[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 3 (Friday, January 4, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 576-577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-210]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


COB Energy Facility

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces BPA's intention to prepare an EIS, under 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), on a proposed electrical 
interconnection requested by Peoples Energy Resources Corporation 
(Peoples Energy), to integrate electrical power from the COB Energy 
Facility into the Federal transmission grid. BPA proposes to execute an 
agreement with Peoples Energy to provide them with an interconnection.

DATES: Written comments on the NEPA scoping process are due to the 
address below no later than February 26, 2002. Comments may also be 
made at an EIS scoping open house meeting to be held on January 15, 
2002, at the address below.

ADDRESSES: Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed 
scope of the Draft EIS to Communications, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KC-7, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, Oregon 97212. You may 
also call BPA's toll-free comment line at 1-800-622-4519; name this 
project, and record your complete name, address, and comments. Comments 
may also be sent to the BPA Internet address at [email protected]. To be 
placed on the project mail list, call 1-800-622-4520.
    An open house will be held on January 15, 2002, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., 
at Bonanza Public Library, 31703 Highway 70, Bonanza, Oregon. At this 
informal scoping meeting, BPA staff will answer questions and accept 
oral and written comments, and representatives of BPA and Peoples 
Energy will be available to discuss the proposed project and topics to 
be addressed in the EIS. Information on the proposed project will be 
available for review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas C. McKinney, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621; 
toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct telephone 503-230-4749; or 
e-mail [email protected]. Additional information can be found at BPA's 
web site: www.bpa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will assess the environmental 
consequences of the agreement which BPA proposes with Peoples Energy, 
and the consequences of any modifications to the transmission system 
needed to provide an electrical connection under the terms of the 
agreement. In addition to these Federal actions, the EIS will consider 
the environmental consequences of construction and operation of the COB 
Energy Facility.
    The proposed project has several components. In addition to the 
generating facility itself (described below), other components may 
include: (1) An electrical connection into the BPA's electrical 
transmission system, (2) upgrades to existing BPA Substations, (3) a 
new substation on-site, (4) potential system upgrades to be defined 
through impact studies of the facility, (5) a natural gas pipeline, and 
(6) water supply and process water pipelines.

A. Proposed Action

    The proposed COB Energy Facility would be a power development 
project beginning as a simple-cycle generation facility and expanding 
to a combined-cycle electric generating facility. Nominal generating 
capacity is 600 megawatts in the simple-cycle configuration and 1,150 
megawatts in the combined-cycle configuration. The facility site would 
be located approximately 3 miles south of the City of Bonanza, on the 
east side of West Langell Valley Road No. 520 in Klamath County. The 
combined-cycle facility would consist of four combustion turbine 
generators, and each turbine generator would be coupled with a heat-
recovery steam generator (HRSG) and two HRSG's will couple with a steam 
turbine generator.
    The proposed COB Energy Facility would be fueled by natural gas 
from the existing Pacific Gas & Electric Gas Transmission Northwest 
(PG&E GTN) pipeline and delivered through a new, approximately 4.6-mile 
natural-gas pipeline. Natural gas would be burned in the combustion 
turbines. Expanding gases from combustion would turn rotors within the 
turbines that are connected to electric generators. The hot gases 
exhausted from the combustion turbines would be used to raise steam in 
the HRSGs. Steam from the HRSGs would be expanded through a steam 
turbine that drives its own electric generator. To increase steam-
generating capacity, a duct burner system will be included in each 
HRSG. The duct burner will increase the steam generated in the HRSGs 
and increase the steam generator's electrical output.
    Water would be needed at the facility to generate steam and cool 
the steam process. Water would be supplied from an existing well, known 
as the Babson

[[Page 577]]

well, located approximately 2.8 miles from the facility. The well would 
draw water from the deep basalt aquifer, which is isolated from the 
shallow well aquifer in the area. Process water from the facility would 
be discharged either for land application through nearby irrigation 
district systems, land applied on site for irrigation, or discharged to 
the Lost River during periods allowed by the Oregon Department of 
Environmental Quality.
    The COB Energy Facility would deliver electric power to the 
regional power grid through an interconnection to existing electric 
transmission lines that cross the facility site. The facility would tie 
into two or three of the existing electric transmission lines, owned by 
BPA, PacifiCorp, and Portland General Electric. A transmission planning 
study conducted by the three utilities will determine the optimal 
interconnection among the transmission lines. The study also will 
identify any upgrades to the existing lines or the Malin Substation 
that may be needed.

B. Process to Date

    BPA is the lead Federal agency for the project EIS. The State of 
Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council is currently evaluating the 
Notice of Intent to Apply for a Site Certificate for the COB Energy 
Facility. Oregon's site evaluation process, like NEPA, provides 
opportunity for public participation, and a public meeting will be held 
by representatives from the Oregon Office of Energy at the January 15 
meeting in Bonanza.

C. Alternatives Proposed for Consideration

    Alternatives thus far identified for evaluation in the EIS are: (1) 
The proposed action and (2) no action. Other alternatives may be 
identified through the scoping process.

D. Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues

    BPA intends to prepare an EIS addressing both the COB Energy 
Facility and the associated electric power interconnection facilities. 
BPA has established a 45-day scoping period during which affected 
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that a full 
range of issues related to this proposal is addressed in the EIS and 
also will identify significant or potentially significant impacts that 
may result from the proposed project. When completed, the Draft EIS 
will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold a public 
comment meeting on the Draft EIS. BPA will consider and respond in the 
Final EIS to comments received on the Draft EIS.
    BPA decided to prepare the EIS for the following reasons: (1) The 
COB Energy Facility would depend on an interconnect to existing 
electric transmission lines that may include a BPA line, (2) the 
interconnect could require upgrades to the existing BPA line, (3) the 
interconnection may include a new substation on the site, (4) the 
interconnection may require upgrades to the BPA Malin Substation, (5) 
the interconnect may result in other system impacts identified in the 
transmission study, and (6) no other Federal or State agency is 
currently preparing an EIS on the proposed project. Because no other 
EIS is being prepared, the scope of BPA's EIS will cover both the 
interconnection elements and the COB Energy Facility itself.
    The principal issues identified thus far for consideration in the 
Draft EIS with respect to the COB Energy Facility are as follows: (1) 
Air and water quality impacts, (2) noise impacts from plant operation, 
(3) aesthetic impacts, (4) socioeconomic impacts created by an influx 
of construction workers into a sparsely populated area, (5) impacts on 
wildlife habitat, and (6) cultural resource impacts. The principal 
issues identified thus far for consideration in the Draft EIS with 
respect to the electric power transmission facilities are impacts of 
electrical interconnection on the grid system.
    These issues, together with any additional significant issues 
identified through the scoping process, will be addressed in the EIS.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on December 21, 2001.
Stephen J. Wright,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 02-210 Filed 1-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P