[Federal Register: August 24, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 164)]
[Notices]
[Page 50051-50052]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24au06-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Availability; Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
the Orlando Gasification 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 Orlando
Gasification Project (DOE/EIS-0383), for public comment. The draft
environmental impact statement (EIS) analyzes the potential
environmental consequences of providing federal funding for the design,
engineering, construction, and operation of facilities at Orlando
Utilities Commission's (OUC's) existing Stanton Energy Center near
Orlando, Florida. The project has been selected by DOE for further
consideration under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) to
demonstrate advanced power generation systems using Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology. DOE has awarded a
cooperative agreement to SCS for a project definition phase during
which SCS will complete a detailed Project Management Plan, prepare
environmental information and permit applications, and perform Front-
End Engineering Design activities.
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 the Orlando
Gasification Project. Although DOE funding would support only the
Orlando Gasification Project (i.e., coal gasifier, synthesis gas
cleanup systems, and supporting infrastructure), the project would be
integrated with a planned, privately funded, combined-cycle unit, which
together would constitute the IGCC facilities. The facilities would
convert coal into synthesis gas to drive a gas combustion turbine, and
hot exhaust gas from the gas turbine would generate steam in a heat
recovery steam generator (HRSG) to drive a steam turbine. Combined, the
two turbines would generate 285 MW (megawatts) of electricity. The
potential environmental impacts of this action are evaluated in this
Draft EIS. DOE also analyzed the No-Action Alternative (not funding the
demonstration), including a scenario reasonably expected to result as a
consequence of the no-action alternative. Without DOE participation,
Southern Company and/or OUC could reasonably pursue at least one
option. The combined-cycle facilities could be built at the Stanton
Energy Center without the gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and
supporting infrastructure.
DATES: DOE invites the public to comment on the Draft EIS during the
public comment period, which ends October 10, 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 a public hearing on September 13, 2006, at Timber
Creek High School, 1001 Avalon Park Boulevard, Orlando, Florida, 7 p.m.
to 9 p.m. An informational session will be held at the same location
from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., preceding the public hearing on the date noted
above.
ADDRESSES: Requests for information about this Draft EIS or to receive
a copy of the Draft EIS should be directed to: Richard A. Hargis, Jr.,
NEPA Document Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy
Technology Laboratory, M/S 922-342C, P.O. Box 10940, Pittsburgh, PA
15236. Additional information about the Draft EIS may also be requested
by telephone at: (412) 386-6065, or toll-free at: (888) 322-7436,
x6065.
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 Richard A. Hargis, Jr., NEPA
Document Manager, at the address noted above. Written comments may also
be submitted by fax to: (412) 386-4775, or submitted electronically to:
hargis@netl.doe.gov. Oral comments on the Draft EIS will be accepted
only during the public hearing scheduled for the date and location
provided in the DATES section of this Notice. Requests to speak at the
public hearing 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 Mr. Richard A. Hargis, Jr., 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: The proposed action
and the no-action alternative. Under the proposed action, DOE would
provide cost-shared funding for construction and operation of
gasification facilities at Orlando Utilities Commission's (OUC's)
existing Stanton Energy Center near Orlando, Florida. The project has
been selected by DOE under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) to
demonstrate advanced power generation systems
[[Page 50052]]
using Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology.
Although DOE funding would support only the Orlando Gasification
Project (i.e., coal gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup systems, and
supporting infrastructure), the project would be integrated with a
planned, privately funded, combined-cycle unit, which together would
constitute the IGCC facilities. The facilities would convert coal into
synthesis gas to drive a gas combustion turbine, and hot exhaust gas
from the gas turbine would generate steam from water to drive a steam
turbine. Combined, the two turbines would generate 285 MW (megawatts)
of electricity. The EIS evaluates potential impacts of the proposed
facilities on land use, aesthetics, air quality, geology, water
resources, floodplains, wetlands, ecological resources, social and
economic resources, waste management, human health and safety, and
noise.
Construction of the proposed facilities would begin in late 2007
and continue until early 2010. An average of about 350 construction
workers would be on the site during construction. Approximately 600 to
700 workers would be required during the peak construction period
between fall 2008 and spring 2009. After mechanical checkout of the
proposed facilities, demonstration (including data analysis and process
evaluation) would be conducted over a 4.5-year period from mid 2010
until late 2014. If the demonstration is successful, commercial
operation would follow immediately. The combined workforce (i.e.,
including the proposed Orlando Gasification Project and the combined-
cycle generating unit) would consist of approximately 72 employees
added to the existing Stanton Energy Center staff of 204 employees. Of
the 72 new employees, 19 workers would provide support only during the
startup and demonstration phases of the project, while 53 employees
would be needed over the lifetime of the facilities (i.e., during
startup, demonstration, and commercial operation), unless the gasifier
and related equipment would no longer be required because the
demonstration was unsuccessful.
Under this latter scenario, only 21 employees would be needed over
the lifetime of the remaining combined-cycle unit using natural gas
exclusively. The facilities would be designed for a lifetime of at
least 20 years, including the 4.5-year demonstration period. The new
coal gasifier would operate entirely on coal, consuming a total of
approximately 1,020,000 tons per year to produce synthesis gas. Two to
three trains per week would deliver low-sulfur subbituminous coal from
the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. The heating value of the coal would
average about 8,760 Btu/lb and the sulfur content would average about
0.26%. Most air emissions would result from combustion of synthesis gas
in the gas combustion turbine during normal operations. The exhaust gas
would be released to the atmosphere via a 205 ft stack.
Sources of air emissions from the proposed facilities would include
the HRSG stack, startup stack, multipoint flare, and 6-cell mechanical-
draft cooling tower, of which the HRSG stack would generate the most
emissions. Except during occasional startups, shutdowns, and upsets,
the flare would normally have only minimal emissions associated with
eight natural gas-fired pilot lights. Based on 100% load throughout the
year (100% capacity factor) using the higher of estimated synthesis gas
or natural gas emission rates, annual emissions of criteria pollutants
would include 162 tons of SO2, 1,006 tons of NOX,
189 tons of particulate matter, 654 tons of carbon monoxide (CO), and
0.03 tons of lead (Pb). Annual NOX emissions from the
Stanton Energy Center overall would not be expected to increase because
OUC has agreed, as part of the permitting process, to reduce
NOX emissions from other units at the Stanton Energy Center
so that there would be a net decrease in NOX emissions.
Annual emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a precursor of
the criteria pollutant ozone, would be 129 tons.
Under the No Action Alternative, DOE would not provide cost-shared
funding to demonstrate the Orlando Gasification Project. Without DOE
participation, Southern Company and/or OUC could reasonably pursue at
least one option. The combined-cycle facilities could be built at the
Stanton Energy Center without the gasifier, synthesis gas cleanup
systems, and supporting infrastructure. The combined-cycle facilities
would operate using natural gas as fuel without the availability of
synthesis gas. During operation of the natural gas-fired unit,
emissions of air pollutants (e.g., SO2 and NOX)
would be less than those predicted for the proposed Orlando
Gasification Project. The flare required for the proposed facilities
would not be required. This scenario would not provide a low-cost fuel
source for the combined-cycle facilities and would not contribute to
the goal of the CCPI program, which is to accelerate commercial
deployment of advanced coal technologies that provide the United States
with clean, reliable, and affordable energy.
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)
386-6065, or (888) 322-7436, x6065. Copies of the Draft EIS are also
available for public review at the Alafaya Library, 1200 E. Colonial
Dr., Orlando, Florida, 32803.
Issued in Washington, DC, on August 18, 2006.
Mark J. Matarrese,
Director, Office of Environment, Security, Safety and Health, Office of
Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 06-7093 Filed 8-23-06; 8:45 am]
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