[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 71 (Friday, April 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21907-21908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08629]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC: Notice of Intent To Prepare a 
Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Final Environmental 
Impact Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) intends to prepare a 
Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement (SFEIS) to meet its 
responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations for implementing 
NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and RUS's Environmental and Policies and 
Procedures (7 CFR Part 1794) in connection with potential impacts 
related to a proposal by Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC. The proposal 
consists of constructing a waste to energy generation and resource 
recovery facility in the Cambalache Ward of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. 
Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC may request a loan guarantee from RUS.

DATES: The SFEIS is scheduled for publication in March 2013. A notice 
of availability will be published in the Federal Register announcing 
its review period.

ADDRESSES: To send comments or for further information, please contact 
Ms. Lauren (McGee) Rayburn, Environmental Scientist, USDA Rural 
Utilities Service, P.O. Box 776, Haw River, North Carolina 27258-0776, 
telephone: (202) 695-2540, fax: (202) 690-0649, or email:

[[Page 21908]]

[email protected]. Project related information will be 
available for download from RUS' Web site located at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-eis4.htm.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC proposes to a 
construct a waste to energy generation and resource recovery facility 
in the Cambalache Ward of Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The proposed facility 
would process approximately 2100 tons of municipal waste per day and 
generate a net capacity of 77 megawatts (MW). The Puerto Rico Electric 
Power Authority will purchase power generated from the facility. The 
preferred location of the facility is the site of a former paper mill 
and would cover approximately 79.6 acres of the 90-acre parcel. The 
proposal would include the following facility components: A municipal 
solid waste receiving and processing building; processed refuse fuel 
storage building; boiler and steam turbine; emission control system; 
ash processing and storage building; and other associated 
infrastructure and buildings. Two other connected actions, which would 
be constructed by other utilities, include installation of an 
approximately 2.0-mile raw water line and construction of a 38 kilovolt 
(kV) transmission line approximately 0.8 miles in length. The connected 
actions will be addressed in the proposal's SFEIS.
    The Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO) served as 
lead agency in preparation of a Final EIS prepared under Puerto Rico 
Article 4(b)(3), Law No. 46 (September 22, 2004), Environmental Public 
Policy Law. In accordance with 7 CFR 1794.74, RUS will incorporate by 
reference the environmental document prepared by PRIDCO into RUS's 
SFEIS.
    Among the alternatives that RUS will address in the SFEIS is the No 
Action alternative, under which the proposal would not be undertaken. 
In the SFEIS, the effects of the proposal will be compared to the 
existing conditions in the proposal area. Public health and safety, 
environmental impacts, and engineering aspects of the proposal will be 
considered in the SFEIS.
    RUS is the lead Federal agency, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5, for 
preparation of the SFEIS. With this Notice, federally recognized Native 
American Tribes and Federal agencies with jurisdiction or special 
expertise are invited to be cooperating agencies. Such tribes or 
agencies may make a request to RUS to be a cooperating agency by 
contacting the RUS contact provided in this Notice. Designated 
cooperating agencies have certain responsibilities to support the NEPA 
process, as specified at 40 CFR 1501.6(b).
    As part of its broad environmental review process, RUS must take 
into account the effect of the proposal on historic properties in 
accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(Section 106) and its implementing regulation, ``Protection of Historic 
Properties'' (36 CFR part 800). Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), RUS is 
using its procedures for public involvement under NEPA to meet its 
responsibilities to solicit and consider the views of the public during 
Section 106 review. Accordingly, comments submitted in response to this 
Notice will inform RUS decision-making in its Section 106 review 
process. Any party wishing to participate more directly with RUS as a 
``consulting party'' in Section 106 review may submit a written request 
to the RUS contact provided in this Notice.
    As applicable, the SFEIS will document changes in the affected 
environment and environmental consequences that may have occurred since 
the PRIDCO-prepared Final EIS was published in 2010. The PRIDCO-
prepared Final EIS will be available for review at the addresses 
provided in this Notice in both Spanish and English. RUS' SFEIS will 
incorporate this document by reference and focus on those topics that 
have changed since the PRIDCO-prepared Final EIS was finalized. RUS's 
SFEIS will be available for review and comment for 30 days. Following 
the 30-day review period, RUS will prepare a Record of Decision (ROD). 
Notices announcing the availability of the SFEIS and the ROD will be 
published in the Federal Register and in local newspapers.
    Any final action by RUS related to the proposal will be subject to, 
and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant executive orders and 
federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations in 
addition to the completion of the environmental review requirements as 
prescribed in RUS's Environmental Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR Part 
1794, as amended.

    Dated: February 20, 2013.
Mark S. Plank,
Director, Engineering and Environmental Staff, USDA, Rural Utilities 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-08629 Filed 4-11-13; 8:45 am]
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