[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 16, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53988-53990]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-26414]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Environmental Impact Statement: Lignite Power Generation
Facility, Choctaw County, MS
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed surface lignite
coal mine and associated 400 megawatt (MW) lignite coal-fired power
plant at a location near the City of Ackerman in Choctaw County in
northeastern Mississippi. TVA's proposed actions are the purchase of
all or part of the electric power output of the proposed power plant
and interconnecting the plant with the TVA power system. The power
plant will be owned by a joint venture of the Phillips Coal Company and
CRSS, Inc.
DATES: Comments on the scope of the EIS must be postmarked no later
than November 15, 1996. TVA will conduct a public meeting in the
Ackerman, Mississippi area to discuss the project and obtain comments
on the scope of the EIS. The location and time of this meeting are
described below in the Scoping Process section.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Charles P. Nicholson,
National Environmental Policy Act Specialist, Tennessee Valley
Authority, mail stop: WT 8C, 400 West Summit
[[Page 53989]]
Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902-1499. Comments may also be e-
mailed to cnichols@tva.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Bach, Tennessee Valley
Authority, mail stop: CTR 1D, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35662-1010. E-mail
may be sent to idwhc@tva.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
TVA's Integrated Resource Plan
In TVA's Integrated Resource Plan and Final Environmental Impact
Statement, Energy Vision 2020, issued in December 1995, TVA evaluated
the need for additional energy resources to meet customer demands in
the TVA region and recognized that Independent Power Producers such as
this project could fulfill part of the projected needs.
Project Description
A joint venture consisting of CRSS, Inc. and Phillips Coal Company
submitted a proposal to TVA for the sale of the total electric power
output from the 400 MW power plant. The power plant would use two
circulating fluidized bed generating units and burn lignite coal from
an adjacent deposit.
Phillips Coal Company owns the rights to extensive lignite coal
deposits in northeastern Mississippi. Its proposed North Chester Mine
would be designed to produce in excess of three million tons per year
of lignite coal for a period of 30 years to supply the power plant. The
mine is expected to be a surface mine that will use draglines and a
truck and shovel operation to remove the overburden, mine the lignite
coal, and reclaim the site. The lignite coal would likely be
transported to the power plant by truck and/or overland conveyor. Over
the life of the mine, about 4,275 acres would be disturbed and
reclaimed.
TVA would connect the power plant to the TVA power distribution
system by building a 161-kV, two-circuit, loop connection to the
existing Sturgis-Eupora 161-kV transmission line and a 161-kV
connection to the existing Louisville substation. These connections
would be about 5 and 25 miles long, respectively.
In addition, a rail loop off of the Kansas City Southern and/or
Columbus and Greenville railroads, a natural gas pipeline tap and
lateral from nearby existing natural gas pipelines, and a water well
field and pipeline may also be part of the project.
Although not part of the power plant or lignite coal mine that are
the subjects of this EIS, it is anticipated that the power plant would
be located in an ``EcoPlex'' industrial park being planned by the State
of Mississippi. Although the EcoPlex is not part of TVA's proposed
action, this EIS will assess appropriate cumulative impacts of the
power plant, mine and EcoPlex. The EcoPlex could also supply the mine-
power plant complex with water and waste disposal services.
The EcoPlex would combine various manufacturing, energy production,
and service businesses at a common location to help achieve the highest
levels of efficiency in terms of energy consumption and joint
feedstock/waste utilization. The types of industries that might best be
suited for this type industrial park in northeastern Mississippi
include: newsprint and other paper and wood products manufacturing and
recycling industries; food processing; various recycling industries;
industries that use gypsum as feedstock, such as manufacturers of
wallboard, cement, and agrichemicals; brick and ceramic manufacturers;
specialized aqua-and agriculture industries; and transportation fuel
manufacturers.
Proposed Issues to be Addressed
The EIS will discuss the need for the proposed project and describe
the existing environmental, cultural, recreational, and socioeconomic
resources. It will describe the plant siting and location process,
transportation methods for coal and other raw materials, mining methods
and their potential environmental impacts. Mine reclamation plans will
be discussed as will environmental impacts resulting from construction,
operation, and maintenance of the proposed facilities; specifically,
impacts to air quality, surface and ground water quality and resources,
vegetation, wildlife, aquatic ecology, endangered and threatened
species, wetlands and wetland wildlife, aesthetics and visual
resources, land use, cultural and historic resources, light, and noise.
These concerns and other important issues identified during the scoping
process as well as engineering and economic considerations will be used
to select a preferred power plant location near the North Chester Mine,
mine plan, and other plant processes as appropriate.
Alternatives
In addition to the proposed alternative of purchasing all or part
of the electric power output from the power plant, TVA will also
consider a ``no action'' alternative which would be not to purchase the
output from the plant. In addition, alternative power plant designs,
mining and reclamation plans, and lignite coal transport methods may be
considered. TVA invites the public to comment on the proposed action
and any or all of the alternatives suggested above or to suggest other
possible alternatives.
Scoping Process
Scoping, which is integral to the EIS 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 EIS is
thorough and balanced; and (4) delays caused by an inadequate EIS are
avoided. TVA's procedures implementing the National Environmental
Policy Act 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 an EIS will be determined, in
part, from written comments submitted by mail, and comments presented
orally or in writing at a public scoping meeting. The preliminary
identification of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues
provided in this notice is not meant to be exhaustive or final. TVA
considers the scoping process to be open and dynamic in the sense that
alternatives other than those given above may warrant study and new
matters may be identified for potential evaluation.
The scoping process will include both interagency and public
scoping. The agencies expected to participate in interagency scoping
include the National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, and various State of Mississippi agencies
including the Department of Environmental Quality, Department of
Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, the Department of Economic and
Community Development, State Historic Preservation Office of the
Department of Archives and History, and other federal, state and local
agencies as appropriate.
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 meeting. TVA
will conduct a public meeting on the scope of the EIS in Ackerman,
Mississippi on Tuesday, October 29, 1996. The meeting will be held at
Ackerman High School, which is located at 280 East Main Street.
Registration for the meeting will be from 6:00 to 6:30 p.m. with the
meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. There will be
[[Page 53990]]
visual displays and information handouts available during the
registration period. The meeting will begin with brief presentations by
representatives of TVA, Phillips Coal Company and CRSS, Inc. explaining
the proposed project and the EIS process. Following this presentation
there will be small group discussions facilitated by TVA staff to
record the issues and concerns that the public believes should be
considered in the EIS.
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 by September
1998.
Dated: October 7, 1996.
Kathryn J. Jackson,
Senior Vice President, Resource Group.
[FR Doc. 96-26414 Filed 10-15-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-01-P
