[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 12, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2095-2096]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-479]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Public Scoping Meetings for the Hawai'i Interisland
Renewable Energy Program: 'Wind Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (DOE/EIS-0459)
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of public scoping meetings and opportunity to comment.
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SUMMARY: DOE will host four public meetings in the Hawaiian Islands to
receive comments on the scope of the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable
Energy Program: Wind Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
(hereinafter referred to as the Hawai`i Wind EIS or the EIS). The
public scoping meetings will be conducted jointly with the State of
Hawai`i Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism
(DBEDT), which is a co-lead agency with DOE in the preparation of the
EIS. The EIS will assess the foreseeable environmental impacts that may
arise from wind energy development under the Hawai`i Interisland
Renewable Energy Program (HIREP) and the range of reasonable
alternatives.
On December 14, 2010, DOE and DBEDT announced in the Federal
Register (75 FR 77859) their intention to prepare the EIS and opened a
public scoping period which will close on March 1, 2011.
During the scoping period, DOE and DBEDT invite the public to
submit written comments by any of the means listed in the ADDRESSES
section. Oral as well as written comments may also be provided at the
public scoping meetings to be held as listed under SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION.
DATES: DOE and DBEDT invite comments on the proposed scope of the EIS
from all interested parties. The public scoping period began on
December 14, 2010, and will close on March 1, 2011. Comments on the
scope of the EIS should be submitted by March 1, 2011. Comments e-
mailed or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent
practicable. DOE and DBEDT also invite members of the public to
participate in public scoping meetings. Requests to speak at any of the
public scoping meetings should be submitted to Allen Kam as indicated
in the ADDRESSES section on or before January 28, 2011. Requests to
speak also may be made at the scoping meetings; however, requests
received by January 28, 2011, will be given priority in the speaking
order. For interested parties wishing to speak with a DOE
representative, see the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
announcement.
ADDRESSES: Requests to speak at the public scoping meetings and written
comments on the proposed scope of the EIS may be submitted by any of
the following means:
By e-mail to wind.com">comments@hirep-wind.com.
By submitting electronic comments on the EIS web page at
wind.com">http://www.hirep-wind.com.
By facsimile (fax) to 808-586-2536, Attention Allen G.
Kam.
By mail to Allen G. Kam, Esq., AICP, HIREP EIS Manager,
State of Hawai'i, Department of Business, Economic Development and
Tourism, Renewable Energy Branch, State Energy Office, P.O. Box 2359,
Honolulu, HI 96804.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on DOE's proposed
action, contact Anthony J. Como, DOE NEPA Document Manager, Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or at 202-
586-5935 or [email protected].
For general information about the DOE National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) process, contact Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance (GC-54), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or at 800-472-2756 or
[email protected].
For information on the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy
Program, contact Mr. Allen G. Kam, Esq., AICP, HIREP EIS Manager, State
of Hawai'i, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism,
Renewable Energy Branch, State Energy Office, P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu,
HI 96804; or at 808-587-9023 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 14, 2010, DOE published a notice
in the Federal Register (75 FR 77859) announcing its intention to
prepare the Hawai'i Wind EIS jointly with the State of Hawai'i and
opening a scoping period that will close on March 1, 2011. The EIS will
be prepared pursuant to NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), the
Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-
1508), the DOE NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part 1021), and the
Hawai`i Environmental Policy Act (Hawai`i Revised Statutes (HRS)
chapter 343). The EIS will assess the potential environmental impacts
from the development of up to 400 megawatts of wind generation
facilities on one or more of the Maui County islands of Maui,
L[amacr]na`i, and/or Moloka'i, the transmission of wind-generated
energy to O`ahu via submarine transmission cables and the required
improvements to the existing electric transmission infrastructure on
O'ahu. In the December 14, 2010 notice, DOE and DBEDT also indicated
that they would hold public scoping meetings and announce the dates and
locations of them in a subsequent Federal Register notice.
DOE and DBEDT now announce that they will jointly host the
following public scoping meetings:
February 1, 2011--McKinley High School Cafeteria, 1039
South King Street, Honolulu, HI 96814, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
February 2, 2011--Pomaika'i Elementary Cafeteria, 4650
South Kamehameha Avenue, Kahului, HI 96732, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
[[Page 2096]]
February 3, 2011--Mitchell Pauole Community Center, 90
Ainoa Street, Kaunakakai, Moloka'i, HI 96748, from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
February 5, 2011--L[amacr]na`i High & Elementary School
Cafeteria, 555 Fraser Avenue, L[amacr]na`i City, HI 96763, from 9:30
a.m. to 3 p.m.
Each scoping meeting will be conducted in two parts: An informal
``workshop'' discussion period that will not be recorded, and a formal
commenting session that will be transcribed by a court stenographer.
Meeting participants may also have their comments entered into the
record during the informal portion of the meetings, on request. Those
who do not arrange in advance to speak may register at a meeting
(preferably at the beginning of the meeting) and may speak after
previously scheduled speakers. The presiding officer will establish
procedures to ensure that everyone who wishes to speak has an
opportunity to do so. Depending on the number of speakers, the
presiding officer may limit all speakers to a set amount of time
initially and provide additional opportunities to speak as time
permits. Speakers may also provide written materials to supplement
their presentations, and such additional information may be submitted
in writing by the date listed in the DATES section. Both oral and
written comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE and
DBEDT.
The formal commenting session will begin with an overview of the
proposed Wind Phase of the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy Program
and a description of the State and Federal environmental review
processes. The presiding officer will establish the order of speakers
and provide any additional procedures necessary to conduct the formal
commenting session. Speakers may be asked questions to help ensure that
DOE and DBEDT fully understand all suggestions and comments.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2011.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2011-479 Filed 1-11-11; 8:45 am]
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