[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 152 (Friday, August 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47452-47453]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19455]



[[Page 47452]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC: Notice of Availability of a Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of a Public Meeting

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA), has issued a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC's (Energy 
Answers) proposed Waste to Energy Project (Project) in Arecibo, Puerto 
Rico. RUS is issuing the Draft EIS to inform interested parties and the 
general public about the proposed Project and to invite the public to 
comment on the scope, proposed action, and other issues addressed in 
the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS addresses the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of Energy Answers' proposed Project, a waste-to-energy 
generation and resource recovery facility in the Cambalache Ward of 
Arecibo, Puerto Rico. RUS prepared the EIS in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as amended, the Council on 
Environmental Quality's Regulation for Implementing the Procedural 
Provisions of the NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and RUS's 
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794). RUS will hold 
a public hearing to receive oral comments on the Draft EIS.

DATES: The public comment period on the Draft EIS will be announced in 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) EIS receipt notice, 
which will be published in the Federal Register. RUS will consider all 
substantive written comments on the Draft EIS received or postmarked by 
that date. Agencies, interested parties, and the general public are 
invited to submit comments on the Draft EIS at any time during the 
public comment period. A public hearing also is scheduled for August 
20, 2015 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Arecibo Country Club in Arecibo, 
00612, Puerto Rico. Oral comments submitted during the hearing will be 
restricted to a specified time frame to ensure that all interested 
parties have the opportunity to speak. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. for 
registration; RUS will receive oral comments immediately following a 
short presentation at 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public hearing will be held at the Arecibo Country Club 
in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, 00612. Copies of the Draft EIS will be 
available for public viewing at the Arecibo Public Library (Nicolas 
Nabal Barreto), located at: 210 Santiago Iglesias Pantin Ave., Arecibo, 
Puerto Rico 00612. Parties wishing to be placed on the Project mailing 
list or those wishing to participate more directly with RUS as a 
``consulting party'' in Section 106 review may submit a written request 
to: Ms. Lauren McGee Rayburn, Environmental Scientist, Rural Utilities 
Service, 84 Coxe Ave., Suite 1E, Ashville, North Carolina 28801, 
telephone: (202) 695-2540, fax: (202) 690-0649, or email: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed 
Project and the Draft EIS process, please contact Ms. Lauren McGee 
Rayburn, Environmental Scientist, Rural Utilities Service, 84 Coxe 
Ave., Suite 1E, Ashville, North Carolina 28801, telephone: (202) 695-
2540, fax: (202) 690-0649, or email: [email protected]. Parties 
wishing to be placed on the Project mailing list for future information 
and to receive copies of the EIS should also contact Ms. Rayburn.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Energy Answers plans to request financial 
assistance for the proposed Project from RUS. Completing the EIS is one 
of RUS's requirements in processing Energy Answers' pending 
application, along with other technical and financial considerations. 
Energy Answers 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 
proposed Project's EIS.
    In accordance with 7 CFR 1794.74 and 40 CFR 1502.21, RUS 
incorporates by reference the environmental impact analyses and 
associated documentation prepared by the Puerto Rico Industrial 
Development Company (PRIDCO) and the USEPA where appropriate. PRIDCO 
served as a lead agency in preparing an EIS under the Puerto Rico 
Environmental Public Policy Act, Article 4(B)(3), Law No. 416 
(September 22, 2004). The USEPA completed air quality analyses and 
issued a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit for the 
proposed Project on June 11, 2013. As applicable, the EIS will document 
changes in the affected environment and environmental consequences that 
may have changed since issuance of the PRIDCO-EIS and USEPA PSD permit.
    Because the proposed Project may involve action in floodplains or 
wetlands, this Notice also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or 
wetland action. The draft EIS will include a floodplain/wetland 
assessment and, if required, a floodplain/wetland statement of findings 
will be issued with the Final EIS.
    RUS has determined that its action regarding the proposed Project 
would be an undertaking subject to review under Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 470 and its implementing 
regulations, ``Protection of Historic Properties'' (36 CFR part 800). 
As part of its broad environmental review process, RUS must take into 
account the effect of the proposed Project on historic properties in 
accordance with Section 106. 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.
    The Draft EIS is available in both Spanish and English for review 
at the following Web site: http://www.rd.usda.gov/publications/environmental-studies/impact-statements/arecibo-waste-energy-generation-and-resource. The Draft EIS will be available for review and 
comment for 45 days after the USEPA's EIS receipt notice in the Federal 
Register. Following this review period, RUS may prepare a Final EIS. 
After a 30-day review period of the Final EIS,

[[Page 47453]]

RUS may publish a Record of Decision (ROD). Notices announcing the 
availability of the Final EIS and ROD will be published in the Federal 
Register and in local newspapers.
    Any final action by RUS related to the proposed Project will be 
subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant 
presidential 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.

Christopher A. Mclean,
Assistant Administrator--Electric Programs, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-19455 Filed 8-6-15; 8:45 am]
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