[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 155 (Wednesday, August 12, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43226-43227]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21580]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Environmental Impact Statement for Addition of Electric 
Generation Peaking Capacity

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 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 [email protected].

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 [email protected].

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-NOx 
combustion chambers and/or water injection for NOx 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 NOx 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

[[Page 43227]]

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. 98-21580 Filed 8-11-98; 8:45 am]
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