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Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Dam Powerhouse Rehabilitations and Possible Operational Changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams, Kentucky and Tennessee 

[Federal Register: November 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 226)]
[Notices]
[Page 65950-65951]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26no07-32]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
Proposed Dam Powerhouse Rehabilitations and Possible Operational
Changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams, Kentucky
and Tennessee

AGENCY: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Corps of Engineers (Corps), Nashville District, will
prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) relating to
proposed dam powerhouse rehabilitations and possible operational
changes at the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in
Kentucky and Tennessee. The Corps is studying the possible impacts of
modifying existing equipment. Due to improvements in technology,
rehabilitating the equipment could make it possible to produce more
power from the same amount of water discharged. Changes in equipment
and operational procedures could also cause higher tailwater heights
and velocities, but as there is a limited amount of water they could be
for shorter duration. In addition, alterations to flow regimes are
being considered to provide minimum flows when hydropower releases are
shut off. If improvements are successful, other dams may eventually be
considered for similar changes. This study was begun in 2003 and a
Notice of Intent was published in the Federal Register on September 25,
2003; however, due to funding constraints work ceased before a Draft
EIS could be completed. The proposed rehabilitation of the powerhouse
and generating units is not related to the dam seepage repairs that are
ongoing at Center Hill and Wolf Creek Dams.

DATES: Written scoping comments on issues to be considered in the DEIS
will be accepted by the Corps of Engineers until December 26, 2007.

ADDRESSES: Scoping comments should be mailed to: Mr. Chip Hall, Project
Planning Branch, Nashville District Corps of Engineers, P.O. Box 1070
(PM-P), Nashville, TN 37202-1070, or may be e-mailed to 
hydropower.rehab@Lrn02.usace.army.miL.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information concerning
the proposed action and DEIS, please contact Chip Hall, Project
Planning Branch, (615) 736-7666.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1. The intent of the DEIS is to provide NEPA
compliance for changes in design features and operating procedures of
the Wolf Creek, Center Hill, and Dale Hollow Dams in the Cumberland
River system. All three dams are of a similar age, have similar
turbines and related equipment, and have similar proposed
rehabilitation and operational changes. Operating and equipment changes
that will be studied could potentially affect more than a combined
total 60 miles of tailwaters. This would primarily be a result of
efforts to raise dissolved oxygen levels to meet the minimum state
water quality standards, although flows and elevations could also be
altered for a significant distance. The Cumberland River includes ten
dams and reservoirs. The 10 projects are managed as one system with the
goal of managing the flow of water through the entire Cumberland River
basin. If the proposed changes prove desirable, they could set a
precedent for future rehabilitations at other hydropower facilities.
The Corps, therefore, proposes to evaluate these dams programmatically.
    2. The three dams considered under this Environmental Impact
Statement, Wolf Creek Dam, Center Hill Dam, and Dale Hollow Dam, were
authorized in the 1930s and constructed in the 1940s before there was a
significant concern for environmental protection. They all predate the
NEPA, the Clean Water Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and
many other related environmental laws and regulations. Together these
three Corps projects affect the temperatures, flows, and dissolved
oxygen (DO) levels of up to 250 miles of the Cumberland River and its
tributaries. The Corps is studying the possible impacts of modifying
existing structures or operating procedures to improve DO in the
tailwaters. Alterations to flow regimes are being considered to provide
minimum flows below the dams when hydropower releases are shut off.

[[Page 65951]]

    3. Key proposed project features to be evaluated in the DEIS
include the following:
    a. Rehabilitation of turbines including Auto Venting Turbines to
improve DO levels in the tailwaters.
    b. Minimum releases to ensure continuous flows between periods of
generation.
    c. The effects of increased tailwater flows on tailwater parks,
downstream fishing areas, adjacent low lying farmlands, erosion of
riverbanks, cultural archaeological and historic sites, and changes to
the hydraulics and hydrology of the rivers.
    d. Other alternatives studied will include: No Action; restoration
to the ``original'' 1948 condition; refurbishing existing units;
oxygenating water in the dam forebays prior to release; and spilling
water through the sluice gates.
    4. This notice serves to solicit scoping comments from the public;
federal, state and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and
other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts
of this proposed activity. Any comments received during the comment
period will be considered in the NEPA process. Comments are used to
assess impacts on fish and wildlife, endangered species, historic
properties, water quality, water supply and conservation, economics,
aesthetics, wetlands, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use,
navigation, shore erosion and accretion, recreation, energy needs,
safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of
property ownership, general environmental effects, cumulative effects,
and in general, the needs and welfare of the people. Public meetings
may be held, however, times, dates, or locations have not been determined.
    5. Other federal, state and local approvals required for the proposed
work include coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
    6. Significant issues to be analyzed in depth in the DEIS include
impacts to tailwater fisheries, recreation, economics, water quality,
historic and cultural resources, streambank erosion, future power
demands, and cumulative impacts. The DEIS should be available in
January 2008.

Bernard R. Lindstrom,
Lieutenant Colonel, Corps of Engineers, District Engineer.
[FR Doc. E7-22959 Filed 11-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3710-GF-P

 
 

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