United
States Department of the Interior
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Office of Environmental Policy
and Compliance
March 24, 2006
ER 06/115
The Honorable Magalie Roman Salas
Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888
RE: Comments and Prescriptions
Application Ready for Environmental
Analysis
Dear Secretary Salas:
In response to the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission's (Commission) February 7, 2006, Notice of Application
Ready for Environmental Analysis, the U.S. Department of the Interior provides
the following comments.
In correspondence of September 8,
2005, the Department commented on the Commission's "Offer of Settlement
and Explanatory Statement" in support of the “Relicensing
Settlement Agreement Addressing New License Terms and Conditions.” The
Department of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
National Park Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, is a signatory to the “Relicensing Settlement Agreement Addressing New License
Terms and Conditions,” one of four negotiated settlements that make up the
Offer of Settlement. We would like to emphasize our continued support for the
Settlement Agreement.
Section 10(j) Recommendations
In addition to recommending the
adoption of the Settlement Agreement generally, the Department on behalf of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, hereby specifically recommends, pursuant to
Section 10(j) of the Federal Power Act, that the Commission issue a license
including the provisions of Section 4.1.2 and 4.1.3. of
the Settlement Agreement. These provisions, under which the New York Power
Authority is to provide for certain habitat improvement projects, are designed
for the protection, enhancement, and mitigation of impacts to fish and wildlife
resources impacted by the Project.
Section 18 Reservation of Authority
The Department hereby reserves the
authority of the Secretary of the Interior under Section 18 of the Federal
Power Act to require the licensee to construct, operate, and maintain such fishways as may be prescribed by the Secretary, and
requests that the Commission include language reserving said
authority in any license issued for the Niagara Project.
* * *
The Department is encouraged by the
Commission's November 7, 2005, decision to prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) on the Niagara Power Project relicensing.
We look forward to the reviewing the Draft EIS.
Thank you for the opportunity to
provide input on the License Application for the Niagara Power Project. If you
have questions or require further assistance in this matter, please contact me
at (617) 223-8565, Kimberly Owens at (202) 208-6240, or Andrew Tittler at (617) 527-0134.
Sincerely,
Andrew
L. Raddant /s/
Regional
Environmental Officer