Notice2024-27844
Johnsonville Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure
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 26, 2024
Issuing agencies
Tennessee Valley Authority
Abstract
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with the future management of coal combustion residuals (CCR) material in Ash Pond 2 at the Johnsonville Fossil Plant (JOF) located in Humphreys County, Tennessee. This EIS supports the implementation of the closure of Ash Pond 2, a CCR surface impoundment at JOF, in a manner that is protective of human health and the environment. TVA's intention to prepare an EIS to address CCR management at JOF Ash Pond 2 was previously noticed in November 2019. The project was paused after completion of scoping while TVA continued to refine the project proposal and alternatives. This current notice is to reinitiate the EIS.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93390-93392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27844]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Johnsonville Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential
environmental effects associated with the future management of coal
combustion residuals (CCR) material in Ash Pond 2 at the Johnsonville
Fossil Plant (JOF) located in Humphreys County, Tennessee. This EIS
supports the implementation of the closure of Ash Pond 2, a CCR surface
impoundment at JOF, in a manner that is protective of human health and
the environment. TVA's intention to prepare an EIS to address CCR
management at JOF Ash Pond 2 was previously noticed in November 2019.
The project was paused after completion of scoping while TVA continued
to refine the project proposal and alternatives. This current notice is
to reinitiate the EIS.
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, emailed, or submitted online no later than
December 30, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Brittany Kunkle, NEPA
Compliance Specialist, 400 W Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B-K, Knoxville, TN
37902. Comments also may be submitted online at: <a href="https://www.tva.gov/nepa">https://www.tva.gov/nepa</a> or by email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f313a2f3e1f2b293e71383029"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="432d263322033735226d242c35">[email protected]</span></a>. To ensure your comment is correctly
dispositioned, please specify the project when submitting comments.
Please note that TVA encourages comments submitted electronically.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brittany Kunkle, 865-632-6470,
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d7b5a5bca2b9bcbbb297a3a1b6f9b0b8a1"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f092829b859e9b9c95b0848691de979f86">[email protected]</span></a>, or by mail at the address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS identification number is EISX-455-
00-000-1723542522. This notice is provided in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
[[Page 93391]]
(NEPA) along with the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts
1500 to 1508) and associated TVA regulations and procedures (18 CFR
part 1318), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act
(NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR part 800).
Background
The Tennessee Valley Authority is the largest public power company
in the United States providing electricity to 153 local power
companies, 60 direct served customers, and serving roughly 10 million
people across seven states. TVA is founded on a mission of service,
providing low-cost, reliable power, environmental stewardship, and
economic development. TVA is an industry leader in responsible coal ash
management, pioneering new technologies to ensure our sites are safe,
secure, and protective of human health and the environment.
JOF had ten coal-fired generating units that had a combined
capacity of 1,254 megawatts. Units 5 through 10 ceased power generation
in 2012 and were retired on December 31, 2015. Units 1 through 4 ceased
operation and were retired on December 31, 2017. While in operation,
JOF consumed approximately 3.5 million tons of coal per year and
produced approximately 7,195 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a
year. A portion of the CCR produced as a by-product of burning coal by
the collective units was stored in Ash Pond 2. It is estimated that
approximately 4.5 million cubic yards of CCR material remains in JOF
Ash Pond 2.
In January 2019, TVA completed the Final Johnsonville Fossil Plant
Decontamination and Deconstruction Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) analyzing the potential demolition of
the JOF generating units and facilities. As a result of the retirement
of all coal-fired generating units at JOF, CCR is no longer being
generated and Ash Disposal Area Number 2 (Ash Pond 2) is no longer
receiving CCR materials.
In June 2016, TVA issued the Final Ash Impoundment Closure
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that analyzed
methods for closing CCR impoundments at TVA fossil plants and
identified specific screening and evaluation factors to help frame its
evaluation of closures at its other facilities. A Record of Decision
was released in July 2016 that would allow future environmental reviews
of qualifying CCR impoundment closures to tier from the PEIS. The PEIS
can be found at <a href="https://www.tva.com/nepa">https://www.tva.com/nepa</a>. This EIS is intended to tier
from the 2016 PEIS to evaluate the closure alternatives for the JOF Ash
Pond 2.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
In addition to a No Action Alternative, this EIS will address
reasonable alternatives that meet the purpose and need for the project.
TVA plans to consider the following: (1) Closure-in-Place of Ash Pond
2, (2) Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to an Existing Offsite
permitted Landfill or (3) Closure-by-Removal to an Onsite or Offsite
Beneficial Reuse Processing Facility, with unusable CCR and excavated
soil material going to an existing offsite permitted landfill. If
beneficial reuse is selected, subsequent environmental analyses would
be conducted as appropriate.
TVA has not selected an offsite landfill for any potential disposal
of CCR from JOF. Therefore, impacts of any potential offsite CCR
disposal options would be based on ``bounding'' characteristics of, for
example, CCR transport to suitable existing landfills, using
conservative assumptions for defining the upper bound of potential
effects. Public comments are invited concerning both the scope of the
review and environmental issues that should be addressed.
TVA has not made any decisions about the final disposition of CCR
storage at JOF. TVA is preparing this EIS to inform TVA decision
makers, other agencies, and the public about the potential for
environmental impacts associated with the final disposition of CCR at
JOF Ash Pond 2. Final closure decisions may be subject to change
depending on feedback from regulatory agencies.
Project Purpose and Need
The purpose of this project is to address the closure of Ash Pond
2, a CCR surface impoundment at JOF. As a result of the retirement of
all coal-fired generating units at JOF, CCR is no longer being
generated and Ash Disposal Area Number 2 (Ash Pond 2) is no longer
receiving CCR materials and should be closed in a manner that is
protective of the human health and the environment. This EIS will
address the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of various
alternatives for permanent closure of Ash Pond 2 on the environment.
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action
Public scoping is integral to the process for implementing NEPA and
ensures that issues are identified early and properly studied, issues
of little significance do not consume substantial time and effort, and
the analysis of those issues is thorough and balanced. The final range
of issues to be addressed in the environmental review will be
determined, in part, from scoping comments received. TVA is
particularly interested in public input on other reasonable
alternatives that should be considered in the EIS. The preliminary
identification of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues in
this notice is not meant to be exhaustive or final.
Public Participation
TVA is committed to the meaningful involvement of our stakeholders
and the affected communities in the decision-making process. The public
is invited to submit comments on the scope of this EIS no later than
the date identified in the DATES section of this notice. Federal,
state, and local agencies and Native American Tribes are also invited
to provide comments. Written requests by agencies or Indian tribes to
participate as a cooperating agency or consulting party must also be
received by this date. Any comments received, including names and
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and will be
available for public inspection.
After consideration of comments received during the scoping period,
TVA will develop and distribute a scoping document that will summarize
public and agency comments that were received and provide a schedule
for completing the EIS process. Following analysis of the affected
resources, TVA will prepare a Draft EIS for public review and comment.
A final decision on proceeding with the management and final disposal
of CCR and closure of the Ash Pond 2 surface impoundment will be based
on a number of factors including public input, the conclusions of the
EIS, the requirements of the CCR Rule, relevant legal requirements,
engineering and risk evaluations, and financial considerations. TVA's
intention to prepare an EIS to address CCR management in JOF Ash Pond 2
was previously noticed (84 FR 62562, November 15, 2019). The project
was paused after completion of scoping while TVA continued to refine
the project proposal and alternatives. Comments received during the
previous
[[Page 93392]]
scoping period will also be considered during the development of the
Draft EIS.
TVA expects to release the Draft EIS in late 2025. TVA anticipates
holding a community meeting near JOF after releasing the Draft EIS.
Meeting details will be posted on TVA's website and advertised in local
media. TVA expects to release the Final EIS in Summer 2026.
Michael McCall,
Vice President, Environment and Sustainability.
[FR Doc. 2024-27844 Filed 11-22-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 8120-01-P
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