[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 102 (Friday, May 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30716-30718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-10662]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Construction and Operation of the Proposed Big Stone II Power 
Plant and Transmission Project, South Dakota and Minnesota

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), U.S. 
Department of Energy (DOE) intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the construction and operation of the proposed Big 
Stone II Power Plant and Transmission Project (Project) in South Dakota 
and Minnesota. The Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (RUS), will participate as a cooperating agency. Missouri 
River Energy Services (MRES, Applicant), on behalf of the Big Stone II 
Project co-owners, has applied to interconnect the proposed Project to 
Western's power transmission system. The EIS will address the 
construction and operation of the proposed Project, which includes a 
nominal 600 megawatt (MW) (net) coal-fired power plant and ancillary 
equipment and facilities in eastern South Dakota, upgrades of existing 
transmission lines and facilities, and up to 129 miles of new 
transmission lines in South Dakota and Minnesota. Western will hold a 
60-day scoping period and scoping meetings near the Project area to 
receive input on the scope of the EIS.

DATES: Open-house public scoping meetings will be held June 14-16, 
2005, between 5 and 8 p.m. Written comments on the scope of the EIS 
must be received by 11:59 p.m., July 26, 2005 which marks the end of 
the EIS scoping period.

ADDRESSES: The open-house public scoping meetings will be held in South 
Dakota and Minnesota. The June 14, 2005, meeting will be held at the 
Lantern Inn, 1010 S. Dakota Street in Milbank, South Dakota. On June 
15, 2005, the meeting will be held at the Best Western Prairie Inn, 200 
E. Highway 28 in Morris, Minnesota. The June 16, 2005, meeting will be 
held at the Kilowatt Community Center, 600 Kilowatt Drive in Granite 
Falls, Minnesota. Written comments regarding the scoping process should 
be addressed to NEPA Document Manager, Big Stone II EIS, A7400, Western 
Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213, 
telephone (800) 336-7288, fax (720) 962-7263 or 7269, e-mail 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: NEPA Document Manager, Big Stone II 
EIS, A7400, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 281213, 
Lakewood, CO 80228-8213, telephone (800) 336-7288, fax (720) 962-7263 
or 7269, e-mail [email protected]. For general information on DOE's 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review procedures or status of 
a NEPA review, contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director of NEPA Policy 
and Compliance, EH-42, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 
472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western intends to prepare an EIS on the 
proposal by the Project co-owners to construct and operate the Project 
in eastern South Dakota and western Minnesota. The Project co-owners 
include:
     Otter Tail Corporation dba Otter Tail Power Company, lead 
developer, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
     Missouri River Energy Services, applicant, Sioux Falls, 
South Dakota
     Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Blue Earth, 
Minnesota
     Great River Energy, Elk River, Minnesota
     Heartland Consumers Power District, Madison, South Dakota
     Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a Division of MDU Resources 
Group, Inc., Bismarck, North Dakota
     Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Rochester, 
Minnesota
    The EIS will address the construction and operation of the proposed 
Project, which includes a nominal 600 MW (net) coal-fired power plant 
and ancillary equipment and facilities in eastern South Dakota, 
upgrades of existing transmission lines and facilities, and up to 129 
miles of new transmission lines in South Dakota and Minnesota. In 
addition to the proposed action, the no-action alternative, and any 
action alternatives defined as a result of the EIS scoping process will 
also be addressed in the EIS. The EIS process will comply with NEPA (42 
U.S.C. 4321-4347, as amended), Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOE 
NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
    MRES has applied to interconnect the proposed Project to Western's 
power transmission system. Western is a power marketing agency of DOE 
that markets Federal electric power to municipalities, public 
utilities, and Native American tribes. Western offers capacity on its 
transmission system to deliver electricity when such capacity is 
available, under Western's Open Access Transmission Service Tariff (63 
FR 5376). The Tariff has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (Commission) as meeting or exceeding the requirements of the 
Commission's Final Order Nos. 888, 888A, 888B and 888C, which are 
intended to ensure non-discriminatory transmission system access. 
Pursuant to the Commission's Order Nos. 2003, 2003-A and 2003-B, 
Western submitted revisions to its non-jurisdictional Tariff on January 
25, 2005, to the Commission. The purpose of the filing was to revise 
certain terms of Western's original Tariff and to incorporate the Large 
Generator Interconnection Procedures, and a Large Generator 
Interconnection Agreement. Western needs to grant or deny MRES's 
interconnection request under the provisions of its revised Tariff.
    Seven co-owners are proposing to construct a second electric 
generating unit, named Big Stone II, on an industrial site adjacent to 
the existing Big Stone Plant (unit 1) located in Grant County east of 
Milbank and northwest of Big Stone City, South Dakota. On-site 
construction is proposed to begin in the spring of 2007, with proposed 
commercial operation in 2011. The Project would serve the co-owners' 
customer base loads.
    The existing Big Stone Plant is located on an approximately 2,200-
acre site. Otter Tail Power Company owns a 295-acre parcel adjacent to 
the existing site and has under option to purchase, on behalf of the 
Project, an additional 625 acres. Based on preliminary project 
engineering, the Project co-owners have legal access to all plant site 
property that is necessary to complete Big Stone II construction. A 
portion of the existing Big Stone Plant site is leased to the Northern 
Lights Ethanol Plant and provides steam and process water to that 
facility.

[[Page 30717]]

    Constructing Big Stone II at the site of an existing facility would 
considerably reduce the construction costs of a new plant. The proposed 
plant would share existing infrastructure, including cooling water 
intake structure, pumping system, and delivery line; plant road and 
rail spur; coal unloading facilities; and solid waste disposal 
facilities. The existing plant road and rail spur would provide site 
access. No changes are expected to these existing features to 
accommodate the Project.
    The Project co-owners would construct a nominal 600 MW (net) 
electric generating station using a single pulverized coal fired steam 
generator (boiler) with balanced-draft combustion and a single reheat 
steam turbine. The plant would be designed to burn approximately 2.5 to 
3 million tons of Powder River Basin sub-bituminous coal annually. This 
fuel is relatively high-moisture, low-sulfur coal with excellent 
combustion but low grindability qualities. Big Stone II would be 
designed to normally operate at its maximum continuous rating output. 
The Project would serve the co-owners' customer base loads.
    Subject to a final design and regulatory approval, emissions 
control equipment would likely include selective catalytic reduction 
for nitrogen oxide reduction, a fabric filter (baghouse) for 
particulate collection, followed by a wet scrubber for sulfur dioxide 
removal. The proposed emission control technologies are configured to 
provide the greatest mercury emission reductions.
    Treated cooling water for the water-cooled surface condenser at the 
proposed plant would be provided from a closed-loop circulating water 
system that includes a new mechanical draft cooling tower and 
circulating water pumps. Raw water for the cooling system would be 
supplied from the existing Big Stone Plant cooling pond. The water for 
the cooling pond would be supplied from Big Stone Lake via an existing 
water line and intake structure. Potable water for drinking fountains, 
washrooms, showers, and toilet facilities would be supplied from the 
area's rural water system.
    The design of the wastewater treatment system for Big Stone II 
would maintain the ``zero discharge'' design of the existing Big Stone 
Plant. Design features would include containment areas around 
equipment, oil/water separator, brine concentrator, and on-site storm 
water collection system. In addition, oil collected from the oil/water 
separator and other plant-generated waste oils would be burned in one 
of the two coal-fired boilers for energy recovery. Sanitary waste from 
showers, wash basins, and toilets would be collected for treatment in 
the existing Big Stone Plant treatment system.
    The Project co-owners intend to market ash as a commodity suitable 
for use in a number of applications including replacement of Portland 
cement in concrete, soil stabilization, and structural fill. Excess 
ash, and ash not meeting marketable specifications, would be disposed 
of in the existing Big Stone Plant on-site ash landfill. The existing 
Big Stone Plant and the proposed Big Stone II would produce 
approximately 300,000 to 350,000 cubic yards of ash annually, based on 
expected average coal characteristics. Operating both units until 2040 
could require development of approximately 95 acres of new landfill.
    Electric output from the proposed Big Stone II would be stepped up 
to 230 kilovolts (kV) and interconnected to the transmission system at 
the existing Big Stone Plant site. The existing plant site currently 
has four transmission outlets. Two of these outlets are operated at 230 
kV, one terminates north of the existing plant site near Hankinson, 
North Dakota, and the other terminates south of the existing plant site 
near Blair, South Dakota. The other two transmission outlets are 
operated at 115 kV; one terminates north of Big Stone City on the 
Graceville-Morris 115-kV line, and the other terminates at Western's 
Granite Falls Substation in Minnesota.
    The Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) conducted an 
Interconnection Study for the Project (MISO project number G392, queue 
number 38020-01) that outlines required upgrades for interconnecting 
the proposed Big Stone II to the current interstate transmission 
system. The study proposed two different interconnection alternatives 
to meet the steady-state system requirements:
    A. Alternative A would include approximately 56 miles of new 
transmission line and approximately 80 miles of line upgrades: A new 
230-kV line from the existing Big Stone Plant site to Ortonville, 
Minnesota (about seven miles) with an upgrade of the Ortonville to 
Johnson Junction to Morris, Minnesota line (about 41 miles) from 115 kV 
to 230 kV, and a new 230-kV line from the existing Big Stone Plant site 
to Canby, Minnesota (about 49 miles) with an upgrade of the Canby to 
Granite Falls, Minnesota line (about 39 miles) from 115 kV to 230 kV. 
The lines would interconnect at Western's Morris and Granite Falls 
substations, and modifications to these substations would be required.
    B. Alternative B would include approximately 129 miles of new 
transmission line and approximately 39 miles of line upgrades: a new 
230-kV line from the existing Big Stone Plant site to just east of 
Spicer, Minnesota (about 80 miles), and a new 230-kV line from the 
existing Big Stone Plant site to Canby (about 49 miles) with an upgrade 
of the Canby to Granite Falls, Minnesota line from 115 kV to 230 kV 
(about 39 miles). Western is the owner of the Granite Falls Substation 
where the latter line would interconnect. Modifications to the Granite 
Falls Substation and a new substation at Spicer would be required.
    Under the current MISO tariff and Western interconnection 
requirements, further analysis is required before firm transmission 
service can be granted for the Project. This analysis will be performed 
through a System Impact (or ``Delivery Service'') Study. The results of 
this study and other regional planning may also identify additional 
transmission system improvements or other design criteria needed to 
accommodate the reliable delivery of the electric output from the 
Project to the co-owners' systems. These additional improvements would 
be analyzed for environmental impacts. Any necessary transmission line 
construction would be owned and maintained by one or more of the 
Project co-owners.
    The states of Minnesota and South Dakota require the project co-
owners to meet certain requirements for siting private transmission 
lines within their states. In Minnesota, a Certificate of Need from the 
Public Utilities Commission and a Route Permit for a Large High-Voltage 
Transmission Line from the Environmental Quality Board for the portion 
of the transmission lines located in Minnesota would be required. In 
South Dakota, a Transmission Facility Route Permit for the portion of 
the transmission lines in South Dakota would be required.
    Interconnection of the proposed Big Stone II Project would 
incorporate a major new generation resource into Western's power 
transmission system, including upgrades to existing substations and 
construction of new transmission lines. Therefore, Western has 
determined that an EIS is required under DOE NEPA Implementing 
Procedures, 10 CFR part 1021, Subpart D, Appendix D, class of action 
D6. Western will be the lead Federal agency for preparing the EIS, as 
defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. In addition, Great River Energy anticipates 
applying for a loan from the RUS to finance its portion of the proposed 
Project, so RUS has been

[[Page 30718]]

designated a cooperating agency. Western will invite other Federal, 
state, local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to environmental issues to be cooperating 
agencies on the EIS, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.6. Such agencies may 
also make a request to Western to be a cooperating agency. Designated 
cooperating agencies have certain responsibilities to support the NEPA 
process, as specified at 40 CFR 1501.6 (b).
    Full public participation and disclosure are planned for the entire 
EIS process. Western anticipates the EIS process will take about 15 
months, and will include the open-house public scoping meetings; 
consultation and involvement with appropriate Federal, state, local, 
and tribal governmental agencies; public review and hearings on the 
published draft EIS; a review period; a published final EIS; and 
publication of a record of decision expected in mid-summer 2006. 
Additional informal public meetings may be held in the proposed Project 
area if public interest and issues indicate a need. Western will also 
mail newsletters to the proposed Project mailing list to communicate 
Project status and developments.
    Western will hold a 60-day scoping period to ensure that interested 
members of the public and representatives of groups, and Federal, 
state, local, and tribal agencies have an opportunity to provide input 
on the scope of the process and the alternatives that will be addressed 
in the EIS. Western will also hold public open-house scoping meetings 
near the Project area during the scoping period. The purpose of the 
scoping meetings will be to provide information about the proposed 
Project, answer questions, and take written comments from interested 
parties.
    The open-house public scoping meetings will be held on June 14, 
2005, at the Lantern Inn, 1010 S. Dakota Street, Milbank, South Dakota; 
on June 15, 2005, at the Best Western Prairie Inn, 200 E. Highway 28, 
Morris, Minnesota; and on June 16, 2005, at the Kilowatt Community 
Center, 600 Kilowatt Drive, Granite Falls, Minnesota. Members of the 
public and representatives of groups, Federal, state, local and tribal 
agencies are invited to attend anytime between 5 and 8 p.m. Attendees 
at the scoping meetings will have the opportunity to view proposed 
Project and NEPA process displays and other information. The open-house 
scoping meetings will be informal, with Western and Project 
representatives available for one-on-one discussions with attendees. 
Written comments regarding the scoping process may be left with one of 
Western's representatives at the scoping meetings, or may be provided 
by fax, e-mail or U.S. Postal Service mail to Western as noted above.

R. Jack Dodd,
Assistant Administrator for Washington Liaison.
[FR Doc. 05-10662 Filed 5-26-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P