Environmental Impact Statement for Addition of Electric Generation Peaking Capacity

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement for Addition of Electric

Generation Peaking Capacity

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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

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

environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed addition of

peaking capacity to the TVA electric generation system. The EIS will

evaluate the potential environmental impacts of installing and

operating proposed simple cycle natural gas fired combustion turbines

to provide the needed peaking capacity. 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 11, 1998. TVA will conduct public meetings on the scope

of the EIS. The locations and times of these meetings are announced

below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Greg Askew, P.E., 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: Roy V. Carter, P.E., EIS Project

Manager, Environmental Research Center, Tennessee Valley Authority,

mail stop CEB 4C, Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35662-1010. E-mail may be sent

to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Description

Construction and operation of simple cycle natural gas-fired

combustion turbine units are proposed by TVA to meet up to 1,350 MW of

peaking requirements with some capacity available as early as June

2000. Up to eight natural gas-fired combustion turbines would be

installed at one, two or three existing TVA power plant sites.

The three TVA power plant sites under consideration are

Johnsonville Fossil Plant in Humphreys County, Tennessee; Gallatin

Fossil Plant in Sumner County, Tennessee; and Colbert Fossil Plant in

Colbert County, Alabama. Each of these TVA plant sites have both coal-

fired units and natural gas and/or fuel oil fired combustion turbines.

These TVA plant sites offer potential advantages over greenfield sites.

These advantages include use of existing plant infrastructure (water

service, natural gas supply at two sites, transmission line access,

combustion turbine maintenance and operating staff), existing land

ownership, and an accelerated project schedule with reduced risk. Also,

inherent in incremental development of industrial sites such as these

is the potential for reduced environmental impacts.

Each site installation would consist of up to eight natural gas

fired combustion turbine-generators. Fuel oil would be the secondary

fuel. These combustion turbines would employ dry low-NOx

combustion chambers and/or water injection for NOx control.

Typical manufacturers and models of simple cycle combustion turbines

for the proposed application are General Electric models GE 7001 EA and

GE 7001 FA, and Westinghouse models WH 501D5A and WH 501 FA Other

appurtenances and ancillary equipment would include step-up

transformers for 161 kilovolt or 500 kilovolt service, transmission

line connection equipment, demineralized water to supply the water

injection NOx control systems, and maintenance and

operational support buildings or equipment.

Other actions necessary for operation of combustion turbines at the

Colbert site would include one or more natural gas pipeline taps and

conveyances.

TVA's Integrated Resource Plan

This EIS will tier from TVA's Energy Vision 2020'An Integrated

Resource Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.

Energy Vision 2020 was completed in December 1995 and a Record of

Decision issued on February 28, 1996. Energy Vision 2020 analyzed a

full range of supply-side and demand-side options to meet customer

energy needs. These options were ranked using several criteria

including environmental performance. Favorable options were formulated

into strategies to effectively meet electric energy and peak capacity

needs of TVA's customers for a range of postulated futures. A portfolio

of options drawn from several robust strategies was chosen as TVA's

preferred alternative. In this preferred alternative, three supply-side

options selected to meet peak capacity needs were: (1) addition of

combustion turbines to TVA's generation system, (2) purchase of market

peaking capacity, and (3) call options on peaking capacity. The short-

term action plan of Energy Vision 2020 identified a need for 3,000 MW

of baseload and peaking additions through the year 2002.

Because Energy Vision 2020 identified and evaluated alternative

supply-side and demand-side energy

[[Page 43227]]

resources and technologies for meeting peak capacity needs, this EIS

will not reevaluate those alternatives. This EIS will focus on the

site-specific impacts of constructing and operating additional TVA

combustion turbines at three candidate sites.

Proposed Issues To Be Addressed

The EIS will describe the existing environmental and socioeconomic

resources at each of the three sites that may be potentially affected

by construction and operation of natural gas-fired combustion turbines.

TVA's evaluation of potential environmental impacts to these resources

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

quality, water quality, aquatic and terrestrial ecology, endangered and

threatened species, wetlands, aesthetics and visual resources, noise,

land use, historic and archaeological resources, and socioeconomic

resources. Because the proposed projects would be located on previously

disturbed property at operating TVA power plant sites, the on-site

issues of terrestrial wildlife, habitat, and vegetation; aesthetics and

visual resources; land use conversion; and historic and archaeological

resources are not likely to be important. Also, the proposed units

would have no process wastewater discharge and will require no new

water supply source, thus impacts to aquatic ecology are unlikely.

Alternatives

The results of 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 the following alternatives for detailed evaluation: (1)

a single site alternative, (2) alternatives employing two of the three

sites, (3) an alternative employing all three sites, and (4) no action.

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

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

submitted by mail or e-mail, and comments presented orally or in

writing at public meetings. The preliminary identification in this

notice of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues is not meant

to be exhaustive or final.

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

meetings. TVA will conduct three public scoping meetings using an open

house format. At each meeting, TVA staff will be present to discuss the

project proposals and the environmental issues, and to receive both

oral and written comments. The meeting locations and schedule are as

follows: Monday, August 31, Gallatin Civic Center, 210 Albert Gallatin

Road, Gallatin, Tennessee; Tuesday, September 1, Humphreys County Board

of Education Building, 2443 Highway 70 East, Waverly, Tennessee;

Thursday, September 3, Lions Club Building, Corner of Church and First

Streets, Cherokee, Alabama. The times for all three open house meetings

are 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

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

Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Department of Conservation and

Environment, the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, and

other 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 in May 1999.

Dated: August 6, 1998.

Kathryn J. Jackson,

Executive Vice President, Resource Group.

[FR Doc. 98-21580 Filed 8-11-98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8120-08-P