Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Scoping Meetings and Soliciting Scoping Comments

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

a. Type of Application: New major license.

b. Project No.: 2114-116.

c. Date Filed: October 29, 2003.

d. Applicant: Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, Washington.

e. Name of Project: Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project.

f. Location: On the Columbia River in portions of Grant, Yakima, Kittitas, Douglas, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington. The project occupies Federal lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of the Army, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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

h. Applicant Contact: Ms. Laurel Heacock, Licensing Manager, Public Utility District No. 2 of Grant County, 30 C Street, SW., Ephrata, Washington 98823, telephone (509) 754-6622.

i. FERC Contact: Charles Hall, telephone (202) 502-6853, e-mail charles.hall@ferc.gov.

j. Deadline for Filing Scoping Comments: May 3, 2004.

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's rules of practice and procedure require all interveners 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 intervener 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.

Scoping comments may be filed electronically via the Internet in lieu of paper. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Web site ( http://www.ferc.gov ) under the “e-Filing” link.

k. This application is not ready for environmental analysis at this time.

l. The project includes two developments with a total authorized capacity of 1,755 megawatts (MW) as follows: (a) The Wanapum development consisting of a dam 186.5 feet high and 8,637 feet long with upstream fish passage facilities, a reservoir with an approximate surface area of 14,680 acres, a powerhouse with ten turbine-generator units with a total nameplate capacity of 900 MW, transmission lines, and appurtenant facilities; and (b) the Priest Rapids development consisting of a dam 179.5 feet high and 10,103 feet long with upstream fish passage facilities, a reservoir with an approximate surface area of 7,725 acres, a powerhouse with ten turbine-generator units with a total nameplate capacity of 855 MW, transmission lines, and appurtenant facilities.

m. A copy of the application is 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 document. 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.----

You may also register online at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp to be notified via e-mail of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. For assistance, contact FERC Online Support.

n. Scoping Process: The Commission staff intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act. The EIS will consider both site-specific and cumulative environmental impacts and reasonable alternatives to the proposed action.

Scoping Meetings: The Commission staff will conduct a site visit, one agency scoping meeting and one public meeting. The agency scoping meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organization concerns, while the public scoping meeting is primarily for public input. All interested individuals, organizations, resource agencies, and Indian tribes are invited to attend one or all of the meetings, and to assist the staff in identifying the scope of the environmental issues that should be analyzed in the EIS. The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Site Visit

When: Tuesday, April 6, 2004, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Where: Meet at Wanapum Dam at 9 a.m. near Beverly, Washington; RSVP to Applicant Contact (item h) by March 22.

Public Scoping Meeting

When: Tuesday, April 6, 2004, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Where: Moses Lake Convention Center, 1475 Nelson Rd, NE., Moses Lake, WA.

Agency Scoping Meeting

When: Wednesday, April 7, 2004, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Where: Moses Lake Convention Center, 1475 Nelson Rd, NE., Moses Lake, WA.

Copies of the Scoping Document (SD1) outlining the subject areas to be addressed in the EIS were distributed to the parties on the Commission's mailing list. Copies of the SD1 will be available at the scoping meeting or may be viewed on the Web at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link (see item m above).

Objectives: At the scoping meetings, the staff will: (1) Summarize the environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EIS; (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 EIS, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in support of, the staff's preliminary views; (4) determine the resource issues to be addressed in the EIS; and (5) identify those issues that require a detailed analysis, as well as those issues that do not require a detailed analysis.

Procedures: The meetings are recorded by a stenographer and become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.

Individuals, organizations, and agencies with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the meeting and to assist the staff in defining and clarifying the issues to be addressed in the EIS.