FERC staff have scheduled two FERC scoping meetings next week to identify issues, concerns, and opportunities associated with the relicensing of the Jackson Hydroelectric Project on the Sultan River (P-2157). The two meetings are scheduled as follows:

Evening Scoping Meeting
Date and Time: Monday, February 27, 2006, 7:00 PM (PST)
Location: PUD Electric Building Headquarters, 2320 California Street, Everett, Washington (map)

Daytime Scoping Meeting
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 28, 2006, 10:00 AM (PST)
Location: Washington State Department of Ecology, Headquarters/Southwest
Regional Office, 300 Desmond Drive, Lacey, Washington (map)

The public may provide verbal or written testimony at these meetings. The purposes of these scoping meetings are as follows:

• invite participation of federal and state resource agencies, Indian tribes, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the public to identify significant environmental and socioeconomic issues related to the proposed project;
• determine the depth of analysis and significance of issues to be addressed in the Environmental Analysis;
• identify how the project would or would not contribute to cumulative effects in the project area;
• identify reasonable alternatives to the proposed action that should be evaluated in the Environmental Analysis;
• solicit, from participants, available information on the resources at issue, including existing information and study needs; and
• determine the resource areas and potential issues that do not require detailed analysis during review of the project.

This meeting is important because it is your opportunity to speak directly with FERC staff. We encourage members of the whitewater community to attend and take advantage of the opportunity to directly express your interest in this project (the project website provides additional background information). The project affects the whitewater resources of the Upper Sultan and Sultan Powerhouse runs. Even if you don't plan to speak please be sure to sign in with your organizational affiliation as appropriate. If you are not able to attend this meeting or if you can attend but would rather file written comments, FERC will be accepting written comments on the issues to be considered. These comments must be filed by March 31, 2006. All written filings must clearly identify "Henry M. Jackson Hydroelectric Project No. 2157-167" on the first page. All information, comments, and study requests should be sent to:

Magalie R. Salas, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street, N.E., Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426

The preferred method of filing your written comments is through FERC's eFile internet service. You may mail a hard copy which requires that you send an original and 8 copies (the copies are to make sure your comments get distributed to staff in a timely fashion).

Following the scoping meetings and comment period, all issues raised will be reviewed and decisions made as to the level of analysis needed. If you believe whitewater resources, instream flows, or resource stewardship issues should be analyzed at this project, this is your opportunity to make that case.