Notice2024-23821
Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.; Notice of Availability of a Final 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
October 18, 2024
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentRural Utilities Service
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Central Electric Power Cooperative's (the Applicant/Central Electric) proposed McClellanville 115-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Project (Project) in South Carolina, to meet RUS's responsibilities under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and their implementing regulations related to providing financial assistance to Central Electric for its share in constructing the proposed transmission line and associated infrastructure. The U.S. Forest Service, Francis Marion National Forest, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS. The Final EIS analyzes the environmental impacts of constructing, operating, and maintaining a new 23.3-mile, 115-kV transmission line along the Jamestown corridor (Proposed Action), and two other alternatives, that includes the Jamestown Alternative (a variation of the Proposed Action) and the Charity Alternative. It also addresses comments received during the comment period for the Supplemental Draft EIS, which was prepared in 2019. As part of its broad environmental review process, RUS must consider the effect of the Project on historic properties in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act (section 106) and its implementing regulation, "Protection of Historic Properties". This Notice of Availability also serves as a notice of proposed wetland and floodplain actions.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 202 (Friday, October 18, 2024)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 202 (Friday, October 18, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83833-83835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-23821]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
[Docket #: RUS-23-ELECTRIC-0017]
Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.; Notice of Availability
of a Final Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a final environmental impact
statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for Central
Electric Power Cooperative's (the Applicant/Central Electric) proposed
McClellanville 115-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Project (Project) in
South Carolina, to meet RUS's responsibilities under National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and their implementing regulations
related to providing financial assistance to Central Electric for its
share in constructing the proposed transmission line and associated
infrastructure. The U.S. Forest Service, Francis Marion National
Forest, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating agencies
in the preparation of the EIS. The Final EIS analyzes the environmental
impacts of constructing, operating, and maintaining a new 23.3-mile,
115-kV transmission line along the Jamestown corridor (Proposed
Action), and two other alternatives, that includes the Jamestown
Alternative (a variation of the Proposed Action) and the Charity
Alternative. It also addresses comments received during the comment
period for the Supplemental Draft EIS, which was prepared in 2019. As
part of its broad environmental review process, RUS must consider the
effect of the Project on historic properties in accordance with the
National Historic Preservation Act (section 106) and its implementing
regulation, ``Protection of Historic Properties''. This Notice of
Availability also serves as a notice of proposed wetland and floodplain
actions.
DATES: Written comments on this Final EIS will be accepted for 45 days
following publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's
environmental impact statement notice of receipt in the Federal
Register. Notices of Availability of the Final EIS will also be
published in local newspapers. After a 45-day comment period on the
Final EIS, RUS may prepare a Record of Decision. The environmental
compliance and permitting process is expected to conclude in 2025.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and other Project-related information are
available at the following RUS website: <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc">https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc</a>.
Comments can be submitted by email at: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#137e70707f767f7f727d657a7f7f76767a6053666077723d747c65"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1578767679707979747b637c797970707c6655606671743b727a63">[email protected]</span></a> or by
mail to: WSP USA, Subject: McClellanville Transmission Line Project,
1308 Patton Ave., Asheville, NC 28806, during the comment period.
All comments submitted during the comment period will become part
of the public record. Comments submitted after the comment period will
not be considered by the agency. Before including your address,
telephone number, email address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. All comments will be reviewed and
included in the Record of Decision.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To download electronic copies of the
Final EIS or previous NEPA analyses and documents, go to: <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc">https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc</a>.
For information specific to this notice contact Suzanne Kopich,
Environmental Protection Specialist, Rural Utilities Service, Rural
Development, telephone 202-961-8514. Electronic comments may be
submitted at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f121c1c131a13131e11091613131a1a160c3f0a0c1b1e51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2c414f4f404940404d425a4540404949455f6c595f484d024b435a">[email protected]</span></a> during the open comment period.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: RUS is serving as the lead federal agency
for the preparation of this EIS. The United States Forest Service
(USFS) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Charleston District,
are cooperating agencies. Because the proposed transmission line would
cross the Francis Marion National Forest (FMNF), USFS has
responsibility to decide whether to issue a Special Use Permit (SUP) to
Central Electric for authorization of the Project on National Forest
System lands. USACE has primary responsibility to issue permits for
work in, over, or otherwise affecting navigable waters of the United
States and to authorize the discharge of dredged or fill material into
jurisdictional wetlands.
The purpose of the proposed Project is to address system capacity,
system reliability, human safety, and power quality issues resulting
from the current use of the aging distribution line supplying
electricity to Berkeley Electric, supplying the McClellanville area.
Central Electric is a not-for-profit electric generation and
transmission cooperative made up of twenty (20) retail electric
cooperatives in South Carolina that provide wholesale power to its
member-owners, including Berkeley Electric Incorporated. Organized in
1948, Central Electric designs and builds transmission lines that
connect the state's bulk transmission system (the coordinated and
integrated Central Electric/South Carolina Public Service Authority
[Santee Cooper] system) and the member-cooperative system substations.
The 20 electric cooperatives own Central Electric and are self-
regulated for rates and follow state and federal construction
standards. South Carolina Code of State Regulations, chapter 103-304,
Public Service Commission, Territory and Certificates, states in part,
that no electrical utility supplying electric service to the public
shall hereafter begin the construction or operation of any electric
facilities, or of any extension thereof, without first obtaining from
the commission a certificate that public convenience and necessity
requires or will require such construction or operation. The regulation
further states that the regulation shall not be construed to require
any such electrical utility to secure a certificate for any extension
within a municipality or district within which it has heretofore
lawfully commenced operations, or for an extension within or to
territory already served by it, necessary in the ordinary course of its
business, or for an extension into territory contiguous to that already
occupied by it and not receiving similar service from another
electrical utility. This proposed project
[[Page 83834]]
is considered an extension of service within an area Central Electric
currently serves. Additionally, certificates of Environmental
Compatibility and Public Convenience and Necessity are issued by the
commission for transmission projects that are 125 kV or more. Central
Electric's proposed transmission line is 115 kV, and therefore, no
certificate is required from the commission for construction of the
proposed transmission line.
The Board of Trustees, made up of members from each of the 20
electric cooperatives, identified the need to address system capacity,
system reliability, and power quality issues resulting from the current
use of the aging distribution line supplying electricity to Berkeley
Electric. Currently, around 1,000 residents in the McClellanville area
rely on an existing 40-mile-long distribution circuit that suffers from
poor reliability and power quality, and limitations from:
(1) a Winter Weather Operating Agreement that forces Berkeley
Electric to switch operations to comply with system amperage limits,
while putting residents at an elevated risk for outages and interrupted
service; and
(2) an outdated distribution network rather than higher efficiency,
more reliable transmission line service.
Berkeley Electric and Dominion (two of the 20 electric
cooperatives) entered into a Winter Weather Operating Agreement in 2017
to provide reliable electric service to Berkeley Electric customers in
the McClellanville area during periods of peak demand and to prevent
system overload. The Winter Weather Operating Agreement indicated that
Berkeley Electric load had grown to the point that in order to protect
overload of Dominion facilities, Dominion must switch their feed from
Berkeley Electric, forcing Berkeley Electric to source an alternate
resource in real time to maintain service. When temperatures are
forecast to fall below 23 degrees Fahrenheit north of the Mount
Pleasant and McClellanville areas, or if electrical demand is expected
to exceed 175 amps per phase, Berkeley Electric will be dispatched to
switch load off the metering point and over to the Berkeley Electric
Commonwealth substation. It is during these critical periods that the
Berkeley Electric customers in the McClellanville area are most
vulnerable and at the greatest risk of failure to receive service.
Although the Winter Weather Operating Agreement was developed to secure
the greatest amount of reliable electrical service during periods of
the greatest demand, it subjects the Berkeley Electric customers in the
McClellanville area to the greatest risk for outages and interrupted
services during critical periods.
These factors result in substandard electric service in the
McClellanville area that cannot accommodate existing load demand or
future load growth. To improve the inadequate service to this area,
Central Electric has been pursuing a new transmission service point in
McClellanville since 1999.
A Draft EIS for the Project was prepared in 2014 and made available
for public review and comment. The 2014 Draft EIS evaluated six (6)
potential transmission corridors to the proposed McClellanville
substation, all of which originated from the Belle Isle Substation in
Georgetown, SC, and followed roughly along U.S. Highway 17 and crossed
the Santee River near the highway bridge. In 2017, an independent
engineering study was completed to assess the merit of the proposed
alternatives based on need, impact, and cost, which supplemented
previous corridor-siting studies that included an Alternatives
Evaluation Study and a Macro-Corridor Study. These and other project
documents can be found on the RUS project website at <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc">https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc</a>.
Independent studies of system reliability indicate that a new, 115-
kV transmission line and associated substation is the best solution to
serve the long-term needs of the McClellanville area. RUS has performed
a two-stage alternatives development and screening process for the
proposed Project. Stage 1 considered alternative technologies; Stage 2
considered alternative locations for the Project.
RUS, in coordination with the Applicant, analyzed a range of
technological alternatives to determine if they would be appropriate to
meet the Project purpose and need. The analyzed alternatives included:
(1) installing onsite generation at the proposed McClellanville
Substation and energy storage;
(2) rebuilding the existing distribution line system;
(3) promoting and improving energy efficiency and conservation, and
distributed renewables generation; and
(4) providing battery storage in McClellanville.
The evaluated alternatives were discussed within the documents
listed below, which are located at <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc">https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statement/mcclellanville-115kv-transmission-line-berkeley-charleston-and-georgetown-counties-sc</a>. These
evaluated alternatives were not considered as reasonable alternatives
for meeting the purpose and need for the Project and were not carried
forward for detailed analysis.
<bullet> Revised Macro-Corridor Study Report, 2010;
<bullet> McClellanville Power Supply Alternatives Evaluation Study,
2005;
<bullet> Independent Engineering Study, 2017;
<bullet> McClellanville Battery Energy Storage Study, 2020; and
<bullet> Supplemental Analysis on Private Lands, 2024
RUS prepared a Supplemental Draft EIS in 2019, largely based on
public comments opposed to the transmission line crossing the Santee
River, and to comply with updates to RUS' environmental policies and
procedures. The Supplemental Draft EIS (SDEIS) evaluated two (2) new
alternative corridors (Jamestown and Charity) and two of the originally
proposed Belle Isle corridors (Options B and C); it also evaluated the
No Action alternative. Public comments received during the public
review and comment period on the SDEIS strongly opposed the Belle Isle
corridors due to the presence of sensitive ecological and cultural
resources, therefore the two Belle Isle corridors are presented early
in the Final EIS but are eliminated as alternatives further considered
in the analysis. The Jamestown corridor (Proposed Action), Jamestown
alternative and Charity alternative have been carried through in the
Final EIS and the Jamestown corridor was identified as the preferred
corridor because of its combination of overall length, the amount that
parallels existing Right of Ways (ROW) and the ability to minimize
effects on residences, sensitive habitats, conservation lands, and
cultural and historic resources. Approximately fifty-eight percent of
the 23.3-mile Jamestown corridor would cross National Forest System
lands on the FMNF and the 31 mile Charity corridor would cross roughly
seventy-two percent of those lands. A preliminary 75-foot ROW within
the 600-foot corridor was identified and analyzed for this EIS. The 75-
foot ROW is the maximum ROW width for Project construction and
operations and maintenance (O&M). However, the final ROW width could be
less in places where it overlaps existing road and utility ROWs. The
final ROW would be located based on site-specific engineering, and
environmental and cultural resource surveys.
[[Page 83835]]
RUS has carefully studied public health and safety, environmental
impacts, and engineering aspects of the proposed project. RUS used
input provided by government agencies, private organizations, and the
public in the preparation of the Final EIS. RUS has considered all
comments received on the Draft EIS and revised the Final EIS
accordingly. Following the 45-day comment period for the Final EIS, RUS
may prepare a Record of Decision (ROD). A Notice announcing the
availability of the ROD will be published in the Federal Register and
in local newspapers. Additionally, letters and emails will be sent to
stakeholders.
The Final EIS serves as a detailed written record of the
environmental analysis completed for the proposed Project and is
intended to provide Agency officials with sufficient information to
make a decision regarding the significance of the environmental impacts
of its potential federal action. The proposed Project is subject to the
jurisdiction of the USFS, and the FMNF Forest Supervisor will use the
Final EIS to make decisions related to requirements for issuing a SUP
to Central Electric. Publication of this Final EIS is not a decision on
the Applicant's loan application and therefore not an approval of the
expenditure of federal funds. Based on the analysis disclosed in this
Final EIS, the RUS decision-maker will determine whether to provide
financing assistance for the Project and, if issued, any Project-
specific conditions established as part of the loan.
This Notice of Availability also serves as a notice of proposed
wetland and floodplain actions. The proposed Project would involve
unavoidable impacts to wetlands and floodplains. The proposed Project
was planned to avoid and minimize impacts to wetlands and waterways to
the extent practicable during the site selection and design phase of
the Project. Appropriate sediment and erosion controls and best
management practices would be implemented at all wetland/upland and
streambank boundaries. Impacts to wetlands would be permitted in
accordance with USACE and state requirements. The timing of
construction would integrate time of year restrictions and protections
for sensitive resources and follow permit conditions (e.g., time-of-
year restrictions for T&E species).
In accordance with section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act and its implementing regulation, ``Protection of
Historic Properties'' (36 CFR part 800) and as part of its broad
environmental review process, RUS must take into account the effect of
the proposed project on historic properties. In coordinating section
106 compliance, the RUS is preparing a project specific Programmatic
Agreement (PA) to govern the remaining section 106 process. The
cultural resource analysis is a resource that the public may be
interested in commenting on during this comment period. The draft PA is
an appendix to the Final EIS. Any final action by RUS related to the
proposed project will be subject to, and contingent upon, compliance
with all relevant Federal, State and local environmental laws and
regulations, and completion of the environmental review requirements as
prescribed in the RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part
1970).
Andrew Berke,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2024-23821 Filed 10-17-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-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 October 18, 2024.
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.