Basin Electric Power Cooperative: Deer Creek Station
Federal Register: June 11, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 112)
Notices
Page 33238-33239
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr11jn10-25
Notices
Federal Register
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section.
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Basin Electric Power Cooperative: Deer Creek Station
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement.
SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the Western Area Power
Administration (Western) have issued a Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Deer Creek Station project in
Brookings and Duel Counties, South Dakota. The Final EIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
(U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) in accordance with the Council on Environmental
Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of
NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), RUS's NEPA implementing regulations (7
CFR part 1794), and Western's NEPA implementing regulations (10 CFR part 1021). Western is the lead federal agency as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5; RUS is a cooperating agency. The purpose of the Final EIS is to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to
Basin Electric Power Cooperative's (Basin Electric) application for a
RUS loan and a Western interconnection agreement to construct the proposed 300 megawatt (MW) Deer Creek Station in Brookings and Deuel
Counties, South Dakota (Project). The proposed facility would include a new natural gas-fired combustion turbine set, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), and a steam turbine generator set.
DATES: Written comments on this Final EIS will be accepted on or before
June 28, 2010, following the publication of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's notice of availability for this FEIS in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the Final EIS or further information, contact: Ms. Lauren McGee, Environmental Scientist, USDA, Rural
Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, Room 2239-
S, Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone: (202) 720-1482, fax: (202) 690-0649, or e-mail: lauren.mcgee@wdc.usda.gov.
A copy of the Final EIS has been sent to affected federal, state, and local government agencies and to interested parties and can be viewed online at: http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/eis.htm.
Copies of the Final EIS will also be available for public review at the following locations (hours vary; contact individual repositories for available times):
Brookings Public Library 515 3rd Street Brookings, SD; telephone: (605) 692-9407
SDSU Hilton M. Briggs Library, South Dakota State University,
Brookings, SD; telephone: (605) 688-5570.
Deubrook Community Library, 100 School Avenue, White, SD.
Elkton City Hall, Elkton, SD.
Siverson Public Library, 100 W. Garfield, Hendricks, MN.
Brookings County Commission Office, 314 6th Avenue, Brookings, SD.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Basin Electric's proposed Project is to construct, own, operate, and maintain the Deer Creek Station Energy
Facility, a 300 MW combined-cycle natural gas generation facility, water pipeline, transmission lines, transmission interconnection(s), and other associated facilities in Brookings and Deuel counties in eastern South Dakota. The purpose for the proposed Project is to serve increased load demand for electric power in the eastern portion of
Basin Electric's service area. In 2007, Basin Electric prepared a forecast showing load and capability surpluses/deficits through the year 2021. The forecast predicted that by 2014, there will be a deficit of 800-900 MW for the eastern portion of its service area. The proposed
Project's addition of 300 MW of generation will help meet Basin
Electric's future energy requirements.
On February 6, 2009, Western published in the Federal Register a
Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the Deer Creek Station. The EIS focused on potential impacts to the following resources: soils, topography and geology, water resources, air quality, biological resources, the acoustic environment, recreation, cultural and historic resources, visual resources, transportation, farmland, land use, human health and safety, the socioeconomic environment, environmental justice, and cumulative effects. On February 26, 2010, the Rural
Utilities Service published its Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS for the proposed project in the Federal Register. The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged receipt of the Draft EIS on February 5, 2010, from Western. The 45-day comment period ended on
March 22, 2010. Because few comments were received which did not result in the substantial modification of the alternatives or the environmental analysis in the Draft EIS, Western and RUS prepared an abbreviated Final EIS to address the comments received.
Basin Electric's proposed Project is subject to the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (SDPUC) which has regulatory authority for siting power plants and transmission lines within the State. Basin Electric will submit an application for an
Energy Conversion Facility Permit and a Route Permit to the SDPUC. The
SDPUC permits would authorize Basin Electric to construct the proposed
Project under South Dakota rules and regulations.
After considering various ways to meet these future needs, Basin
Electric identified construction of the proposed Project as its best course of action. This EIS considered 17 alternatives to meet the future energy requirements of the eastern portion of its service area.
These alternatives were evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness, technical feasibility, and environmental factors.
The EIS analyzes in detail the no action alternative and the proposed action (Deer Creek station and related facilities) at two separate locations: White Site I (Brookings County, T111N R48W, Section 25 NE Quarter) and White Site II (Brookings County, T111N R48W, Section 2 NW Quarter). The proposed action at White Site I has been identified as the preferred alternative.
Because the proposed Project may involve action in floodplains or wetlands, this Notice of Availability also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action. The EIS includes a floodplain/ wetland
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assessment and floodplain/wetland statement of findings.
Any action by RUS related to the proposed Project will be subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant Federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations, and completion of the environmental review requirements as prescribed in RUS's Environmental
Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR part 1794, as amended.
Dated: June 7, 2010.
James F. Elliott,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Electric Programs, Rural
Utilities Service.
FR Doc. 2010-14020 Filed 6-10-10; 8:45 am
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