Notice2023-26178
New Caledonia Generation Site Project
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
November 28, 2023
Issuing agencies
Tennessee Valley Authority
Abstract
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to address the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed construction and operation of a Combustion Turbine (CT) Plant on a parcel of TVA-owned brownfield property in Lowndes County, Mississippi. The proposed New Caledonia Generation Site (NCG) would provide approximately 500 Megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity. The NCG CTs would be composed of six (6) natural gas-fired frame CTs. NCG would provide flexible and dispatchable transmission grid support and facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA bulk transmission system, consistent with the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Public comment is invited concerning the scope of the environmental review, alternatives being considered, and environmental issues that should be addressed. TVA is also requesting data, information, and analysis relevant to the proposed action from the public; affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry; or any other interested party.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 227 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 28, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83202-83203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-26178]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
New Caledonia Generation Site Project
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement
(EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to address the
potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed
construction and operation of a Combustion Turbine (CT) Plant on a
parcel of TVA-owned brownfield property in Lowndes County, Mississippi.
The proposed New Caledonia Generation Site (NCG) would provide
approximately 500 Megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity. The NCG
CTs would be composed of six (6) natural gas-fired frame CTs. NCG would
provide flexible and dispatchable transmission grid support and
facilitate the integration of renewable generation onto the TVA bulk
transmission system, consistent with the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan
(IRP). Public comment is invited concerning the scope of the
environmental review, alternatives being considered, and environmental
issues that should be addressed. TVA is also requesting data,
information, and analysis relevant to the proposed action from the
public; affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local governments,
agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry; or any other
interested party.
DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this
Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. To ensure consideration,
comments must be postmarked, submitted online, or emailed no later than
January 19, 2024. To facilitate the scoping process, TVA will hold an
in-person public open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 8, 2024,
at the Caledonia Community Center; see <a href="https://www.tva.com/nepa">https://www.tva.com/nepa</a> for
more information on the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Erica McLamb, NEPA
Compliance Specialist, 1101 Market Street, BR 2C-C, Chattanooga,
Tennessee 37402. Comments may also be submitted online at: <a href="https://www.tva.com/nepa">https://www.tva.com/nepa</a> or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f19f948190b1858790df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="442a213425043032256a232b32">[email protected]</span></a>. The public meeting will
be held at the Caledonia Community Center, located at 205 South St.,
Caledonia, Mississippi 39740.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erica McLamb by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#80eee5f0e1c0f4f6e1aee7eff6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="8ce2e9fcedccf8faeda2ebe3fa">[email protected]</span></a>,
by phone at (423) 751-8022, or by mail at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided in accordance with
the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR parts 1500
to 1508) and TVA's procedures for implementing NEPA. TVA is an agency
and instrumentality of the United States, established by an act of
Congress in 1933, to foster the social and economic welfare of the
people of the Tennessee Valley region and to promote the proper use and
conservation of the region's natural resources. One component of this
mission is the generation, transmission, and sale of reliable and
affordable electric energy.
Background
TVA provides electricity for local power companies serving 10
million people in Tennessee and parts of six surrounding States, as
well as directly to large industrial customers and Federal
installations. TVA is fully self-financed without Federal
appropriations and funds virtually all operations through electricity
sales and power system bond financing. The dependable electrical
capacity on the TVA power system is approximately 38,000 MW. TVA
transmits electricity from generating facilities over 16,000 miles of
transmission lines.
In June 2019, TVA published an IRP, which was developed with input
from stakeholder groups and the public. The 2019 IRP evaluated six
scenarios (plausible futures) and five strategies (potential TVA
responses to those plausible futures) and identified a range of
potential resource additions and retirements throughout the TVA power
service area, which encompasses approximately 80,000 square miles. The
2019 IRP identified the potential addition of up to 500 MW of demand
response and 2,200 MW of energy efficiency (demand-side options); 4,200
MW of wind; 5,300 MW of storage; 8,600 MW of CT; 9,800 MW of combined
cycle (CC); and 14,000 MW of solar by 2038. The 2019 IRP recommendation
optimizes TVA's ability to create a more flexible power-generation
system that can successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable
energy sources while ensuring reliability. Additionally, the 2019 IRP
recommended a series of near-term actions, including evaluating
engineering end-of-life dates for aging fossil units, to determine
whether retirements greater than 2,200 MW would be appropriate to
inform long-term planning. The strategic direction established by the
2019 IRP and results from recommended near-term actions formed the
basis for TVA's asset strategy, which continues to support affordable,
reliable, and cleaner energy for customers. As a result of resource
changes outlined in the asset strategy, TVA has a plan for 70% carbon
reductions by 2030, a path to an approximately 80% carbon reductions by
2035 and aspires to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 (based on a 2005
baseline).
Since the pandemic, TVA has seen a strong increase in electric
demand. Population in the TVA service region has grown 1.5%. TVA
expects continued strong growth in annual electric demand through the
middle of this decade. Forecasted electric demand is expected to grow
more than one percent per year on average between 2023-2026. Current
system modeling shows that with increased In-Valley residential
migration and commercial development, TVA must add generation capacity
to the system to maintain adequate operating reserves.
The NCG Site is an approximately 63-acre federally owned brownfield
property managed by TVA in Lowndes, Mississippi, located approximately
10 miles northeast of Columbus. The NCG site was the location of a
former CT facility, originally constructed in 1998 and operated for
several years by a private company. The company decommissioned the
facility in 2007, removing the existing six frame CTs from the site.
The adjacent TVA Lowndes County 161 kV and 500-kV Substation is
approximately 82 acres and has remained in-service. The study area for
the proposed action is 145 acres and includes the entire combustion
[[Page 83203]]
turbine property as well as the adjacent substation property.
TVA is considering constructing and operating a combustion turbine
facility (with generation capacity of approximately 500 MW) at the same
brownfield location as the previously operated generating facility,
which would allow TVA to utilize existing natural gas and transmission
infrastructure.
Project Purpose and Need
The purpose of the proposed action is to help provide generation to
support continued load growth in the TVA power service area and TVA's
decarbonization goals. TVA needs flexible, dispatchable power that can
successfully integrate increasing amounts of renewable energy sources
while ensuring reliability. The need for the Proposed Action is to
ensure that TVA can meet required year-round generation and maximum
capacity system demands and planning reserve margin targets.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
TVA anticipates that the scope of the EA or EIS will evaluate a No
Action Alternative and an Action Alternative. The No Action Alternative
provides a baseline for comparing against the Action Alternative. Under
the No Action Alternative, TVA would not redevelop the TVA-owned
brownfield property in Lowndes County for energy generation. The Action
Alternative would evaluate the development of the NCG site for
construction and operation of a CT. Whether these or other alternatives
are reasonable warranting further consideration under NEPA would be
determined in the course of preparing the EA or EIS.
Anticipated Environmental Impacts
The EA or EIS will include a detailed evaluation of the
environmental, social, and economic impacts associated with
implementation of the proposed action. Resource areas to be addressed
in the EA or EIS include but are not limited to air quality; aquatics;
botany; climate change; cultural resources; emergency planning;
floodplains; geology and groundwater; land use; noise and vibration;
health and safety; soil erosion and surface water; socioeconomics and
environmental justice; threatened and endangered species;
transportation; visual resources; waste; wetlands; and wildlife.
Measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate adverse effects will be
identified and evaluated in the EA or EIS.
Anticipated Permits and Other Authorizations
TVA anticipates seeking required permits or authorizations, as
appropriate. TVA's proposed action to construct a CT may also require
issuance of an air permit under the Clean Air Act, an Individual or
Nationwide Permit under section 404 of the Clean Water Act; section 401
Water Quality Certification; a Mississippi Large Construction
Stormwater Permit; conformance with Executive Orders on Environmental
Justice (12898), Wetlands (11990), Floodplain Management (11988),
Migratory Birds (13186), and Invasive Species (13112); and compliance
with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, section 7
of the Endangered Species Act, and other applicable local, Federal, and
State regulations.
Public Participation and Scoping Process
Scoping, which is integral to the process for implementing NEPA,
provides an early and open process to ensure that issues are identified
early and properly studied; issues of little significance do not
consume substantial time and effort; the draft EA or EIS is thorough
and balanced; and delays caused by an inadequate EA or EIS are avoided.
TVA seeks comment and participation from all interested parties for
identification of potential alternatives, information, and analyses
relevant to the proposed action in this EA or EIS. Public comments
received during the scoping period will assist TVA in determining the
appropriate level of NEPA review.
Information about this project is available at <a href="https://www.tva.com/nepa">https://www.tva.com/nepa</a>, which includes a link to an online public comment page. Comments
must be received or postmarked no later than January 19, 2024. Federal,
State, local agencies, and Native American Tribes are also invited to
provide comments. Please note that any comments received, including
names and addresses, will become part of the project administrative
record and will be available for public inspection. To facilitate the
scoping process, TVA will hold an in-person public open house from 5
p.m. to 7 p.m. on January 8, 2024, at the New Caledonia Community
Center located at 205 South St., Caledonia, MS 39740; see the project
website for more information on the meeting.
EA or EIS Preparation and Schedule
TVA will consider comments received during the scoping period and
develop a scoping report which will be published online. The scoping
report will summarize public and agency comments that were received and
identify the projected schedule for completing the environmental review
process. TVA will post a draft EA or EIS for public review and comment
on the project website. TVA anticipates holding a public open house
after releasing the draft EA or EIS. TVA expects to release the draft
EA or EIS in Spring or Summer 2024 and a final EA or EIS in late 2024.
If an EIS is prepared, TVA would publish a Record of Decision at least
30 days after the release of the final EIS.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.9.
Susan Jacks,
General Manager, Environmental Resource Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-26178 Filed 11-27-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 28, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.