[Federal Register: April 21, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 77)]
[Notices]
[Page 21514-21518]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21ap04-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Implementation of the Carbon Sequestration Program
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to
prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) pursuant
to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 Code of Federal
Regulations [CFR] parts 1500-1508), and the DOE NEPA regulations (10
CFR part 1021), to assess the potential environmental impacts from the
Department of Energy's (DOE's) Carbon Sequestration Program, which is
being implemented by the Office of Fossil Energy.
The Carbon Sequestration PEIS will evaluate the issues and impacts
associated with the demonstration and deployment of technologies to
implement the key elements of the Program, including: carbon dioxide
(CO2) capture; sequestration (geologic, oceanic, and
terrestrial); measurement, monitoring, and verification (MMV); and
breakthrough concepts. Major initiatives to demonstrate the key
elements of the Program may require collaboration with Federal
agencies, State and regional governments, and private sector
partnerships. The PEIS will analyze impacts of carbon sequestration
technologies and potential future demonstration activities
programmatically and will not directly evaluate specific field
demonstration projects. However, because the PEIS will evaluate issues
and impacts associated with regional approaches, opportunities, and
future needs for the Program, findings from the PEIS may be applicable
to future site-specific projects within the Carbon Sequestration
Program, for which separate NEPA documents that could tier from the
PEIS would be prepared. The PEIS will evaluate the potential
environmental impacts of implementing the Carbon Sequestration Program
(the Proposed Action), in comparison with other reasonable
alternatives.
DATES: To ensure that all of the issues related to this proposal are
addressed, DOE invites Federal agencies, Native American tribes, state
and local governments, and members of the public to comment on the
proposed scope and content of the PEIS. Comments must be received by
June 25, 2004 to ensure consideration. Late comments will be considered
to the extent practicable. In addition to receiving comments in writing
and by telephone (see ADDRESSES below), DOE will conduct public scoping
meetings in which agencies, organizations, and the general public are
invited to present oral comments or recommendations with respect to the
range of environmental issues, alternatives, analytic methods, and
impacts to be considered in the PEIS. Public scoping meetings will be
held in geographic locations throughout the United States (see
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION--Public Scoping Process for meeting locations
and scheduled dates).
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the scope of the PEIS and requests to
participate in the public scoping meetings should be submitted to Heino
Beckert, Ph.D., NEPA Document Manager for Carbon Sequestration PEIS,
U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory, 3610
Collins Ferry Road, P.O. Box 880, Morgantown, WV 26507. Individuals who
want to participate in the public scoping process should contact Dr.
Beckert directly by telephone: (304) 285-4132; fax: (304) 285-4403;
electronic mail: heino.beckert@netl.doe.gov; or toll-free telephone
number: (877) 367-1521.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the DOE's Carbon
Sequestration Program or to receive a copy of the Draft PEIS for review
when it is issued, contact Dr. Heino Beckert as described in ADDRESSES
above. For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Ms.
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-
42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0119, telephone: (202) 586-4600, fax: (202) 586-
7031, or leave a toll-free message at 800-472-2756. Additional NEPA
information is available at the DOE Web site: http://www. eh.doe.gov/
nepa/. Additional information on the Carbon Sequestration Program can
be found at the following Web site: http://www.netl.doe.gov/coalpower/
sequestration/index.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Definitions
For the purpose of this Notice, the following terms are defined:
Carbon Sequestration--The term given to a suite of technologies
that can remove carbon dioxide from large point sources, such as power
plants, oil refineries and industrial processes, or from the air
itself. The carbon dioxide can then be stored in geologic formations,
such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs, deep coal seems or saline
formations. It can also be stored in plants, trees and soils by
increasing their natural carbon dioxide uptake.
Carbon Intensity--The ratio of carbon dioxide emissions to economic
output.
CO2 Capture--Refers to a range of technologies and
methods employed to capture carbon dioxide in the process stream or at
the source of emission. Such technologies may include organic chemical
absorbents, carbon absorbents, membranes, sodium and other metal-based
absorbents, electromechanical pumps, hydrates, mineral carbonation, and
other processes.
Geologic Sequestration--Refers to a range of technologies and
methods employed to bind or store carbon dioxide in geologic
formations, including depleted oil or gas reservoirs, unminable coal
seams, saline formations, shale formations with high organic content,
and others.
Oceanic Sequestration--Refers to a range of technologies and
methods employed to bind, store, or increase carbon dioxide uptake in
the ocean. Such technologies may include deep ocean injection of
captured carbon dioxide gas or the enhancement of free carbon dioxide
uptake by marine ecosystems through ocean fertilization or other
methods to enhance natural absorption processes.
Terrestrial Sequestration--Refers to a range of technologies and
methods employed to increase carbon uptake by terrestrial ecosystems.
Such methods may involve changes in land management practices,
including forestation or reforestation, agricultural practices that
enhance carbon storage in soils, and other land reclamation methods.
Measurement, Monitoring, and Verification (MMV)--Refers to a range
of technologies and methods employed to measure baseline carbon levels
in geologic formations, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems; to assess
ecological impacts of carbon storage; to
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detect leaks or deterioration in carbon dioxide storage processes; and
to calculate net carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere avoided via
technologies for capture and sequestration.
Breakthrough Concepts--Refers to a range of technologies and
methods emerging from scientific research that may be employed to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions or otherwise capture and sequester
carbon. Such technologies and methods may involve processes for
advanced carbon dioxide capture through biochemistry or enzymes,
subsurface neutralization of carbon dioxide, or unique systems that may
enhance carbon sequestration.
Background and Need for Agency Action
Since 1997, when the DOE's Office of Fossil Energy consolidated its
funding of research and evaluations for controlling greenhouse gas
emissions, that office has continued to be engaged in research studies,
evaluations, and limited field investigations into technologies and
methods for capturing and sequestering carbon dioxide. These carbon
sequestration activities received increased emphasis with the
announcement of the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) on February
14, 2002, by President George W. Bush, which calls for an 18 percent
reduction in the carbon intensity (the ratio of carbon dioxide
emissions to economic output) of the U.S. economy by 2012. The
consolidated Carbon Sequestration Program, which is administered for
the Office of Fossil Energy by the National Energy Technology
Laboratory (NETL), is seeking to develop a portfolio of technology
options that have significant potential for achieving the GCCI carbon
goal.
The Program now encompasses more than 80 research and development
projects conducted throughout the United States. The programmatic
objective is to demonstrate a series of safe and cost-effective
technologies at a commercial scale by 2012 and to establish the
potential for deployment leading to substantial market acceptance
beyond 2012. Because the research and development activities for carbon
sequestration are demonstrating the potential readiness of technologies
for field-testing, DOE has initiated planning to prepare a PEIS.
Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere have increased
rapidly in recent decades, and the increase correlates to the rate of
world industrialization. In 1992, the United States and 160 other
countries ratified the Framework Convention on Climate Change, which
calls for ``* * * stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system.'' What constitutes an acceptable
level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere remains open to debate, but
even modest stabilization scenarios would eventually require a
reduction in worldwide greenhouse gas emissions of 50 to 90 percent
below current levels (Carbon Sequestration Project Portfolio, available
on the Carbon Sequestration Web site at: http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal
power/sequestration/index.html).
Technology solutions that provide energy-based goods and services
with reduced greenhouse gas emissions are the President's preferred
approach to achieving the GCCI goal. The GCCI also calls for a progress
review relative to the goals of the initiative in 2012, at which time
decisions will be made about additional implementation measures for
mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. By focusing on greenhouse gas
intensity as the measure of success, this strategy promotes vital
climate change research and development (R&D) while minimizing the
economic impact of greenhouse gas stabilization in the United States.
In combination with improved energy efficiency of fossil fuel
utilization and use of low-carbon fuels, carbon sequestration is an
option for greenhouse gas mitigation. It involves the capture and
storage of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that would
otherwise be emitted to the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases can be
captured at the point of emission, or they can be removed from the air.
The captured gases can potentially be stored in geologic reservoirs,
dissolved in deep oceans, converted to rock-like solid materials, or
absorbed by vegetation and soils for long-term and stable
sequestration.
Current annual U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are 12 percent higher
than they were in 1992, and the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
forecasts that growth in U.S. CO2 emissions over the next 20
years will exceed 30 percent (Annual Energy Outlook, 2004). The
projected increase is more significant when one considers that in their
analysis, EIA assumes significant deployment of new energy technologies
through 2020--for example, a fourfold increase in electricity
generation from wind turbines, a doubling of ethanol use in
automobiles, and a 25 percent decrease in industrial energy use per
unit of output. The need for greenhouse gas emissions reduction could
be very large within a few decades. If the potential for carbon
sequestration can be realized, it would greatly reduce the cost of
greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.
Approximately one-third of the current U.S. greenhouse gas
emissions come from power plants, oil refineries, and other large point
sources, and the percentage will increase in the future with a trend
toward increased refining and de-carbonization of fuels. At the same
time, the United States has vast forests and prairies, and is underlain
by numerous significant saline formations, depleted oil and gas
reservoirs, and unminable coal seams that have the combined potential
to store centuries of greenhouse gas emissions. Many options for
CO2 storage also have the potential to provide value-added
benefits. For example, tree plantings, no-till farming, and other
terrestrial sequestration practices can reduce soil erosion and
pollutant runoff into streams and rivers. Storing CO2 in
depleted oil reservoirs and unminable coal seams containing methane can
enhance the recovery of crude oil and natural gas, while leaving a
portion of the greenhouse gas sequestered. These value-added benefits
have provided motivation for near-term action and create potentially
viable opportunities for integrated CO2 capture and storage
systems.
Proposed Action
The Proposed Action is for DOE to continue implementation of its
Carbon Sequestration Program with a focus on moving toward GCCI goals
and to eventually help meet the requirements of the Framework
Convention on Climate Change. To achieve these objectives, the Program
needs to consider, evaluate, develop, and implement carbon capture and
carbon storage technologies, including effective measurement,
monitoring, and verification methods, over a longer-range planning
horizon. The Program also needs to provide technological viability data
for the GCCI 2012 technology assessment.
The Carbon Sequestration Program encompasses all aspects of carbon
sequestration. DOE's NETL Carbon Sequestration Web site, http://www.netl.doe/coal/power/sequestration/
describes all of these aspects
of carbon sequestration and provides the public examples of the
technologies, relationships, and challenges that this PEIS will
address. The Program has engaged Federal and private sector partners
that have expertise in certain technology areas; for example, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) and electric utilities in terrestrial
sequestration; U.S.
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Geologic Survey and the oil industry in geologic sequestration; and the
National Academy of Sciences in breakthrough concepts. The Office of
Fossil Energy and the USDA have joint responsibility for terrestrial
carbon sequestration activities (sequestration in the biosphere). DOE
has collaborated with other Federal agencies for developing general and
technical (e.g., terrestrial sequestration, geologic sequestration)
guidelines for use in voluntary reporting to the Energy Information
Administration on greenhouse gas emissions, as mandated by Title XVI,
section 1605(b) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. On a programmatic
level, the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and
Forest Service have been directly involved in the implementation of
terrestrial sequestration field projects. The Carbon Sequestration
Program has also cooperated with the U.S. Department of the Interior's
(DOI) Office of Surface Mining under a Memorandum of Understanding to
sequester carbon on abandoned mined lands. The Program's longer-term
research efforts (breakthrough concepts) are coordinated with DOE's
Office of Science, the National Science Foundation, and within the
academic research community. Finally, the Program is working with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to assess the role that non-
CO2 greenhouse gas emissions abatement actions can play in a
nationwide strategy for reducing greenhouse gas intensity and to
identify priority research.
A strong focus is placed on direct capture of CO2
emissions from large point sources and subsequent storage in geologic
formations. These large point sources, such as power plants, oil
refineries, and industrial facilities, are the foundation of the U.S.
economy. Reducing net CO2 emissions from these facilities
complements efforts to reduce emissions of particulate matter, sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, and represents a progression toward
fossil fuel production, conversion, and use with little or no
detrimental environmental impact. In addition, measurement, monitoring,
and verification is emerging as an important crosscutting component for
CO2 capture and storage systems, and terrestrial offsets are
a vital component of cost-effective, near-complete elimination of net
CO2 emissions from many large point sources. See NETL's
Carbon Sequestration Web site, described above for further information.
Through the Carbon Sequestration Program, DOE is seeking to develop
a portfolio of technologies that hold the greatest promise for the
capture and long-term sequestration of greenhouse gases. The timeline
for the Program will need to demonstrate the readiness of a variety of
safe and cost-effective candidate carbon capture and carbon storage
technologies for consideration in deployment at a commercial scale by
2012, if needed, with potential deployment leading to substantial
market acceptance beyond 2012. Wide-scale deployment of these
technologies will require confirmation and acceptance of their ability
to slow the growth of greenhouse gas emissions in the near-term while
ultimately leading to a stabilized emission rate toward the middle of
the 21st century.
DOE proposes that the Carbon Sequestration PEIS will evaluate the
issues and impacts associated with the demonstration and deployment of
technologies to implement the key elements of the Program: carbon
dioxide capture; sequestration (geologic, oceanic, and terrestrial);
MMV; and breakthrough concepts (see Definitions, previous). Major
initiatives to demonstrate the key elements of carbon sequestration may
require increased collaboration with Federal agencies, state and
regional governments, and private sector partnerships. The PEIS will
analyze impacts of carbon sequestration technologies and future
demonstration activities programmatically and will not directly
evaluate specific field demonstration projects. However, because the
PEIS will evaluate issues and impacts associated with regional
approaches, opportunities, and future needs for the Program, findings
from the PEIS may be applicable to future site-specific projects within
the Carbon Sequestration Program, for which separate NEPA documents
that could tier from the PEIS would be prepared.
Alternatives
NEPA requires that agencies evaluate the reasonable alternatives to
a proposed major Federal action significantly affecting the environment
in an EIS. The purpose for agency action determines the range of
reasonable alternatives. At a minimum, DOE expects that alternatives
will include the Proposed Action and No Action. Under the Proposed
Action, DOE would proceed to implement the Carbon Sequestration Program
to achieve GCCI goals with broad participation in a range of technology
initiatives, including the demonstration and deployment of promising
technologies for: carbon dioxide capture; sequestration (geologic,
oceanic, and terrestrial); MMV; and breakthrough concepts on a regional
and national scale. For the No Action alternative, the Carbon
Sequestration Program would continue along a path comparable to
previous research studies, evaluations, and field investigations.
However, the No Action alternative might jeopardize or limit the most
effective approaches for sequestration and hinder the identification
and optimization of approaches that could best achieve Program
objectives. Under either alternative, individual ongoing and near-term
future projects will continue and be subject to separate and specific
NEPA review and documentation.
Under the Proposed Action, the PEIS would analyze reasonable
alternatives for implementing the Carbon Sequestration Program. These
action alternatives would include the range of technologies and
strategies for implementing key elements of the program, including
CO2 capture; sequestration (geologic, ocean, and
terrestrial); MMV; and breakthrough concepts. Each of these
technologies and strategies are explained in detail on DOE NETL Web
site. DOE will consider analyzing additional action alternatives that
may emerge during scoping and further development of the PEIS. For
example, consideration may be given to alternative schedules for
implementation of Program components, alternative technologies or
variations in the mix of technologies to achieve Program objectives,
variations in the implementation of sequestration methods, variations
in implementation by geographic region, and other possibilities.
DOE expects that the PEIS findings with respect to potentially
significant issues and impacts will inform the DOE decision-making
process for selecting technologies to be demonstrated and deployed, as
well as for establishing the timetable for their implementation. To
that end, DOE is considering analyzing alternatives comprised of
combinations of technology and strategic options. The PEIS might also
identify technologies that appear critically flawed or that may have
serious and unpredictable impacts, which would preclude them from
further consideration as reasonable alternatives under the Proposed
Action.
Finally, the PEIS will provide the framework for future technology
assessment and field studies for the identification of new Program
needs and future directions for carbon sequestration efforts. As a
programmatic document, the PEIS will indicate issues and potential
impacts to be evaluated more closely in site-specific environmental
studies for project-specific NEPA documents.
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Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues
DOE intends to address the issues listed below when considering the
potential impacts of the Carbon Sequestration Program alternatives and
technologies for CO2 capture, sequestration, MMV, and
breakthrough concepts. This list is neither intended to be all-
inclusive nor a predetermined set of potential impacts. DOE invites
comments from Federal agencies, Native American tribes, state and local
governments, other interested parties, and the general public on these
and any other issues that should be considered in the PEIS. The
environmental issues include:
(1) Potential impacts on atmospheric resources and air quality from
technologies used to capture and sequester carbon dioxide, including
emissions from associated activities and the construction and operation
of support facilities;
(2) Potential impacts on aesthetic and scenic resources from the
construction and operation of facilities and support equipment,
including pipelines and utility corridors;
(3) Potential impacts on vegetation, wildlife, wildlife habitat,
marine ecosystems, and species protected by the Endangered Species Act
or Marine Mammal Protection Act that may result from implementing the
Program, including the construction and operation of facilities,
support equipment, ocean platforms, pipelines, utility corridors, and
changes in land management practices;
(4) Potential impacts on cultural and historic resources from the
construction and operation of facilities and support equipment,
including land-disturbing activities for the construction of
facilities, access roads, pipelines, and utility corridors;
(5) Potential changes in land use to provide new facilities, access
roads, pipelines, and utility corridors, and changes in commercial and
industrial development patterns that may occur in areas considered
suitable for the implementation of respective technologies;
(6) Potential increases in uses of fuels, solvents, and hazardous
materials, as well as increases in solid and liquid waste streams from
facilities and equipment uses;
(7) Human health and safety issues associated with the construction
and operation of new facilities, access roads, ocean platforms,
pipelines, and utility corridors.
(8) Human health and safety issues related to potential unplanned
instantaneous release or slow leakage of CO2 from pipelines,
facility infrastructure, and sequestration media.
(9) Potential socioeconomic impacts from the energy demands for
CO2 capture facilities, from the effects of geologic
sequestration on oil and gas production, from the effects of ocean
sequestration on fishing and tourism, from changes in land management
practices for terrestrial sequestration, from the potential creation of
a commodity market for trading in CO2 reduction credits, and
from other factors associated with the implementation of the Program,
including environmental justice issues that may result from the siting
of facilities;
(10) Potential impacts on utility infrastructure resulting from the
demands of new facilities and equipment;
(11) Impacts on water resources and quality resulting from land-
disturbance and runoff during construction and operation of facilities,
equipment, access roads, and utility corridors associated with the
Program; geologic sequestration may have impacts on groundwater
resources, and ocean CO2 sequestration may have impacts on
aquatic chemistry and marine ecosystems;
(12) Soil contamination, erosion, and sedimentation may result from
construction and operation of facilities, equipment, access roads, and
utility corridors associated with the implementation of the Program;
changes in land management practices may also affect soils; and
(13) Potential hydrologic fractures in formations due to
CO2 injection that may affect aquifers and could cause small
and localized seismic hazards.
Public Scoping Process
DOE will hold eight public scoping meetings for the Carbon
Sequestration PEIS throughout the United States. The objective of the
scoping meetings is to seek input from attendees that will be used to
refine the issues and focus the Draft PEIS evaluations. The meeting
schedules, including any changes to meeting locations or dates, will be
published in the Federal Register, the respective local media, and
DOE's monthly Carbon Sequestration Newsletter, and be posted at the DOE
Carbon Sequestration Web site: http://www.netl.doe.gov/coal power/
sequestration/index.html. The dates and locations for the meetings are
as follows:
May 6, 2004: Alexandria, Virginia. Hilton
Alexandria Mark Center, 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22311.
May 18, 2004: Columbus, Ohio. Greater Columbus
Convention Center, 400 North High Street, Columbus, OH 43215.
May 19, 2004: Chicago, Illinois. Holiday Inn--
Rolling Meadows, 3405 Algonquin Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008.
May 25, 2004: Houston, Texas. Humble Civic
Center, 8233 Will Clayton Parkway, Humble, TX 77338.
May 27, 2004: Sacramento, California. Lions
Gate, 3410 Westover St., McClellan, CA 95652-1005.
June 2, 2004: Atlanta, Georgia. Hilton Atlanta
Northeast, 5993 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Norcross, GA 30092.
June 8, 2004: Bozeman, Montana. (Open House
starting at 5 p.m.), Bozeman High School, 205 N. 11th Avenue, Bozeman,
MT 59715.
June 10, 2004: Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Northland Community & Technical College, 2022 Central Avenue, NE., East
Grand Forks, MN 56721.
The scoping meetings will begin at 7 p.m. and will conform to NEPA
guidance and DOE Public Participation policies. Unless otherwise noted,
each meeting will be preceded by an informal information session from 4
p.m. until approximately 7 p.m. providing an opportunity for
individuals to learn more about the Carbon Sequestration Program and
the NEPA process and to talk with Program participants. Graphic
displays and presentation materials will be made available to the
public during the meetings. The scoping meetings will include
presentations about the Carbon Sequestration Program and the NEPA
process, followed by an opportunity for attendees to speak on behalf of
organizations or themselves. To ensure that all individuals wishing to
speak have an adequate opportunity to do so, each speaker will be
allotted five minutes. Depending upon the number of persons wishing to
speak, additional time may be provided. All spoken comments will be
recorded during the meetings and a transcript prepared; however,
speakers are encouraged to provide written versions of their prepared
comments for the record. Comment cards also will be available at the
meetings for written comments. The comment cards may be submitted at
the meeting or mailed to DOE (see ADDRESSES) within the established
public comment period. Written and spoken comments will be given equal
consideration.
Preliminary PEIS Schedule
DOE plans to complete the Draft PEIS by Summer 2005 and will
announce its availability in the Federal Register and other media when
published. Agencies,
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organizations, and the public will then have an opportunity to submit
comments. DOE will also hold public hearings for the Draft PEIS at
locations comparable to those for the scoping meetings. The public
hearings will be held during the weeks following publication of the
Draft PEIS and will be announced in the Notice of Availability for the
Draft PEIS and other media. DOE will consider all substantive comments
received at public meetings or otherwise during preparation of the
Final PEIS, which DOE plans to issue by the Spring of 2006.
Issued in Washington, DC, on April 16, 2004.
Beverly A. Cook,
Assistant Secretary, Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 04-9021 Filed 4-20-04; 8:45 am]
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