Daytime Scoping Meeting on Idaho Falls Hydroelectric Project, Gem State Hydroelectric Project

Project Nos. 2842-045 and 2952-073

Commission staff will hold two scoping meetings in the vicinity of the project at the time and place noted below.  The daytime meeting will focus on resource agency, Indian tribes, and non-governmental organization concerns, while the evening meeting is primarily for receiving input from the public.  We invite all interested individuals, organizations, and agencies to attend one or both of the meetings, and to assist staff in identifying particular study needs, as well as the scope of environmental issues to be addressed in the environmental document.  The times and locations of these meetings are as follows:

Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date:  Thursday, October 26, 2023
Time:  9:00 a.m. (MDT)
Location:  Hilton Garden Inn – South Fork River Meeting Room
700 Lindsay Boulevard, Idaho Falls, ID 83402            
 Phone:  208-522-9500

 Scoping Document 1 (SD1), which outlines the subject areas to be addressed in the environmental document, was mailed to the individuals and entities on the Commission’s mailing list.  Copies of SD1 will be available at the scoping meetings, or may be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov, using the “eLibrary” link.  Follow the directions for accessing information in paragraph n.  Based on all oral and written comments, a Scoping Document 2 (SD2) may be issued.  SD2 may include a revised process plan and schedule, as well as a list of issues, identified through the scoping process.

Meeting Objectives

At the scoping meetings, staff will:  (1) initiate scoping of the issues; (2) review and discuss existing conditions and resource management objectives; (3) review and discuss existing information and identify preliminary information and study needs; (4) review and discuss the process plan and schedule for pre-filing activity that incorporates the time frames provided for in Part 5 of the Commission’s regulations and, to the extent possible, maximizes coordination of federal, state, and tribal permitting and certification processes; and (5) discuss the appropriateness of any federal or state agency or Indian tribe acting as a cooperating agency for development of an environmental document.

Meeting participants should come prepared to discuss their issues and/or concerns.  Please review the PAD in preparation for the scoping meetings.  Directions on how to obtain a copy of the PAD and SD1 are included in item n. of this document.

Meeting Procedures

Commission staff are moderating the scoping meetings.  The meetings are recorded by an independent stenographer and become part of the formal record of the Commission proceeding on the project.  Individuals, NGOs, Indian tribes, 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 NEPA document.