Public Service Company of Colorado; Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Project No. 2275-052] In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (Commission or FERC) regulations, 18 CFR part 380 , Commission staff reviewed Public Service Company of Colorado's application to decommission and surrender the license for the Salida Hydro Nos. 1 & 2 Project No. 2275 and have prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the project. [ 1 ] The licensee is proposing to surrender the project license and decommission and remove certain Salida U2 facilities and the remaining decommissioned Salida U1 powerhouse and adjacent substation. After decommissioning the site would be restored. The project is located on the South Arkansas River and Fooses Creek in Chaffee County, Colorado. The project is partially located on federal lands administered by U.S. Forest Service's Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands—Salida Ranger District. The EA contains Commission staff's analysis of the potential environmental effects of the proposed surrender, alternatives to the proposed action, and concludes that the proposed decommissioning and surrender of license for the Salida Hydro Nos. 1 & 2 Project would not constitute a major federal action that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment. ( printed page 65206) The EA may be viewed on the Commission's website at http://www.ferc.go…