[Federal Register: November 13, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 219)]
[Notices]
[Page 64365-64367]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr13no03-74]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Proposed Wanapa Energy Center, Umatilla County, OR
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA), with the cooperation of the Bonneville Power
Administration (BPA) and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation (CTUIR), intends to file a draft Environmental Impact
Statement (DEIS) with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the
proposed Wanapa Energy Center, Umatilla County, Oregon, and that the
DEIS is now available for public review. The purpose of the proposed
project is to help provide for the economic development of the CTUIR
and for the power needs of the Pacific Northwest. This notice also
announces public hearings for the public to provide comments on the
DEIS.
DATES: Written comments on the DEIS must arrive by December 29, 2003.
Public hearings on the DEIS will be held December 3 and December 4,
2003, starting at 7 p.m.
ADDRESSES: You may hand carry written comments to the Umatilla Agency,
46807 B Street, Mission, Oregon, or mail them to Philip Sanchez,
Superintendent, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Umatilla Agency, P.O. Box
520, Pendleton, OR 97801.
The December 3, 2003, public meeting will be in Pendleton, Oregon.
The December 4, 2003, public meeting will be in Hermiston, Oregon.
Exact addresses for the hearings will be determined at a later date.
These may be obtained from the FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT listed
below.
To obtain a copy of the DEIS, please write to Jerry Lauer, Natural
Resource Officer, Division of Natural Resources Management, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Umatilla Agency,
P.O. Box 520,
[[Page 64366]]
Pendleton, Oregon 97801. Copies of the DEIS are available for public
review at the Umatilla Agency on the CTUIR Reservation, Mission,
Oregon; at the Pendleton Public Library, 500 SW Dorian, Pendleton,
Oregon; and at the Hermiston Public Library, 238 E. Gladys Avenue,
Hermiston, Oregon. Copies of the DEIS have also been sent to agencies
and individuals who participated in the scoping process and to all
others who have previously requested copies of the document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Lauer, (541) 278-3790.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed action is to lease Indian trust
land upon which Diamond Wanapa ILP, CTUIR, the Eugene, OR, Water and
Electric Board, the City of Hermiston, and the Port of Umatilla propose
to jointly build and operate the Wanapa Energy Center, an approximately
1200 megawatt (Mw), natural gas-fired electric power generation plant
that would provide electrical energy to the BPA grid system. The
Center's design features two similar blocks of combined cycle, each
having a nominal capacity of 600 Mw. A block would consist of (1) two
combustion turbines; (2) two heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) that
can be fired by auxiliary duct burners; (3) 180 foot exhaust stacks;
(4) one steam turbine in a 2 by 1 configuration; and (4) associated
plant equipment. The proposed project also would include a switch yard,
cooling towers, storage tanks, natural gas supply pipeline, water
supply pipeline, electrical power transmission line, and other related
facilities. The plant would be constructed in two phases, each
consisting of two gas turbines, two HRSGs, two stacks, one steam
turbine, one cooling tower, three generators, and supporting
facilities. The maximum plant output would be approximately 1,485 Mw.
Natural gas would be the sole fuel used for the combustion turbines
and duct burners. This would be provided through a new, 9.9 mile
lateral pipeline that would extend from a source in the vicinity of
Stanfield, Oregon, approximately 10 miles north to the proposed project
site. A new 500 kV electrical transmission line would extend from the
project site to the McNary Substation on the Columbia River.
Water demand for the facility is estimated to be from 3 million
gallons per day (about 2,500 acre-feet per year) at 600 Mw production
to 6 million gallons per day (about 5,000 acre-feet per year) at 1200
Mw production. Pre-allocated municipal water would be obtained under
the City of Hermiston's and the Port of Umatilla's allocated water
supply from the Columbia River. Currently, the proposed power plant's
blow-down water discharge location is the Feed Canal, approximately 5
miles south of the project site. The Feed Canal empties into Cold
Springs Reservoir, approximately 1 mile downstream of the proposed
discharge point. The water discharge pipeline would follow and be
located with the proposed natural gas pipeline lateral to the discharge
point.
In addition to the proposed action and no action, alternatives
analyzed through the DEIS include routing options for the gas supply
pipeline and transmission line. They are as follows:
Gas Supply Pipeline Route Alternatives. There are two alternatives
that would be approximately the same 9.9 mile length as the proposed
route, but would follow a more eastern (Alternative 1-GSP) or a more
western (Alternative 2-GSP) route. All three would begin at the
Stanfield Compressor Station and terminate at the proposed power plant.
Alternative 1-GSP is about 53,500 feet (10.13 miles) long. From the
plant, the line would follow the proposed route for approximately 1.4
miles, then continue farther eastward about 2.3 miles along highway 730
before proceeding southward approximately 4.4 miles to the existing
Northwest Gas Right of Way (ROW). Once co-located along this ROW, it
would follow the existing line southeastward about 2 miles to the
interconnect point at the Stanfield Compressor Station. This route
would follow existing roads in a rural area for the majority of its
length.
Alternative 2-GSP is about 53,700 feet (10.17 miles) long. From the
proposed power plant, the line would follow the proposed route for
approximately 1,000 feet, at which point it would proceed due west for
approximately 2,000 feet. It would then proceed about 4 miles due south
to the Northwest Gas ROW and follow the existing line southeastward
approximately 5.6 miles to interconnect with source pipelines at the
Stanfield Compressor Station.
Transmission Line Route Alternatives. In addition to the route
described in the proposed action, three alternative transmission line
routes from the plant site to McNary Substation are evaluated in the
DEIS. These range from 3.7 to 4.0 miles in length. Alternative 1-TLR
would include 21,900 feet of single-circuit and 5,800 of double-circuit
line (5.25-miles combined. The route would traverse directly south from
the project site, cross Highway 730, and then enter and follow the same
alignment as the proposed route, parallel to the existing BPA ROWs
west/ northwest and north.
Alternative 2-TLR would be a 19,400-foot (3.67-mile) long single-
circuit line. It would run northwest from the project site until it
neared and paralleled the bluffs above the Columbia River, then
traverse southwest into the substation. This alternative would be
located in an entirely new ROW. Alternative 3-TLR would be about a
20,900-foot (3.96-mile) long single-circuit line. The route would
traverse west from the project site until it passed McNary Beach Access
Road, proceed north to where the Alternative 2 route turns southwest,
then follow the Alternative 2 route into the substation.
Public Participation
The public has participated throughout the development of this
DEIS. The Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was filed in the Federal
Register on October 22, 2001 (66 FR 53430). Public scoping meetings
were held in Pendleton, Oregon, on November 5, 2001, and in Hermiston,
Oregon, on November 6, 2001, to identify issues and content for
consideration in the EIS. On July 28, 2003, an open house was held in
Hermiston, Oregon, to update the public on the EIS process for the
proposed project. All comments presented throughout the process have
been considered.
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the
ADDRESSES section, during regular business hours, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may
request confidentiality. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or
address from public review or from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act, you must state this prominently at the beginning of
your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent
allowed by law. We will not, however, consider anonymous comments. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their
entirety.
Authority: This notice is published in accordance with section
1503.1 of the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR
parts 1500 through 1508) implementing the procedural requirements of
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), and the Department of the
[[Page 64367]]
Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the exercise of authority
delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.
Dated: November 6, 2003.
Aurene M. Martin,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-28394 Filed 11-12-03; 8:45 am]