Scoping Process

The public is invited to participate in the Scoping Process, both to help define the environmental issues to be analyzed and to identify the range of reasonable alternatives to be considered in the EIS. The initial Scoping Period began with publication of the Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Public Scoping Meetings, and Notice of Floodplains and Wetlands Involvement for the Project in the Federal Register on February 11, 2011 and extended for a 60-day period, ending on April 12, 2011.

In response to public requests, DOE reopened the scoping period on April 15, 2011. The reopened scoping period will end 60 days after this date on June 14, 2011. DOE has extended the scoping period to a date as yet to be determined beginning June 15, 2011.

Both oral and written comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE, regardless of how submitted, provided that they are received within the defined scoping period. Comments received outside the formal scoping period window will be considered to the extent practicable.

Written comments can be submitted either electronically or by paper copy. Please consider using a delivery service for submittal of paper copies to meet timing requirements because materials submitted by regular mail are subject to security screening, which both causes extended delay and potential damage to the contents; warped and unusable CD or DVD discs are common. Electronic submittal of comments is preferred. Comments can be submitted through this website HERE. Comments may also be made via telephone by calling DOE; please refer to Contact Us for this telephone number.

Public Scoping Meetings

Public scoping meetings were held at the locations, dates, and times as indicated below:

1. Pembroke, NH - Pembroke Academy cafeteria - 209 Academy Road - Monday, March 14, 6-9 pm
2. Franklin, NH - Franklin Opera House - 316 Central Street - Tuesday, March 15, 6-9 pm
3. Lincoln, NH - The Mountain Club on Loon, Hancock Room - 90 Loon Mountain Road - Wednesday, March 16, 6-9 pm
4. Whitefield, NH - Mountain View Grand Hotel and Resort - Presidential Room - 101 Mountain View Road - Thursday, March 17, 6-9 pm
5. Plymouth, NH - Plymouth State University, Hanaway Theatre, Silver Center for the Arts - 114 Main St. - Friday, March 18, 6-9 pm
6. Colebrook, NH - Colebrook Elementary School - 27 Dumont Street - Saturday, March 19, 1-4 pm.
7. Haverhill, NH - Haverhill Cooperative Middle School - 175 Morrill Drive - Sunday March 20, 1- 4 pm
   

The scoping meetings were structured in two parts: first, an informal discussion "workshop" period that was recorded; and second, a formal commenting session, which was transcribed by a court stenographer. The meetings provided interested parties the opportunity to view proposed project exhibits and make comments. The Applicant and DOE were available to answer questions and provide additional information to attendees to the extent that additional information was available at this early stage of the proceedings. Persons submitting comments during the scoping process, whether orally or in writing, will receive either paper or electronic copies of the Draft EIS, according to their preference. Persons who do not wish to submit comments or suggestions at this time but who would like to receive a copy of the document for review and comment when it is issued should notify DOE and include their paper-or-electronic preference.

DOE will summarize all comments received in a “Scoping Report” that will be available on this Web site under the “Document Library” and distributed either electronically to all parties of record for whom we have an e-mail address, or by mailing paper copies upon request.

Note: The links and documents presented on this website provide access to the publicly available project documentation. If you would like to request a hardcopy of such documents, or a CD version, please send your request to and include your name and mailing address. Due to the high cost of shipping and possible duties or tariffs for copies sent to locations outside the U.S., DOE encourages requestors to download the document using the links below or to request only a CD. However, if requestors are willing and able to pay the applicable duties or tariffs, DOE will send hardcopies to locations outside the U.S. Please be aware that long delays may be possible.

Requests to Speak at the Public Meetings

Public Meeting Transcripts

Colebrook, NH - March 19, 2011 (275 kb PDF)

Franklin, NH - March 15, 2011 (208 kb PDF)

Haverhill, NH - March 20, 2011 (283 kb PDF)

Lincoln, NH - March 16, 2011 (223 kb PDF)

Pembroke, NH - March 14, 2011 (302 kb PDF)

Plymouth, NH - March 18, 2011 (352 kb PDF)

Whitefield, NH - March 17, 2011 (294 kb PDF)

Some links on this page are to documents provided in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) and require that Adobe Acrobat Reader be installed on your computer. A free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader can be downloaded here.