[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 223 (Tuesday, November 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 69367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-27655]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Golden Valley Electric Association: Healy Power Plant Unit 
2 Restart

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 Supplemental Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (SFEIS) related to RUS's consideration of potential agency 
actions that would facilitate a proposal from Golden Valley Electric 
Association, Inc. (GVEA) for the restart and commercial operation of 
Healy Unit 2, a power generation facility at the Healy Power 
Plant (Healy Plant) in Healy, Alaska. The SFEIS was prepared in 
accordance with the National Environmental Policy act of 1969 (NEPA) 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's 
(CEQ's) regulations implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and 
RUS's Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794). The 
SFEIS updated a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared by 
the Department of Energy (DOE) in 1993.

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the ROD or for further information, 
contact: Deirdre M. Remley, Environmental Protection Specialist, RUS, 
Water and Environmental Programs, Engineering and Environmental Staff, 
1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 1571, Washington, DC 20250-1571, 
Telephone: (202) 720-9640 or email: [email protected]. The 
ROD is also available at RUS's Web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-HealyPowerPlan.html or you may contact Ms. Remley for a hard copy.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Healy Unit 2 is currently owned by 
the Alaska Industrial and Export Authority (AIDEA), but is located on 
GVEA land. Unit 2 was built to work in conjunction with Healy 
Unit 1, a generation unit that has been owned and operated by 
GVEA since 1967. Unit 2 is currently in warm layup and has not 
generated power since 2000. GVEA proposes to purchase Unit 2, 
prepare it for commercial production, and operate the unit for the 
remainder of its operational life. GVEA is seeking administrative 
actions and financing from RUS to facilitate the restart of Unit 
2 and for improvements to the Healy Plant, which include 
installing additional emissions control to both Unit 1 and 
Unit 2. Unit 1 is a 25 MW coal-fired boiler and Unit 
2 is a 50 MW coal-fired boiler that was constructed in the 
late 1990s with funding from DOE and AIDEA.
    The decision documented in RUS's ROD is that RUS agrees to 
consider, subject to additional engineering and financial review, 
administrative actions and financing that would facilitate GVEA's 
restart of Unit 2 at the Healy Power Plant. Details regarding 
RUS' regulatory authority, rationale for the decision, and compliance 
with applicable regulations are included in the ROD.
    RUS published an NOI in the Federal Register on January 3, 2013, 
which described the Proposed Action (78 FR 285). RUS published a notice 
in the Federal Register on June 10, 2013 announcing the availability of 
the SFEIS and initiating the 30-day public comment period for the SFEIS 
(78 FR 34639). A copy of the SFEIS was sent to the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency for review and comment. Two comments were received on 
the SFEIS and they are addressed in the ROD.
    RUS has considered and concurred with GVEA's purpose and need for 
the proposal to restart Unit 2, and RUS has evaluated the 
potential impacts of this proposal on the human environment and finds 
that the SFEIS is consistent with Federal regulations and meets the 
standard for an adequate statement. The Proposed Action to facilitate 
the restart of Unit 2 of the Healy Plant is RUS's selected 
alternative.

    Dated: November 11, 2013.
John Charles Padalino,
Administrator, USDA, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-27655 Filed 11-18-13; 8:45 am]
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