Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft supplemental environmental

impact statement.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are issuing a Draft

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) related to Seminole

Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s, (Seminole) proposed Hardee Unit 3. The

DSEIS is a supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement

issued in January 1991 by the Rural Electrification Administration

(predecessor of RUS), with EPA, and the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission as cooperating agencies, for their actions related to the

Hardee Power Station. Hardee Unit 3 would increase the originally

proposed ultimate output of the Hardee Power Station from 660 megawatts

(MW) to 880 MW.

RUS's federal action related to Hardee Unit 3 would be providing a

loan guarantee to Seminole to cover the cost of project construction.

EPA's federal action related to Hardee Unit 3 has, to date, been the

preparation of the draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination

System (NPDES) permit needed to operate the new unit. However, on May

1, 1995, EPA authorized the State of Florida to administer the NPDES

Permit Program (with EPA program oversight retained). As such, EPA's

role as an NPDES permitting agency has changed and EPA no longer has a

direct federal action related to the proposed Hardee Unit 3. With

program authorization, the NPDES permitting decision now is a state

action as opposed to an EPA federal action. The notice for the Draft

NPDES permit will be issued by the State of Florida. Despite program

authorization, EPA nevertheless remains a cooperating agency to RUS for

the DSEIS and will also have a role in the RUS National Environmental

Policy Act process for Hardee Unit 3 by providing review and comment on

the DSEIS and Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for

Hardee Unit 3 via its responsibilities pursuant to Section 309 of the

Clean Air Act. The draft NPDES permit is Appendix A to the DSEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Lawrence R. Wolfe, Chief, Environmental Compliance Branch, Electric

Staff Division, Rural Utilities Service, Ag. Box 1569, Washington, DC

20250, Telephone (202) 720-1784, Fax (202) 720-7491.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DSEIS for Hardee Unit 3 covers the

construction and operation of 440 MW of additional generating capacity

to be installed at the existing 1,300-acre Hardee Power Station site.

The Hardee Power Station site is located in Hardee and Polk counties

approximately 9 miles northwest of Wauchula, 16 miles south-southwest

of Bartow, and 40 miles east of Tampa Bay. The site is bordered on the

east by Hardee County Road 663, a CSX Railroad right-of-way, and CF

Industries' Hardee Complex. IMC-Agrico properties surround the

remaining portions of the site. Payne Creek flows along the southern

and western boundary of the Hardee Power Station site. The proposed

Hardee Unit 3 would occupy approximately 50 acres of this site.

As proposed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the

Hardee Power Station, Hardee Power Partners has constructed and

operates 295 MW of generation capacity at the Hardee Power Station and

proposes an additional 145 MW of generation capacity there by the year

2003 for use by Seminole. Seminole originally proposed to construct and

operate an additional 220 MW at the Hardee Power Station at a future

date to be determined. That addition, along with Hardee Power Partners'

145 MW addition, would have increased the existing 295 MW Hardee Power

Station capacity to 660 MW. Seminole now proposes in the DSEIS to

construct 440 MW of additional capacity at the Hardee Power Station at

a specified date, 1999, instead of the originally proposed 220 MW

addition at an unspecified date. As now proposed, the Hardee Power

Station Site would be made up of a total of 880 MW of capacity when

completed.

The proposed Hardee Unit 3 would consist of natural gas fired

combustion turbines utilizing heat recovery steam generators that will

operate efficiently by recovering heat from the combustion turbines.

Fuel oil would be used as a backup source of fuel. These are the same

type of generators already installed at the Hardee Power Station (295

MW) and the same type proposed for future installation (145 MW) at the

site by Hardee Power Partners. The natural gas would be transported via

an existing 18 inch diameter, underground gas pipeline connected to the

Florida Gas Transmission System to the Hardee Power Station. Three

existing 230 kilovolt transmission lines would be utilized to connect

Hardee Unit 3 into the Florida transmission grid.

Alternatives to the project as proposed included no action, design

alternatives, alternative fuels, and conservation.

Seminole has provided RUS with a Site Certification Application/

Environmental Analysis for Hardee Unit 3 which is the primary support

document used by RUS to develop its DSEIS. RUS has concluded that the

Site Certification Application/Environmental Analysis for Hardee Unit 3

represents an accurate assessment of the potential environmental

impacts related to the proposed project. The Hardee Unit 3 Site

Certification Application/Environmental Analysis has been incorporated

by reference into the DSEIS and is available for inspection by

interested parties at RUS or Seminole at the addresses provided in this

notice. That document, along with the DSEIS, will also be available for

review at the following libraries:

Bartow Public Library, 315 E. Parker Street, Bartow, Florida 33830

Hardee County Library, 315 N. 6th Avenue, Suite 114, Wauchula, Florida

33837.

Anyone wishing to comment on the DSEIS should do so in writing

within the 45-day comment period to RUS at the appropriate address

provided in this notice. All comments received during the comment

period will be given consideration in the formulation of the Final

Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for Hardee Unit 3. (Oral

responses submitted by telephone will be considered, but it is

recommended that comments be submitted in writing.) A copy of each

written comment and a summary of each oral comment received will be

included in the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

Notice of availability of the DSEIS and the 45-day comment period

is being published in the Federal Register by RUS and EPA. Seminole

will have a notice similar to this one published in newspapers of

general circulation in the proposed project area. As it is possible

that RUS, EPA, and Seminole's notices will not appear on the same date,

the 45-day comment period will begin on the date the latest notice

(RUS, EPA or Seminole's) is published. Questions concerning the closing

date of the 45-day comment period should be referred [[Page 27719]] to

Mr. Lawrence Wolfe at (202) 720-1784.

Dated: May 22, 1995.

Adam M. Golodner,

Deputy Administrator, Program Operations.

[FR Doc. 95-12884 Filed 5-24-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-15-M