[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 73 (Friday, April 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20142-20145]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-9301]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Kentucky Pioneer Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle 
Demonstration Project, Trapp, KY and Notice of Floodplain Involvement

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Notice of Floodplain Involvement.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) pursuant to the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and the DOE 
NEPA regulations (10 CFR part 1021), to assess the potential 
environmental and human health impacts of a proposed project to design, 
construct, and operate a demonstration electric-power generating plant 
in Trapp, Clark County, Kentucky. The proposed Integrated Gasification 
Combined Cycle (IGCC) project, selected under the Clean Coal Technology 
Program, would be the first commercial-scale demonstration of the fixed 
bed British Gas Lurgi (BGL) gasification process in the United States. 
The proposed project would also demonstrate a high-temperature molten 
carbonate fuel cell and would involve the construction and operation of 
a nominal 400 MWe (megawatt-electric) IGCC power station. Feed to the 
BGL gasifiers would be solid fuel briquettes. The EIS will help DOE 
decide whether to provide 18 percent (approximately $78M) of the 
funding for the currently estimated $432 M proposed project.
    The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to inform the public about 
the proposed action; announce the plans for a public scoping meeting; 
invite public participation in (and explain) the EIS scoping process; 
and solicit public comments for consideration in establishing the 
proposed scope and content of the EIS. The EIS will evaluate the 
proposed project and reasonable alternatives. Because the proposed 
project may affect floodplains, the EIS will include a floodplain 
assessment and a statement of findings in accordance with DOE 
regulations for compliance with floodplain environmental review 
requirements (10 CFR part 1022).

DATES: To ensure that all of the issues related to this proposal are 
addressed, DOE invites comments on the proposed scope and content of 
the EIS from all interested parties. Comments must be received by May 
31, 2000, to ensure consideration. Later comments will be considered to 
the extent practicable. In addition to receiving comments in writing 
and by telephone, DOE will conduct a public scoping meeting in which 
agencies, organizations, and the general public are invited to present 
oral comments or suggestions with regard to the range of actions, 
alternatives, and impacts to be considered in the EIS. The scoping 
meeting will be held at Trapp Elementary School, Trapp, Kentucky on May 
4, 2000, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (See Public Scoping Process). The 
public is invited to an informal session at this location beginning at 
4:00 p.m. to learn more about the proposed action. Displays and other 
forms of information about the proposed agency action and location will 
be available, and DOE personnel will be present to answer questions.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed EIS scope and requests to 
participate in the public scoping meeting should be addressed to: Mr. 
Roy Spears, NEPA Document Manager for the Kentucky Pioneer IGCC 
Demonstration Project, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 3610 Collins Ferry Road, Morgantown, WV 26507-
0880. People who would like to otherwise participate in the public 
scoping process should contact Mr. Spears directly at: telephone 304-
285-5460; toll free telephone 1-800-432-8330 (extension 5460); fax 304-
285-4403; or e-mail [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain additional information about 
this project or to receive a copy of the draft EIS for review when it 
is issued, contact Mr. Roy Spears at the address provided above. For 
general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol 
M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Assistance (EH-42), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 
20585-0119; telephone 202-586-4600 or leave a message at 1-800-472-
2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 20143]]

Background and Need for Agency Action

    Under Public Law 102-154, the U.S. Congress provided authorization 
and funds to DOE for conducting cost-shared Clean Coal Technology 
Program projects for the design, construction, and operation of 
facilities that significantly advance the efficiency and environmental 
performance of coal-using technologies and are applicable to either new 
or existing facilities. The purpose of this proposed agency action, 
which is known as the Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project, is 
to establish the commercial viability of the fixed bed BGL gasification 
process in the United States and the operation of a high temperature 
molten carbonate fuel cell using coal derived gas. The IGCC plants have 
long been recognized as being environmentally superior to conventional 
coal-fired power plants while operating at significantly higher 
efficiencies. The proposed project would demonstrate the improved 
economic viability and process flexibility of the BGL technology and 
promote fuel cells as a viable commercial source of electricity. A 
slipstream of syngas would be routed to a fuel cell to produce 
additional electricity in this demonstration project.
    Since the early 1970s, DOE and its predecessor agencies have 
pursued research and development programs that include long-term, high-
risk activities that support the development of innovative concepts for 
a wide variety of coal technologies through the proof-of-concept stage. 
However, the availability of a technology at the proof-of-concept stage 
is not sufficient to ensure its continued development and subsequent 
commercialization. Before any technology can be considered seriously 
for commercialization, it must be demonstrated. The financial risk 
associated with technology demonstration is, in general, too high for 
the private sector to assume in the absence of strong incentives. The 
Clean Coal Technology Program is a congressionally authorized program 
designed to accelerate the development of innovative technologies to 
meet the Nation's near-term energy and environmental goals; to reduce 
technological risk to the business community to an acceptable level; 
and to provide private sector incentives required for continued 
activity in innovative research and development directed at providing 
solutions to long-range energy supply problems.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is for DOE to provide, through a cooperative 
agreement with Kentucky Pioneer Energy, L.L.C., financial assistance 
for the design, construction, and operation of the proposed project. 
The Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project would be designed for 
at least 20 years of commercial operation, beginning with a 2-year 
Clean Coal Technology demonstration, and would cost a total of 
approximately $432 M; DOE's share would be approximately $78 M (18%).
    The proposed project includes the design, construction, and 
operation of a new 400 MWe IGCC power plant in rural Clark County, 
Kentucky. Kentucky Pioneer Energy, L.L.C. would use licensed 
gasification technology to fuel an electric generating facility. The 
facility would demonstrate the three following innovative technologies: 
(1) Gasification of fuel briquettes; (2) use of the syngas product as a 
clean fuel in combined cycle turbine generator sets; and (3) operation 
of a high temperature molten carbonate fuel cell on coal derived 
syngas. This project would be the first commercial scale application of 
the BGL gasification technology in the United States. This would also 
be the first commercial scale demonstration of a molten carbonate fuel 
cell operating on coal derived gas. Construction of the proposed plant 
would be expected to require approximately 30 months.
    The project consists of the following components: Briquettes and 
raw material transportation, receipt, and storage; sulfur removal and 
recovery; a gasification plant; a combined cycle power unit; and a fuel 
cell. The IGCC facility would provide needed power capacity to the 
central and eastern Kentucky areas.
    To supply the proposed plant and other potential customers with 
fuel briquettes, the parent company of the applicant, Global Energy, 
Inc., would construct a production facility at an off-site location. 
The briquettes would be made from high-sulfur coal (at least 50%) and 
refuse (municipal solid waste). The location of the briquette 
manufacturing facility remains to be determined. However, sources of 
low-cost high-sulfur coal, refuse availability and supporting 
infrastructure would be considered by Global in siting the facility. 
The EIS will consider potential environmental impacts from operation of 
a briquette facility.
    The IGCC technology that Kentucky Pioneer Energy, L.L.C. would be 
demonstrating consists of the following four steps: (1) Generation of 
syngas by reacting fuel briquettes with steam and oxygen, creating a 
high-temperature, chemically reducing atmosphere; (2) removal of 
contaminants, including particulates and sulfur; (3) combustion of 
clean syngas in a turbine generator to produce electricity; and (4) 
recovery of residual heat in the hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine 
in a heat recovery steam generator and use of the steam to produce 
additional electricity in a steam turbine generator.
    The proposed project site comprises approximately 300 acres located 
within a 3,120-acre tract, owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative 
(EKPC) in Clark County, Kentucky. The tract is 34 kilometers (21 miles) 
southeast of the city of Lexington. The site can be reached by State 
Highway 89 and accessed through a gated perimeter fence and access 
road.
    The 300-acre proposed project site was previously disturbed by 
preliminary construction activities when EKPC began construction of its 
first-phase power station in the mid-1980s. That project was canceled 
in the early 1990s when decreased demand for electric power made the 
project uneconomical. EKPC completed preliminary grading, primary 
foundations, fire protection piping and rail spur access infrastructure 
installation before the project was cancelled.
    The Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project would be designed 
to minimize expected or potential adverse impacts to the environment. 
Advanced process technology, efficient pollution control technology, 
and effective pollution prevention measures, including extensive reuse 
of internal process water, would be employed to minimize impacts.

Alternatives

    Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA requires that agencies discuss the 
reasonable alternatives to the proposed action in an EIS. The purpose 
for agency action determines the range of reasonable alternatives. The 
goals of the proposed agency action establish the limits of its 
reasonable alternatives. Congress established the Clean Coal Technology 
Program with a specific purpose: To demonstrate the commercial 
viability of technologies that use coal in more environmentally benign 
ways than conventional coal technologies. Congress also directed DOE to 
pursue the goals of the legislation by means of partial funding (cost 
sharing) of projects owned and controlled by non-Federal government 
sponsors. This statutory requirement places DOE in a much more limited 
role than if the Federal

[[Page 20144]]

government were the owner and operator of the project. In the latter 
situation, DOE would be responsible for a comprehensive review of 
reasonable alternatives for siting the project. However, in dealing 
with an applicant, the scope of alternatives is necessarily more 
restricted because the agency must focus on alternative ways to 
accomplish its purpose that reflect both the application before it and 
the functions the agency plays in the decision process. It is 
appropriate in such cases for DOE to give substantial consideration to 
the applicant's needs in establishing a project's reasonable 
alternatives.
    DOE developed an overall NEPA compliance strategy for the Clean 
Coal Technology Program that includes consideration of both 
programmatic and project-specific environmental impacts during and 
after the process of selecting a proposed project. As part of the NEPA 
strategy, the EIS for the Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project 
will tier from the Clean Coal Technology Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement (PEIS) that DOE issued in November 1989 (DOE/EIS-
0146). Two alternatives were evaluated in the PEIS: (1) The no-action 
alternative, which assumed that the Clean Coal Technology Program was 
not continued and that power suppliers would continue to use 
conventional coal-fired technologies with flue gas desulfurization and 
nitrogen oxide controls to meet New Source Performance Standards; and 
(2) the proposed action, which assumed that Clean Coal Technology 
Program projects would be selected and funded, and that successfully 
demonstrated technologies would undergo widespread commercialization by 
the year 2010.
    The range of reasonable options to be considered in the EIS for the 
proposed Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project is determined in 
accordance with the overall NEPA strategy. The EIS also will include an 
analysis of the no-action alternative, as required under NEPA. Under 
the no-action alternative, DOE would not provide partial funding for 
the design, construction, and operation of the project. In the absence 
of DOE funding, the Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project 
probably would not be constructed. If the proposed Kentucky Pioneer 
IGCC Demonstration Project were not built, EKPC may use alternative, 
less efficient sources for electric power to meet future demands of its 
customers. Alternatives to the proposed project could include 
purchasing power from other sources, adding generation capacity that 
does not rely on the IGCC technology, or using some other current 
technology. DOE will consider other reasonable alternatives that may be 
suggested during the public scoping period.
    Because of DOE's limited role of providing cost-shared funding for 
the proposed Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project, and because 
of advantages associated with the proposed location, DOE does not plan 
to evaluate alternative sites for the proposed project. Site selection 
was governed primarily by benefits that EKPC could realize. EKPC 
preferred the proposed project site because the costs would be much 
higher and the environmental impacts would likely be greater for an 
undisturbed area.
    Under the proposed action, project activities would include 
engineering and design, permitting, fabrication and construction, 
testing, and demonstration of the technology. DOE plans to complete the 
EIS and issue a Record of Decision within 15 months of publication of 
this Notice of Intent, assuming timely delivery of information from 
Kentucky Pioneer Energy, L.L.C. that DOE needs for preparing the EIS. 
Upon completion of the demonstration, the facility could continue 
commercial operation.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The following issues have been tentatively identified for analysis 
in the EIS. This list, which was developed on the basis of analyses of 
similar projects and from agency concerns, and is presented to 
facilitate public comment on the scope of the EIS, is neither intended 
to be all-inclusive nor a predetermined set of potential impacts. 
Additions to or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the 
scoping process.
    The issues include:
    (1) Atmospheric resources: Potential air quality impacts resulting 
from emissions during construction and operation of the Kentucky 
Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project and the briquette manufacturing 
plant;
    (2) Water resources: Potential effects on surface and groundwater 
resources and withdrawal of water from the Kentucky River;
    (3) Infrastructure and land use, including potential effects 
resulting from the manufacture, transportation, and storage of the 
briquettes required for the proposed project;
    (4) Solid waste: Pollution prevention and waste management 
practices, including impacts caused by waste generation and treatment 
at the proposed project and briquette manufacturing plant;
    (5) Noise: Potential impacts resulting from construction, 
transportation of materials, and plant operation for the proposed 
project and briquette manufacturing plant;
    (6) Construction: Impacts associated with traffic patterns and 
construction related emissions;
    (7) Floodplains: Impacts associated with extension of a water 
intake structure in the Kentucky River;
    (8) Community impacts, including impacts from local traffic 
patterns, socioeconomic impacts on public services and infrastructure, 
and environmental justice (Executive Order 12898) with respect to the 
surrounding community;
    (9) Cumulative effects that result from the incremental impacts of 
the proposed project when added to the other past, present, and 
reasonably foreseeable future actions; and,
    (10) Visual impacts associated with plant structures.

Public Scoping Process

    To ensure that all issues related to this proposal are addressed, 
DOE will conduct an open process to define the scope of the EIS. The 
public scoping period will run until May 31, 2000. Interested agencies, 
organizations, and the general public are encouraged to submit comments 
or suggestions concerning the content of the EIS, issues and impacts to 
be addressed in the EIS, and the alternatives that should be analyzed. 
Scoping comments should describe specific issues or topics that the EIS 
should address in order to assist DOE in identifying significant 
issues. Written, e-mailed, or faxed comments should be communicated by 
May 31, 2000 (see ADDRESSES).
    DOE will conduct a public scoping meeting at Trapp Elementary 
School in Trapp, Kentucky on May 4, 2000, at 7 p.m. The address of 
Trapp Elementary School is 11400 Irvine Road, Highway 89 South, 
Winchester, Kentucky 40391. In addition, the public is invited to an 
informal session at this location beginning at 4 p.m. to learn more 
about the proposed action. Displays and other information about the 
proposed agency action and location will be available, and DOE 
personnel will be present to answer questions.
    The formal scoping meeting will begin on May 4, 2000, at 7 p.m. DOE 
asks people who wish to speak at this public scoping meeting to contact 
Mr. Roy Spears, either by phone, fax, computer, or in writing (see 
ADDRESSES in this Notice). People who do not arrange in advance to 
speak may register at the meeting (preferably at the beginning of the 
meeting) and may

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speak after previously scheduled speakers. Speakers who want more than 
five minutes should indicate the length of time desired in their 
request. Depending on the number of speakers, DOE may need to limit 
speakers to five minutes initially, and provide additional 
opportunities as time permits. Speakers may also provide written 
materials to supplement their presentations. Oral and written comments 
will be given equal consideration.
    DOE will begin the meeting with an overview of the proposed 
Kentucky Pioneer IGCC Demonstration Project. The meeting will not be 
conducted as an evidentiary hearing, and speakers will not be cross-
examined. However, speakers may be asked questions to help ensure that 
DOE fully understands their comments or suggestions. A presiding 
officer will establish the order of speakers and provide any additional 
procedures necessary to conduct the meeting.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 10th day of April, 2000.
David Michaels,
Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 00-9301 Filed 4-13-00; 8:45 am]
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