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Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and to conduct public scoping meetings and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement; GenPower New York, L.L.C.
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: February 6, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 25)]
[Notices]
[Page 5572-5574]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06fe02-48]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[FE Docket No. PP-252]
Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
to conduct public scoping meetings and Notice of Floodplain and
Wetlands Involvement; GenPower New York, L.L.C.
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) and to conduct public scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: GenPower New York, L.L.C. (GenPower) has applied to DOE for a
Presidential permit to construct a ±500,000-volt
(±500-kV) direct current (DC) submarine electric
transmission cable across the U.S. border with Canada. The cable is
proposed to originate in Goldboro, Nova Scotia, Canada, and terminate
in New York City, New York. DOE has determined that the issuance of the
Presidential permit would constitute a major Federal action that may
have a significant impact upon the environment within the meaning of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). For this reason,
DOE intends to prepare an EIS to address reasonably foreseeable impacts
from the proposed action and alternatives.
The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to inform the public about
the proposed action, announce plans for three public scoping meetings,
invite public participation in the scoping process, and solicit public
comments for consideration in establishing the scope and content of the
EIS. Because the proposed project may involve an action in a floodplain
or wetland, the EIS will include a floodplain and wetlands assessment
and floodplain statement of findings in accordance with DOE regulations
for compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review
requirements (10 CFR part 1022).
DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, and members of
the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying
significant environmental issues and in determining the appropriate
scope of the EIS. The public scoping period starts with the publication
of this Notice in the Federal Register and will continue until March
25, 2002. Written and oral comments will be given equal weight, and DOE
will consider all comments received or postmarked by March 25, 2002, in
defining the scope of this EIS. Comments received or postmarked after
that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
[[Page 5573]]
Dates for the public scoping meetings are:
1. February 26, 6 to 9 p.m., Gloucester, Massachusetts
2. February 27, 1 to 4 p.m., Boston, Massachusetts
3. February 28, 1 to 4 p.m., New York City, New York
Requests to speak at a public scoping meeting(s) should be received
by Mrs. Ellen Russell at the address indicated below on or before
February 25, 2002. Requests to speak may also be made at the time of
registration for the scoping meeting(s). However, persons who submitted
advance requests to speak will be given priority if time should be
limited during the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the EIS and
requests to speak at the scoping meeting(s) should be addressed to:
Mrs. Ellen Russell, Office of Fossil Energy (FE-27), U.S. Department of
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20585-0350; phone
202-586-9624, facsimile: 202-287-5736, or electronic mail at
Ellen.Russell@hq.doe.gov. In addition, a toll free comment line, 1-800-
437-7280, and a project information Web site, http://
projects1.battelle.org/genpowereis, 
are available.
The locations of the scoping meetings are:
1. Milton Fuller School, 4 School House Road, Gloucester,
Massachusetts.
2. Environmental Protection Agency Building, Training Room 1101, 1
Congress Street, Boston, Massachusetts.
3. Federal Triangle Building, Conference Room A, 26 Federal Plaza,
New York City, NY.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For information on the proposed project or to receive a copy of the
Draft EIS when it is issued, contact Mrs. Russell at the address listed
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. The GenPower application,
including associated maps and drawings, can be downloaded in its
entirety from the Fossil Energy web site
(www.FE.DOE.GOV; choose ``Electricity Regulation,'' then ``Pending
Procedures'').
For general information on the DOE NEPA review process, contact:
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; Phone: 202-586-4600 or leave a message at
800-472-2756; Facsimile: 202-586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background and Need for Agency Action
Executive Order 10485, as amended by Executive Order 12038,
requires that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE before electric
transmission facilities may be constructed, maintained, operated, or
connected at the U.S. international border. The Executive Order
provides that a Presidential permit may be issued after a finding that
the proposed project is consistent with the public interest. In
determining consistency with the public interest, DOE considers the
impacts of the project on the reliability of the U.S. electric power
system and on the environment. The regulations implementing the
Executive Order have been codified at 10 CFR 205.320--205.329. Issuance
of the permit indicates that there is no Federal objection to the
project, but does not mandate that the project be completed.
On September 19, 2001, GenPower filed an application with the
Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the DOE for a Presidential permit. For
its ``Hudson Energy Project,'' GenPower proposes to install a high-
voltage, direct current (HVDC) submarine cable extending from a
proposed 820-megawatt combined-cycle, natural gas-fired power plant
located in Goldboro, Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, Canada, to New
York City, New York, a distance of approximately 800 to 900 miles
(1,300 to 1,450 kilometers (km)). GenPower's proposed terminus in New
York City is the Consolidated Edison Company's (ConEd) West 49th Street
substation. GenPower proposes, based on technical and geological
limitations, to bury the cable on the sea bed to a depth of
approximately 3.3 feet (1 meter (m)) in Canadian, United States, and
possibly international waters at ocean depths to 990 feet (300 m). The
cable is proposed to be installed using remotely operated water-jet
trenching and/or water-jet plow equipment. Two areas designated as
Critical Habitat for the Right Whale may be transited by installer
ships. GenPower proposes to finalize installation procedures after
consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the
Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The GenPower application, including associated maps and drawings,
can be downloaded in its entirety from the Fossil Energy Web site
(www.FE.DOE.GOV; choose ``Electricity Regulation,'' then ``Pending
Procedures'').
GenPower does not have firm contracts in place in the United States
for the sale of power from the proposed generating facilities.
GenPower's application proposes two sea-bed alternatives in the
vicinity of ``Georges Bank,'' one to the east, the other to the west
(applicants preferred alternative), beginning at the proposed Goldboro,
Nova Scotia, power plant and terminating at ConEd's West 49th Street
Substation. Georges Bank is one in a series of immense underwater banks
or plateaus stretching from Newfoundland to southern New England on the
edge of the North American continental shelf. The northernmost banks
are called the Grand Banks and are off the Newfoundland and Labrador
coasts. Georges Bank is an oval-shaped geological formation,
approximately 150 miles (240 km) long by 75 miles (120 km) wide, and
approximately 330 feet (100 m) higher than the sea bed of the Gulf of
Maine that lies just north of it. Georges Bank is located at the
southwestern end of the chain of banks and it is 75 miles (120 km) off
the coast of New England. An important fishing resource, the banks are
prime North American breeding and feeding grounds for fish and
shellfish.
The alternative cable routes proposed by GenPower are as follows:
For both alternatives, submarine cable installation would begin at
Goldboro, Nova Scotia, and head offshore, then southwesterly along the
Nova Scotia coast, to the Northeast Channel area. From there, the cable
route would follow either a southeastern route around Georges Bank
(southeast of Nantucket Island), or, for the applicant's preferred
alternative, a southwestern route around Georges Bank to the Great
South Channel and western terminus of the Ambrose shipping channel into
New York Harbor.
When the cable route would enter the territorial waters of New York
State it would be outside Lower New York Bay approximately three miles
(5 km) south of Rockaway Beach, Queens. The route would continue west,
entering Lower New York Bay, then turn northwest, passing through the
Narrows into Upper New York Bay. The route would then proceed north, on
the east side of the New York/New Jersey state line, to the west of
Governors Island. The route would then proceed north, paralleling the
west shoreline of Manhattan until the vicinity of the Passenger Ship
Terminal piers near West 50th Street, where the cable route would
proceed east and enter a directionally drilled conduit to connect with
a proposed DC to AC power converter facility, proposed to be located at
West 50th and 12th Avenue. The converted power would then leave the
converter facility
[[Page 5574]]
via a buried AC interconnection that would pass from the converter
facility to ConEd's West 49th Street substation (located at West 49th
Street between 12th and 11th Avenues), for interconnection with ConEd's
existing electrical transmission system.
Federal and Provincial Governments in Canada will also have a
permitting role in the construction and operation of GenPower's Hudson
Energy Project. DOE believes that this project is likely to require a
demonstration that facilities in Canada would be undertaken in an
environmentally safe manner. Further, DOE believes that an
environmental review, similar to the one being announced by DOE herein,
will be required by the Canada Environmental Assessment Act. DOE will
consider information developed in that proceeding in the GenPower EIS.
Identification of Environmental Issues
A purpose of this notice is to solicit comments and suggestions for
consideration in the preparation of the EIS. As background for public
comment, this notice contains a list of potential environmental issues
that DOE has tentatively identified for analysis. This list is not
intended to be all-inclusive or to imply any predetermination of
impacts. Following is a preliminary list of issues that may be analyzed
in the EIS:
1. Impacts on fisheries, infrastructure, and employment;
2. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive
species of animals or plants, or their critical habitats;
3. Impacts on floodplains and wetlands;
4. Impacts on cultural or historic resources;
5. Impacts on human health and safety;
6. Impacts on air, soil, and water;
7. Visual impacts; and
8. Disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low-
income populations.
The EIS will also consider alternatives to the proposed
transmission lines, including, to the extent practicable, the No Action
Alternative. However, not issuing the Presidential permit would not
necessarily imply maintenance of the status quo. GenPower indicated its
proposed action is required to meet current and projected demand for
electricity in New York City. Other actions (e.g., construction of a
new generating station in the vicinity of New York or New England and
new transmission lines into New York City) could occur if the proposed
transmission line is not built. The No Action Alternative will address
the environmental impacts that are reasonably foreseeable to occur if
the Presidential permit is not issued.
Scoping Process
Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping
process both to refine the preliminary alternatives and environmental
issues to be analyzed in depth, and to eliminate from detailed study
those alternatives and environmental issues that are not feasible or
pertinent. The scoping process is intended to involve all interested
agencies (Federal, state, county, and local), public interest groups,
Native American tribes, businesses, and members of the public.
Potential Federal cooperating agencies include the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the
National Marine Fisheries Service. Both oral and written comments will
be considered and given equal weight by DOE.
Public scoping meetings will be held at the locations, dates, and
times indicated above under the DATES and ADDRESSES sections. These
scoping meetings will be informal. The DOE presiding officer will
establish only those procedures needed to ensure that everyone who
wishes to speak has a chance to do so and that DOE understands all
issues and comments. Speakers will be allocated approximately 10
minutes for their oral statements. Depending upon the number of persons
wishing to speak, DOE may allow longer times for representatives of
organizations. Consequently, persons wishing to speak on behalf of an
organization should identify that organization in their request to
speak. Persons who have not submitted a request to speak in advance may
register to speak at the scoping meeting(s), but advance requests are
encouraged. Should any speaker desire to provide for the record further
information that cannot be presented within the designated time, such
additional information may be submitted in writing by the date listed
in the DATES section. Meetings will begin at the times specified and
will continue until all those present who wish to participate have had
an opportunity to do so.
Draft EIS Schedule and Availability
The Draft EIS is scheduled to be issued in the fall, 2002, at which
time its availability will be announced in the Federal Register and
local media and public comments again will be solicited.
People who do not wish to submit comments or suggestions at this
time but who would like to receive a copy of the Draft EIS for review
and comment when it is issued should notify Mrs. Russell at the address
above.
The Draft EIS will be made available for public inspection. A
notice of these locations will be provided in the Federal Register and
local media at a later date.
Issued in Washington, DC on January 31, 2002.
Steven V. Cary,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Environment, Safety, and Health.
[FR Doc. 02-2826 Filed 2-5-02; 8:45 am]
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