[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]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Environmental Impact Statement: Lignite Power Generation 
Facility, Choctaw County, MS

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 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 [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Charles Bach, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, mail stop: CTR 1D, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35662-1010. E-mail 
may be sent to [email protected].

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