[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26747-26748]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-10861]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Oglethorpe Power Corporation: Proposed Biomass Power Plant
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has issued a Record of
Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to
providing financial assistance to the Oglethorpe Power Corporation
(Oglethorpe) for the construction of a 100 megawatt (MW) biomass plant
and related facilities (Proposal) in Warren County, Georgia. The
Administrator of RUS has signed the ROD, which was effective upon
signing. The EIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) and in accordance with the
Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and RUS'
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794). As the lead
federal agency, and as part of its broad environmental review process,
RUS must take into account the effect of the Proposal on historic
properties in
[[Page 26748]]
accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(16 U.S.C. 470f) and its implementing regulation ``Protection of
Historic Properties'' (36 CFR Part 800). Pursuant to 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3), RUS used its procedures for public involvement under NEPA,
in part, to meet its responsibilities to solicit and consider the views
of the public and other interested parties during the Section 106
review process. Accordingly, comments submitted in the EIS process also
informed RUS's decision making in the Section 106 review process. The
purpose of the Proposal is to provide a reliable, long-term supply of
renewable and sustainable energy at a reasonable cost to meet part of
the electric energy needs of Oglethorpe's members.
The Final EIS evaluated the potential environmental impacts of and
alternatives to the Project proposed by Oglethorpe for RUS financing to
construct the 100 megawatt (MW) biomass plant and related facilities
(Proposal) in Warren County, Georgia
ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the ROD, or for further information,
contact: Ms. Stephanie Strength, Environmental Protection Specialist,
USDA, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 1571,
Room 2244-S, Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone: (970) 403-3559, fax:
(202) 690-0649, or email: [email protected]. The ROD is
available online at: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-OglethorpePower.html and at the: Warren County Public Library, 10
Warren Street, Warrenton, Georgia 30828, Phone (706) 465- 2656.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Oglethorpe proposes to own, operate, and
maintain the Proposal in Warren County, Georgia. Three alternatives are
evaluated in detail in the Final EIS; the no action alternative, and
the proposed action at two different locations: Warren County (the
Proposal) and Appling County (the Alternate). These alternatives were
evaluated in terms of cost-effectiveness, technical feasibility, and
environmental factors (e.g., soils, topography and geology, water
resources, air quality, biological resources, the acoustic environment,
recreation, cultural and historic resources, visual resources,
transportation, farmland, land use, human health and safety, the
socioeconomic environment, environmental justice, and cumulative
effects).
The Proposal would be constructed on an approximately 343-acre site
located three-fourths mile east of the city limit of Warrenton,
Georgia. The tallest structure would be the stack, with a maximum
estimated height of approximately 220 feet.
A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS was published in
the Federal Register at 76 FR 20624, on April 13, 2011, and in
newspapers of general circulation within the Proposal's area of
environmental impact. Public hearings on the Draft EIS were held in the
project area on May 5, 2011, and public comments were accepted through
May 31, 2011. All comments on the Draft EIS have been entered into the
administrative record, responses are included in the Final EIS, and the
Final EIS was modified as appropriate. RUS published its NOA of the
Final EIS for the proposed Project in the Federal Register on December
15, 2011 at 76 FR 77963. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
acknowledged receipt of the Final EIS on December 9, 2011, from RUS.
The 30-day waiting period ended on January 9, 2012. Fifteen comments
were received that did not result in the need for changes or further
comment in RUS's ROD.
RUS carefully studied public health and safety, environmental
impacts, and engineering aspects of the Project. Based on an evaluation
of the information and impact analyses presented in the EIS, RUS finds
that the evaluation of reasonable alternatives is consistent with NEPA
and RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures. Details regarding RUS's
regulatory authority, rationale for the decision, and compliance with
applicable regulations are included in the ROD. Because the proposed
Project may involve action in floodplains or wetlands, this Notice also
serves as a final notice of action in floodplains and wetlands (in
accordance with Executive Orders 11988 and 11990).
This ROD is not a decision on Ogelthorpe's loan application and
therefore not an approval of the expenditure of federal funds. This
notice of the ROD concludes RUS's environmental review process in
accordance with NEPA and RUS's Environmental Policies and Procedures (7
CFR part 1794). The ultimate decision as to loan approval depends upon
the conclusion of this environmental review process plus financial and
engineering analyses. Issuance of the ROD will allow these reviews to
proceed.
Dated: March 15, 2013.
John Charles Padalino,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-10861 Filed 5-7-13; 8:45 am]
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