[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26747-26748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10861]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Proposed Biomass Power Plant

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has issued a Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to 
providing financial assistance to the Oglethorpe Power Corporation 
(Oglethorpe) for the construction of a 100 megawatt (MW) biomass plant 
and related facilities (Proposal) in Warren County, Georgia. The 
Administrator of RUS has signed the ROD, which was effective upon 
signing. The EIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) and in accordance with the 
Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and RUS' 
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794). As the lead 
federal agency, and as part of its broad environmental review process, 
RUS must take into account the effect of the Proposal on historic 
properties in

[[Page 26748]]

accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 470f) and its implementing regulation ``Protection of 
Historic Properties'' (36 CFR Part 800). Pursuant to 36 CFR 
800.2(d)(3), RUS used its procedures for public involvement under NEPA, 
in part, to meet its responsibilities to solicit and consider the views 
of the public and other interested parties during the Section 106 
review process. Accordingly, comments submitted in the EIS process also 
informed RUS's decision making in the Section 106 review process. The 
purpose of the Proposal is to provide a reliable, long-term supply of 
renewable and sustainable energy at a reasonable cost to meet part of 
the electric energy needs of Oglethorpe's members.
    The Final EIS evaluated the potential environmental impacts of and 
alternatives to the Project proposed by Oglethorpe for RUS financing to 
construct the 100 megawatt (MW) biomass plant and related facilities 
(Proposal) in Warren County, Georgia

ADDRESSES:  To obtain copies of the ROD, or for further information, 
contact: Ms. Stephanie Strength, Environmental Protection Specialist, 
USDA, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 1571, 
Room 2244-S, Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone: (970) 403-3559, fax: 
(202) 690-0649, or email: [email protected]. The ROD is 
available online at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-OglethorpePower.html and at the: Warren County Public Library, 10 
Warren Street, Warrenton, Georgia 30828, Phone (706) 465- 2656.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Oglethorpe proposes to own, operate, and 
maintain the Proposal in Warren County, Georgia. Three alternatives are 
evaluated in detail in the Final EIS; the no action alternative, and 
the proposed action at two different locations: Warren County (the 
Proposal) and Appling County (the Alternate). These alternatives were 
evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness, technical feasibility, and 
environmental factors (e.g., soils, topography and geology, water 
resources, air quality, biological resources, the acoustic environment, 
recreation, cultural and historic resources, visual resources, 
transportation, farmland, land use, human health and safety, the 
socioeconomic environment, environmental justice, and cumulative 
effects).
    The Proposal would be constructed on an approximately 343-acre site 
located three-fourths mile east of the city limit of Warrenton, 
Georgia. The tallest structure would be the stack, with a maximum 
estimated height of approximately 220 feet.
    A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS was published in 
the Federal Register at 76 FR 20624, on April 13, 2011, and in 
newspapers of general circulation within the Proposal's area of 
environmental impact. Public hearings on the Draft EIS were held in the 
project area on May 5, 2011, and public comments were accepted through 
May 31, 2011. All comments on the Draft EIS have been entered into the 
administrative record, responses are included in the Final EIS, and the 
Final EIS was modified as appropriate. RUS published its NOA of the 
Final EIS for the proposed Project in the Federal Register on December 
15, 2011 at 76 FR 77963. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
acknowledged receipt of the Final EIS on December 9, 2011, from RUS. 
The 30-day waiting period ended on January 9, 2012. Fifteen comments 
were received that did not result in the need for changes or further 
comment in RUS's ROD.
    RUS carefully studied public health and safety, environmental 
impacts, and engineering aspects of the Project. Based on an evaluation 
of the information and impact analyses presented in the EIS, RUS finds 
that the evaluation of reasonable alternatives is consistent with NEPA 
and RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures. Details regarding RUS's 
regulatory authority, rationale for the decision, and compliance with 
applicable regulations are included in the ROD. Because the proposed 
Project may involve action in floodplains or wetlands, this Notice also 
serves as a final notice of action in floodplains and wetlands (in 
accordance with Executive Orders 11988 and 11990).
    This ROD is not a decision on Ogelthorpe's loan application and 
therefore not an approval of the expenditure of federal funds. This 
notice of the ROD concludes RUS's environmental review process in 
accordance with NEPA and RUS's Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 
CFR part 1794). The ultimate decision as to loan approval depends upon 
the conclusion of this environmental review process plus financial and 
engineering analyses. Issuance of the ROD will allow these reviews to 
proceed.

    Dated: March 15, 2013.
John Charles Padalino,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-10861 Filed 5-7-13; 8:45 am]
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