Environmental Impact Statement: Proposed Exercise of Option Purchase Agreement With LSP Energy Limited Partnership for Supply of Electric Energy

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement: Proposed Exercise of Option

Purchase Agreement With LSP Energy Limited Partnership for Supply of

Electric Energy

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will prepare an

environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed exercise of an

electric energy option purchase agreement (OPA) with LSP Energy Limited

Partnership. Under the terms of the OPA, TVA may elect to purchase firm

electric energy provided as 750 megawatt (MW) of base load electric

capacity. This energy would be provided from a 750 MW (approximate

capacity) natural gas-fired combustion turbine combined cycle power

plant that LSP Energy Limited Partnership has proposed to construct and

operate in the City of Batesville, Mississippi. Batesville is in Panola

County and is about 140 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi and 50

miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The EIS will evaluate the potential

environmental impacts of the proposed power plant. TVA wants to use the

EIS process to obtain the public's comments on this proposal.

DATES: Comments on the scope of the EIS must be postmarked no later

than September 13, 1996. TVA will conduct a public meeting on the scope

of the EIS. The location and time of this meeting is announced below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Greg Askew, PE, Senior

Specialist, National Environmental Policy Act, Tennessee Valley

Authority, mail stop WT 8C, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville,

Tennessee 37902-1499. Comments may also be e-mailed to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ron Westmoreland, Environmental Research Center, Tennessee Valley

Authority, mail stop CEB 4C, Muscle

[[Page 42300]]

Shoals, Alabama 35662-1010. E-mail may be sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Description

The natural gas-fired combustion turbine combined cycle power plant

proposed by LSP Energy Limited Partnership to satisfy the requirements

of the OPA would be located on a 50 acre site in the Batesville

Industrial Park. The industrial park fronts the east side of

Mississippi Highway 35 at Brewer Road and is within the Batesville city

limits. The power plant would consist of two or more natural gas fired

combustion turbine-generators, two or more heat recovery steam

generators and exhaust stacks, one or more steam turbine-generators,

wet mechanical draft cooling towers, fuel oil storage tanks for backup

fuel, feedwater and wastewater treatment systems, a 161 kilovolt

switchyard, a control building, and other minor appurtenances and

equipment necessary for plant operation and maintenance.

Other actions necessary for operation of the power plant include

development and operation of water supply and conveyance systems,

construction and operation of wastewater treatment with conveyance and

outfall, construction and operation of one or more natural gas pipeline

taps and conveyances, construction and operation of an interconnection

between the plant switchyard and the TVA Batesville Substation, and

construction and operation of improvements to the Batesville

Substation. Other improvements to the TVA power transmission system may

be necessary to support plant operation.

TVA's Integrated Resource Plan

TVA's integrated resource plan and final programmatic environmental

impact statement, Energy Vision 2020, was completed in December 1995.

Energy Vision 2020 contains recommendations for meeting future TVA

customer energy requirements. Call options (option purchase agreements)

are recommended as one component of TVA's preferred alternative which

is a portfolio of energy resource options. The Energy Vision 2020

short-term action plan for the years 1996-2002 recommends that TVA

purchase call options for up to 3,000 MW of peaking and base load

capacity additions to be available in the years 1998 to 2002.

Proposed Issues to be Addressed

The EIS will describe the existing environmental, cultural, and

recreational resources that may be potentially affected by construction

and operation of the project. TVA's evaluation of potential

environmental impacts due to project construction and operation will

include, but not necessarily be limited to the impacts on air quality,

water quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, endangered and

threatened species, wetland resources, aesthetics and visual resources,

noise, land use, cultural resources, and socioeconomic resources.

Because the proposed project is to be located in an industrial park,

the on-site issues of terrestrial wildlife, vegetation, and land use

are not likely to be important.

TVA's Integrated Resource Plan, Energy Vision 2020, identifies and

evaluates TVA's need for additional energy resources and the

environmental impacts of alternative energy resources.

Alternatives

The results from evaluating the potential environmental impacts

related to these issues and other important issues identified in the

scoping process together with engineering and economic considerations

will be used in selecting a preferred alternative. At this time, TVA

has identified as alternatives for detailed evaluation in the EIS: (1)

Not exercising the OPA (No Action), and (2) Exercising the OPA.

Scoping Process

Scoping, which is integral to the NEPA process, is a procedure that

solicits public input to the EIS process to ensure that: (1) Issues are

identified early and properly studied; (2) issues of little

significance do not consume substantial time and effort; (3) the draft

EIS is thorough and balanced; and (4) delays caused by an inadequate

EIS are avoided. TVA's NEPA procedures require that the scoping process

commence after a decision has been reached to prepare an EIS in order

to provide an early and open process for determining the scope of

issues to be addressed and for identifying the significant issues

related to a proposed action. The scope of issues to be addressed in a

draft EIS will be determined, in part, from written comments submitted

by mail, and comments presented orally or in writing at a public

meeting. The preliminary identification of reasonable alternatives and

environmental issues is not meant to be exhaustive or final. TVA

considers the scoping process to be open and dynamic in the sense that

alternatives other than those given above may warrant study and new

matters may be identified for potential evaluation.

The scoping process will include both interagency and public

scoping. The public is invited to submit written comments or e-mail

comments on the scope of this EIS no later than the date given under

the DATES section of this notice and/or attend the public scoping

meeting. TVA will conduct a public meeting on the scope of the EIS in

Batesville, Mississippi on September 5, 1996. The meeting will begin at

5:00 p.m. at the offices of the Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power

Association located at 200 Power Drive just west of the intersection of

Mississippi Highway 6 and U.S. Interstate Highway 55.

The agencies to be included in the interagency scoping are U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mississippi

Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Historical Commission,

and other federal, state and local agencies as appropriate.

Upon consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will develop

alternatives and identify important environmental issues to be

addressed in the EIS. Following analysis of the environmental

consequences of each alternative, TVA will prepare a draft EIS for

public review and comment. Notice of availability of the draft EIS will

be published by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal

Register. TVA will solicit written comments on the draft EIS, and

information about possible public meetings to comment on the draft EIS

will be announced. TVA expects to release a final EIS by May 1997.

Dated: August 8, 1996.

Kathryn J. Jackson,

Senior Vice President, Resource Group.

[FR Doc. 96-20701 Filed 8-13-96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120-01-M