[Federal Register: December 8, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 235)]
[Notices]
[Page 73003-73005]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08de05-59]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Gilberton Coal-to-
Clean Fuels and Power Project
AGENCY: Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability
of the document, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Gilberton
Coal-to-Clean Fuels and Power Project (DOE/EIS-0357), for public
comment. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the
potential
[[Page 73004]]
environmental consequences of providing federal funding for the design,
engineering, construction, and operation of the first power facility in
the United States to use coal waste as feed to a gasification facility
that subsequently generates fuel gas for clean power, thermal energy,
and clean liquid fuels production. The project would be constructed at
an existing power plant site in Gilberton, Schuylkill County,
Pennsylvania.
The Department prepared this draft EIS in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations that
implement the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
and the DOE procedures implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 1021).
DOE's proposed action (and preferred alternative) is to provide
cost-shared funding to design, construct, and operate a new plant to
demonstrate coproduction of 41 MW of electricity for export, steam, and
over 5,000 barrels-per-day of clean liquid hydrocarbon products
(primarily diesel fuel and naptha). DOE may also provide a loan
guarantee, pursuant to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, to guarantee a
portion of the private sector financing for the project. The
demonstration plant would use a gasifier to convert coal waste to
synthesis gas, which would be conveyed to Fischer-Tropsch (F-T)
liquefaction facilities for production of liquid fuels and to a
combined-cycle power plant. The demonstration facilities, to be
constructed in Gilberton, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, would
process up to 4,700 tons per day of coal waste (anthracite culm). The
potential environmental impacts of this action are evaluated in this
Draft EIS. The Draft EIS also analyzed the No Action Alternative, under
which DOE would not provide cost-shared funding to demonstrate the
commercial-scale integration of coal gasification and F-T synthesis
technology to produce electricity, steam and liquid fuels. Under the
No-Action Alternative, it is reasonably foreseeable that no new
activity would occur.
DATES: DOE invites the public to comment on the Draft EIS during the
public comment period, which ends February 8, 2006. DOE will consider
all comments postmarked or received during the public comment period in
preparing the Final EIS, and will consider late comments to the extent
practicable.
DOE will hold public hearings on January 9, 2006, at Shenandoah
Valley Junior/Senior High School, 805 West Center Street, Shenandoah,
PA 17976, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on January 10, 2006, at D.H.H. Lengel
Middle School, 1541 West Laurel Boulevard, Pottsville, PA 17901, and 7
p.m. to 9 p.m. Informational sessions will be held at both locations
from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., preceding the public hearings on the dates
noted above.
ADDRESSES: Requests for information about this Draft EIS or to receive
a copy of the Draft EIS should be directed to: Janice L. Bell, NEPA
Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology
Laboratory, M/S 58-247A, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA 15236.
Additional information about the Draft EIS may also be requested by
telephone at (412) 386-4512, or toll-free at (866) 576-8240. The Draft
EIS will be available at http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/. Copies of the
Draft EIS are also available for review at the locations listed in the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this Notice.
Written comments on the Draft EIS can be mailed to Janice L. Bell,
NEPA Document Manager, at the address noted above. Written comments may
also be submitted by fax to: (412) 386-4806, or submitted
electronically to: jbell@netl.doe.gov. Oral comments on the Draft EIS
will be accepted only during the public hearings scheduled for the date
and location provided in the DATES section of this Notice.
Requests to speak at the public hearings can be made by calling or
writing the EIS Document Manager (see ADDRESSES). Requests to speak
that have not been submitted prior to the hearing will be accepted in
the order in which they are received during the hearing. Speakers are
encouraged to provide a written version of their oral comments for the
record. Each speaker will be allowed five minutes to present comments
unless more time is requested and available. Comments will be recorded
by a court reporter and will become part of the public hearing record.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the
proposed project or the draft environmental impact statement, please
contact Ms. Janice Bell as directed above. For general information
regarding the DOE NEPA process, please 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,
Telephone: (202) 586-4600, or leave a message at (800) 472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Description of Alternatives
DOE analyzed two alternatives in the Draft EIS. Under the No Action
Alternative, DOE would not provide cost-shared funding to demonstrate
the commercial-scale integration of coal gasification and Fischer-
Tropsch (F-T) synthesis technology to produce electricity, steam and
liquid fuels. Under the No-Action Alternative, it is reasonably
foreseeable that no new activity would occur. No construction or
operation of the proposed facilities would occur; no site preparation
would be required, such as clearing of trees and other vegetation; no
employment would be provided for construction workers in the area or
for operators of the proposed facilities; and no resources would be
required and no discharges of wastes would occur. Under the No Action
Alternative, no anthracite culm, which is stacked in numerous piles as
waste from previous anthracite coal mining activities, would be
removed.
Under the proposed action, DOE would provide cost-shared funding to
design, construct, and operate a new plant to demonstrate coproduction
of 41 MW of electricity for export, steam, and over 5,000 barrels-per-
day of clean liquid hydrocarbon products (primarily diesel fuel and
naptha). The demonstration plant would use a gasifier to convert coal
waste to synthesis gas, which would be conveyed to F-T liquefaction
facilities for production of liquid fuels and to a combined-cycle power
plant. The primary feedstock for the proposed facilities would be low-
cost anthracite culm, which is a locally abundant, previously discarded
resource (about 100 million tons) that could accommodate fuel
requirements through the lifetime of the facilities. The culm would be
trucked to the site from the surrounding local area. Micronized
limestone, which would be used as flux added to the feedstock to lower
the ash melting temperature of the culm and promote fluidity, would be
trucked from mines within 100 miles of the project site.
The facilities would produce about 5,000 barrels of liquid fuels
per day and 41 MW of electricity for export to the regional power grid.
To reduce costs, the project would take advantage of existing local
infrastructure, including rail, water, and transmission lines. The net
efficiency would be about 45%, compared to about 33% for a traditional
coal-fired power plant and about 40% for a state-of-the-art integrated
gasification combined cycle power plant.
[[Page 73005]]
An average of 516 construction workers would be at the site during
the construction period; approximately 1,000 workers would be required
during the peak construction period. Demonstration (including
performance testing and monitoring) would be conducted over a 3-year
period. If the demonstration is successful, commercial operation would
follow immediately. About 250 workers would be required during the
demonstration, and 150 workers would be needed for long-term
operations.
Proposed emissions from the facility would be small, especially for
sulfur dioxide (SO 2), because most of the sulfur would be
removed from the synthesis gas prior to conveying the gas to the F-T
liquefaction facilities and the combined cycle power plant. The use of
anthracite culm would reduce waste disposal from operating mines and
allow reclamation of land currently stock piled with culm.
Availability of the Draft EIS
Copies of this Draft EIS have been distributed to Members of
Congress, Federal, State, and local officials, and agencies,
organizations and individuals who may be interested or affected. This
Draft EIS will be available on the Internet at: http://www.eh.doe.gov/nepa/.
Additional copies can also be requested by telephone at (412)
386-4512, or (866) 576-8240. Copies of the Draft EIS are also available
for public review at the locations listed below.
Frackville Free Public Library, 56 N. Lehigh Avenue, Frackville, PA
17931.
Mahanoy City Public Library, 17-19 W. Mahanoy Avenue, Mahanoy City, PA
17948.
Pottsville Free Library, 215 West Market Street, Pottsville, PA 17901.
Issued in Washington, DC, on December 2, 2005.
Mark J. Matarrese,
NEPA Compliance Officer, Office of Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. E5-7069 Filed 12-7-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P