[Federal Register: September 25, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 186)]
[Notices]
[Page 55376-55377]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr25se03-30]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers
Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Proposed Dam Powerhouse Rehabilitations and Possible Operational
Changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams, Kentucky
and Tennessee
AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers (Corps), Nashville District, will
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) relating to the
proposed dam powerhouse rehabilitations and possible operational
changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in
Kentucky and Tennessee. This process is necessary to provide National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance for proposed changes to the
features of the project from that described in previous NEPA documents,
which include the Continued Operation and Maintenance Environmental
Assessments for each of the named projects and the January 1989 Wolf
Creek Hydropower Draft Feasibility Study and Environmental Assessment.
The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying existing
equipment. Due to improvements in technology, rehabilitating the
equipment would make it possible to produce significantly more power
from the same amount of water discharged. Changes in equipment and
operational procedures could also cause higher tailwater heights and
velocities, but as there is a limited amount of water they would be for
shorter duration. In addition, alterations to flow regimes are being
considered to provide minimum flows when hydropower releases are shut
off. If improvements are successful, other dams may eventually be
considered for similar changes.
DATES: Written scoping comments on issues to be considered in the DEIS
will be accepted by the Corps of Engineers until November 28, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Scoping comments should be mailed to Wayne Easterling,
Project Planning Branch, Nashville District Corps of Engineers, P.O.
Box 1070 (PM-P), Nashville, TN 7202-1070, or may be e-mailed to wayne.s.easterling@usace.army.mil.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information concerning
the proposed action and DEIS, please contact Wayne Easterling, Project
Planning Branch, (615) 736-7847.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. The intent of the DEIS is to provide NEPA compliance for changes
in design features and operating procedures of the Wolf Creek, Center
Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in the Cumberland River system. All three
dams are of a similar age, and the turbines and related equipment are
well beyond their projects life, and have similar proposed
rehabilitation and operational changes. Operating and equipment changes
that will be studied could potentially affect more than a combined
total 60 miles of tailwaters. This would primarily be a result of
efforts to raise dissolved oxygen levels to at least meet the minimum
state water quality standards, although flows and elevations could also
be altered for a significant distance. Furthermore, if the proposed
changes prove desirable, they could set a precedent for future
rehabilitations at other hydropower facilities. The Corps, therefore,
proposes to evaluate these dams programmatically.
2. The three dams considered under this Environmental Impact
Statement, Wolf Creek Dam, Center Hill Dam, and Dale Hollow Dam, were
authorized in the 1930s and constructed in the 1940s before there was a
significant concern for environmental protection. They all predate the
NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and
many other related environmental laws and regulations. Together these
three Corps projects affect the temperatures, flows, and dissolved
oxygen (DO) levels of up to 250 miles of the Cumberland River and its
tributaries. The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying
existing structures or operating procedures to improve DO in the
tailwaters. Alterations to flow regimes are being considered to provide
minimum flows below the dams when hydropower releases are shut off.
3. Key proposed project features to be evaluated in the DEIS
include the following:
a. Rehabilitation of turbines including Auto Venting Turbines to
improve DO levels in the tailwaters.
b. Minimum releases to ensure continuous flows between periods of
generation.
c. The effects of increased tailwater flows on tailwater parks,
downstream fishing areas, adjacent low lying farmlands, erosion of
riverbanks, cultural archaeological and historic sites, and changes to
the hydraulics and hydrology of the rivers.
d. Other alternatives studied will include: No Action; restoration
to the ``original'' 1948 condition; refurbishing existing units;
oxygenating water in the dam fore bays prior to release; and spilling
water through the floodgates.
4. This notice serves to solicit scoping comments from the public;
federal, state and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and
other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts
of this proposed activity. Any comments received during the comment
period will be considered in the NEPA process. Comments are used to
assess impacts on fish and wildlife, endangered species, historic
properties, water quality, water supply and conservation, economics,
aesthetics, wetlands, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use,
navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, energy
[[Page 55377]]
needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations
of property ownership, general environmental effects, cumulative
effects, and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Public
meetings may be held, however, times, dates, or locations have not been
determined.
5. Other Federal, State and local approvals required for the
proposed work include coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, including a Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act Report.
6. Significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the DEIS include
impacts to tailwater fisheries, recreation, economics, water quality,
historic and cultural resources, streambank erosion, future power
demands, and cumulative impacts. The DEIS should be available in
September 2004.
Byron G. Jorns,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. 03-24253 Filed 9-24-03; 8:45 am]