Environmental statements; notice of intent: Electric generation peaking capacity addition,

[Federal Register: August 12, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 155)]

[Notices]

[Page 43226-43227]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr12au98-90]

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement for Addition of Electric Generation Peaking Capacity

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed addition of peaking capacity to the TVA electric generation system. The EIS will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of installing and operating proposed simple cycle natural gas fired combustion turbines to provide the needed peaking capacity. TVA wants to use the EIS process to obtain the public's comments on this proposal.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the EIS must be postmarked no later than September 11, 1998. TVA will conduct public meetings on the scope of the EIS. The locations and times of these meetings are announced below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Greg Askew, P.E., Senior Specialist, National Environmental Policy Act, Tennessee Valley Authority, mail stop WT 8C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499. Comments may also be e-mailed to gaskew@tva.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Roy V. Carter, P.E., EIS Project Manager, Environmental Research Center, Tennessee Valley Authority, mail stop CEB 4C, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35662-1010. E-mail may be sent to rvcarter@tva.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Description

Construction and operation of simple cycle natural gas-fired combustion turbine units are proposed by TVA to meet up to 1,350 MW of peaking requirements with some capacity available as early as June 2000. Up to eight natural gas-fired combustion turbines would be installed at one, two or three existing TVA power plant sites.

The three TVA power plant sites under consideration are Johnsonville Fossil Plant in Humphreys County, Tennessee; Gallatin Fossil Plant in Sumner County, Tennessee; and Colbert Fossil Plant in Colbert County, Alabama. Each of these TVA plant sites have both coal- fired units and natural gas and/or fuel oil fired combustion turbines. These TVA plant sites offer potential advantages over greenfield sites. These advantages include use of existing plant infrastructure (water service, natural gas supply at two sites, transmission line access, combustion turbine maintenance and operating staff), existing land ownership, and an accelerated project schedule with reduced risk. Also, inherent in incremental development of industrial sites such as these is the potential for reduced environmental impacts.

Each site installation would consist of up to eight natural gas fired combustion turbine-generators. Fuel oil would be the secondary fuel. These combustion turbines would employ dry low-NO‹INF›x‹/INF› combustion chambers and/or water injection for NO‹INF›x‹/INF› control. Typical manufacturers and models of simple cycle combustion turbines for the proposed application are General Electric models GE 7001 EA and GE 7001 FA, and Westinghouse models WH 501D5A and WH 501 FA Other appurtenances and ancillary equipment would include step-up transformers for 161 kilovolt or 500 kilovolt service, transmission line connection equipment, demineralized water to supply the water injection NO‹INF›x‹/INF› control systems, and maintenance and operational support buildings or equipment.

Other actions necessary for operation of combustion turbines at the Colbert site would include one or more natural gas pipeline taps and conveyances.

TVA's Integrated Resource Plan

This EIS will tier from TVA's Energy Vision 2020'An Integrated Resource Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Energy Vision 2020 was completed in December 1995 and a Record of Decision issued on February 28, 1996. Energy Vision 2020 analyzed a full range of supply-side and demand-side options to meet customer energy needs. These options were ranked using several criteria including environmental performance. Favorable options were formulated into strategies to effectively meet electric energy and peak capacity needs of TVA's customers for a range of postulated futures. A portfolio of options drawn from several robust strategies was chosen as TVA's preferred alternative. In this preferred alternative, three supply-side options selected to meet peak capacity needs were: (1) addition of combustion turbines to TVA's generation system, (2) purchase of market peaking capacity, and (3) call options on peaking capacity. The short- term action plan of Energy Vision 2020 identified a need for 3,000 MW of baseload and peaking additions through the year 2002.

Because Energy Vision 2020 identified and evaluated alternative supply-side and demand-side energy

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resources and technologies for meeting peak capacity needs, this EIS will not reevaluate those alternatives. This EIS will focus on the site-specific impacts of constructing and operating additional TVA combustion turbines at three candidate sites.

Proposed Issues To Be Addressed

The EIS will describe the existing environmental and socioeconomic resources at each of the three sites that may be potentially affected by construction and operation of natural gas-fired combustion turbines. TVA's evaluation of potential environmental impacts to these resources will include, but not necessarily be limited to the impacts on air quality, water quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, endangered and threatened species, wetlands, aesthetics and visual resources, noise, land use, historic and archaeological resources, and socioeconomic resources. Because the proposed projects would be located on previously disturbed property at operating TVA power plant sites, the on-site issues of terrestrial wildlife, habitat, and vegetation; aesthetics and visual resources; land use conversion; and historic and archaeological resources are not likely to be important. Also, the proposed units would have no process wastewater discharge and will require no new water supply source, thus impacts to aquatic ecology are unlikely.

Alternatives

The results of evaluating the potential environmental impacts related to these issues and other important issues identified in the scoping process together with engineering and economic considerations will be used in selecting a preferred alternative. At this time, TVA has identified the following alternatives for detailed evaluation: (1) a single site alternative, (2) alternatives employing two of the three sites, (3) an alternative employing all three sites, and (4) no action.

Scoping Process

Scoping, which is integral to the NEPA process, is a procedure that solicits public input to the EIS process to ensure that: (1) Issues are identified early and properly studied; (2) issues of little significance do not consume substantial time and effort; (3) the draft EIS is thorough and balanced; and (4) delays caused by an inadequate EIS are avoided. TVA's NEPA procedures require that the scoping process commence after a decision has been reached to prepare an EIS in order to provide an early and open process for determining the scope of issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant issues related to a proposed action. The scope of issues to be addressed in the draft EIS will be determined, in part, from written comments submitted by mail or e-mail, and comments presented orally or in writing at public meetings. The preliminary identification in this notice of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues is not meant to be exhaustive or final.

The scoping process will include both interagency and public scoping. The public is invited to submit written comments or e-mail comments on the scope of this EIS no later than the date given under the DATES section of this notice and/or attend the public scoping meetings. TVA will conduct three public scoping meetings using an open house format. At each meeting, TVA staff will be present to discuss the project proposals and the environmental issues, and to receive both oral and written comments. The meeting locations and schedule are as follows: Monday, August 31, Gallatin Civic Center, 210 Albert Gallatin Road, Gallatin, Tennessee; Tuesday, September 1, Humphreys County Board of Education Building, 2443 Highway 70 East, Waverly, Tennessee; Thursday, September 3, Lions Club Building, Corner of Church and First Streets, Cherokee, Alabama. The times for all three open house meetings are 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The agencies to be included in the interagency scoping are U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Department of Conservation and Environment, the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, and other agencies as appropriate.

Upon consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will develop alternatives and identify important environmental issues to be addressed in the EIS. Following analysis of the environmental consequences of each alternative, TVA will prepare a draft EIS for public review and comment. Notice of availability of the draft EIS will be published by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register. TVA will solicit written comments on the draft EIS, and information about possible public meetings to comment on the draft EIS will be announced. TVA expects to release a final EIS in May 1999.

Dated: August 6, 1998. Kathryn J. Jackson, Executive Vice President, Resource Group.

[FR Doc. 98-21580Filed8-11-98; 8:45 am]

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