South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper County Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project, 36996-36997 [2012-15035]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2012 / Notices
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, through
the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, technological, or
other forms of information technology
collection techniques.
All responses to this notice will
become a matter of public record and be
summarized in the request for OMB
approval.
Signed at Washington, DC, May 22, 2012.
Joseph T. Reilly,
Associate Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2012–14958 Filed 6–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–20–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
South Mississippi Electric
Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper
County Integrated Gasification
Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project
Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
Notice of Adoption of a Final
Environmental Impact Statement.
ACTION:
The South Mississippi
Electric Power Association (SMEPA), a
rural electric generation and
transmission cooperative, has
approached the USDA Rural Utilities
Service (RUS, the Agency) for financial
assistance through which SMEPA
would acquire a 17.5% undivided
ownership interest in Plant Ratcliff, an
Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle
(IGCC) Project currently under
construction in Kemper County,
Mississippi (hereinafter ‘‘the Project’’)
and owned by Mississippi Power
Company (MPCo). In accordance with
RUS Environmental Policies and
Procedures, 7 CFR 1794, RUS has
discretion in determining whether a
proposal is subject to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, when potential
borrowers will have only partial
ownership of a project for which they
are requesting financing (7 CFR 1794.20,
Control). Though acknowledging that
RUS financing will provide SMEPA
with significantly limited control of the
Project, RUS considers the Project
subject to NEPA and to the National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and
its implementing regulations at 36 CFR
part 800. This notice documents the
efforts undertaken by RUS to ensure
compliance with NEPA, NHPA, and all
other applicable environmental laws
and regulations through the adoption of
the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) prepared for the
Project by the United States Department
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VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:14 Jun 19, 2012
Jkt 226001
Written comments on the
Adoption will be accepted for 30 days
following the publication of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s
Notice of Adoption in the Federal
Register.
DATES:
A
link to FEIS will be posted on the RUS
Web site, https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/
UWP-eis4.htm. To obtain additional
information or provide comments,
please contact: Emily Orler,
Environmental Protection Specialist,
USDA Rural Utilities Service, 1400
Independence Avenue SW., Stop 1571,
Washington, DC 20250–1571 or email:
emily.orler@wdc.usda.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The
Project will produce 582 megawatts
(MW) of power through the use of clean
coal IGCC technology. Lignite mined
locally by North American Coal
Corporation (NACC) will be converted
into a synthesis gas (syngas) that will
drive two gas combustion turbines. Heat
recovery steam generators will convert
excess heat from primary combustion to
drive a steam turbine that will produce
additional electrical power. The Project
will demonstrate greater efficiencies and
reduced carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur
dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOX),
mercury, and particulate emissions as
compared to conventional lignite-fired
electrical power plants. In addition to
the IGCC facility and the mining
operation, the Project requires the
construction and/or upgrading of a
natural gas supply pipeline, a reclaimed
water supply pipeline, a CO2 pipeline,
and electrical transmission
infrastructure including power lines and
substations.
Southern Company, in cooperation
with two of its subsidiaries, Southern
Company Services and Mississippi
Power Company (MPCo), has received
cost-shared financing for the Project
from the Department of Energy (DOE)
under the Clean Coal Power Initiative.
DOE conducted its NEPA review by
preparing an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) in cooperation with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
which resulted in the issuance of a
Record of Decision (ROD) announcing
the agency’s decision to finance the
Project in March 2010. MPCo received
Air and Water Pollution Control permits
from the state of Mississippi in March
of 2010, and the Mississippi Public
Service Commission issued a Certificate
of Public Convenience and Necessity in
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
of Energy (DOE) in cooperation with the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
PO 00000
Frm 00015
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
May 2010.1 DOE’s Mitigation Action
Plan (MAP) was issued in September
2010 and construction began in
December of that year.
SMEPA Involvement and Request for
Financing
SMEPA is a consumer-owned, not-forprofit rural electric generation and
transmission cooperative that provides
wholesale electric service to its eleven
(11) member distribution cooperatives
in 56 counties of Mississippi. SMEPA’s
mission is to provide affordable and
reliable power to its members. MPCo, a
private utility that sells power to
SMEPA to serve approximately a third
of SMEPA members’ power demands,
approached SMEPA in 2009 with the
opportunity to participate in the Project.
Based on its need to diversify generation
resources in the region, SMEPA elected
to support the Project and executed a
Letter of Intent to evaluate potential
joint ownership. SMEPA has evaluated
their participation in the Project based
on forecasted power demand, an
evaluation of alternatives, and
consideration of the Project’s overall
economic feasibility. In 2010, SMEPA
prepared a Generation Construction
Work Plan (GCWP), which evaluated
SMEPA’s construction needs to meet
their projected power demand based on
feasibility, environmental acceptability,
and affordability. The GCWP reviewed
previous Power Requirements Studies
(PRS) and a long-range Power Supply
Option Study (PSOS), which evaluated
SMEPA’s existing generation resources
and the projected demand growth, and
established that SMEPA would be
capacity deficient by 2015. SMEPA
subsequently released a Request for
Power Supply Proposal to identify
potential resources to meet this demand.
Taking into account demand growth,
carbon emissions, construction costs,
and gas price forecasts, the submissions
were analyzed in comparison to selfbuild options (SMEPA-constructed
generation facilities) and participation
in the Project. SMEPA also accounted
for potential financial implications of
their participation in the Project for
their members. Given that the Project
will proceed regardless of SMEPA’s
participation, SMEPA’s membership
will be affected by Project-associated
rate increases associated with the
construction and operation of the
Project due to preexisting and
immutable contractual agreements with
1 The Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity has since been appealed, reversed by the
Mississippi Supreme Court and remanded to the
Mississippi PSC for further proceedings in March
of 2012. The Certificate was reissued by the
Mississippi PSC on April 24, 2012.
E:\FR\FM\20JNN1.SGM
20JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 119 / Wednesday, June 20, 2012 / Notices
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MPCo. SMEPA determined that partial
ownership in the Project would help
minimize the unavoidable rate increase.
Based on these evaluations, SMEPA
determined that a 17.5% undivided
ownership interest in the Project would
be the best overall option and has
formally requested financial assistance
from RUS to finance this action.
SMEPA’s partial ownership would
include the IGCC facility, the CO2
pipeline, the reclaimed water supply
line, the surface lignite mine, and
electrical transmission facilities.
RUS Action
RUS conducts the rural electrification
loan program, which provides financing
through direct loans and loan
guarantees for the construction and
operation of generation facilities and
electric transmission and distribution
lines and systems to improve electric
service for rural Americans. RUS bases
its decisions on financial, engineering,
and environmental considerations. RUS
assessed whether SMEPA would have
sufficient control and responsibility to
alter the development of the Project in
order to determine if the project is
subject to NEPA, in accordance with 7
CFR 1794.20. Through discussions with
SMEPA, and review of loan and
contractual documentation, RUS
established that the project will be
completed regardless of RUS-funded
SMEPA participation. RUS further
established that the Joint Ownership
and Operating Agreement (JOOA), to be
executed with MPCo, will provide
SMEPA with only a limited ability to
influence the Project.2 However, due to
the Project’s significant public interest
and potential federal expenditure, RUS
decided to consider the Project a federal
action subject to NEPA and an
undertaking as defined by Section 106
of the NHPA.
RUS reviewed transmission system
impact studies and additional
engineering studies provided by
SMEPA, and the Final EIS (FEIS) and
the associated MAP prepared by the
DOE in cooperation with the USACE.
RUS determined that SMEPA’s
participation would not require any
additional infrastructure, and therefore
would not cause any environmental
impacts beyond what was identified and
discussed in the FEIS. RUS reviewed
and determined that the FEIS and MAP
2 Through the JOOA, SMEPA would only be
granted audit rights and authority for on-site
representation during Project construction and
operation. Should a Project Management Committee
(PMC) be formed, SMEPA’s representation would
be proportional to their percentage of ownership,
and therefore limited to 17.5% influence over
construction and management decisions.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:14 Jun 19, 2012
Jkt 226001
36997
adequately assessed the potential
impacts of the Project, and intends to
adopt the EIS in accordance with 40
CFR 1506.3 and 7 CFR 1794.72. RUS/
SMEPA participation will not cause any
additional impacts on historic
properties. RUS has therefore
determined that the Project qualifies as
an undertaking with no potential to
effect historic properties in accordance
with 36 CFR 800.3(a)(1).
This notice documents the Agency’s
intent to adopt the DOE/USACE FEIS,
and fulfills the agency’s responsibilities
for public involvement, in accordance
with 36 CFR 800.2(d)(2).
Secretary at the address below. The
closing period for their receipt is July
30, 2012.
A copy of the notification will be
available for public inspection at the
Office of the Executive Secretary,
Foreign-Trade Zones Board, Room 2111,
U.S. Department of Commerce, 1401
Constitution Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20230–0002, and in the ‘‘Reading
Room’’ section of the Board’s Web site,
which is accessible via www.trade.gov/
ftz.
For further information, contact Diane
Finver at Diane.Finver@trade.gov or
(202) 482–1367.
Nivin Elgohary,
Assistant Administrator, Electric Programs,
Rural Utilities Service.
Elizabeth Whiteman,
Acting Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012–15035 Filed 6–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
[FR Doc. 2012–15088 Filed 6–19–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[B–44–2012]
[B–45–2012]
Foreign-Trade Zone 7—Mayaguez, PR;
Notification of Proposed Production
Activity; Baxter Healthcare of Puerto
Rico; (Pharmaceutical and Nutritional
Intravenous Bags and Administration
Sets); Aibonito and Jayuya, PR
The Puerto Rico Industrial
Development Company, grantee of FTZ
7, submitted a notification of proposed
production activity on behalf of Baxter
Healthcare of Puerto Rico (Baxter), at
two sites within FTZ 7, located in
Aibonito and Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The
facilities are used for the manufacture of
pharmaceutical and nutritional
intravenous (I.V.) bags, I.V.
administration sets and their
components.
Production under FTZ procedures
could exempt Baxter from customs duty
payments on the foreign status
components used in export production.
On its domestic sales, Baxter would be
able to choose the duty rates during
customs entry procedures that apply to
the filled I.V. products and
administration sets) (duty-free) for the
foreign status inputs noted below.
Customs duties also could possibly be
deferred or reduced on foreign status
production equipment.
Components and materials sourced
from abroad include: Foil pouches, ABS
resin, L-tryptophan, glutamic acid, NAcetyl-L-Tyrosine and L-Lysine-Acetate
(duty rate range: 3%–6.5%).
Public comment is invited from
interested parties. Submissions shall be
addressed to the Board’s Executive
PO 00000
Frm 00016
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
Foreign-Trade Zone 61—San Juan, PR;
Notification of Proposed Production
Activity; Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC
(Subzone 61A); (Ibuprofen
Pharmaceutical Products); Guayama,
PR
The Puerto Rico Trade and Export
Company, grantee of FTZ 61, submitted
a notification of proposed production
activity on behalf of Pfizer
Pharmaceuticals LLC (Pfizer) (Subzone
61A) for its manufacturing facility
located in Guayama, Puerto Rico. The
notification conforming to the
requirements of the regulations of the
Board (15 CFR 400.22) was received on
June 13, 2012.
Subzone 61A was originally approved
by the Board in 1992 at the former
Searle plant located at Munoz Marin
Avenue and Road 189 in Caguas, Puerto
Rico, for the production and
distribution of various pharmaceutical
products under zone procedures (Board
Order 617, 12/11/1992, 57 FR 61046,
12/23/1992). On June 8, 2012, a minor
boundary modification under 15 CFR
400.38 of the Board’s regulations was
approved to relocate the subzone from
Pfizer’s Caguas plant to its facility
located at PR 2, Km 141.3 in Guayama,
Puerto Rico (S–69–2012).
Pfizer is now requesting to produce
ibuprofen pharmaceutical products in
bulk mixture or dosage form under FTZ
procedures at the Guayama site.
Production under FTZ procedures could
exempt Pfizer from customs duty
payments on the foreign status
components used in export production.
E:\FR\FM\20JNN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 119 (Wednesday, June 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36996-36997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-15035]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper
County Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Adoption of a Final Environmental Impact Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The South Mississippi Electric Power Association (SMEPA), a
rural electric generation and transmission cooperative, has approached
the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS, the Agency) for financial
assistance through which SMEPA would acquire a 17.5% undivided
ownership interest in Plant Ratcliff, an Integrated Gasification
Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project currently under construction in Kemper
County, Mississippi (hereinafter ``the Project'') and owned by
Mississippi Power Company (MPCo). In accordance with RUS Environmental
Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR 1794, RUS has discretion in determining
whether a proposal is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act
of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, when potential borrowers will have only
partial ownership of a project for which they are requesting financing
(7 CFR 1794.20, Control). Though acknowledging that RUS financing will
provide SMEPA with significantly limited control of the Project, RUS
considers the Project subject to NEPA and to the National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations at 36 CFR part
800. This notice documents the efforts undertaken by RUS to ensure
compliance with NEPA, NHPA, and all other applicable environmental laws
and regulations through the adoption of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement (FEIS) prepared for the Project by the United States
Department of Energy (DOE) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (USACE).
DATES: Written comments on the Adoption will be accepted for 30 days
following the publication of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
Notice of Adoption in the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A link to FEIS will be posted on the
RUS Web site, https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-eis4.htm. To obtain
additional information or provide comments, please contact: Emily
Orler, Environmental Protection Specialist, USDA Rural Utilities
Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Stop 1571, Washington, DC 20250-
1571 or email: emily.orler@wdc.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Project will produce 582 megawatts (MW)
of power through the use of clean coal IGCC technology. Lignite mined
locally by North American Coal Corporation (NACC) will be converted
into a synthesis gas (syngas) that will drive two gas combustion
turbines. Heat recovery steam generators will convert excess heat from
primary combustion to drive a steam turbine that will produce
additional electrical power. The Project will demonstrate greater
efficiencies and reduced carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur
dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxide (NOX), mercury, and
particulate emissions as compared to conventional lignite-fired
electrical power plants. In addition to the IGCC facility and the
mining operation, the Project requires the construction and/or
upgrading of a natural gas supply pipeline, a reclaimed water supply
pipeline, a CO2 pipeline, and electrical transmission
infrastructure including power lines and substations.
Southern Company, in cooperation with two of its subsidiaries,
Southern Company Services and Mississippi Power Company (MPCo), has
received cost-shared financing for the Project from the Department of
Energy (DOE) under the Clean Coal Power Initiative. DOE conducted its
NEPA review by preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in
cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which
resulted in the issuance of a Record of Decision (ROD) announcing the
agency's decision to finance the Project in March 2010. MPCo received
Air and Water Pollution Control permits from the state of Mississippi
in March of 2010, and the Mississippi Public Service Commission issued
a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in May 2010.\1\ DOE's
Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) was issued in September 2010 and
construction began in December of that year.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity has
since been appealed, reversed by the Mississippi Supreme Court and
remanded to the Mississippi PSC for further proceedings in March of
2012. The Certificate was reissued by the Mississippi PSC on April
24, 2012.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMEPA Involvement and Request for Financing
SMEPA is a consumer-owned, not-for-profit rural electric generation
and transmission cooperative that provides wholesale electric service
to its eleven (11) member distribution cooperatives in 56 counties of
Mississippi. SMEPA's mission is to provide affordable and reliable
power to its members. MPCo, a private utility that sells power to SMEPA
to serve approximately a third of SMEPA members' power demands,
approached SMEPA in 2009 with the opportunity to participate in the
Project. Based on its need to diversify generation resources in the
region, SMEPA elected to support the Project and executed a Letter of
Intent to evaluate potential joint ownership. SMEPA has evaluated their
participation in the Project based on forecasted power demand, an
evaluation of alternatives, and consideration of the Project's overall
economic feasibility. In 2010, SMEPA prepared a Generation Construction
Work Plan (GCWP), which evaluated SMEPA's construction needs to meet
their projected power demand based on feasibility, environmental
acceptability, and affordability. The GCWP reviewed previous Power
Requirements Studies (PRS) and a long-range Power Supply Option Study
(PSOS), which evaluated SMEPA's existing generation resources and the
projected demand growth, and established that SMEPA would be capacity
deficient by 2015. SMEPA subsequently released a Request for Power
Supply Proposal to identify potential resources to meet this demand.
Taking into account demand growth, carbon emissions, construction
costs, and gas price forecasts, the submissions were analyzed in
comparison to self-build options (SMEPA-constructed generation
facilities) and participation in the Project. SMEPA also accounted for
potential financial implications of their participation in the Project
for their members. Given that the Project will proceed regardless of
SMEPA's participation, SMEPA's membership will be affected by Project-
associated rate increases associated with the construction and
operation of the Project due to preexisting and immutable contractual
agreements with
[[Page 36997]]
MPCo. SMEPA determined that partial ownership in the Project would help
minimize the unavoidable rate increase. Based on these evaluations,
SMEPA determined that a 17.5% undivided ownership interest in the
Project would be the best overall option and has formally requested
financial assistance from RUS to finance this action. SMEPA's partial
ownership would include the IGCC facility, the CO2 pipeline,
the reclaimed water supply line, the surface lignite mine, and
electrical transmission facilities.
RUS Action
RUS conducts the rural electrification loan program, which provides
financing through direct loans and loan guarantees for the construction
and operation of generation facilities and electric transmission and
distribution lines and systems to improve electric service for rural
Americans. RUS bases its decisions on financial, engineering, and
environmental considerations. RUS assessed whether SMEPA would have
sufficient control and responsibility to alter the development of the
Project in order to determine if the project is subject to NEPA, in
accordance with 7 CFR 1794.20. Through discussions with SMEPA, and
review of loan and contractual documentation, RUS established that the
project will be completed regardless of RUS-funded SMEPA participation.
RUS further established that the Joint Ownership and Operating
Agreement (JOOA), to be executed with MPCo, will provide SMEPA with
only a limited ability to influence the Project.\2\ However, due to the
Project's significant public interest and potential federal
expenditure, RUS decided to consider the Project a federal action
subject to NEPA and an undertaking as defined by Section 106 of the
NHPA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ Through the JOOA, SMEPA would only be granted audit rights
and authority for on-site representation during Project construction
and operation. Should a Project Management Committee (PMC) be
formed, SMEPA's representation would be proportional to their
percentage of ownership, and therefore limited to 17.5% influence
over construction and management decisions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
RUS reviewed transmission system impact studies and additional
engineering studies provided by SMEPA, and the Final EIS (FEIS) and the
associated MAP prepared by the DOE in cooperation with the USACE. RUS
determined that SMEPA's participation would not require any additional
infrastructure, and therefore would not cause any environmental impacts
beyond what was identified and discussed in the FEIS. RUS reviewed and
determined that the FEIS and MAP adequately assessed the potential
impacts of the Project, and intends to adopt the EIS in accordance with
40 CFR 1506.3 and 7 CFR 1794.72. RUS/SMEPA participation will not cause
any additional impacts on historic properties. RUS has therefore
determined that the Project qualifies as an undertaking with no
potential to effect historic properties in accordance with 36 CFR
800.3(a)(1).
This notice documents the Agency's intent to adopt the DOE/USACE
FEIS, and fulfills the agency's responsibilities for public
involvement, in accordance with 36 CFR 800.2(d)(2).
Nivin Elgohary,
Assistant Administrator, Electric Programs, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-15035 Filed 6-19-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
