[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 180 (Thursday, September 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55828-55829]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23377]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Energy Answers Arecibo, LLC: Extension of Comment Period for a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Extension of comment period for 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 published a notice of availability and public hearing on 
August 7, 2015, that provided a comment period ending on the date 
announced in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) EIS 
receipt notice of September 28, 2015. RUS is extending the public 
comment period for the Draft EIS by an additional 45 days to November 
12, 2015.

DATES: With this notice, RUS extends the public comment period to 
November 12, 2015. Comments submitted to RUS regarding the Draft EIS 
prior to this announcement do not need to be resubmitted as a result of 
this extension to the comment period.

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Draft EIS and questions about the 
proposed project may be submitted to: Ms. Lauren McGee Rayburn at the 
contact information provided in this notice. The Draft EIS is available 
in both Spanish and English at the following Web site: http://www.rd.usda.gov/publications/environmental-studies/impact-statements/arecibo-waste-energy-generation-and-resource. Requests for CD or 
hardcopies may be directed to Ms. 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: 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].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RUS has issued a Draft EIS for Energy 
Answers' proposed Waste to Energy Project (Project) in Arecibo, Puerto 
Rico. RUS issued 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 published 
a

[[Page 55829]]

notice of availability and public hearing in the Federal Register at 80 
FR 47452 on August 7, 2015, that provided a comment period ending on 
the date announced in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 
(USEPA) EIS receipt notice or September 28, 2015. RUS is extending the 
public comment period for the Draft EIS to November 12, 2015.
    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 until November 12, 2015. Following this review period, RUS may 
prepare a Final EIS. After a 30-day review period of the Final EIS, 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.

    Dated: September 10, 2015.
Christopher A. McLean,
Assistant Administrator--Electric Programs, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-23377 Filed 9-16-15; 8:45 am]
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