Notice2023-02679
Moore County Solar Environmental Impact Statement
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
February 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Tennessee Valley Authority
Abstract
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has decided to adopt the preferred alternative identified in its final environmental impact statement (Final EIS) for the Moore County Solar Project. The Final EIS was made available to the public on December 9, 2022. A Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on December 16, 2022. TVA's preferred alternative, analyzed in the Final EIS as the Proposed Action Alternative, consists of TVA executing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with SR Tullahoma, LLC (SR Tullahoma), a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Ranch Corporation (SRC), to purchase power generated by the proposed 200-megawatt (MW) alternating current (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, which would occupy approximately 1,873 acres of a 3,463-acre Project Site, two miles west of the city of Tullahoma, within the metropolitan limits of Lynchburg in Moore County, Tennessee. The Project would connect to TVA's existing adjacent Franklin-Wartrace No. 2 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line (TL) that extends north-south through the Project Site. To interconnect to TVA's existing electrical grid, SR Tullahoma and TVA would build an on-site 161-kV substation and switchyard, respectively, and TVA would replace the existing overhead ground wire with new fiber-optic overhead ground wire along an approximately 9.8- mile portion of the TL. This alternative would achieve the purpose and need of the Project to meet the demand for increased renewable energy generation established in TVA's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8330-8332]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02679]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Moore County Solar Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Record of decision.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has decided to adopt the
preferred alternative identified in its final environmental impact
statement (Final EIS) for the Moore County Solar Project. The Final EIS
was made available to the public on December 9, 2022. A Notice of
Availability (NOA) of the Final EIS was published in the Federal
Register on December 16, 2022. TVA's preferred alternative, analyzed in
the Final EIS as the Proposed Action Alternative, consists of TVA
executing a power purchase agreement (PPA) with SR Tullahoma, LLC (SR
Tullahoma), a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Ranch Corporation
(SRC), to purchase power generated by the proposed 200-megawatt (MW)
alternating current (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, which would
occupy approximately 1,873 acres of a 3,463-acre Project Site, two
miles west of the city of Tullahoma, within the metropolitan limits of
Lynchburg in Moore County, Tennessee. The Project would connect to
TVA's existing adjacent Franklin-Wartrace No. 2 161-kilovolt (kV)
transmission line (TL) that extends north-south through the Project
Site. To interconnect to TVA's existing electrical grid, SR Tullahoma
and TVA would build an on-site 161-kV substation and switchyard,
respectively, and TVA would replace the existing overhead ground wire
with new fiber-optic overhead ground wire along an approximately 9.8-
mile portion of the TL. This alternative would achieve the purpose and
need of the Project to meet the demand for increased renewable energy
generation established in TVA's 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).
ADDRESSES: To access and review the Final EIS, this Record of Decision
(ROD), and other project documents, go to TVA's website at <a href="https://www.tva.gov/nepa">https://www.tva.gov/nepa</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ashley Pilakowski, NEPA Project
Manager, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B
Knoxville, TN 37902; telephone 865-632-2256; or email
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f79696879e9b969c9880849c9eb7838196d9909881"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eb8a8a9b82878a80849c988082ab9f9d8ac58c849d">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided in accordance with
the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations (40 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) 1500 through 1508) and TVA's procedures (18 CFR 1318)
for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TVA is a
corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for
business customers and local power distributors serving 10 million
people in the Tennessee Valley--an 80,000-square-mile region comprised
of Tennessee and parts of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama,
Mississippi, and Kentucky. TVA receives no taxpayer funding and derives
virtually all revenues from the sale of electricity. In addition to
operating and investing revenues in its power system, TVA provides
flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee Valley
watershed and provides economic development and job creation assistance
within the Service area.
In June 2019, TVA completed its 2019 IRP and associated EIS. The
2019 IRP, which updated the 2015 IRP, identified the various resources
that TVA intends to use to meet the energy needs of the TVA region over
a 20-year planning period, while achieving TVA's objectives to deliver
reliable, low-cost, and cleaner energy with fewer environmental
impacts. The 2019 IRP recommends the expansion of solar generating
capacity of up to 14,000 MW by 2038.
TVA has prepared an EIS pursuant to NEPA to assess the
environmental impacts of the Proposed Action to execute a PPA with SR
Tullahoma to purchase power generated by the proposed 200-MW AC solar
PV facility, which would occupy an approximately 1,873-acre portion of
the Project Site, include the construction of an on-site 161-kV
substation and switchyard, and include the interconnection of the solar
PV facility to the existing adjacent Franklin-Wartrace No. 2 161-kV TL
and associated network upgrades.
Alternatives Considered
TVA considered a no action and one action alternative in the Draft
EIS and Final EIS.
No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative, TVA would
not implement the PPA with SR Tullahoma to purchase the power generated
by Moore County Solar, and SR Tullahoma would not develop a solar PV
facility at this location. TVA would pursue other actions to meet its
renewable energy goals established in the 2019 IRP.
Proposed Action Alternative. Under the Proposed Action Alternative,
TVA would execute the PPA with SR Tullahoma to purchase power generated
by the proposed 200-MW AC solar PV facility known as Moore County
Solar, which would occupy approximately 1,873 acres of a 3,463-acre
Project Site, two miles west of the city of Tullahoma, within the
metropolitan limits of Lynchburg in Moore County, Tennessee. The
Project would connect to TVA's existing adjacent Franklin-Wartrace No.
2 161-kV TL that extends north-south through the Project Site. To
interconnect to TVA's existing electrical grid, SR Tullahoma and TVA
would build an on-site 161-kV substation and switchyard, respectively,
and TVA would replace the existing overhead ground wire with new fiber-
optic overhead ground wire along an approximately 9.8-mile portion of
the TL extending eastward from the Project Site. Under the PPA, SR
Tullahoma would construct, operate, and maintain Moore County Solar for
a 20-year period. At the end of the 20-year PPA, SR Tullahoma would
assess whether to cease operations at the solar facility or to replace
equipment, if needed, and attempt to enter into a new PPA with TVA or
make some other arrangement to sell the power.
Purpose and Need. The purpose and need of the Proposed Action is to
meet the demand for increased renewable energy generation and partially
fulfill the renewable energy goals established in the 2019 IRP. TVA's
preferred alternative for fulfilling its purpose and need is the
Proposed Action Alternative, which would generate renewable energy for
TVA and its customers with only minor to moderate environmental impacts
due to the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) and
minimization and mitigation efforts. Implementation of the Project
would help meet TVA's renewable energy goals and would help TVA meet
customer-driven energy demands on the TVA system.
Environmentally Preferred Alternative
The No Action Alternative would result in the lowest level of
environmental impacts as the impacts associated with construction and
operation of the solar facility would not occur. However, the No Action
Alternative does not meet the purpose and need for the project.
Overall, environmental consequences associated with the Proposed Action
Alternative would be minor to moderate with the implementation of BMPs
and
[[Page 8331]]
minimization and mitigation efforts. During construction, minor,
temporary increases to noise, traffic, and health and safety risks, as
well as minor, temporary effects to air quality, greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions, visual aesthetics, and utilities would occur. Construction
and operations would have minor, localized effects on soil erosion and
sedimentation and minor, beneficial, and indirect effects to surface
waters and wetlands, floodplains, and aquatic life. Adverse impacts
would be minimized or mitigated by implementation of BMPs and specific
measures designed to mitigate effects, such as clearing select areas of
vegetation by hand to reduce disturbance to West Fork Rock Creek, North
Fork Blue Creek, and Spring Creek. SR Tullahoma will also avoid siting
Project components and the management of SRC's regenerative energy
program in identified sensitive plant and animal resource areas (except
for buried or overhead electrical lines within 50 feet of Raysville and
Cumberland Springs roads) in accordance with an Avoidance Agreement
between TVA and SR Tullahoma. Following construction, the Project Site
would be revegetated and maintained as a meadow with a mix of perennial
and annual grasses and forbs to attract pollinators and serve as fodder
for grazing sheep in the fenced areas of the Project. Beneficial
effects on socioeconomics would also occur with construction and
operation of the Project.
Construction of the Project would result in minor impacts to U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)-jurisdictional ephemeral streams and
wetlands, non-USACE-jurisdictional ditches and open waters, and
Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)-regulated
wetlands for road crossings, solar panel arrays and solar panel blocks.
These impacts would be permitted by Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404/
401 permits through USACE and TDEC, as applicable to the jurisdiction
of these waters. In accordance with TVA requirements, 50-foot buffers
surrounding wetlands and non-impaired perennial and intermittent
streams and 60-foot buffers surrounding impaired perennial and
intermittent streams on the Project Site would be maintained as
avoidance measures.
The Project land use would change from primarily forest management,
including timbering operations, and some agricultural activities to
industrial uses. Regenerative agricultural practices planned in
association with the Project (i.e., sheep operations) would allow for
some agricultural uses to continue to occur on site. These would
partially offset the primary change of land use to industrial uses.
Approximately 850 acres of forest that potentially provide high- to
low-quality summer roosting habitat for endangered and threatened bats
would be cleared during winter months as much as feasible, when bats
are not likely to be present on the Project Site. The TL upgrade work
would be carried out in a manner to avoid impacts to endangered
species. TVA has consulted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, and USFWS
concurred with TVA's determination that the Project may affect but is
not likely to adversely affect the federally listed gray bat, Indiana
bat, and northern long-eared bat. Impacts to the two state listed
reptile species, eastern slender glass lizard and northern pine snake,
and the two bird species, Bachman's sparrow and common barn owl, would
be localized and minor. The Project would have no effect on the other
federally listed species that were identified as having the potential
to occur on or near the Project Site.
The Project would not adversely affect the National Register of
Historic Places-eligible Motlow House, located adjacent to the Project
Site due to forested screening and its distance of 0.2 to 0.5 miles
from the Project. The Project would avoid the Old Jabel Ray Homeplace
Cemetery by a minimum 250-foot avoidance buffer and, thus, not visually
affect the cemetery. TVA consulted with the Tennessee Historical
Commission and federally recognized Indian tribes under section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act regarding these findings and
avoidance measures.
Public Involvement
On May 3, 2021, TVA published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the
Federal Register (86 FR 23484) announcing plans to prepare either an
EIS or an environmental assessment (EA) to assess the potential
environmental effects associated with constructing, operating,
maintaining, and decommissioning the Moore County Solar PV facility in
Moore County, Tennessee. The NOI initiated a 30-day public scoping
period that concluded on June 4, 2021. The NOI solicited public input
on the scope of the EIS and the environmental issues that should be
considered in the EIS. During the public scoping period, TVA received
comments from the U.S. Geological Survey; U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (USEPA); Tennessee Natural Heritage Program, part of TDEC;
Southeastern Grasslands Initiative; and two private individuals.
Comments were related to purpose and need, agency coordination,
alternatives, mitigation measures, land use, water resources,
biological resources, air quality and GHG emissions, socioeconomics,
and environmental justice. Based on the comments received, as well as
the results of field surveys and other considerations, TVA decided that
the appropriate level of review for the Project was an EIS.
TVA released the Draft EIS for public review in April 2022. The NOA
for the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on April 22,
2022 (87 FR 24158) initiating a 45-day public comment period, which
ended on June 6, 2022. To solicit public input, the availability of the
Draft EIS was announced in regional and local newspapers serving the
project area and on TVA's social media accounts. A news release was
issued to the media and posted on TVA's website. The Draft EIS was
posted on TVA's website, and hard copies were made available by
request. During the public comment period, on May 23, 2022, TVA held a
live virtual public meeting to describe the Project and address
questions in a live question-and-answer session. A recording of the
session was made available following the meeting for public viewing.
TVA accepted comments submitted through mail, email, a comment form on
TVA's public website, and during the virtual public meeting. TVA
received a total of 32 comments from 16 comment submittals. Comments
were received from Arnold Air Force Base, Southeastern Grasslands
Initiative, TDEC, USEPA, and 14 individuals (with some combining
comment submittals) on the Draft EIS. TVA carefully reviewed the
comments received and, where appropriate, revised text in the Final
EIS. The NOA for the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on
December 16, 2022 (87 FR 77106).
Decision
TVA certifies, in accordance with 40 CFR 1505.2(b), that the agency
has considered all of the alternatives, information, analyses, material
in the record determined to be relevant, and submitted by State,
Tribal, and local governments and public commenters for consideration
in developing the Final EIS. TVA has decided to implement the preferred
alternative of the EIS, which would result in the construction,
operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of the proposed
solar PV facility, as well as the construction, operation, and
maintenance of a
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substation and associated facilities to interconnect the solar PV
facility to TVA's existing electrical transmission network. This
alternative would achieve the purpose and need of the Project.
Mitigation Measures
SR Tullahoma and TVA would employ standard practices and routine
measures and other project-specific measures to avoid, minimize, and
mitigate adverse impacts from implementation of the Proposed Action
Alternative. SR Tullahoma and TVA would also implement minimization and
mitigation measures based on BMPs, permit requirements, and adherence
to erosion and sediment control plans. Non-routine mitigation measures
associated with land use and soils, biological, visual and public
health, safety and transportation are included below:
<bullet> Land Use and Soils
[cir] Utilize SRC's regenerative energy program, including
perennial and annual, non-invasive pollinator-attractive plantings,
biological vegetation management (e.g., grazing sheep), and other
measures that improve the land within the Project Site;
<bullet> Biological Resources
[cir] Avoid siting Project components and managing SRC's
regenerative energy program in identified sensitive plant and animal
resource areas (except for buried or overhead electrical lines within
50 feet of Raysville and Cumberland Springs roads) in accordance with
an Avoidance Agreement between TVA and SR Tullahoma (Appendix A of the
Final EIS), and
[cir] Install signage and/or temporary construction fencing around
avoidance areas and identify avoidance areas on site plans and
constraints maps;
<bullet> Visual Resources
[cir] Install and maintain 60-foot-wide vegetative buffer along the
Project fence perimeter where the facility would otherwise be visible
from public rights-of-way and residences in accordance with A
Resolution to Amend the Text of the Metropolitan Lynchburg and Moore
County Zoning Ordinance Establishing Regulations for Solar Energy
Systems as Permitted Use in the A-1-Agriculture-Forestry District and
Establishing Regulations Governing the Development of Solar Energy
Systems, as approved or amended by the Board of Zoning Appeals prior to
construction start; and
<bullet> Public Health and Safety and Transportation
[cir] In accordance with Federal Aviation Administration
recommendations, file Form 7460-2, Notice of Actual Construction or
Alteration, any time the Project is abandoned or within five days after
the construction reaches its greatest height.
Dated: January 19, 2023.
Christopher W. Hansen,
Vice President, Origination and Renewables, Tennessee Valley Authority.
[FR Doc. 2023-02679 Filed 2-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P
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