[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 186 (Thursday, September 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55376-55377]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-24253]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers


Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
Proposed Dam Powerhouse Rehabilitations and Possible Operational 
Changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams, Kentucky 
and Tennessee

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers (Corps), Nashville District, will 
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) relating to the 
proposed dam powerhouse rehabilitations and possible operational 
changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in 
Kentucky and Tennessee. This process is necessary to provide National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for proposed changes to the 
features of the project from that described in previous NEPA documents, 
which include the Continued Operation and Maintenance Environmental 
Assessments for each of the named projects and the January 1989 Wolf 
Creek Hydropower Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment. 
The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying existing 
equipment. Due to improvements in technology, rehabilitating the 
equipment would make it possible to produce significantly more power 
from the same amount of water discharged. Changes in equipment and 
operational procedures could also cause higher tailwater heights and 
velocities, but as there is a limited amount of water they would be for 
shorter duration. In addition, alterations to flow regimes are being 
considered to provide minimum flows when hydropower releases are shut 
off. If improvements are successful, other dams may eventually be 
considered for similar changes.

DATES: Written scoping comments on issues to be considered in the DEIS 
will be accepted by the Corps of Engineers until November 28, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments should be mailed to Wayne Easterling, 
Project Planning Branch, Nashville District Corps of Engineers, P.O. 
Box 1070 (PM-P), Nashville, TN 7202-1070, or may be e-mailed to 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information concerning 
the proposed action and DEIS, please contact Wayne Easterling, Project 
Planning Branch, (615) 736-7847.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. The intent of the DEIS is to provide NEPA compliance for changes 
in design features and operating procedures of the Wolf Creek, Center 
Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in the Cumberland River system. All three 
dams are of a similar age, and the turbines and related equipment are 
well beyond their projects life, and have similar proposed 
rehabilitation and operational changes. Operating and equipment changes 
that will be studied could potentially affect more than a combined 
total 60 miles of tailwaters. This would primarily be a result of 
efforts to raise dissolved oxygen levels to at least meet the minimum 
state water quality standards, although flows and elevations could also 
be altered for a significant distance. Furthermore, if the proposed 
changes prove desirable, they could set a precedent for future 
rehabilitations at other hydropower facilities. The Corps, therefore, 
proposes to evaluate these dams programmatically.
    2. The three dams considered under this Environmental Impact 
Statement, Wolf Creek Dam, Center Hill Dam, and Dale Hollow Dam, were 
authorized in the 1930s and constructed in the 1940s before there was a 
significant concern for environmental protection. They all predate the 
NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and 
many other related environmental laws and regulations. Together these 
three Corps projects affect the temperatures, flows, and dissolved 
oxygen (DO) levels of up to 250 miles of the Cumberland River and its 
tributaries. The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying 
existing structures or operating procedures to improve DO in the 
tailwaters. Alterations to flow regimes are being considered to provide 
minimum flows below the dams when hydropower releases are shut off.
    3. Key proposed project features to be evaluated in the DEIS 
include the following:
    a. Rehabilitation of turbines including Auto Venting Turbines to 
improve DO levels in the tailwaters.
    b. Minimum releases to ensure continuous flows between periods of 
generation.
    c. The effects of increased tailwater flows on tailwater parks, 
downstream fishing areas, adjacent low lying farmlands, erosion of 
riverbanks, cultural archaeological and historic sites, and changes to 
the hydraulics and hydrology of the rivers.
    d. Other alternatives studied will include: No Action; restoration 
to the ``original'' 1948 condition; refurbishing existing units; 
oxygenating water in the dam fore bays prior to release; and spilling 
water through the floodgates.
    4. This notice serves to solicit scoping comments from the public; 
federal, state and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and 
other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts 
of this proposed activity. Any comments received during the comment 
period will be considered in the NEPA process. Comments are used to 
assess impacts on fish and wildlife, endangered species, historic 
properties, water quality, water supply and conservation, economics, 
aesthetics, wetlands, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, 
navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, energy

[[Page 55377]]

needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations 
of property ownership, general environmental effects, cumulative 
effects, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Public 
meetings may be held, however, times, dates, or locations have not been 
determined.
    5. Other Federal, State and local approvals required for the 
proposed work include coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, including a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report.
    6. Significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the DEIS include 
impacts to tailwater fisheries, recreation, economics, water quality, 
historic and cultural resources, streambank erosion, future power 
demands, and cumulative impacts. The DEIS should be available in 
September 2004.

Byron G. Jorns,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 03-24253 Filed 9-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GF-M