[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 144 (Friday, July 27, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41307-41309]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-14532]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration


Construction and Operation of the Proposed NextGen Energy 
Facility, South Dakota

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
and Conduct Scoping Meetings; Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands 
Involvement.

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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency of 
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) intends to prepare an environmental 
impact statement (EIS) for the construction and operation of the 
proposed NextGen Energy Facility (Project) in South Dakota. Basin 
Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) has applied to interconnect 
the proposed Project to Western's electric power transmission system. 
The EIS will address the construction and operation of the proposed 
Project, which includes a 500 to 700 megawatt (MW) (net) coal-fired 
generation facility and ancillary equipment and facilities east of the 
Missouri River in South Dakota. Portions of the proposed Project may 
affect floodplains and wetlands in the area. Western will hold public 
scoping meetings near the Project area during the public scoping period 
to share information and receive comments and suggestions on the scope 
of the EIS.

DATES: Open house public scoping meetings will be held August 21, 22, 
and 23, 2007, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public scoping period starts 
with publication of this notice in the Federal Register and will 
continue through August 31, 2007. To be assured consideration, all 
comments or suggestions regarding the appropriate scope of the EIS must 
be received by the close of the scoping period.

ADDRESSES: Open-house public scoping meetings will be held at the 
following locations:
    1. August 21, 2007, Selby Opera House, 3409 Main Street, Selby, SD 
57472.
    2. August 22, 2007, Phoenix Center, 117 South Main Street, Onida, 
SD 57564.
    3. August 23, 2007, Woonsocket Community Center, Dumont Avenue, 
Woonsocket, SD 57385.
    Written comments on the scope of the EIS should be addressed to:
    Ms. Catherine Cunningham, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. 
Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, fax (720) 962-7269, e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Catherine Cunningham, Western Area 
Power Administration, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228, telephone 
(720) 962-7000, fax (720) 962-7269, 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, GC-20, U.S. 
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 
20585, telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western, an agency within DOE, markets 
Federal hydro-electric power to preference customers, as specified by 
law.
    These customers include municipalities, cooperatives, public 
utilities, irrigation districts, Federal and State agencies, and Native 
American tribes in 15 western states, including South Dakota. Western 
owns and operates about 17,000 miles of transmission line.
    Basin Electric is a regional wholesale electric generation and 
transmission cooperative owned and controlled by its member 
cooperatives. Basin Electric serves approximately 2.5 million customers 
covering 430,000 square miles in portions of Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, 
Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

[[Page 41308]]

Project Description

    Basin Electric has applied to Western for interconnection with 
Western's electric transmission system. Basin Electric proposes to 
construct and operate a 500 to 700 MW base-load coal-fired generation 
facility, water pipeline, transmission lines, transmission 
interconnection(s), and other associated facilities in central/north-
central South Dakota. The purpose of the Project is to help serve 
increased base load demand for electric power in the eastern portion of 
Basin Electric's service area. Basin Electric's eastern service area is 
comprised of western Nebraska, northwestern and central Iowa, portions 
of southern Minnesota, all of South Dakota, portions of eastern 
Montana, and western and central North Dakota. The need for additional 
generating capacity is driven by the increasing electrical power usage 
of Basin Electric membership consumers. In 2007, Basin Electric 
prepared a forecast showing load and capability surpluses/deficits 
through the year 2021. The forecast predicts that by 2014, there will 
be a deficit of 800 to 900 MW for the eastern portion of its service 
area. Addition of 500 to 700 MW of base load generation to the east 
side of Basin Electric's service area by 2014 is one component toward 
meeting Basin Electric's future capacity and energy requirements.
    Western intends to prepare an EIS for the proposed Project. Four 
preliminary alternative generation sites have been identified. During 
the scoping process, Western expects to refine this list of alternative 
generation sites and each of its associated facilities to determine 
which of them, along with the No Action Alternative, will be evaluated 
in detail in the EIS. The four preliminary alternative generation 
facility sites include the following:
     The Selby Site (about 2.75 miles southwest of Selby, South 
Dakota).
     The Selby East Site (about 2.5 miles northeast of Java, 
South Dakota).
     The Blunt Site (about 1.7 miles east of Blunt, South 
Dakota).
     The Onida Site (about 2.5 miles south of Onida, South 
Dakota).
    These four alternative locations are in close proximity to coal 
fuel delivery service, water sources, and existing transmission system 
for the delivery of power to its members. The proposed generation 
facility would require new infrastructure, including a water intake 
structure along Lake Oahe on the mainstem of the Missouri River; a 
water pumping system; approximately 15 to 30 miles of water pipeline; 
approximately 40 to 110 miles of 115/230/345-kilovolt (kV) transmission 
line; a 230/345-kV substation and possibly a 345/500-kV substation; 
road access to generation, water pipeline, and transmission line 
facilities; and solid waste disposal facilities. No changes are 
expected for existing railroad infrastructure. Included in the 
infrastructure estimates noted above is a transmission line of 
approximately 40 miles in length from the Broadland Substation, about 3 
miles west of Huron, South Dakota, to the Storla Substation, about 10 
miles southwest of Woonsocket, South Dakota. Power system studies 
indicate this transmission system addition would be needed for the 
Selby and Selby East generation site alternatives. The transmission 
addition between Broadland and Storla is not necessary for the Blunt or 
Onida generation site alternatives. All other proposed water pipeline 
and transmission line facilities would be located in the vicinity of 
their respective proposed generation facility sites.
    For the proposed 500 to 700 MW generation facility, Basin Electric 
proposes to use a single pulverized coal-fired steam boiler and a 
single reheat steam turbine. It would meet or exceed all applicable 
environmental requirements. The plant would burn sub-bituminous coal, 
known for its relatively high-moisture, low-sulfur content with 
excellent combustion qualities. The generation facility would occupy 
approximately 2,400 acres, including a turbine generator building, coal 
bunkers, boiler, baghouse, stack, wastewater treatment building, water 
treatment building, switchyard, raw water pond, cooling tower, 
landfill, evaporation pond, coal unloading facility, coal storage 
silos, coal storage pile, stormwater runoff pond, and coal yard runoff 
pond. During normal operations, the generation facility would operate 
at its maximum continuous rating output.
    Basin submitted two generator interconnection requests and two 
transmission service requests to Western for the proposed Project. 
Since the proposed Project requires interconnection with Western's 
system, Western must 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). Because the proposed Project may involve action in 
floodplains or wetlands, the EIS will include, as applicable, a 
floodplain/wetland assessment and floodplain/wetland statement of 
findings following DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain and 
wetlands environmental review (10 CFR part 1022).

Agency Responsibilities

    Western is the lead Federal agency, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5, 
for preparation of the NEPA analysis. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 
will likely be a cooperating agency because of their jurisdiction over 
proposed water intake activities involving the Missouri River. With 
this notice, Tribes and agencies with jurisdiction or special expertise 
are invited to be cooperating agencies. Such Tribes or agencies may 
make a request to Western to be a cooperating agency by contacting Ms. 
Cunningham. Designated cooperating agencies have certain 
responsibilities to support the NEPA process, as specified at 40 CFR 
1501.6(b).

Environmental Issues

    This notice is to inform agencies and the public of the proposed 
Project and solicit comments and suggestions for consideration in 
preparing the EIS. To help the public frame its comments, this notice 
contains a list of potential environmental issues Western has 
tentatively identified for analysis. These issues include:
    1. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive 
species of animals or plants or their critical habitats;
    2. Impacts on other biological resources;
    3. Impacts on land use, recreation, and transportation;
    4. Impacts on floodplains and wetlands;
    5. Impacts on cultural or historic resources and tribal values;
    6. Impacts on human health and safety;
    7. Impacts on air, soil, and water resources;
    8. Visual impacts; and
    9. Socioeconomic impacts and disproportionately high and adverse 
impacts to minority and low-income populations.
    This list is not intended to be all-inclusive or to imply any 
predetermination of impacts. Western invites interested parties to 
suggest specific issues within these general categories, or other 
issues not included above, to be considered in the EIS.

Public Participation

    Public participation and full disclosure are planned for the entire 
EIS process. The EIS process will include public scoping open houses 
and a scoping comment period to solicit comments from interested 
parties; consultation and involvement with

[[Page 41309]]

appropriate Federal, State, local, and Tribal governmental agencies; 
public review and hearings on the draft EIS; publication of a final 
EIS; and publication of a record of decision expected in Spring 2009. 
Additional informal public meetings may be held in the proposed Project 
area if public interest and issues indicate a need.
    The public scoping period begins with publication of this notice in 
the Federal Register and closes August 31, 2007. Western will hold open 
house public scoping meetings (see DATES and ADDRESSES). All meeting 
locations are handicapped-accessible. Anyone needing special 
accommodations should contact Western to make arrangements. The purpose 
of the scoping meetings is to provide information about the proposed 
Project, display maps, answer questions, and take written comments from 
interested parties. Attendees are welcome to come and go at their 
convenience and to speak one-on-one with Western and Project 
representatives. The public will have the opportunity to provide 
written comments at the meeting. In addition, attendees may provide 
written comments by fax, e-mail, or U.S. Postal Service mail. To help 
define the scope of the EIS, comments should be received by Western no 
later than August 31, 2007. Anonymous comments will not be accepted.

    Dated: July 11, 2007.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E7-14532 Filed 7-26-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P