Calling all Fishermen

The South Fork of the Pit River needs help.

Besides being dewatered during the winter months by the ranchers and
their diversion canal bursting and dumping sediment into the river,
they are intending to dewater a three mile stretch of the river on a
full time basis to install a small hydro electric plant.

Please see photos below to see the fulltime impact upon this river
which hosts endangered redband trout as indicated by their diversion
this past year.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/bruzzo.../ph//my_photos

Please write letters to the Modoc National Forest, 800 12th Street,
Alturas, California 96101 in opposition to this project and forward it
to everyone, encouraging they write letters, as well.

We need to save this beautiful fly fishing area.

This is the Federal Register Notice with contact information.

Notice of Site Visit, Scoping Meetings, and Soliciting Scoping Comments


[Federal Register: May 20, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 97)]
[Notices]
[Page 29302-29303]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20my05-84]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Notice of Site Visit, Scoping Meetings, and Soliciting Scoping Comments

May 12, 2005.
Take notice that the following hydroelectric exemption application
has been filed with the Commission and is available for public
inspection.
a. Type of Application: Exemption of a Major Hydropower Project 5
MW or Less.
b. Project: West Valley A&B Hydro Project No. 12053-001.
c. Date Filed: July 18, 2003.
d. Applicant: Mr. Nicholas Josten.
e. Location: On the South Fork of the Pit River in Modoc County,
California. The project would be located on approximated 31 acres of
federal lands, managed by Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
f. Filed Pursuant to: Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of
1978, 16 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 2705, 2708.
g. Applicant Contact: Mr. Nicholas Josten, (208) 528-6152,
, 2742 St Charles Ave, Idaho Falls, ID 83404.
h. FERC Contact: Susan O'Brien, (202) 502-8449 or
.
i. FS Contact: Jayne Biggerstaff, (530) 283-7768 or
.
j. BLM Contact: Phil Rhinehart, (530) 233-7907 or
.
k. Deadline for filing scoping comments: July 11, 2005.
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.
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) through the Commission's eLibrary
using the ``Documents & Filing'' link.
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.
l. This application has been accepted for filing, but is not ready
for environmental analysis at this time.
m. The proposed project would consist of two developments, West
Valley A and West Valley Alternative B-1. Alternative B-2 has been
deleted from the proposed project (applicant's response to
deficiencies, filed October 25, 2004).
West Valley A run-of river development would have a capacity of 1.0

MW and consists of: (1) An existing concrete diversion structure; (2)
an existing intake structure; (3) 11,600 feet of open canal; (4) a
proposed concrete overflow structure; (5) a proposed 2,800 feet of new
canal; (6) a proposed penstock; (7) a proposed powerhouse; (8) a
proposed tailrace pipe; (9) a proposed transmission line; and (10)
appurtenant facilities. The applicant estimates that the total average
annual generation would be 3,300,000 kWh.
West Valley Alternative B-1 run-of-river development would have a
capacity of 1.36 MW and consists of: (1) The existing West Valley Dam
and outlet works; (2) a new bypass valve attached to the existing dam
outlet pipe; (3) a proposed penstock; (4) a proposed powerhouse; (5) a
proposed tailrace canal; (6) a proposed transmission line; and (7)
appurtenant facilities. The applicant estimates that the total average
annual generation would be 4,730,000 kWh.
n. 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 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 g. 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.
o. By Letter of Understanding executed on April 18, 2005, the
Forest Service (FS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be
cooperating agencies regarding the Commission's actions on the West
Valley Project,

[[Page 29303]]

including consultation, submission of additional information requests,
and cooperation in the preparation of scoping and environmental
documents. The FS and BLM will make independent decisions to determine
whether, and under what conditions, to authorize the construction,
operation and maintenance of the hydropower project on Federal lands.
This scoping process will also satisfy the scoping responsibilities

of the FS and BLM, as required by National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) and the agencies' regulations. The FS and BLM will conduct
ongoing consultation with the affected and interested Indian Tribes in
order to meet FS and BLM consultation commitments.
p. Scoping Process: The Commission intends to prepare a single
environmental document in accordance with NEPA. The environmental
assessment (EA) will consider both site-specific and cumulative
environmental effects and reasonable alternatives to the proposed
action.
Site Visit: Commission staff, along with FS, BLM, and the applicant

will conduct a site visit to the proposed project area on Wednesday,
June 15, 2005. All interested parties and individuals are invited to
attend. Please note that the site visit may involve extensive walking.
Participants in the site visit will need to provide their own
transportation (carpooling will be encouraged) and bring their own
lunch/water. Anyone planning to attend the site visit needs to contact
Susan O'Brien at (202) 502-8449 or by June 9,
2005. The time and location of the site visit is as follows:

Public Site Visit

Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2005.
Time: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (PDT).
Place: Meet at Likely Fire Hall (in parking lot), Route 395,
Likely, California.
Scoping Meetings: Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings
in the project area to ensure all interested parties have an
opportunity to attend. All interested resource agencies, non-
governmental organizations, Native American tribes, and individuals are

invited to attend one or both of the meetings. The times and locations
of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Public Scoping Meeting

Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2005.
Time: 10 a.m. (PDT).
Place: Likely Fire Hall, Route 395, Likely California.

Evening Pubic Scoping Meeting

Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2005.
Time: 6:30 p.m. (PDT).
Place: Likely Fire Hall, Route 395, Likely California.
Copies of the Scoping Document (SD) outlining the subject areas to
be addressed in the EA were mailed to all parties on the Commission's
mailing list and will be available at the scoping meetings. Copies may
also be viewed on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov
using the ``eLibrary'' link [see item (n.) above]. The Scoping meetings

and site visit are posted on the Commission's calendar located on the
Internet at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx
along with other related information.
Objectives: At the scoping meetings, staff will: (1) Summarize the
environmental issues tentatively identified for analysis in the EA; (2)

solicit from the meeting participants all available information,
especially empirical data, on the resources at issue; (3) encourage
statements from experts and participants on issues that should be
analyzed in the EA, including viewpoints in opposition to, or in
support of, the staff's preliminary view; (4) determine the resource
issues to be addressed in the EA; and (5) identify those issues that do

not require a detailed analysis.
Procedures: The meetings will be recorded by a stenographer and
become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the
project.
Individuals, organizations, resource agencies, and Indian tribes
with environmental expertise and concerns are encouraged to attend the
meetings and to assist Commission staff in defining and clarifying the
issues to be addressed in the EA.
q. Procedural schedule: The application will be processed according

to the following Hydro Exemption Schedule. Revisions to the schedule
will be made as appropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Major milestone Target date
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue Scoping Document............. May 2005.
Site visit and Scoping Meetings.... June 14-15, 2005.
Scoping Comments due............... July 11, 2005.
Additional Information Request August 2005.
(AIR).
AIR Response due from Applicant.... November 2005.
Notice that application is ready November 2005.
for environmental analysis.
Comments, Terms and Conditions due. January 2006.
Reply Comments due................. March 2006.
Environmental Assessment Issued.... April 2006.
Ready for Commission's decision on June 2006.
the application.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-2532 Filed 5-19-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

A website to get more information on this project is at:


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/=ADsouthforkpitriver/

The website for this project is at http://www.ebold.com/~savesouthfork/

Please get those letters into Modoc National Forest, 800 12th Street,
Alturas, CA 96101 who is facilitating the NEPA studies.

We cannot afford to lose another California habitat.