’s Contract High Water Mark (CHWM), at the applicable PF Tier 1 rate. Customers may also purchase firm power for any PF-eligible load above a customer’s CHWM, referred to as the customer’s Above-Contract High Water Mark (Above-CHWM) load. A customer may elect to serve their Above-CHWM load either with firm power from Bonneville at a PF Tier 2 rate, from its own dedicated resources, or both. The specific terms and provisions of the tiered rate construct will be established in the 2029 Public Rate Design Methodology (PRDM), which will be determined in a separate process. In the Policy, Bonneville establishes how it will calculate Provider of Choice CHWMs. The calculation recognizes customer investments in conservation and non-Federal resources in support of the prior long-term Regional Dialogue Policy and contracts. The calculation also adjusts CHWMs in recognition of certain circumstance relative to the changing energy landscape and customers’ needs. Bonneville will not revisit the calculation in a future process or in the Provider of Choice contracts. One of the Policy’s goals is to offer customers flexibility to invest in and use non-Federal resources to serve their retail load growth needs. Bonneville balances the flexibility offered with the tiered rates foundational tenet to insulate customers from costs associated with other customers’ resource choices for serving load growth. Bonneville offers several carefully constructed nonFederal resource flexibilities to provide customers with opportunities to invest in non-Federal resources while limiting the cost impact to other customers. Under the Policy, Bonneville recognizes the need for added flexibility around customers’ non-Federal resources and permits customers to add a defined amount of non-Federal resources to offset their CHWM load. This will reduce the amount of power a customer is obligated to purchase from Bonneville without triggering take-orpay provisions and without reduction to the customer’s associated CHWM. Bonneville will also not track nonFederal resources with a nameplate capacity of less than one MW in the contract. Customers will retain the ability to serve their Above-CHWM load with non-Federal resources. Finally, Bonneville will continue to propose to recover the cost of a limited amount of transfer service in the PF Tier 1 rate for non-Federal resources for its customers VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:53 Mar 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 that are served off third-party transmission systems. The Policy addresses why Bonneville cannot offer a 100% carbon-free product at this time. Bonneville addresses some of the barriers to offering such a product and commits to continuing to look for ways to further improve its nearly carbon-free emissions rate. The Policy also addresses how Bonneville is proposing to approach its conservation (energy efficiency) program after Oct. 1, 2028. The Policy does not address how the products and services described will be priced. Bonneville has started the PRDM process to discuss rate designs and pricing. The PRDM will replace Bonneville’s Tiered Rate Methodology that expires on Sept. 30, 2028. The PRDM and subsequent Northwest Power Act section 7(i) rate proceedings will determine rates for the products and services offered under the Provider of Choice contracts. Following the Policy release, Bonneville will initiate a follow-on process to implement the Policy through negotiation and development of contracts with the goal to offer and execute new long-term contracts by late 2025. Bonneville will additionally update other business processes to ensure implementation of the Policy, including the PRDM. Bonneville will use the time between contract execution and the start of power deliveries on Oct. 1, 2028, to ready systems to ensure a smooth transition between contracts. Signing Authority: This document of the Department of Energy was signed on March 12, 2024, by John Hairston, Administrator and Chief Executive Officer of the Bonneville Power Administration, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Energy. That document with the original signature and date is maintained by the Department of Energy. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned Department of Energy Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit the document in electronic format for publication, as an official document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the Federal Register. Signed in Washington, DC, on March 13, 2024. Treena V. Garrett, Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 6440–010] Lakeport Hydroelectric One, LLC and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services; Notice of Reasonable Period of Time for Water Quality Certification Application On March 5, 2024, Lakeport Hydroelectric One, LLC (Lakeport) and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (New Hampshire DES) (collectively, coapplicants) filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) a letter received from the New Hampshire DES—Watershed Management Bureau verifying receipt of a complete request for a Clean Water Act section 401(a)(1) water quality certification from the co-applicants, in conjunction with the above captioned project, on March 4, 2024. Pursuant to section 4.34(b)(5) of the Commission’s regulations,1 we hereby notify the New Hampshire DES—Watershed Management Bureau of the following: Date of Receipt of the Certification Request: March 4, 2024. Reasonable Period of Time to Act on the Certification Request: One year, March 4, 2025. If the New Hampshire DES— Watershed Management Bureau fails or refuses to act on the water quality certification request on or before the above date, then the certifying authority is deemed waived pursuant to section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1341(a)(1). Dated: March 15, 2024. Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary. [FR Doc. 2024–06036 Filed 3–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 3451–047] Beaver Falls Municipal Authority; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection. [FR Doc. 2024–05681 Filed 3–20–24; 8:45 am] 1 18 BILLING CODE 6450–01–P PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 CFR [4.34(b)(5)/5.23(b)/153.4/157.22]. E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM 21MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 56 / Thursday, March 21, 2024 / Notices lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 a. Type of Application: New Major License. b. Project No.: 3451–047. c. Date filed: August 1, 2022.1 d. Applicant: Beaver Falls Municipal Authority. e. Name of Project: Townsend Water Power Project (Townsend Project or project). f. Location: On the Beaver River, in the Borough of New Brighton in Beaver County, Pennsylvania. g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)–825(r). h. Applicant Contact: James Riggio, General Manager, Beaver Falls Municipal Authority, P.O. Box 400, Beaver Falls, PA 15010; (724) 846–2400. i. FERC Contact: Claire Rozdilski at (202) 502–8259; or email at claire.rozdilski@ferc.gov. j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: May 17, 2024. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file scoping comments using the Commission’s eFiling system at https://ferconline. ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at https:// ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment. aspx. 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 via U.S. Postal Service to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. All filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the first page: Townsend Water Power Project (P–3451–047). The Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure require all intervenors 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 intervenor files comments or documents with the 1 The Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure provide that if a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other day when the Commission is closed for business, the deadline does not end until the close of business on the next business day. 18 CFR 385.2007(a)(2). Because the deadline for filing a license application fell on a Sunday (i.e., July 31, 2022), the deadline was extended until the close of business on Monday, August 1, 2022. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:53 Mar 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 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 Townsend Project includes: (1) a 450-foot-long and 13-foot-high dam, constructed of rock-filled timber cribs encased in concrete, with a 350-footlong spillway and an average dam crest elevation of 698.63 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (2) an approximately 25-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 200 acre-feet at normal pool elevation of 698.78 feet NGVD29; (3) a short entrance channel excavated in rock near the left dam abutment that directs water to an intake structure with two 17-footwide trashracks with 5-inch clear bar spacing; (4) a 52-foot-long by 46-footwide concrete powerhouse; (5) two double-regulated open-pit type turbinegenerator units each rated at 2,500 kilowatts (kW) for a total installed capacity of 5 megawatts; (6) an approximately 230-foot-long tailrace, excavated in rock at a normal tailwater elevation of 681.17 feet NGVD29; (7) a 500-foot-long, 23-kilovolt (kV) transmission line owned by Duquesne Light Company; (8) 4.16-kV generator leads, a 60-foot-long section of 5-kV underground cable leading to a 5megavolt-ampere, 4.16/23-kV step-up transformer in an outdoor substation; and (9) appurtenant facilities. The average annual generation was 19,524 megawatt-hours for the period from 2015 to 2019. The Townsend Project operates in a run-of-river mode with a continuous minimum flow of 304 cubic feet per second (cfs), or inflow, whichever is less conveyed to the bypassed reach. Because the minimum hydraulic capacity for operating a single unit is 600 cfs, the minimum river flow needed for project operation is 904 cfs (304 cfs plus 600 cfs). There is minimal to no available usable storage behind the dam and if river flow is less than 904 cfs, all water is spilled over the dam. The project is typically operated automatically, but manual operation may occur during high-water events. The project is returned to automatic operation when flow decreases. m. Copies of the application can be viewed on the Commission’s website at https://www.ferc.gov, using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the project’s docket number, excluding the last three digits in the docket number field, to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support. PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 20195 You may also register at https:// ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. The Commission’s Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502–6595, or at OPP@ferc.gov. n. Scoping Process: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) (collectively referred to as the ‘‘NEPA document’’) that describes and evaluates the probable effects, including an assessment of the site-specific and cumulative effects, if any, of the proposed action and alternatives. The Commission’s scoping process will help determine the required level of analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS. Scoping Meetings Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings and an environmental site review in the vicinity of the project to receive input on the scope of the NEPA document. An evening meeting will focus on receiving input from the public and a daytime meeting will focus on the concerns of resource agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and Indian Tribes. We invite all interested agencies, Indian Tribes, NGOs, and individuals to attend one or both meetings. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows: Evening Scoping Meeting Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024 Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT Place: Hampton Inn Pittsburgh Area— Beaver Valley Address: 202 Fairview Drive, Monaca, PA 15061 Daytime Scoping Meeting Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT Place: Hampton Inn Pittsburgh Area— Beaver Valley E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM 21MRN1 20196 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 56 / Thursday, March 21, 2024 / Notices Address: 202 Fairview Drive, Monaca, PA 15061 Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the NEPA document 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). Procedures The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project. Individuals, NGOs, Indian Tribes, 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 NEPA document. Environmental Site Review Dated: March 15, 2024. Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary. The applicant and Commission staff will conduct an environmental site review of the project. All interested individuals, agencies, Indian Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend. All participants are responsible for their own transportation to the site. Please RSVP via email to Laura Cowen at laura.cowen@kleinschmidtgroup.com or by phone at (717) 983–4056 if you plan to attend the environmental site review. The time and location of the environmental site review is as follows: Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT Place: Townsend Water Power Project Station Entrance Address: 900 1st Avenue, New Brighton, PA 15066 All persons attending the environmental site review must adhere to the following requirements: (1) all persons must wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes or boots; (2) persons with opentoed shoes/sandals/flip flops/high heels, etc. will not be allowed on the environmental site review; (3) persons must be 18 years or older; (4) no photography will be allowed inside the powerhouse; (5) no weapons are allowed on-site; (6) no alcohol/drugs are allowed on-site (or persons exhibiting the effects thereof); and (7) no animals (except for service animals) are allowed on the environmental site review. lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 Objectives At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the NEPA 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 NEPA document, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staff’s preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in the NEPA document; and (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:53 Mar 20, 2024 Jkt 262001 [FR Doc. 2024–06043 Filed 3–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. ER24–1271–000] Alton Post Office Solar, LLC; Supplemental Notice That Initial Market-Based Rate Filing Includes Request for Blanket Section 204 Authorization Correction In notice document 2024–03918 beginning on page 14473 in the issue of Tuesday, February 27, 2024, make the following correction: On page 14473, the document heading should read as set forth above. [FR Doc. C1–2024–03918 Filed 3–20–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 0099–10–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP23–501–000] Port Arthur LNG, LLC and Port Arthur LNG Common Facilities Company; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Port Arthur Liquefaction Project Amendment The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Port Arthur Liquefaction Project Amendment (Amendment), proposed by Port Arthur LNG, LLC and Port Arthur LNG Common Facilities Company, LLC (collectively PALNG) in the abovereferenced docket. PALNG proposes to increase the peak construction workforce from its currently authorized workforce of 3,000 personnel up to 6,000 personnel per day PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 at the PALNG Terminal site in Jefferson County, Texas. In addition, PALNG would implement a 24-hour-per-day construction schedule for the remaining construction period at the site. The proposed Amendment includes the 24hour use of six previously approved park-and-ride lots and one new parkand-ride location. The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the Amendment in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The EA incorporates by reference the Commission staff’s January 2019 Final Environmental Impact Statement issued in Docket No. CP17–20–000 for the Port Arthur Liquefaction Project, and the Commission’s findings and conclusions in its corresponding April 18, 2019 Order. Commission staff concludes that approval of the proposed Amendment, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the EA to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the project area. The EA is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC’s website (www.ferc.gov), on the natural gas environmental documents page (https:// www.ferc.gov/industries-data/naturalgas/environment/environmentaldocuments). In addition, the EA may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC’s website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/ eLibrary/search), select ‘‘General Search’’ and enter the docket number in the ‘‘Docket Number’’ field (i.e., CP23– 501). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. The EA is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff’s independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your comments should focus on the EA’s disclosure and discussion of potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more E:\FR\FM\21MRN1.SGM 21MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 56 (Thursday, March 21, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20194-20196]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06043]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 3451-047]


Beaver Falls Municipal Authority; Notice of Scoping Meetings and 
Environmental Site Review and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    Take notice that the following hydroelectric application has been 
filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.

[[Page 20195]]

    a. Type of Application: New Major License.
    b. Project No.: 3451-047.
    c. Date filed: August 1, 2022.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure provide 
that if a deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or other 
day when the Commission is closed for business, the deadline does 
not end until the close of business on the next business day. 18 CFR 
385.2007(a)(2). Because the deadline for filing a license 
application fell on a Sunday (i.e., July 31, 2022), the deadline was 
extended until the close of business on Monday, August 1, 2022.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    d. Applicant: Beaver Falls Municipal Authority.
    e. Name of Project: Townsend Water Power Project (Townsend Project 
or project).
    f. Location: On the Beaver River, in the Borough of New Brighton in 
Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
    g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791(a)-825(r).
    h. Applicant Contact: James Riggio, General Manager, Beaver Falls 
Municipal Authority, P.O. Box 400, Beaver Falls, PA 15010; (724) 846-
2400.
    i. FERC Contact: Claire Rozdilski at (202) 502-8259; or email at 
[email protected].
    j. Deadline for filing scoping comments: May 17, 2024.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file 
scoping comments using the Commission's eFiling system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx. Commenters can submit brief 
comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the 
eComment system at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspx. You 
must include your name and contact information at the end of your 
comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy via 
U.S. Postal Service to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, 
DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. All 
filings must clearly identify the project name and docket number on the 
first page: Townsend Water Power Project (P-3451-047).
    The Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure require all 
intervenors 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 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.
    k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this 
time.
    l. The Townsend Project includes: (1) a 450-foot-long and 13-foot-
high dam, constructed of rock-filled timber cribs encased in concrete, 
with a 350-foot-long spillway and an average dam crest elevation of 
698.63 feet National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 (NGVD29); (2) an 
approximately 25-acre reservoir with a gross storage capacity of 200 
acre-feet at normal pool elevation of 698.78 feet NGVD29; (3) a short 
entrance channel excavated in rock near the left dam abutment that 
directs water to an intake structure with two 17-foot-wide trashracks 
with 5-inch clear bar spacing; (4) a 52-foot-long by 46-foot-wide 
concrete powerhouse; (5) two double-regulated open-pit type turbine-
generator units each rated at 2,500 kilowatts (kW) for a total 
installed capacity of 5 megawatts; (6) an approximately 230-foot-long 
tailrace, excavated in rock at a normal tailwater elevation of 681.17 
feet NGVD29; (7) a 500-foot-long, 23-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 
owned by Duquesne Light Company; (8) 4.16-kV generator leads, a 60-
foot-long section of 5-kV underground cable leading to a 5-megavolt-
ampere, 4.16/23-kV step-up transformer in an outdoor substation; and 
(9) appurtenant facilities. The average annual generation was 19,524 
megawatt-hours for the period from 2015 to 2019.
    The Townsend Project operates in a run-of-river mode with a 
continuous minimum flow of 304 cubic feet per second (cfs), or inflow, 
whichever is less conveyed to the bypassed reach. Because the minimum 
hydraulic capacity for operating a single unit is 600 cfs, the minimum 
river flow needed for project operation is 904 cfs (304 cfs plus 600 
cfs). There is minimal to no available usable storage behind the dam 
and if river flow is less than 904 cfs, all water is spilled over the 
dam. The project is typically operated automatically, but manual 
operation may occur during high-water events. The project is returned 
to automatic operation when flow decreases.
    m. Copies of the application can be viewed on the Commission's 
website at https://www.ferc.gov, using the ``eLibrary'' link. Enter the 
project's docket number, excluding the last three digits in the docket 
number field, to access the document. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    You may also register at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/FERCOnline.aspx to be notified via email of new filings and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, please 
contact FERC Online Support at [email protected].
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595, or at [email protected].
    n. Scoping Process: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA), Commission staff intends to prepare either an environmental 
assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
(collectively referred to as the ``NEPA document'') that describes and 
evaluates the probable effects, including an assessment of the site-
specific and cumulative effects, if any, of the proposed action and 
alternatives. The Commission's scoping process will help determine the 
required level of analysis and satisfy the NEPA scoping requirements, 
irrespective of whether the Commission issues an EA or an EIS.

Scoping Meetings

    Commission staff will hold two public scoping meetings and an 
environmental site review in the vicinity of the project to receive 
input on the scope of the NEPA document. An evening meeting will focus 
on receiving input from the public and a daytime meeting will focus on 
the concerns of resource agencies, non-governmental organizations 
(NGOs), and Indian Tribes. We invite all interested agencies, Indian 
Tribes, NGOs, and individuals to attend one or both meetings. The times 
and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting

Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Place: Hampton Inn Pittsburgh Area--Beaver Valley
Address: 202 Fairview Drive, Monaca, PA 15061

Daytime Scoping Meeting

Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Place: Hampton Inn Pittsburgh Area--Beaver Valley

[[Page 20196]]

Address: 202 Fairview Drive, Monaca, PA 15061

    Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to 
be addressed in the NEPA document 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 Commission staff will conduct an environmental 
site review of the project. All interested individuals, agencies, 
Indian Tribes, and NGOs are invited to attend. All participants are 
responsible for their own transportation to the site. Please RSVP via 
email to Laura Cowen at [email protected] or by phone 
at (717) 983-4056 if you plan to attend the environmental site review. 
The time and location of the environmental site review is as follows:
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT
Place: Townsend Water Power Project Station Entrance
Address: 900 1st Avenue, New Brighton, PA 15066

    All persons attending the environmental site review must adhere to 
the following requirements: (1) all persons must wear sturdy, closed-
toe shoes or boots; (2) persons with open-toed shoes/sandals/flip 
flops/high heels, etc. will not be allowed on the environmental site 
review; (3) persons must be 18 years or older; (4) no photography will 
be allowed inside the powerhouse; (5) no weapons are allowed on-site; 
(6) no alcohol/drugs are allowed on-site (or persons exhibiting the 
effects thereof); and (7) no animals (except for service animals) are 
allowed on the environmental site review.

Objectives

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the NEPA 
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 NEPA document, including viewpoints in 
opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) 
determine the resource issues to be addressed in the NEPA document; 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, 
NGOs, Indian Tribes, 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 NEPA 
document.

    Dated: March 15, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-06043 Filed 3-20-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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