[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46825-46828]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-15906]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Orlando Gasification Project, Orlando, FL

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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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) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations 
(40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500-1508), and the DOE 
NEPA regulations (10 CFR Part 1021), to assess the potential 
environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of 
a project proposed by Southern Company in partnership with Orlando 
Utilities Commission (OUC), which has been selected by DOE under the 
Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) program. The proposed project would 
demonstrate advanced power generation systems using Integrated 
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology at OUC's Stanton Energy 
Center near Orlando, Florida. The facilities would convert coal into 
synthesis gas for generating between 285 and 330 MW (megawatts) of 
electricity while substantially reducing emissions of sulfur dioxide, 
oxides of nitrogen, and mercury, as compared to conventional coal-fired 
power plants.
    The EIS will help DOE decide whether to provide approximately $235 
million in cost-shared funding (about 42% of the total cost of 
approximately $557 million) for the proposed project. Accordingly, the 
EIS will evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed project and 
reasonable alternatives. The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to 
inform the public about the proposed project; invite public 
participation in the EIS process; announce the plans for a public 
scoping meeting; and solicit public comments for consideration in 
establishing the scope and content of the EIS.

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

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received by September 16, 2005, to ensure consideration. Late 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 alternatives and environmental impacts to be considered in the 
EIS. The scoping meeting will be held at Timber Creek High School, 1001 
Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, on Tuesday, August 30, 2005, 
at 7 p.m. The public is also invited to an informal session at this 
location beginning at 5 p.m. to learn more about the proposed project. 
Displays and other forms of information about the proposed agency 
action and the demonstration plant will be available, and DOE personnel 
will be present at the informal session to discuss the proposed project 
and the EIS process.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the proposed EIS scope and requests to 
participate in the public scoping meeting should be addressed to: Mr. 
Richard A. Hargis, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy 
Technology Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, P.O. Box 10940, 
Pittsburgh, PA 15236-0940. Individuals who want to provide comments 
orally or electronically should contact Mr. Hargis directly by 
telephone: 412-386-6065; toll-free number: 1-888-322-7436; fax: 412-
386-4775; or electronic mail: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: For information about this project or 
to receive a copy of the draft EIS when it is issued, contact Mr. 
Richard A. Hargis as described in ADDRESSES above. For general 
information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, 
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119; 
telephone: 202-586-4600; fax: 202-586-7031; or leave a toll-free 
message at: 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Need for Agency Action

    Since the early 1970s, DOE and its predecessor agencies have 
pursued research and development programs that include long-term, 
technically complex 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 
at a sufficient scale to prove its reliability and to show economically 
competitive performance. The financial risk associated with such large-
scale demonstration is, in general, too high for the private sector to 
assume in the absence of strong incentives.
    The CCPI program was established in 2002 as a government/industry 
partnership to implement the President's National Energy Policy 
recommendation to increase investment in clean coal technology. The 
goal of the CCPI program is to accelerate commercial deployment of 
advanced coal technologies that provide the United States with clean, 
reliable, and affordable energy. Through cooperative agreements 
established with industry, including an agreement with Southern Company 
for the proposed project, the CCPI program plans to advance selected 
coal technologies to commercialization.

Proposed Action

    The proposed action is for DOE to provide, through a cooperative 
agreement with Southern Company, cost-shared financial assistance for 
the proposed Orlando Gasification Project. Southern Company is leading 
a project team that includes OUC and Kellogg, Brown, and Root (KBR), 
the company responsible for engineering and procurement of the 
gasification equipment. The Orlando Gasification Project would be 
designed for long-term commercial operation following completion of a 
4.5-year demonstration period under a 9.5-year cooperative agreement 
with DOE, and would cost a total of approximately $557 million; DOE's 
share would be approximately $235 million (42%). The proposed project 
would be located at OUC's existing Stanton Energy Center near Orlando, 
Florida, which currently generates electricity using two coal-fired 
units, each rated at approximately 465 MW, burning low-sulfur 
bituminous coal, and a natural gas-fired combined-cycle unit rated at 
approximately 633 MW.
    The Stanton Energy Center is located approximately 3 miles east of 
the eastern city limits of Orlando and about 13 miles east-southeast of 
the downtown area. The overall site encompasses 3,280 acres, of which 
approximately 1,100 acres have been licensed by the state of Florida 
and have been developed for power generation and supporting facilities. 
Most of the remaining 2,180 acres are undisturbed, providing a natural 
buffer between the facilities and the surrounding offsite area. The 
topography of the area is relatively flat. The Orlando Gasification 
Project would be constructed on approximately 35 of the 1,100 acres of 
land that were previously cleared, leveled, and licensed for power 
plant use. The project equipment would be located between the existing 
coal-fired units and the existing natural gas-fired combined-cycle 
unit. An existing temporary warehouse may be dismantled to accommodate 
the ancillary facilities required by the proposed project.
    The proposed facilities would demonstrate IGCC technology, which 
uses synthesis gas derived from coal to drive a gas combustion turbine 
and hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine to generate steam from water 
to drive a steam turbine; both turbines generate electricity. At full 
capacity, the new coal gasifier would use up to 3,700 tons of coal per 
day to produce synthesis gas. Up to three trains per week would deliver 
subbituminous coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. Combined, 
the two turbines would generate between 285 and 330 MW (net) of 
electricity. This combined-cycle approach of using a gas turbine and 
steam turbine in tandem increases the amount of electricity that can be 
generated from a given amount of coal.
    The overall objective of the project is to demonstrate the 
feasibility of this selected IGCC technology at a size that would be 
attractive to utilities for commercial operation. The coal gasifier is 
based on a KBR technology that Southern Company and DOE have been 
developing since 1996 at a research facility near Wilsonville, Alabama. 
The technology is unique among coal gasification technologies in that 
it is cost-effective when using low-quality coal, as well as coals with 
high moisture or high ash content. These coals comprise half the proven 
U.S. and worldwide reserves. The project is expected to provide OUC 
customers with a generating resource that is reliable, low-cost, 
environmentally-sound, and efficient (approximately 40% net efficiency 
compared to about 33% for a conventional coal-fired power plant).
    Construction and installation of the combined-cycle facilities 
would be completed approximately 6 months prior to gasifier completion 
and integration of the facilities. The gas turbine would be capable of 
operating on either natural gas or synthesis gas. While the proposed 
project consists of

[[Page 46827]]

the gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and supporting 
infrastructure only, the EIS will address the construction and 
operation of the gas turbine and steam turbine as a related action and 
include the combined facilities in the analyses of environmental 
impacts because the facilities are so intertwined.
    The proposed project would minimize sulfur dioxide, oxides of 
nitrogen, mercury, and particulate emissions. The project is expected 
to remove up to 95% of the sulfur dioxide produced in the IGCC process 
using coal that contains up to 0.4% sulfur. The removal of nearly all 
of the fuel-bound nitrogen from the synthesis gas prior to combustion 
in the gas turbine would result in appreciably lower oxides of nitrogen 
emissions compared to conventional coal-fired power plants. Over 90% of 
the mercury would be removed. Over 99.9% of particulate emissions would 
be removed using high-temperature, high-pressure filtration (rigid 
filters housed in metal cylinders). Approximately 25% less carbon 
dioxide would be produced compared to typical emission rates at 
conventional coal-fired power plants. The proposed project would 
discharge no liquid effluent from the site. Ash generated by the 
gasifier would be combusted in the existing coal-fired units, marketed 
for use as activated carbon, or trucked to the existing onsite landfill 
for permitted disposal. A key performance target for the proposed 
technology would be achieving an availability of 80% without the use of 
a spare gasifier.
    In addition to the gasifier and turbines, new equipment for the 
project would include a stack, mechanical-draft cooling towers, 
synthesis gas cleanup facilities, and particulate filtration systems. 
The height of the proposed stack is expected to be approximately 200 
feet. The project would also require modifications to existing systems 
such as the coal conveyance and storage system. Wherever possible, 
existing facilities and infrastructure located at the Stanton Energy 
Center would be used for the proposed project. These include plant 
roads, administration buildings, coal delivery and handling facilities, 
water and wastewater treatment systems, and electric transmission lines 
and towers. However, a short, new transmission line (approximately 
3,500 feet in length), including several new structures, would be 
required from the new turbines to the existing onsite substation to 
serve as an electrical interconnection.
    Project activities would include engineering and design, 
permitting, equipment procurement, construction, startup, and 
demonstration of the commercial feasibility of the technology. Upon 
completing the EIS and issuing a Record of Decision, if DOE decides to 
implement the proposed action, the 2.5-year construction period would 
commence in early 2008 and demonstration of the technology would begin 
in early 2011. If the 4.5-year demonstration is successful, the 
facility would continue in commercial operation immediately afterward.

Alternatives

    NEPA requires that agencies evaluate the range of reasonable 
alternatives to the proposed action in an EIS. The purpose for agency 
action determines the range of reasonable alternatives. The CCPI 
program was established to help implement the President's National 
Energy Policy recommendation to increase investment in clean coal 
technology, thus ensuring the reliability and affordability of domestic 
energy supplies while simultaneously protecting the environment. The 
CCPI program was structured to achieve National Energy Policy goals by 
promoting private sector initiatives to invest in demonstrations of 
advanced coal technologies that could be widely deployed commercially. 
Private sector investments and deployment of demonstration facilities 
places DOE in a much more limited role than if the Federal Government 
were the owner and operator of the facilities. In the latter situation, 
DOE would be responsible for a comprehensive review of reasonable 
alternatives. However, in dealing with applicants under the CCPI 
program, the scope of alternatives is necessarily more restricted. In 
such cases, DOE must give substantial consideration to the applicant's 
needs in establishing a project's reasonable alternatives.
    The range of reasonable options to be considered in the EIS for the 
proposed Orlando Gasification Project is determined in accordance with 
overall NEPA strategy. Because of DOE's limited role of providing cost-
shared funding for the project, DOE currently plans to give primary 
emphasis to the proposed action and the no-action alternative. Under no 
action, DOE would not provide partial funding for the design, 
construction, and operation of the project.
    In the absence of DOE funding, Southern Company and/or OUC could 
reasonably pursue at least one option. This option will be analyzed 
under the no-action alternative. The combined-cycle facilities could be 
built at the Stanton Energy Center without the gasifier, synthesis gas 
cleanup systems, and supporting infrastructure. The combined-cycle 
facilities would operate using natural gas as fuel without the 
availability of synthesis gas. This scenario would not provide a low-
cost fuel source for the combined-cycle facilities and would not 
contribute to the goal of the CCPI program, which is to accelerate 
commercial deployment of advanced coal technologies that provide the 
United States with clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
    Alternatives considered by Southern Company in developing the 
proposal for the Orlando Gasification Project, including alternative 
sites and technologies for the proposed project, also will be presented 
in the EIS. DOE will consider other reasonable alternatives that may be 
suggested during the public scoping period.

Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The following environmental issues have been tentatively identified 
for analysis in the EIS. This list, which was developed from 
preliminary scoping of the proposed technology, the proposed project at 
Stanton Energy Center, and similar projects, is neither intended to be 
all-inclusive nor a predetermined set of potential impacts, but is 
presented to facilitate public comment on the planned scope of the EIS. 
Additions to or deletions from this list may occur as a result of the 
public scoping process. The environmental issues include:
    (1) Atmospheric Resources: Potential air quality impacts resulting 
from air emissions during construction and operation of the proposed 
Orlando Gasification Project (e.g., effects of ground-level 
concentrations of criteria pollutants, and trace metals including 
mercury, on surrounding residential areas and resource areas of special 
concern, such as Prevention of Significant Deterioration Class I 
areas); potential effects of greenhouse gas emissions.
    (2) Water Resources: Potential effects from withdrawal of 
groundwater (the proposed project would discharge no liquid effluent 
from the site).
    (3) Infrastructure and Land Use: Potential effects on 
infrastructure and land (including wetlands) resulting from the 
proposed facilities; potential traffic effects resulting from trains 
required to transport coal for the proposed project; potential impacts 
from a new electrical interconnection consisting of a short, onsite 
transmission line and several associated structures.
    (4) Solid Waste: Pollution prevention and waste management, 
including potential solid waste impacts caused by

[[Page 46828]]

the generation, treatment, transport, storage, and disposal of ash and 
other solid wastes.
    (5) Visual: Potential aesthetic impacts associated with a new 
stack, mechanical-draft cooling tower, and other plant structures.
    (6) Floodplain: Potential impacts (e.g., impeding floodwaters, re-
directing floodwaters, onsite property damage) of siting new structures 
and infrastructure within a floodplain (e.g., onsite transmission line 
for electrical interconnection from the combined-cycle facilities to 
the existing onsite substation).
    (7) Wetlands: Potential reduction of wetlands due to new 
construction (e.g., onsite transmission line for electrical 
interconnection).
    (8) Ecological: Potential onsite and offsite impacts to vegetation, 
terrestrial wildlife, aquatic wildlife, threatened and endangered 
species, and ecologically sensitive habitats.
    (9) Safety and Health: Construction-related safety, process safety, 
and management of chemicals and catalysts.
    (10) Construction: Potential impacts associated with noise, traffic 
patterns, and construction-related emissions.
    (11) Community Impacts: Potential congestion and other impacts to 
local traffic patterns; socioeconomic impacts; noise associated with 
project operation; and environmental justice with respect to the 
surrounding community.
    (12) Cumulative effects that result from the incremental impacts of 
the proposed project (e.g., incremental air emissions affecting ambient 
air quality) when added to other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions, including the existing Stanton Energy 
Center and the related action of the combined-cycle turbines.
    Issues will be analyzed in the EIS in accordance with their level 
of importance. The most detailed analyses are tentatively expected to 
focus on issues associated with air quality, traffic, aesthetics, and 
ecological resources.

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 end on September 16, 2005. 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 alternatives that 
should be considered.
    Scoping comments should clearly describe specific issues or topics 
that the EIS should address in order to assist DOE in identifying 
significant issues. Written, e-mailed, faxed, or telephoned comments 
should be communicated by September 16, 2005 (see ADDRESSES).
    In addition, DOE will conduct a public scoping meeting at Timber 
Creek High School, 1001 Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, on 
Tuesday, August 30, 2005, at 7 p.m. The public is also invited to an 
informal session at this location beginning at 5 p.m. to learn more 
about the proposed project. DOE requests that anyone who wishes to 
speak at this public scoping meeting contact Mr. Richard A. Hargis, 
either by phone, fax, computer, or in writing (see ADDRESSES).
    Individuals who do not make advance arrangements to speak may 
register at the meeting and will be given the opportunity to speak 
following previously scheduled speakers. Speakers who need 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-minute presentations initially, but will provide 
additional opportunities as time permits. Speakers can also provide 
written material to supplement their presentations. Oral and written 
comments will be given equal weight.
    DOE will begin the meeting with an overview of the proposed Orlando 
Gasification Project. DOE will designate a presiding officer to chair 
the meeting. The meeting will not be conducted as an evidentiary 
hearing, and speakers will not be cross-examined. However, speakers may 
be asked questions to ensure that DOE fully understands their comments 
or suggestions.
    The presiding officer will establish the order of speakers and 
provide any additional procedures necessary to conduct the meeting.

    Issued in Washington, DC, this 5th day of August, 2005.
John Spitaleri Shaw,
Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 05-15906 Filed 8-10-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P