Vol. 76 Tuesday, No. 95 May 17, 2011 Part II Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Okanogan Public Utility District No. 1 of Okanogan County, WA; Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Assessment; Notice VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:06 May 16, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4717 Sfmt 4717 E:\FR\FM\17MYN2.SGM 17MYN2 sroberts on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES 28506 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 17, 2011 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY concludes that licensing the project, up to 6,000 characters, without prior with appropriate environmental registration, using the eComment system Federal Energy Regulatory protective measures, would not at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ Commission constitute a major federal action that ecomment.asp. You must include your [Project No. 12569–001] would significantly affect the quality of name and contact information at the end the human environment. of your comments. For assistance, Okanogan Public Utility District No. 1 A copy of the draft EA is available for please contact FERC Online Support. of Okanogan County, WA; Notice of review at the Commission in the Public Although the Commission strongly Availability of Draft Environmental Reference Room or may be viewed on encourages electronic filing, documents Assessment the Commission’s Web site at http:// may also be paper-filed. To paper-file, www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘eLibrary’’ link. mail an original and seven copies to: In accordance with the National Enter the docket number excluding the Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and last three digits in the docket number Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 the Federal Energy Regulatory field to access the document. For First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426. Commission’s (Commission or FERC’s) assistance, contact FERC Online For further information, contact Kim regulations, 18 Code of Federal Support at Nguyen by telephone at (202) 502–6105, Regulations (CFR) Part 380 (Order No. [email protected] or toll- 486, 52 Federal Register [FR] 47897), free at 1–866–208–3676, or for TTY, or by e-mail at [email protected]. the Office of Energy Projects has 202–502–8659. Dated: May 9, 2011. reviewed Okanogan Public Utility You may also register online at http:// Kimberly D. Bose, District No. 1 of Okanogan County’s www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ Secretary. (Okanogan PUD) application for license esubscription.asp to be notified via e- for the Enloe Hydroelectric Project mail of new filings and issuances Environmental Assessment for (FERC Project No. 12569), located on the related to this or other pending projects. Hydropower License Similkameen River near the city of For assistance, contact FERC Online Enloe Hydroelectric Project—FERC Oroville in Okanogan County, Support. Project No. 12569—Washington Washington. Part of the project would Any comments should be filed within occupy a total of 35.47 acres of federal 30 days from the date of this notice. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, lands administered by the U.S. Bureau Comments may be filed electronically Office of Energy Projects, Division of of Land Management. via the Internet. See 18 CFR Hydropower Licensing, 888 First Street, Staff prepared this draft 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions NE., Washington, DC 20426 environmental assessment (EA), which on the Commission’s Web site http:// [May 2011] analyzes the potential environmental www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. effects of relicensing the project, and Commenters can submit brief comments Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acronyms and Abbreviations Executive Summary 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Application 1.2 Purpose of Action and Need for Power 1.2.1 Purpose of Action 1.2.2 Need for Power 1.3 Statutory and Regulatory Requirements 1.3.1 Federal Power Act 1.3.1.1 Section 18 Fishway Prescriptions 1.3.1.2 Section 4(e) Conditions 1.3.1.3 Section 10(j) Recommendations 1.3.2 Clean Water Act 1.3.3 Endangered Species Act 1.3.4 Coastal Zone Management Act 1.3.5 National Historic Preservation Act 1.3.6 Pacific Northwest Power Planning and Conservation Act 1.3.7 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 1.4 Public Review and Consultation 1.4.1 Scoping 1.4.2 Interventions 1.4.3 Comments on the License Application 2.0 Proposed Action and Alternatives 2.1 No-Action Alternative 2.2 Applicant’s Proposal 2.2.1 Proposed Project Facilities 2.2.2 Project Safety 2.2.3 Proposed Project Operation 2.2.4 Proposed Environmental Measures 2.2.5 Modifications to Applicant’s Proposal—Mandatory Conditions 2.3 Staff Alternative 2.4 Staff Alternative With Mandatory Conditions 2.5 Removal of Existing Hydroelectric Facilities Including Enloe Dam 3.0 Environmental Analysis 3.1 General Description of the River Basin 3.2 Scope of Cumulative Effects Analysis VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:06 May 16, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\17MYN2.SGM 17MYN2 sroberts on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 17, 2011 / Notices 28507 3.2.1 Geographic Scope 3.2.2 Temporal Scope 3.3 Proposed Action and Action Alternatives 3.3.1 Geologic and Soil Resources 3.3.1.1 Affected Environment 3.3.1.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.2 Water Quantity and Quality 3.3.2.1 Affected Environment 3.3.2.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.2.3 Cumulative Effects 3.3.3 Aquatic Resources 3.3.3.1 Affected Environment 3.3.3.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.3.3 Cumulative Effects 3.3.4 Terrestrial Resources 3.3.4.1 Affected Environment 3.3.4.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.5 Threatened and Endangered Species 3.3.5.1 Affected Environment 3.3.5.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.6 Recreation and Land Use 3.3.6.1 Affected Environment 3.3.6.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.7 Aesthetic Resources 3.3.7.1 Affected Environment 3.3.7.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.8 Cultural Resources 3.3.8.1 Affected Environment 3.3.8.2 Environmental Effects 3.3.9 Socioeconomics 3.3.9.1 Affected Environment 3.3.9.2 Environmental Effects 3.4 No-Action Alternative 4.0 Developmental Analysis 4.1 Power and Economic Benefits of the Project 4.2 Comparison of Alternatives 4.2.1 No-Action Alternative 4.2.2 Okanogan PUD’s Proposal 4.2.3 Staff Alternative 4.3 Cost of Environmental Measures 5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1 Comparison of Alternatives 5.2 Comprehensive Development and Recommended Alternative 5.3 Unavoidable Adverse Effects 5.4 Fish and Wildlife Agency Recommendations 5.5 Consistency With Comprehensive Plans 6.0 Finding of No Significant Impact 7.0 Literature Cited 8.0 List of Preparers List of Figures Figure 1. Location of the Enloe Hydroelectric Project Figure 2. Daily maximum temperatures at the 2006 monitoring locations Figure 3. 7-DADMax temperatures in the lower end of the Enloe reservoir (RM 9.1) and at the upper end of the reservoir (RM 10.3) Figure 4. Plunge pool below Similkameen Falls Figure 5. Recreation facilities in the Enloe Project area Figure 6. Land ownership in the Enloe Project area Figure 7. Roads, gates, and spurs in the project area Figure 8. Location of proposed fencing downstream of Enloe dam Figure 9. Enloe Project recreation site schematic Figure 10. Enloe Project area KOPs Figure 11. KOP 1, Loomis-Oroville Road Figure 12. KOP 2, overlook from Loomis-Oroville Road approximately 3 miles north of Oroville Figure 13. KOP 3, rocks below Enloe dam on the Similkameen River Figure 14. KOP 4, overlook near Enloe dam Figure 15. KOP 5, overlook east of Enloe dam, looking south Figure 16. KOP 6, view from proposed interpretive panel #1, looking north Figure 17. KOP 7, view from interpretive panel #2, looking north List of Tables Table 1. Major Statutory and Regulatory Requirements for the Enloe Hydroelectric Project Table 2. Summary of Similkameen River Flows at the USGS Nighthawk Gage No. 12442500, 1929–2005 VerDate Mar<15>2010 17:06 May 16, 2011 Jkt 223001 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 4701 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\17MYN2.SGM 17MYN2 sroberts on DSK69SOYB1PROD with NOTICES 28508 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 95 / Tuesday, May 17, 2011 / Notices Table 3. Similkameen River Water Rights Table 4. Enloe Reservoir Characteristics at Existing and Proposed Operations and Spills Table 5. Summary of Total Dissolved Gas Measurements Near Enloe Dam From May 26–30, 2006 Table 6. Summary of Preliminary Enloe Dam Sediment Trace Metals Results Table 7. Summary of Preliminary Enloe Dam Sediment Elutriate Results Table 8. Simulated Average Annual Tailrace Flow for Three Normal and Three Wet Water Years Table 9. Native and Non-Native Fishes in the Similkameen River Based on Snorkel Surveys Table 10. Numbers and Percent Composition of Native and Non-Native Fishes in the River Downstream of Enloe Dam Based on Snorkel Surveys Table 11. Numbers and Percent Composition of Native and Non-Native Fishes in the Reservoir Upstream of Enloe Dam Table 12. Aquatic Benthic Macroinvertebrate Taxa Found in the Similkameen River above Enloe Reservoir Table 13. Proposed Ramping Rates Table 14. Estimate of User Days by Month for the Project Area Table 15. Estimate of User Days by Type of Day for the Project Area Table 17. Land Ownership Within the Proposed Enloe Project Boundary Table 18. Archaeological and Historic Resources Within or Directly Adjacent to the Enloe Project Boundary APE Table 19. Population Characteristics of the City of Oroville, Okanogan County, and Washington Table 20.