Notice of Application Tendered for Filing With the Commission and Soliciting Additional Study Requests

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

a. Type of Application: New Major License.

b. Project No.: 184-065.

c. Date filed: February 22, 2000.

d. Applicant: El Dorado Irrigation District.

e. Name of Project: El Dorado Project.

f. Location: Located on the South Fork of the American River and its tributaries in the counties of El Dorado, Alpine, and Amador, California, partially within the boundaries of the Eldorado National Forest. The project also diverts about 1,900 acre-feet of water from lower Echo Lake in the upper Truckee River Basin.

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 791(a)-825(r).

h. Applicant Contact: William T. Hetland, General Manager, El Dorado Irrigation District, 2890 Mosquito Road, Placerville, California 95667. Telephone (530) 622-4513.

i. Commission Contact: Any questions on this notice should be addressed to Nan Allen, e-mail address nan.allen@ferc.fed.us, or telephone 202-219-2938.

j. Deadline for filing additional study requests: April 24, 2000.

All documents (original and eight copies) should be filed with: David P. Boergers, Secretary; Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; 888 First Street, NE; Washington, DC 20426. Please include the project number (Project No. 184-065) on any comments or motions filed.

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 whose name appears 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. Status of environmental analysis: This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. Description of the Project: The project consists of the following existing facilities: (1) A 113-foot-long, 20-foot-high rubble and masonry main dam with a crest elevation of 8,210 feet mean sea level (msl) and 11 auxiliary dams, impounding Lake Aloha, a 5,179 acre-foot reservoir; (2) a 320-foot-long, 14-foot-high roller-compacted concrete dam with a crest elevation of 7,413 feet msl, impounding lower Echo Lake, a 1,900 acre-foot reservoir; (3) a 6,125-foot-long conduit from lower Echo Lake to the South Fork of the American River; (4) a 1,200-foot-long, 84.5-feet-high gunite-core earthfill main dam with a crest elevation of 7,959.5 feet msl and one auxilliary dam, impounding Caples Lake, a 22,490 acre-foot reservoir; (5) a 280-foot-long, 30-foot-high rock and earthfill dam with a crest elevation of 7,261 feet msl, impounding Silver Lake, a 13,280 acre-foot reservoir; (6) a 271-foot-long, 20-foot-high rickfill timber crib diversion dam with a crest elevation of 3,910.5 feet msl, impounding 200 acre-feet of the South Fork of the American River; (7) a 22.3-mile-long conveyance from the diversion dam to the forebay; (8) a 70-foot-long, 9.5-foot-high concrete diversion dam with a crest elevation of 4,007 feet msl on Alder Creek; (9) six small creeks that divert into the conveyance—Mill Creek, Bull Creek, Carpenter Creek, Ogilby Creek, Esmeralda Creek and an unnamed creek; (10) a 836-foot-long, 91-foot-high earthfill foregay dam with a crest elevation of 3,804 feet msl, impounding a 356-acre-foot reservoir; (11) a 2.8-mile combination pipeline and penstock conveyance, with surge tank, from the forebay to the powerhouse; (12) a 110-foot-long by 40-foot-wide steel frame powerhouse with reinforced concrete walls and an installed capacity of 21,000 kilowatts, producing about 106 gigawatthours annually when operational; and (13) other appurtenances. No transmission lines are included with the project. The project is not currently operational.

m. Locations of the application: A copy of the application is available for inspection and reproduction at the Commission's Public Reference Room, located at 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, or by calling (202) 208-1371. The application may be viewed on the web at www.ferc.fed.us/rims.htm. Call (202) 208-2222 for assistance. A copy is also available for inspection and reproduction at the address in item h above.

n. With this notice, we are initiating consultation with the State Historic Preservation Officer as required by § 106, National Historic Preservation Act, and the regulations of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, 36 CFR 800.4.