[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 19741]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8421]
[[Page 19741]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Draft Environmental Assessment; Giant Miscanthus in Arkansas,
Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice announces the availability of a draft
environmental assessment (EA) for the proposed establishment and
production of giant miscanthus (Miscanthus X giganteus) as a dedicated
energy crop to be grown in the Aloterra Energy and MFA Oil Biomass
Company (project sponsors) proposed project areas in Arkansas,
Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania as part of the Biomass Crop Assistance
Program (BCAP). This notice provides a means for the public to submit
comments to voice concerns about the proposed BCAP project areas.
DATES: We will consider comments that we receive by May 7, 2011. The
Farm Service Agency (FSA) will consider comments received after that
date to the extent possible.
ADDRESSES: We invite you to submit comments on the draft EA. In your
comment, include the volume, date, and page number of this issue of the
Federal Register. You may submit comments by any of the following
methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
E-Mail: [email protected].
Fax: 972-562-7673 ATTN: Giant Miscanthus EA Comments.
Mail: Giant Miscanthus EA Comments, Integrated
Environmental Solutions, LLC, 2150 S Central Expy Ste 110, McKinney, TX
75070.
Hand Delivery or Courier: Deliver comments to the above
address.
Comments may be inspected in the Office of the Director, CEPD, FSA,
USDA, Room 4709 South Building, Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
You may request copies of the draft EA for Giant Miscanthus by
writing to: Giant Miscanthus EA Copies, Integrated Environmental
Solutions, LLC, 2150 S Central Expy, Ste 110, McKinney, TX 75070, or by
e-mail to: [email protected], with the subject: ``Request for
copy draft Giant Miscanthus EA.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Ponish, (202) 720-6853.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for
communication (braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) should contact
the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Aloterra Energy and MFA Oil Biomass
Company submitted a proposal to FSA to establish BCAP project areas in
Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The proposal is to
establish and produce giant miscanthus as a dedicated energy crop. The
draft EA analyzes the environmental impacts of growing giant miscanthus
in those areas. FSA will review comments submitted on the draft EA in
response to this notice and use the additional input in developing the
final EA and decision document about whether to approve the project or
not. This notice announces the availability of the draft EA and the
opening of the comment period; it does not discuss the contents of the
draft EA.
The draft EA for the proposed BCAP project areas supporting the
establishment and production of Giant Miscanthus (Miscanthus X
giganteus) in Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, and Pennsylvania sponsored by
Aloterra Energy LLC and MFA Oil Biomass LLC is now available to review
for the environmental impact.
The draft EA was prepared in accordance with the provisions of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347); the
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) (40 CFR parts
1500-1508); and FSA regulations for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR 799).
As specified in the CEQ regulation, an EA is `` * * * a concise
document for which a Federal agency is responsible that serves to (1)
briefly provide sufficient evidence and analysis for determining
whether to prepare an environmental impact statement [EIS] or (2) a
finding of no significant impact'' (40 CFR 1508.9). Additionally, since
this document falls under the guidance of the BCAP final programmatic
EIS (PEIS), which was a broad national-level program document, CEQ
guidance allows for ``tiering.'' The CEQ regulation states that tiering
``refers to the coverage of general matters in broader environmental
impact statements with subsequent narrower statements or environmental
analyses incorporating by reference the general discussions and
concentrating solely on the issues specific to the statement
subsequently prepared'' (40 CFR 1508.28).
Section 9001 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110-246, commonly referred to as the 2008 Farm Bill)
authorizes BCAP. BCAP is administered by the FSA Deputy Administrator
for Farm Programs, on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC),
with the support of other Federal and local agencies. BCAP is intended
to assist agricultural and forest land owners and operators with the
establishment and production of eligible crops in selected project
areas for conversion to bioenergy, and the collection, harvest,
storage, and transportation of eligible material for use in a biomass
conversion facility.
On October 27, 2010, CCC published the Record of Decision (ROD) for
the BCAP final PEIS (75 FR 65995-66007) and BCAP final rule (76 FR
66202-66243) in the Federal Register. As part of the mitigation
measures detailed in the ROD, each project proposal is subject to a
NEPA analysis prior to approval of the project area proposal. The
initial environmental evaluation of a project area proposal is based on
information contained in specific forms: BCAP-19, BCAP-20, BCAP-21, and
BCAP-22, with supporting information. After this initial evaluation FSA
can conclude either that:
(1) No additional environmental analyses are applicable due to no
potential for the proposed BCAP activity to significantly impact the
environment, or
(2) Additional environmental analyses in the form of an EA or EIS
are necessary, depending upon the potential level of significance.
Due to inconclusive results in the initial environmental
evaluation, FSA is required to do an EA to make a determination whether
there could be significant environmental impacts.
The draft EA can be reviewed online at http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=ecrc&topic=nep-cd.
Signed in Washington, DC on April 5, 2011.
Carolyn B. Cooksie,
Acting Executive Vice President, Commodity Credit Corporation, and
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 2011-8421 Filed 4-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P