[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 106 (Thursday, June 3, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29935-29937]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13747]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Environmental Impact Statement for Addition of Electric
Generation Peaking and Baseload Capacity at Greenfield Sites, Haywood
County, Tennessee
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed construction and
operation of natural gas fired generating plants in Haywood County,
Tennessee. The plants would supply peaking and/or baseload capacity to
the TVA electric generation system to meet growing power demands. The
EIS will evaluate the potential environmental impacts of constructing
and operating both simple cycle and combined cycle combustion turbine
plants. The plants would be built on previously undeveloped, greenfield
site. TVA wants to use the EIS process to obtain public involvement on
this proposal. Public comment is invited concerning both the scope of
the EIS and environmental issues that should be addressed as a part of
this EIS.
DATES: Comments on the scope and environmental issues for the EIS must
be postmarked or e-mailed no later than July 6, 1999, to ensure
consideration. Late comments will receive every consideration possible.
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 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
TVA proposes to construct and operate one or more electric power
plants on a greenfield site as early as June 2001. The proposed plants
would be simple cycle or combined cycle natural gas fired combustion
turbine plants for peaking or baseload operation respectively. The
generation capacity of a single plant would be up to approximately 700
megawatt (MW) for a simple cycle peaking plant, 1,000 MW for a simple
cycle plant after conversion to combined cycle technology, and 1,500 MW
for a new combined cycle plant. Certain combinations of two plants at a
single site would result in a total of 1,400 MW of peaking capacity, or
700 MW peaking and 1,000 MW baseload for a total capacity of 1,700 MW.
Three candidate greenfield sites have been identified in Haywood
County, Tennessee. Candidate sites were identified through a detailed
screening process that considered: (1) TVA's transmission system
capacity at the locale; (2) reliable and economical long-term supply of
natural gas; (3) engineering suitability of the site; (4) compatibility
with surrounding land use; and (5) environmental factors including
wetlands, floodplains, water supply, water quality, air quality, and
historic and archaeological resources.
Peaking Plant
A typical peaking plant would consist of several simple cycle
combustion turbines such as the General Electric Model GE 7FA with a
rated net power output of 170 MW. These turbines would be fired with
natural gas as the primary fuel and low sulfur fuel oil as the
secondary fuel. These combustion turbines would employ dry low-nitrogen
oxides (NOx) combustion chambers and water injection for NOx control
when firing fuel oil.
The proposed sites would be located near both TVA power
transmission lines (161 kilovolt (kV) or 500 kV) and adequate natural
gas service to
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minimize the lengths and therefore cost of these interconnections. Each
plant would require a site area of approximately 35 to 40 acres.
Other appurtenances and ancillary equipment would include step-up
transformers for 161 kV or 500 kV service, transmission line
interconnection, natural gas pipeline connection and metering,
demineralized water supply for the water injection nitrogen oxides
control systems, fuel oil storage tank(s), and control and maintenance
support buildings.
Baseload Plant
A typical baseload plant could consist of one or more combustion
turbines such as the General Electric Model GE 7FA with a rated net
power output of 170 MW. One or more heat recovery steam generators
(HRSGs) would be used to generate steam from the turbine exhaust gases
waste heat. The HRSGs may also have direct firing of natural gas to
supplement the exhaust heat input. The resulting steam flow is then
passed through a steam turbine(s) which operates a generator(s) to
produce additional electric power. With the addition of these
components, a peaking plant may be converted to a combined cycle plant
for baseload operation.
Additional ancillary equipment beyond that required for a peaking
plant would include cooling towers that supply cooling water for steam
condensers. These cooling towers require a consequential source of
water to makeup for both evaporative losses and the blowdown necessary
to maintain water quality in the cooling tower. As a result, there
would be on-site and/or off-site wells developed or an intake pumping
station constructed in a large stream to supply the water. In both
cases, a water pipeline would be constructed to connect the water
supply with the plant. The cooling tower blowdown is a heated
wastewater with a high dissolved solids content requiring treatment
and/or disposal. Typical practice would be to construct a pipeline to a
receiving stream having the capacity to assimilate the wastewater. An
alternative would be to treat the blowdown on-site and recycle the
water as cooling tower makeup water. This option would require
construction of an on-site treatment facility and disposal of resulting
sludge. Additionally, a water treatment facility would be required to
supply demineralized water for various plant uses.
TVA's Integrated Resource Plan and the Need for Power
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 (61 FR 7572). Energy Vision 2020
analyzed a full range of supply-side and demand-side options to meet
customer energy needs for the period 1995 to 2020. These options were
ranked using several criteria including environmental performance.
Favorable options were formulated into strategies. A group of options
drawn from several effective strategies was chosen as TVA's preferred
alternative. The supply-side options selected to meet peaking and
baseload capacity needs through the 2005 period included: (1) Addition
of simple cycle or combined cycle combustion turbines to TVA's
generation system, (2) purchase of call options for peaking or baseload
capacity, and (3) market purchases of peaking or baseload 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. This
is in addition to the baseload capacity additions of the successful
completion of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 1 and the return to service
of Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Unit 3.
Each year TVA provides updated projections of supply and demand for
the TVA sub-region of the Southeastern Electric Reliability Council.
This is for the U.S. Department of Energy's annual report EIA-411. This
year's report shows expected peak demands growing at 2.2 percent from
1999 to 2003 and beyond. The net capacity resources needed to meet the
growth in demand increases 2,000 megawatts by year 2001, and 3,400
megawatts by year 2003. (See line item 13 on Table--Item 2.1 Projected
Capacity and Demand--Summer of the EIA-411 report.) The addition of the
combustion turbines is needed by TVA to meet the peaking capacity
requirements from both the reliability and cost standpoint. Baseload
capacity is not expected to be needed until 2004 or 2005.
Since 1995 additional power needs have been met or will be met in
the following ways: (1) Continuing modernization of existing TVA
hydroelectric plants (both conventional and pumped storage) will add
approximately 388 MW of peaking capacity through 2002; (2) the Red
Hills Power Project, a 440 MW lignite coal fired plant will begin
commercial baseload operation in 2001 (TVA Record of Decision, 63 FR
44944); (3) 680 MW of simple cycle combustion turbines are proposed for
the TVA Johnsonville, Colbert and Gallatin Fossil Plants with
commercial operation as early as June 2000 (Final EIS Notice of
Availability, 64 FR 27782); (4) various power purchase agreements in
effect over this period; (5) demand side customer service programs
continue to be implemented through TVA power distributors with an
estimated 154 MW of capacity added from 1995 through 1999 and an
additional 264 MW from 2000 through 2002; (6) distributed generation
initiatives are being pursued by TVA and include operation of the 14 MW
emergency diesel generators at the unfinished Bellefonte Nuclear Power
Plant site; and (7) a Green Power Program that would begin in 2000 as a
market test with several MW of capacity. Technologies for this program
may include landfill gas, photovoltiacs, and wind.
Because Energy Vision 2020 identified and evaluated alternative
supply-side and demand-side energy resources and technologies for
meeting peak and baseload capacity needs, this EIS will not reevaluate
those alternatives. This EIS will focus on the site-specific impacts of
constructing and operating simple cycle combustion turbines and
combined cycle plants at several candidate sites.
Proposed Issues To Be Addressed
The EIS will describe the existing environmental and socioeconomic
resources at and in the vicinity of each candidate site that would be
affected by construction and operation of a power plant. TVA's
evaluation of environmental impacts to these resources will include,
but not necessarily be limited to the potential 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.
Alternatives
The results of evaluating the potential environmental impacts and
other important issues identified in the scoping process together with
engineering and economic considerations will be used by TVA in
selecting a preferred alternative. At this time, TVA has identified the
following alternatives for detailed evaluation: (1) Construct and
operate simple cycle combustion turbine peaking plants at
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one of the candidate sites as early as June 2001 with and without
future conversion to a combined cycle plant, (2) construct and operate
a combined cycle baseload plant at the candidate site, (3) construct
and operate both peaking and baseload plants at the candidate site, 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 soon after a decision has been reached to prepare an EIS in
order to provide an early and open process for determining the scope
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.
TVA conducted a public scoping meeting in Brownsville, Tennessee on
April 19th. Brownsville is the county seat of Haywood County where the
three candidate sites are being considered. At this meeting, using an
open house format, TVA management and project staff presented overviews
of the EIS process and the proposed power plant project, and answered
questions and solicited comments on the issues that the public would
like addressed in the EIS. This meeting was publicized through notices
in local newspapers, by TVA press release, and in meetings between TVA
officials and local elected officials preceding the public meetings.
Approximately 25 persons attended this meeting.
The agencies to be included in the interagency scoping are U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation, the Tennessee State
Historic Preservation Officer, and other agencies as appropriate.
After consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will further
develop alternatives and 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 draft EIS by December 1999 and a final EIS by
June 2000.
Dated: May 25, 1999.
Ruben O. Hernandez,
Vice President, Resource Stewardship.
[FR Doc. 99-13747 Filed 6-2-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P
