[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 214 (Monday, November 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55358-55359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24107]



[[Page 55358]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Project No. 2146-111; Project No. 82-000; Project No. 618-000]


Alabama Power Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare Environmental 
Impact Statement and Soliciting Scoping Comments

    On July 28, 2005, Alabama Power Company (Alabama Power) filed, 
pursuant to sections 4(e) and 15 of the Federal Power Act,\1\ an 
application for a single new license to continue operation and 
maintenance of three previously separately licensed projects that 
include seven developments: (1) The Coosa Hydroelectric Project No. 
2146, which comprises the Weiss, H. Neely Henry, Logan Martin, Lay, and 
Bouldin developments; (2) the Mitchell Dam Hydroelectric Project No. 
82; and (3) the Jordan Dam Hydroelectric Project No. 618. The single 
new operating license would combine all of these projects as one 
project, the Coosa River Hydroelectric Project (Coosa River Project) 
No. 2146, with a combined 960.9 megawatts of hydroelectric generating 
capacity. The projects are located on the Coosa River, in the states of 
Alabama and Georgia, and occupy about 280 acres of federal land 
administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
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    \1\ 16 U.S.C. 797(e) and 808 (2012).
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    On December 31, 2009, Commission staff issued a final Environmental 
Assessment (EA) for the Coosa River Project. On June 20, 2013 (June 20 
Order), the Commission issued a single new 30-year license to Alabama 
Power for the continued operation and maintenance of the Coosa River 
Project.\2\ On July 18, 2013, Alabama Rivers Alliance and American 
Rivers (jointly) filed a request for rehearing of the Commission's June 
20 Order. On July 22, 2013, Alabama Power and Georgia Environmental 
Protection Division also filed separate requests for rehearing of the 
Commission's June 20 Order.\3\ On April 21, 2016 (April 21 Order), the 
Commission issued an order on rehearing and clarification regarding the 
new license for the project.\4\ On May 17, 2016, Alabama Rivers 
Alliance and American Rivers (jointly) filed a request for rehearing of 
the April 21 Order. On September 12, 2016, the Commission issued an 
order denying rehearing of the April 21 Order. Subsequently, Alabama 
Rivers Alliance and American Rivers (jointly) filed a petition in the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (court), and 
on July 6, 2018, the court issued an opinion vacating and remanding the 
new license to the Commission for further proceedings consistent with 
the opinion.\5\
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    \2\ Alabama Power Company, 143 FERC 61,249 (2013), order on 
reh'g and clarification, 155 FERC 61,080 (2016), order denying 
reh'g, 156 FERC 61,171 (2016).
    \3\ The Atlanta Regional Commission adopted and incorporated by 
reference Georgia Environmental Protection Division's request for 
rehearing.
    \4\ Alabama Power Company, 155 FERC 61,080 (2016).
    \5\ American Rivers v. FERC, 895 F.3d 32 (D.C. Cir. 2018). By 
notice issued on September 10, 2018, the previous licenses for the 
Coosa River, Jordan, and Mitchell Hydroelectric Projects were 
reinstated; each project is currently operating under an annual 
license.
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    In order to address the issues identified by the court, Commission 
staff intend to prepare a draft and final environmental impact 
statement (EIS) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy 
Act. The EIS will describe and evaluate the probable effects of the 
proposed action and alternatives. The focus of the EIS will be the 
issues identified by the court as requiring further analyses (i.e., 
dissolved oxygen, fish entrainment and turbine mortality, federally 
listed threatened and endangered species, and cumulative effects). For 
the resource areas not the subject of the opinion, the EIS will either 
include or incorporate by reference the analysis in the Commission's 
final EA.
    To support and assist this environmental review, we are conducting 
scoping on the issues to be addressed in the EIS and are issuing a 
scoping document for comment under separate cover. Individuals, 
organizations, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns 
are encouraged to comment on the scoping document. At this time, we do 
not anticipate holding public or agency scoping meetings.
    With this notice, we are initiating informal consultation with the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries under section 7 of 
the Endangered Species Act and the joint agency regulations thereunder 
at 50 CFR part 402.
    The deadline for filing scoping comments is 30 days from the 
issuance date of this notice.
    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 
[email protected], (866) 208-3676 (toll free), or (202) 502-
8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, please send a paper copy to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, 
Washington, DC 20426. The first page of any filing should include 
docket number P-2146-111.
    The Commission's Rules of Practice 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.
    The record for this proceeding is available for review at the 
Commission in the Public Reference Room or may be viewed on the 
Commission's website 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 documents. For assistance, contact FERC Online 
Support.
    You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filing and issuances 
related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC 
Online Support.
    Copies of the scoping document outlining the subject areas to be 
addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the 
Commission's mailing list. Copies of the scoping document may be viewed 
on the web 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 document. For assistance, please contact FERC 
Online Support.
    The draft EIS will be sent to all persons and entities on the 
Commission's service and mailing lists for the Coosa River Project. The 
draft EIS will include our recommendations for operating procedures, 
and environmental protection and enhancement measures that should be 
part of any new license issued by the Commission. Recipients will then 
have 60 days to review the draft EIS and file written comments with the 
Commission. All comments filed with the Commission on the final EIS 
will be considered in the Order taking final

[[Page 55359]]

action on the license application. The application will be processed 
according to the following Hydro Licensing Schedule. Revisions to the 
schedule may be made as appropriate.

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                Milestone                           Target date
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Issue Scoping Document..................  October 2018.
Comments Due on Scoping Document........  November 2018.
Issue Revised Scoping Document (if        December 2018.
 necessary).
Issue Additional Information Request (if  December 2018.
 necessary).
Additional Information Response Due.....  March 2019.
Draft EIS Issued........................  August 2019.
Comments Due on Draft EIS...............  October 2019.
Final EIS Issued........................  December 2019.
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    This notice informs all interested individuals, organizations, and 
agencies with environmental expertise and concerns, that: (1) The 
Commission staff has decided to prepare an EIS addressing the issues 
raised by the court; and (2) the comments, recommendations, and terms 
and conditions already on file with the Commission on the application 
will be taken into account in the EIS.
    Any questions regarding this notice may be directed to Aaron 
Liberty at (202) 502-6862, or by email at [email protected].

    Dated: October 30, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-24107 Filed 11-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


