[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81947-81948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32934]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement on 
Proposal to Transfer 710 Acres at Site of the Previously Proposed 
Hartsville Nuclear Plant, Trousdale and Smith Counties, Tennessee

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: Members of the local communities in Trousdale and Smith 
Counties, Tennessee have requested TVA to transfer 710 acres (about 287 
hectares) of land within the site of the formerly proposed Hartsville 
Nuclear Plant to a public/private entity for industrial and office 
development. TVA will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or 
environmental impact statement (EIS) that assesses the impacts of the 
transfer. We are inviting comments concerning the scope of the issues 
and the alternatives that should be addressed in the EA/EIS.
    TVA will begin by developing an EA for the proposed transfer. In 
the event that information gathered or analyses conducted in preparing 
this EA indicate that the proposal could have a significant impact on 
the environment, the agency will prepare an EIS. If TVA decides to 
prepare an EIS, the scoping process now underway for the EA will be 
used for the EIS and will not be repeated.
    How and When to Comment: Send written comments to Peter K. 
Scheffler, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, 
Knoxville, Tennessee, 37902-1499. Send comments by e-mail to 
[email protected]. You may comment by telephone to TVA's automated 
voice mail system at 1-800-TVA-LAND (882-5263). Mailed comments should 
be postmarked no later than 30 days following publication of this 
notice in the Federal Register to ensure consideration. E-mailed and 
telephoned comments should be made no later than 30 days following 
publication to ensure consideration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You can find information on TVA's web 
site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports. For basic project information 
you can also contact Michael A. Montgomery, Tennessee Valley Authority, 
P.O. Box 292409, Nashville, TN 37229-2409; 615/232-6053,; 
[email protected]. For information on the environmental review, you 
can contact Charles L. McEntyre, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101 
Market Street, HB 2A, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801; 423/751-4123; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    TVA acquired 1,940 acres (about 785 hectares) of land in Trousdale 
and Smith Counties, Tennessee, in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a 
site on which to construct a nuclear power plant. The site is located 
on the Cumberland River on the north shore of Old Hickory Reservoir at 
approximate river mile 285. The town of Hartsville is about 5 miles (8 
kilometers) northwest of the site, and Nashville is about 40 miles 
(about 64 kilometers) southwest.
    TVA prepared an EIS for the proposed nuclear plant on the proposed 
nuclear plant and made it available to the public on May 23, 1975. 
Following completion of the EIS, TVA began construction of the plant, 
but did not complete it. TVA has used some of the buildings on the site 
for storage and has leased other buildings for industrial activity.
    In the years since the plant construction was discontinued, the 
pace of economic growth in the counties around the site has been slow, 
and high unemployment and low wages continue to be problems. Members of 
the local communities have seen the largely undeveloped site of the 
proposed nuclear plant as a suitable site for an industrial and office 
park which would help remedy the area's economic problems. On June 5, 
2000, members of the local communities and elected representatives met 
with TVA to present the idea of transferring 710 acres (about 287 
hectares) of the site to a public/

[[Page 81948]]

private entity for the park. The requested property lies along the 
western edge of the nuclear plant site and straddles the Trousdale/
Smith County line. At the request of the communities, TVA prepared a 
conceptual plan to evaluate the feasibility of the requested property 
as an industrial/office park from an engineering standpoint. A copy of 
the conceptual plan is shown on TVA's web site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports and can be obtained from Mr. Montgomery or Mr. 
McEntyre.

Proposed Issues To Be Addressed

    The EA/EIS will describe and evaluate the impact of the proposed 
industrial/business park on the existing natural, cultural, and 
socieconomic resources and conditions in the project vicinity. Specific 
issues will include air quality, water quality, terrestrial and aquatic 
life, endangered and threatened species, wetlands, floodplains, 
historic and archaeological resources, (particularly historic 
properties listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of 
Historic Places), jobs, traffic, and existing use of the park site for 
hunting and business activity.

Alternatives

    The EA/EIS will evaluate the impact of reasonable alternatives. The 
alternatives now being contemplated are the transfer of the 710 acres 
as requested by the communities, the transfer of individual tracts when 
requested for specific purposes, and the no-action alternative. TVA 
will take into account the potential impacts of the alternatives on the 
natural, cultural, and socioeconomic resources and conditions, together 
with engineering and economic considerations, to select a preferred 
alternative. The preliminary identification of reasonable alternatives 
and environmental issues in this notice is not meant to be exhaustive 
or final.

Scoping Process

    Scoping, which is integral to the EA/EIS process, ensures that: (1) 
All pertinent issues are identified early and properly studied, (2) 
issues of little significance do not consume substantial time and 
effort, (3) the draft EA/EIS is thorough and balanced, and (4) delays 
caused by an inadequate EA/EIS are avoided. TVA's NEPA procedures 
require that the scoping process begin soon after a decision is made to 
prepare an EA or EIS, to provide an early and open process for 
determining the scope and for identifying the significant issues 
related to a proposed action.
    The scoping process for this review includes specific opportunities 
for both public and interagency input. In addition to this notice 
requesting written comments, TVA is requesting comments by publishing a 
notice in area newspaper and is placing a notice on the TVA web site at 
www.tva.gov/environment/reports. Also, TVA is distributing information 
to and requesting comments from the owners and operators of businesses 
leasing buildings on the site, all persons who have requested permits 
for hunting on the site, the landowners from whom TVA bought of the 
site (who have a life estates for agricultural use of the tracts they 
sold), and other parties who have expressed interest in similar TVA 
activities in middle Tennessee. The public is being asked to submit 
comments on the scope of this EA/EIS no later than 30 days after 
publication of this notice or they receive information through one of 
the other means.
    TVA is also requesting comments from federal, state, and regional 
agencies, and Indian tribes. The federal agencies identified at this 
time for inclusion in the interagency scoping are the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. State agencies include the Tennessee 
Department of Economic and Community Development, Tennessee Department 
of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, 
the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Tennessee 
Commission of Indian Affairs. Regional agencies include the Mid-
Cumberland Council of Governments, Trousdale County, Smith County, and 
the towns of Hartsville and Carthage. Indian tribes include the Eastern 
Band and United Keetoowah Band of the Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee 
Nation of Oklahoma, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, the 
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of 
Oklahoma, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Other agencies, as 
appropriate and identified, will also be included.
    TVA will develop and maintain a mailing list of agencies, 
organizations, and other interested parties who have requested to be 
included in the process. TVA will also maintain a public reference file 
at its Highland Ridge Tower offices, 535 Marriott Drive, Nashville, 
Tennessee, 37214, which will include copies of all written 
correspondence, documents, meeting notices, agendas and summaries, etc.
    After consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will develop the 
sets of environmental issues and alternatives to be addressed in the 
EA/EIS. Once the analysis of the environmental consequences of each 
alternative is completed, TVA will issue a draft EA/EIS for public 
review and comment. TVA will issue public notices announcing the 
availability and requesting comments in area newspapers, post 
information on its web site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports, and 
provide a copy to those who request one in their comments on the scope. 
If an EIS is prepared, a Notice of Availability of the draft EIS will 
also be published in the Federal Register. TVA anticipates completing 
the draft EA/EIS in early 2001.
    If an EA is prepared, a public information meeting on the draft EA/
EIS will be held if adequate public interest in such a meeting has been 
demonstrated. If an EIS is prepared, a public information meeting on 
the draft will be held, with the schedule to be announced in the Notice 
of Availability, the newspapers, TVA's web site, and information 
accompanying the copies of the EIS sent to the public.
    TVA is providing this notice pursuant to the Council on 
Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR 1500 to 1508), TVA's 
procedures implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, and 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its 
implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800).

    Dated: December 20, 2000.
Kathryn J. Jackson,
Executive Vice President, River System Operations & Environment.
[FR Doc. 00-32934 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
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