[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 164 (Thursday, August 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50051-50052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7093]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Availability; Draft Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Orlando Gasification Project

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the document, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Orlando 
Gasification Project (DOE/EIS-0383), for public comment. The draft 
environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the potential 
environmental consequences of providing federal funding for the design, 
engineering, construction, and operation of facilities at Orlando 
Utilities Commission's (OUC's) existing Stanton Energy Center near 
Orlando, Florida. The project has been selected by DOE for further 
consideration under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) to 
demonstrate advanced power generation systems using Integrated 
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology. DOE has awarded a 
cooperative agreement to SCS for a project definition phase during 
which SCS will complete a detailed Project Management Plan, prepare 
environmental information and permit applications, and perform Front-
End Engineering Design activities.
    The Department prepared this draft EIS in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that 
implement the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), 
and the DOE procedures implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 1021).
    DOE's proposed action (and preferred alternative) is to provide 
cost-shared funding to design, construct, and operate the Orlando 
Gasification Project. Although DOE funding would support only the 
Orlando Gasification Project (i.e., coal gasifier, synthesis gas 
cleanup systems, and supporting infrastructure), the project would be 
integrated with a planned, privately funded, combined-cycle unit, which 
together would constitute the IGCC facilities. The facilities would 
convert coal into synthesis gas to drive a gas combustion turbine, and 
hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine would generate steam in a heat 
recovery steam generator (HRSG) to drive a steam turbine. Combined, the 
two turbines would generate 285 MW (megawatts) of electricity. The 
potential environmental impacts of this action are evaluated in this 
Draft EIS. DOE also analyzed the No-Action Alternative (not funding the 
demonstration), including a scenario reasonably expected to result as a 
consequence of the no-action alternative. Without DOE participation, 
Southern Company and/or OUC could reasonably pursue at least one 
option. The combined-cycle facilities could be built at the Stanton 
Energy Center without the gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and 
supporting infrastructure.

DATES: DOE invites the public to comment on the Draft EIS during the 
public comment period, which ends October 10, 2006. DOE will consider 
all comments postmarked or received during the public comment period in 
preparing the Final EIS, and will consider late comments to the extent 
practicable.
    DOE will hold a public hearing on September 13, 2006, at Timber 
Creek High School, 1001 Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, 7 p.m. 
to 9 p.m. An informational session will be held at the same location 
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., preceding the public hearing on the date noted 
above.

ADDRESSES: Requests for information about this Draft EIS or to receive 
a copy of the Draft EIS should be directed to: Richard A. Hargis, Jr., 
NEPA Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy 
Technology Laboratory, M/S 922-342C, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 
15236. Additional information about the Draft EIS may also be requested 
by telephone at: (412) 386-6065, or toll-free at: (888) 322-7436, 
x6065.
    The Draft EIS will be available at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/. 
Copies of the Draft EIS are also available for review at the locations 
listed in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Notice. Written 
comments on the Draft EIS can be mailed to Richard A. Hargis, Jr., NEPA 
Document Manager, at the address noted above. Written comments may also 
be submitted by fax to: (412) 386-4775, or submitted electronically to: 
[email protected]. Oral comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted 
only during the public hearing scheduled for the date and location 
provided in the DATES section of this Notice. Requests to speak at the 
public hearing can be made by calling or writing the EIS Document 
Manager (see ADDRESSES). Requests to speak that have not been submitted 
prior to the hearing will be accepted in the order in which they are 
received during the hearing. Speakers are encouraged to provide a 
written version of their oral comments for the record. Each speaker 
will be allowed five minutes to present comments unless more time is 
requested and available. Comments will be recorded by a court reporter 
and will become part of the public hearing record.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
proposed project or the draft environmental impact statement, please 
contact Mr. Richard A. Hargis, Jr., as directed above. For general 
information regarding the DOE NEPA process, please 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, Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at: (800) 472-
2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Description of Alternatives

    DOE analyzed two alternatives in the Draft EIS: The proposed action 
and the no-action alternative. Under the proposed action, DOE would 
provide cost-shared funding for construction and operation of 
gasification facilities at Orlando Utilities Commission's (OUC's) 
existing Stanton Energy Center near Orlando, Florida. The project has 
been selected by DOE under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) to 
demonstrate advanced power generation systems

[[Page 50052]]

using Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology. 
Although DOE funding would support only the Orlando Gasification 
Project (i.e., coal gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and 
supporting infrastructure), the project would be integrated with a 
planned, privately funded, combined-cycle unit, which together would 
constitute the IGCC facilities. The facilities would convert coal into 
synthesis gas to drive a gas combustion turbine, and hot exhaust gas 
from the gas turbine would generate steam from water to drive a steam 
turbine. Combined, the two turbines would generate 285 MW (megawatts) 
of electricity. The EIS evaluates potential impacts of the proposed 
facilities on land use, aesthetics, air quality, geology, water 
resources, floodplains, wetlands, ecological resources, social and 
economic resources, waste management, human health and safety, and 
noise.
    Construction of the proposed facilities would begin in late 2007 
and continue until early 2010. An average of about 350 construction 
workers would be on the site during construction. Approximately 600 to 
700 workers would be required during the peak construction period 
between fall 2008 and spring 2009. After mechanical checkout of the 
proposed facilities, demonstration (including data analysis and process 
evaluation) would be conducted over a 4.5-year period from mid 2010 
until late 2014. If the demonstration is successful, commercial 
operation would follow immediately. The combined workforce (i.e., 
including the proposed Orlando Gasification Project and the combined-
cycle generating unit) would consist of approximately 72 employees 
added to the existing Stanton Energy Center staff of 204 employees. Of 
the 72 new employees, 19 workers would provide support only during the 
startup and demonstration phases of the project, while 53 employees 
would be needed over the lifetime of the facilities (i.e., during 
startup, demonstration, and commercial operation), unless the gasifier 
and related equipment would no longer be required because the 
demonstration was unsuccessful.
    Under this latter scenario, only 21 employees would be needed over 
the lifetime of the remaining combined-cycle unit using natural gas 
exclusively. The facilities would be designed for a lifetime of at 
least 20 years, including the 4.5-year demonstration period. The new 
coal gasifier would operate entirely on coal, consuming a total of 
approximately 1,020,000 tons per year to produce synthesis gas. Two to 
three trains per week would deliver low-sulfur subbituminous coal from 
the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The heating value of the coal would 
average about 8,760 Btu/lb and the sulfur content would average about 
0.26%. Most air emissions would result from combustion of synthesis gas 
in the gas combustion turbine during normal operations. The exhaust gas 
would be released to the atmosphere via a 205 ft stack.
    Sources of air emissions from the proposed facilities would include 
the HRSG stack, startup stack, multipoint flare, and 6-cell mechanical-
draft cooling tower, of which the HRSG stack would generate the most 
emissions. Except during occasional startups, shutdowns, and upsets, 
the flare would normally have only minimal emissions associated with 
eight natural gas-fired pilot lights. Based on 100% load throughout the 
year (100% capacity factor) using the higher of estimated synthesis gas 
or natural gas emission rates, annual emissions of criteria pollutants 
would include 162 tons of SO2, 1,006 tons of NOX, 
189 tons of particulate matter, 654 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), and 
0.03 tons of lead (Pb). Annual NOX emissions from the 
Stanton Energy Center overall would not be expected to increase because 
OUC has agreed, as part of the permitting process, to reduce 
NOX emissions from other units at the Stanton Energy Center 
so that there would be a net decrease in NOX emissions. 
Annual emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a precursor of 
the criteria pollutant ozone, would be 129 tons.
    Under the No Action Alternative, DOE would not provide cost-shared 
funding to demonstrate the Orlando Gasification Project. Without DOE 
participation, Southern Company and/or OUC could reasonably pursue at 
least one option. 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. During operation of the natural gas-fired unit, 
emissions of air pollutants (e.g., SO2 and NOX) 
would be less than those predicted for the proposed Orlando 
Gasification Project. The flare required for the proposed facilities 
would not be required. 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.

Availability of the Draft EIS

    Copies of this Draft EIS have been distributed to Members of 
Congress, Federal, State, and local officials, and agencies, 
organizations and individuals who may be interested or affected. This 
Draft EIS will be available on the Internet at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/. Additional copies can also be requested by telephone at: (412) 
386-6065, or (888) 322-7436, x6065. Copies of the Draft EIS are also 
available for public review at the Alafaya Library, 1200 E. Colonial 
Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32803.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2006.
Mark J. Matarrese,
Director, Office of Environment, Security, Safety and Health, Office of 
Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 06-7093 Filed 8-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P