

[Federal Register: February 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 37)]
[Notices]               
[Page 8376-8377]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26fe07-82]                         

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 [Project No. 2277]

 
AmerenUE; Notice of Scoping Meetings and Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Document

February 13, 2007.

    By letter dated February 2, 2007 to the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, AmerenUE (licensee) affirmed its intention to rebuild the 
upper reservoir of the Taum Sauk Pumped Storage Project (FERC No. 
2277). The Taum Sauk Project is located in Reynolds County, Missouri 
near the town of Lesterville.
    The upper reservoir was severely damaged during an uncontrolled 
breach of the northwest corner of the reservoir on December 14, 2005. 
The proposed project involves rebuilding the upper reservoir with a 
concrete-faced, symmetrical, roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam. The 
work would involve the complete removal of the existing rockfill dike 
that forms the upper reservoir and the construction of an RCC dam using 
the existing rockfill as the aggregate.
    The Commission intends to prepare an environmental document under 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the Taum Sauk upper 
reservoir rebuilding project. The NEPA document will be used by the 
Commission to identify environmental impacts and to identify measures 
that would help mitigate the impacts caused by construction activities. 
To support and assist our environmental review, we are beginning a 
public scoping process to ensure that all pertinent issues are 
identified and analyzed, and that the environmental document is 
thorough and balanced.
    We invite the participation of governmental agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and the general public in the scoping 
process, and will be preparing Scoping Document (SD) to provide 
information on the proposed project and to solicit written and verbal 
comments and suggestions on our preliminary list of issues and 
alternatives to be addressed in the NEPA document. The SD will be 
distributed to parties on the mailing list

[[Page 8377]]

for this project, as well as other individuals and organizations that 
we have identified as having an interest in the Taum Sauk Project. The 
SD will be available from our Public Reference Room at (202) 208-1371. 
It will also be accessible online at http://www.ferc.gov using the 

``eLibrary'' link--select ``General Search'', and enter ``P-2277'' in 
the ``Docket Number'' box. You may also call (202)-208-2222 for 
assistance.
    Following distribution of the SD, Commission staff will hold two 
scoping meetings on March 12, 2007, to receive input on the appropriate 
scope of the environmental analysis. The first meeting will be with the 
resource agencies to focus on their concerns and the second meeting 
will be with the general public to receive their input. Each meeting is 
open and the public and agencies may attend either or both meetings. 
The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Agency Scoping Meeting

    Date: March 12, 2007.
    Time: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (CST).
    Location: Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Elm Street 
Conference Center, 1738 East Elm Street, Jefferson City, Missouri 
65102.

Public Scoping Meeting

    Date: March 12, 2007.
    Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (CST).
    Location: Lesterville High School, State Highway 21, Lesterville, 
Missouri 63654.

    At the scoping meetings, Commission staff will: (1) Summarize the 
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the 
environmental 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 Commission's NEPA document, 
including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, staff's 
preliminary views expressed in the SD; (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. Staff will also be soliciting input 
on potential measures that could be implemented to minimize 
construction-related impacts. The meetings will be recorded by a 
stenographer and become part of the formal record for this project.
    Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental 
expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meetings and assist 
Commission staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed 
in the NEPA document. Interested parties may also file written scoping 
comments. All such comments (original and eight copies) should be filed 
with: Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. The deadline 
for filing scoping comments is April 11, 2007.
    Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in 
lieu of paper. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) or the instructions on 
the Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) under the ``e-Filing'' 

link.
    Please direct any questions about the scoping process to Thomas J. 
LoVullo at (202) 502-8900.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-3185 Filed 2-23-07; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
