[Federal Register: July 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 132)]
[Notices]
[Page 41799-41800]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12jy04-32]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Project Nos. 2403, 2534, 2666, 2710, 2712, 2721, and 10981; and Docket
No. DI97-10; Project No. 2312; Project No. 2600]
PPL Maine, LLC, PPL Great Works, LLC, Bangor Pacific Hydro
Associates; Notice of Comprehensive Settlement Accord and Soliciting
Comments
June 29, 2004.
Take notice that the following Comprehensive Settlement Accord has
been filed with the Commission and is available for public inspection.
a. Type of Application: Lower Penobscot River Basin comprehensive
settlement accord with explanatory statement (comprehensive
settlement).
b. Project Nos.: 2403, 2534, 2666, 2710, 2712, 2721, 10981, 2312,
and 2600.
Docket No.: DI97-10.
c. Date Filed: June 25, 2004.
d. Applicant: PPL Maine, LLC (PPL Maine) and affiliated companies
(PPL).
e. Names of Projects: Veazie (P-2403), Milford (P-2534), Medway (P-
2666), Orono (P-2710), Stillwater (P-2712), Howland (P-2721), Basin
Mills (P-10981), Great Works (P-2312), and West Enfield (P-2600).
Location: The Veazie, Great Works, and West Enfield Projects are
located on the Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine. The Milford
Project is located on the Penobscot and Stillwater Rivers in Penobscot
County, Maine. The Stillwater and Orono Projects are located on the
Stillwater River in Penobscot County, Maine. The Medway Project is
located on the West Branch Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine.
The Howland Project is located on the Piscataquis River in Penobscot
County, Maine. The Basin Mills Project would be located on the
Penobscot River in Penobscot County, Maine.
f. Filed Pursuant to: Rule 602 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.602.
g. Applicant Contact: John A. Whittaker, IV, Winston & Strawn, 1400
L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005, (202) 371-5766,
jwhittak@winston.com.
h. FERC Contact: Ed Lee at (202) 502-6082 or Ed.Lee@ferc.gov.
i. Deadline for Filing Comments: The deadline for filing comments
on the Comprehensive Settlement, the Joint Request (see below), and the
FWS Modified Prescriptions (see below) is 20 days from the date of this
notice. The deadline for filing reply comments is 30 days from the date
of this notice. All documents (original and eight copies) should be
filed with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The Commission
will publicly notice for comment the five license amendment
applications and the application for new license discussed below when
those applications are accepted for Commission processing.
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.
Comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of
paper. See 18 CFR 395.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions of the
Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) under the ``e-filing''
link.
j. Description of Filing: PPL filed the Comprehensive Settlement
jointly with 12 stakeholders: The Penobscot Indian Nation (PIN), the
United States Department of the Interior acting through its bureaus the
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA),
and the National Park Service (collectively DOI), the Maine Agencies
(the Maine State Planning Office, the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission,
the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Maine
Department of Marine Resources), the Conservation Interests (American
Rivers, Inc., the Atlantic Salmon Federation, the Maine Audubon
Society, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and Trout Unlimited),
and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust (Trust) (collectively
Parties). The Comprehensive Settlement is embodied in the Lower
Penobscot River Multiparty Settlement Agreement dated June 2004 (the
MPA) and in two additional agreements attached to the MPA: the Lower
Penobscot River Option Agreement dated June 2004 (Option Agreement) and
the Comprehensive Settlement Agreement Between the Penobscot Indian
Nation, PPL Maine, LLC, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the
Department of the Interior dated June 2004 (PIN Agreement).
The Parties propose in the Comprehensive Settlement a phased
approach to resolving all fish passage, energy generation, and tribal
issues associated with PPL's Lower Penobscot River hydroelectric
projects. Under the Comprehensive Settlement, PPL will grant the Trust
a five-year option to acquire Veazie, Howland, and Great Works
(Designated Projects), and thereafter decommission and remove Veazie
and Great Works and decommission and either alter Howland by
constructing a fish bypass system that would substantially or entirely
maintain the existing dam structure and impoundment or remove the dam.
If the option is exercised, PPL and the Trust would file applications
to transfer the licenses for the Designated Projects to the Trust and
the Trust would file applications to surrender the licenses and to
obtain Commission authorization to decommission and remove/alter them.
If the Commission approves those subsequent applications, the MPA
provides an opportunity for certain energy enhancements to be pursued.
To allow the option process to work, the Parties propose in a Joint
Request submitted with the Comprehensive Settlement that the Commission
suspend the relicensing proceedings for Howland and Great Works and
extend certain requirements of the Milford and Veazie licenses until
the option has been exercised, has expired, or has been terminated
(Joint Request). As required by the MPA, PPL has separately filed
separate applications to amend the licenses for Veazie, Milford,
Stillwater, Medway, and West Enfield and an application for a new 40-
year license for Orono. These applications propose energy enhancements
at West Enfield, Stillwater, and Medway (one-foot headpond increases)
and at Orono (refurbishment at existing capacity). The Milford and West
Enfield applications propose the addition of provisions to address
impacts on the PIN Reservation and other interests. The Parties also
propose that the fish passage provisions of the Veazie, Milford,
Stillwater, and West Enfield licenses be modified (and the new Orono
license contain provisions) as specified in an attachment to the MPA
(Attachment A). To implement these modified fish passage provisions,
PPL has included in four of the license amendment applications and in
the new license application requests for incorporation of provisions
consistent with Attachment A, and the FWS has separately submitted
Preliminary Prescription
[[Page 41800]]
Modifications and Preliminary Prescriptions for Milford, Veazie,
Stillwater, and Orono (FWS Modified Prescriptions). The FWS Modified
Prescriptions contain fish passage provisions to be implemented
initially and when the Designated Projects are acquired by the Trust.
The Parties included the MPA, the Option Agreement, and the PIN
Agreement with the Comprehensive Settlement filing for informational
purposes only and are not requesting that the Commission approve any of
these three agreements. Rather, they request that the Commission
approve the applications/requests that they have submitted to implement
the initial phase of the Comprehensive Settlement (Phase 1 Requests):
The Joint Request, the license amendment applications for Veazie,
Milford, Stillwater, Medway, and West Enfield, the application for new
license for Orono, and the FWS Modified Prescriptions. The MPA provides
that, if the Commission approves all of the Phase 1 Requests without
material change, the requests for rehearing of the Commission's April
20, 1998 orders in the Basin Mills, et al. proceedings and certain
submittals made by DOI in the Milford relicensing proceeding will be
withdrawn.
k. Copies of the Comprehensive Settlement, the Joint Request, and
the FWS Modified Prescriptions are 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 documents. 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.
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.
Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1513 Filed 7-9-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P