Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Engineered High Energy Crop Programs, Southeastern United States, 37533-37536 [2013-14724]
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2013 / Notices
including optimal patterns of delivery
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Dated: June 17, 2013.
Tomakie Washington,
Acting Director, Information Collection
Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and
Records Management Services, Office of
Management.
[FR Doc. 2013–14785 Filed 6–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Engineered High Energy
Crop Programs, Southeastern United
States
Department of Energy (DOE).
Notice of intent to prepare an
environmental impact statement and
conduct public scoping meetings.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE), Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA–E)
announces its intent to prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) and conduct public
scoping meetings to evaluate the
potential environmental impacts of
DOE’s proposed action to implement
one or more programs to catalyze the
development and demonstration of
engineered high energy crops (EHECs).
EHECs are agriculturally-viable
photosynthetic species containing
genetic material that has been
intentionally introduced through
biotechnology, interspecific
hybridization, or other engineering
processes (excluding processes that
occur in nature without human
intervention), and specifically
engineered to produce more energy per
acre by producing fuel molecules that
can be introduced easily into existing
energy infrastructure.
EHECs include those being developed
under the ARPA–E Plants Engineered to
Replace Oil (PETRO) program. A main
component of the proposed EHEC
programs would be providing financial
assistance for field trials to evaluate the
performance of EHECs. Confined field
trials may range in size and could
include development-scale (up to 5
acres), pilot-scale (up to 250 acres), or
demonstration-scale (up to 15,000
acres). All necessary permits, such as
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SUMMARY:
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from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS),
would be obtained before initiating
confined field trials. This PEIS will
assess the potential environmental
impacts of such confined field trials in
the southeastern United States.
DATES: DOE invites comments on the
proposed scope of this PEIS from all
interested parties. The scoping period
for this PEIS starts with the publication
of this notice and continues through
July 22, 2013. DOE will consider all
comments submitted electronically or
postmarked by July 22, 2013. Comments
submitted after this date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
DOE will conduct scoping meetings to
solicit input on the issues, concerns,
and alternatives of the PEIS. Poster
sessions will be hosted at each location
from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m., followed by an
open forum to receive comments from
7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The scoping meetings
will be held:
• July 9, 2013—Lexington Convention
Center, 430 West Vine Street,
Lexington, KY
• July 10, 2013—Mississippi e-Center at
Jackson State University (Convention
Hall), 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson,
MS
• July 11, 2013—Raleigh Convention
Center, 500 S. Salisbury Street,
Raleigh, NC
DOE will also host one web-based
meeting on July 17, 2013 from 3:00 to
5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Details
regarding the scoping meetings,
including how to participate in the webbased meeting, are provided under
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION and on the
PEIS Web site: https://engineeredhigh
energycropsPEIS.com.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• PEIS Web site: https://engineered
highenergycropsPEIS.com.
• Email: comments@engineeredhigh
energycropsPEIS.com.
• Mail: Dr. Jonathan Burbaum,
Program Director, ARPA–E, U.S.
Department of Energy, ATTN: EHEC
PEIS, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Mailstop-950–8043, Washington, DC
20585. Note: Comments submitted by
U.S. Postal Service may be delayed by
mail screening.
This Notice of Intent (NOI), the Draft
PEIS, and the Final PEIS will be posted
on the DOE National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) Web site at https://
energy.gov/nepa. These documents and
additional materials relating to this PEIS
will also be available on the PEIS Web
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37533
site at: https://engineeredhighenergy
cropsPEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
more information on the PEIS or to be
added to the PEIS distribution list,
contact Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, Program
Director, by one of the methods
described in the ADDRESSES section, or
by telephone at (202) 287–5453.
For general information on the DOE
NEPA process, contact Carol Borgstrom,
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and
Compliance (GC–54), U.S. Department
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20585, or
telephone at (202) 586–4600, voicemail
at (800) 472–2756, or email at
askNEPA@hq.doe.gov. Persons with
disabilities who require alternative
means for communication (Braille, large
print, audio tape, etc.) should contact
(800) 877–8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EHEC
PEIS (DOE/EIS–0481) is being prepared
in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
requirements, the Council on
Environmental Quality’s NEPA
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),
and DOE’s NEPA Implementing
Procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
DOE has prepared this NOI to inform
interested parties of the planned PEIS
and scoping meetings, and to invite
public comments on the proposed
action, reasonable alternatives for
program implementation, and the range
of environmental issues to be
considered in the PEIS. DOE will
consult with interested American Indian
Tribes and federal, state, regional and
local agencies during preparation of the
PEIS. In addition, DOE invites agencies
with jurisdiction by law or special
expertise to participate as cooperating
agencies in the preparation of this PEIS.
Background
DOE’s mission and strategic goals
include promoting U.S. energy security
by providing reliable, clean, and
affordable energy and strengthening
U.S. technological leadership and
economic competitiveness through
advancements in science and
technology. ARPA–E’s goals include
enhancing U.S. economic and energy
security through the development of
advanced energy technologies that
reduce imports of foreign oil, reduce
energy-related emissions, and ensure
that the U.S. maintains a technological
lead in developing and deploying
advanced energy technologies. A core
aspect of ARPA–E’s mission is to
expedite the timeline for bringing
technologies to market. The proposed
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2013 / Notices
programs aim to deploy EHECs that
produce more energy per acre and
produce fuel molecules that require
little or no processing prior to being
introduced into existing energy
infrastructure (e.g., refineries, pipelines,
and vehicles), thus promoting
agriculturally-derived fuels that are
cost-competitive with petroleum-based
fuels. Programs that catalyze the
deployment of EHECs to market,
including development and
demonstration field trials, would further
the mission and strategic goals of DOE.
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Purpose and Need for DOE Action
Present day production of biofuels is
limited by the relatively inefficient
capture of solar energy and conversion
of carbon dioxide that occurs during
plant photosynthesis into a ready-to-use
energy source. EHEC programs are
experimenting with a variety of plants
to create molecules similar to those
found in petroleum-based fuels that will
facilitate biofuel production. EHECs
include those being developed under
the ARPA–E PETRO program.
Successful EHEC programs can advance
the environmentally responsible
deployment of biofuels produced by, or
through the processing of, engineered
plants to provide cost-effective, largescale, and renewable substitute fuels.
The purpose and need for agency
action is to facilitate the deployment of
EHECs through funding programs that
support research, development, and
demonstration of EHECs up to
commercial scale. In the absence of DOE
funding and support for EHEC
programs, scientific understanding and
innovation in the responsible use of
EHEC crops and, ultimately, commercial
deployment of EHECs would develop
more slowly or not at all. Accordingly,
DOE needs to take action to catalyze the
development and deployment of EHEC
crops.
Proposed Action
DOE proposes to develop and
implement one or more programs to
catalyze the development and
deployment of EHECs. A main
component of these programs would be
providing financial assistance to
recipients, such as research institutions,
independent contract growers, or
commercial entities, for conducting
confined field trials to test the
effectiveness of EHECs. Confined field
trials are experiments to evaluate the
performance of a crop that are
conducted under stringent terms and
conditions designed to confine the
experimental crop. Confined field trials
may range in size and could include
development-scale (up to 5 acres), pilot-
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scale (up to 250 acres), or
demonstration-scale (up to 15,000
acres). Confined field trials are essential
to test the viability of EHECs under real
field conditions in local environments.
Engineered crops within confined field
trials are grown only after obtaining
regulatory permits that identify
procedures to limit or prevent the
unintentional spread and establishment
of the crop. Specifically, funding
recipients would need to acquire a
permit from the USDA APHIS before
initiating each confined field trial. To
acquire an APHIS permit, a funding
recipient would need to prepare a
permit application that provides
detailed information about the nature of
the crops to be introduced and the
conditions that would be used to
prevent the spread and establishment of
the crop in the environment. Following
a careful review of the permit
application and a project-specific
review of the proposed permitting
action under NEPA, APHIS may
determine to issue a permit for the
proposed confined field trial. The
funding recipients could then carry out
the confined field trial in accordance
with the terms and conditions of the
APHIS permit and applicable federal,
state, and local laws and regulations.
Additionally, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
Rodenticide Act, regulates the planting,
food, and feed use of transgenic plants
into which genetic material has been
inserted that imparts pesticidal
properties. The Food and Drug
Administration, under the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act, regulates
transgenic food and feed crops or
products from transgenic crops that may
come in contact with food. Analyses
from this PEIS would inform these
permit applications as well.
Examples of EHECs that may be used
in confined field trials include, but are
not limited to, crops being investigated
under ARPA–E’s PETRO program such
as genetically engineered varieties of
camelina, loblolly pine, tobacco, giant
cane, sugarcane, miscanthus, sorghum,
and switchgrass. For additional
information regarding ARPA–E’s PETRO
program and the specific technologies
being investigated in PETRO projects,
visit the PETRO program Web site at:
https://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=arpa-eprograms/petro.
This PEIS will assess the potential
environmental impacts of confined field
trials in the southeastern United States.
DOE’s proposed action under this PEIS
will be limited to the states of Alabama,
Florida (excluding the Everglades/
Southern Florida coastal plain
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ecoregion), Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
These states offer climate and
agricultural conditions that favor
cultivation of EHECs. If experience in
these states indicates expansion of the
EHEC program is warranted, additional
states may be assessed in subsequent
environmental reviews. DOE is
proposing to use the EPA’s Level II
ecoregions (also known as ‘‘ecological
regions’’) to assess common and
different potential environmental
impacts of the proposed action.
Ecoregions are determined based on the
presence or absence of common flora,
fauna, and non-living ecosystems
characteristics. The EPA Level II
ecoregions are presented on the EPA’s
‘‘Ecoregions Maps and GIS Resources’’
Web page at: https://www.epa.gov/wed/
pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level II.
Alternatives
The PEIS will evaluate the range of
reasonable implementation alternatives.
DOE will consider a range of plant
characteristics and engineered
modifications when analyzing the
potential environmental impacts of each
alternative at the ecoregion level. The
plant characteristics to be considered
include, but are not limited to, potential
for existing compatible relatives in the
region, means of pollination, level of
domestication, weediness and
competitiveness, toxicity, alternative
commercial uses, nativity and range,
persistence in the environment,
agricultural planting cycles and inputs
(water, fertilizers, pesticides), and fire
hazard potential. DOE is considering the
following alternatives:
• Development-scale Confined Field
Trials (up to 5 acres). This scale is small
in size and common for testing whether
a plant will grow under agricultural
conditions.
• Pilot-scale Confined Field Trials
(up to 250 acres). Pilot-scale field trials
begin to experiment with an engineered
plant in a larger sized area and inform
decisions of whether to proceed to
demonstration-scale. Pilot-scale field
trials could involve multiple growers at
multiple smaller non-contiguous
locations.
• Demonstration-scale Confined Field
Trials (up to 15,000 acres).
Demonstration-scale field trials test
whether crops are commercially viable.
This is the estimated acreage of EHECs
necessary to demonstrate a hypothetical,
small-scale, commercial ethanol plant.
Demonstration-scale field trials could
involve multiple growers at multiple
smaller non-contiguous locations.
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• No Action Alternative. Under the
No Action Alternative, DOE would not
provide financial assistance for the
development and implementation of
EHEC programs. Although some privatesector field trials involving EHEC crops
may be undertaken under permits
issued by APHIS, for purposes of the noaction analysis DOE assumes that
development of EHEC crops would
occur slowly or in an uncoordinated
fashion, and that wide-scale commercial
deployment would not occur.
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Preliminary Environmental Issues for
Consideration
DOE issued a public Request for
Information (RFI) (DE–FOA–0000908)
on April 12, 2013 soliciting input
regarding concerns about and barriers to
the development of EHECs (including
potential environmental impacts), such
as those crops being investigated under
the ARPA–E PETRO program and
potential future DOE programs.
Responses were submitted by
individuals, academic/research
institutions and laboratories,
environmental and health organizations,
and industry groups. Responses focused
on potential environmental issues such
as: invasiveness, lifecycle greenhouse
gas emissions, agricultural runoff; the
potential for EHECs to compete with
food and feed crops; specific plants to
consider for EHEC programs; issues
with the location, duration, and scale of
field trials; the desirable environmental
and commercial traits of EHECs; and
specific agencies and organizations DOE
should engage while developing EHEC
programs. DOE considered the
comments received from the RFI in
developing this NOI.
DOE proposes to address the
environmental issues listed below. This
list is not intended to be comprehensive
or to provide a predetermined set of
potential impacts. DOE invites
comments on whether the following
resource areas and impacts are
appropriate to be addressed in this PEIS.
The preliminary list of potentially
affected resources or activities and their
related environmental issues includes:
• Biological resources: including
potential impacts to vegetation, wildlife,
threatened or endangered species,
migratory birds, ecologically sensitive
habitats, alteration in weediness
characteristics (invasiveness),
biodiversity, and susceptibility to
disease or insects;
• Water resources: including surface
water, groundwater, soil hydrology,
sedimentation, runoff, and erosion;
• Cultural and historic resources;
• Floodplains and wetlands;
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• Socioeconomic resources: including
food and feed crop supplies and prices,
schools, housing, public services,
employment, and local revenues;
• Transportation;
• Air quality: including regional air
quality;
• Greenhouse gas emissions and
climate change;
• Land use: including agriculture,
farmland availability, recreation, timber
harvesting, grazing, and soils;
• Environmental justice: including
potential for disproportionately high
and adverse impacts on minority and
low-income populations;
• Noise;
• Wilderness areas;
• Wild and scenic rivers;
• Wildfires;
• Visual resources;
• Human health and safety;
• Terrorism and accidents; and
• Cumulative impacts: for each
alternative, DOE will assess potential
effects that could result from the
incremental impacts of the action when
added to other past, present, and
reasonably foreseeable future actions,
including potential impacts from
commercial deployment and use of
EHECs.
Public Scoping Process and Invitation
To Comment
Scoping Process: This NOI initiates
the scoping process under NEPA, which
helps guide the development of the
Draft PEIS. To ensure that all issues
related to the proposed action are
addressed, DOE requests comments to
further delineate the scope, including
alternatives and potential
environmental issues. Interested
government agencies, American Indian
tribes, private-sector organizations, and
the general public are encouraged to
submit comments or suggestions on the
scope of the PEIS. DOE is particularly
interested in receiving comments on the
proposed action, such as: suggestions
for reasonable alternatives; the
environmental issues to be considered
in the PEIS; methods for assessing the
common and unique impacts of
confined field trials in different
ecoregions; and comments concerning
the proposed scale of confined field
trials. DOE encourages the submission
of scientific data, studies, or research to
support comments.
DOE will conduct in-person and webbased scoping meetings to solicit input
on the potential issues, concerns, and
alternatives of the PEIS:
• July 9, 2013—Lexington Convention
Center, 430 West Vine Street,
Lexington, KY
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37535
• July 10, 2013—Mississippi e-Center at
Jackson State University (Convention
Hall), 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson,
MS
• July 11, 2013—Raleigh Convention
Center, 500 S. Salisbury Street,
Raleigh, NC
DOE will also host one web-based
scoping meeting on July 17, 2013 from
3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Information about the web-based
meeting, how to register, and to sign up
to provide comments, as well as
information about the scoping meetings
and comment instructions are provided
on the PEIS Web site: https://engineere
dhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
The in-person scoping meetings will
include a poster session from 5:00 to
6:45 p.m. for the public to view exhibits
related to the project and to talk with
subject matter experts, followed by an
open forum to provide oral comments
from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The open forum
will begin with a presentation that will
provide an overview of the project and
the NEPA process and then the formal
commenting session will begin. All oral
comments will be transcribed by a court
reporter to ensure that all comments are
available to DOE for consideration
during preparation of the Draft PEIS.
Comments will be accepted at the
scoping meetings, by mail, by email,
and electronically through the online
comment form on the PEIS Web site:
https://engineeredhighenergycrops
PEIS.com (see ADDRESSES). DOE will
give equal consideration to oral and
written comments.
The scoping period will end July 22,
2013. Comments should be submitted
by that date to ensure consideration (see
ADDRESSES). DOE will consider
comments emailed or postmarked after
that date to the extent practicable.
Personally Identifiable Information:
Personally identifiable information,
such as address, telephone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information submitted in
comments may become publicly
available during the PEIS process.
Individual commenters may choose to
withhold personally identifiable
information from their comments on the
PEIS.
PEIS Schedule and Availability: DOE
will consider public scoping comments
in preparing the Draft PEIS. After
consideration of comments, DOE will
issue the Draft PEIS for public review.
The EPA will publish a notice of
availability of the Draft PEIS in the
Federal Register, which will begin a
public comment period of at least 45
days. DOE will announce the methods
for commenting on the Draft PEIS, and
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Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 120 / Friday, June 21, 2013 / Notices
will hold at least one public hearing.
DOE will consider public comments on
the Draft PEIS and respond as
appropriate in the Final PEIS. No sooner
than 30 days following publication in
the Federal Register of the EPA’s notice
of availability of the Final PEIS, DOE
will issue a Record of Decision
regarding the proposed action.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 14th day of
June, 2013.
Cheryl Martin,
Deputy Director for Commercialization,
Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013–14724 Filed 6–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Northern New
Mexico
Department of Energy.
Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
This notice announces a
combined meeting of the Environmental
Monitoring and Remediation
Committee, Waste Management
Committee, and Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant Ad Hoc Committee of the
Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board (EM SSAB),
Northern New Mexico (known locally as
the Northern New Mexico Citizens’
Advisory Board [NNMCAB]). The
Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub.
L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that
public notice of this meeting be
announced in the Federal Register.
DATES: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 2:00
p.m.–4:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: NNMCAB Conference
Room, 94 Cities of Gold Road, Pojoaque,
NM 87506.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Menice Santistevan, Northern New
Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board, 94
Cities of Gold Road, Santa Fe, NM
87506. Phone (505) 995–0393; Fax (505)
989–1752 or Email:
menice.santistevan@nnsa.doe.gov.
SUMMARY:
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the Board: The purpose of
the Board is to make recommendations
to DOE–EM and site management in the
areas of environmental restoration,
waste management, and related
activities.
Purpose of the Environmental
Monitoring and Remediation Committee
(EM&R): The EM&R Committee provides
a citizens’ perspective to NNMCAB on
current and future environmental
remediation activities resulting from
historical Los Alamos National
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Laboratory operations and, in particular,
issues pertaining to groundwater,
surface water and work required under
the New Mexico Environment
Department Order on Consent. The
EM&R Committee will keep abreast of
DOE–EM and site programs and plans.
The committee will work with the
NNMCAB to provide assistance in
determining priorities and the best use
of limited funds and time. Formal
recommendations will be proposed
when needed and, after consideration
and approval by the full NNMCAB, may
be sent to DOE–EM for action.
Purpose of the Waste Management
(WM) Committee: The WM Committee
reviews policies, practices and
procedures, existing and proposed, so as
to provide recommendations, advice,
suggestions and opinions to the
NNMCAB regarding waste management
operations at the Los Alamos site.
Purpose of the Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP) Ad Hoc Committee: The
WIPP Ad Hoc Committee is preparing a
recommendation on priorities at WIPP.
The committee will be disbanded upon
completion of the draft
recommendation.
Tentative Agenda
1. 2:00 p.m. Approval of Agenda
2. 2:05 p.m. Approval of Minutes of
June 12, 2013
3. 2:10 p.m. Old Business
• Consideration and Action on Draft
Recommendation 2013–06 for Los
Alamos National Laboratory
Cleanup
4. 2:15 p.m. New Business
• Update on Draft Recommendation
2013–08 for Space Concerns at the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant—Ad Hoc
Committee Members: Gerard
Martinez, Carlos Valdez, Stephen
Schmelling
• Discussion of Committee Work
Plans for Fiscal Year 2014
5. 2:40 p.m. Update from Executive
Committee—Carlos Valdez, Chair
6. 2:50 p.m. Update from DOE—Lee
Bishop, Deputy Designated Federal
Officer
7. 3:00 p.m. Presentation by Menice
Santistevan, NNMCAB Executive
Director
• NNMCAB Processes and Procedures
8. 3:45 p.m. Public Comment Period
9. 4:00 p.m. Adjourn
Public Participation: The NNMCAB’s
Committees welcome the attendance of
the public at their combined committee
meeting and will make every effort to
accommodate persons with physical
disabilities or special needs. If you
require special accommodations due to
a disability, please contact Menice
Santistevan at least seven days in
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advance of the meeting at the telephone
number listed above. Written statements
may be filed with the Committees either
before or after the meeting. Individuals
who wish to make oral statements
pertaining to agenda items should
contact Menice Santistevan at the
address or telephone number listed
above. Requests must be received five
days prior to the meeting and reasonable
provision will be made to include the
presentation in the agenda. The Deputy
Designated Federal Officer is
empowered to conduct the meeting in a
fashion that will facilitate the orderly
conduct of business. Individuals
wishing to make public comments will
be provided a maximum of five minutes
to present their comments.
Minutes: Minutes will be available by
writing or calling Menice Santistevan at
the address or phone number listed
above. Minutes and other Board
documents are on the Internet at:
https://www.nnmcab.energy.gov/.
Issued at Washington, DC, on June 17,
2013.
LaTanya R. Butler,
Deputy Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013–14860 Filed 6–20–13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6405–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Methane Hydrate Advisory Committee
Office of Fossil Energy,
Department of Energy.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
AGENCY:
This notice announces a
meeting of the Methane Hydrate
Advisory Committee. The Federal
Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–
463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that notice of
these meetings be announced in the
Federal Register.
DATES: Tuesday, July 16, 2013, 12:45
p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (EDT)—Registration,
1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EDT)—Meeting.
ADDRESSES: U.S. Department of Energy,
Forrestal Building, Room 3G–043, 1000
Independence Ave. SW., Washington,
DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lou
Capitanio, U.S. Department of Energy,
Office of Oil and Natural Gas, 1000
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585. Phone: (202)
586–5098.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of the Committee: The
purpose of the Methane Hydrate
Advisory Committee is to provide
advice on potential applications of
methane hydrate to the Secretary of
Energy, and assist in developing
SUMMARY:
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37533-37536]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14724]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement for Engineered High Energy Crop Programs, Southeastern United
States
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
and conduct public scoping meetings.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Advanced Research
Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announces its intent to prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and conduct public
scoping meetings to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of
DOE's proposed action to implement one or more programs to catalyze the
development and demonstration of engineered high energy crops (EHECs).
EHECs are agriculturally-viable photosynthetic species containing
genetic material that has been intentionally introduced through
biotechnology, interspecific hybridization, or other engineering
processes (excluding processes that occur in nature without human
intervention), and specifically engineered to produce more energy per
acre by producing fuel molecules that can be introduced easily into
existing energy infrastructure.
EHECs include those being developed under the ARPA-E Plants
Engineered to Replace Oil (PETRO) program. A main component of the
proposed EHEC programs would be providing financial assistance for
field trials to evaluate the performance of EHECs. Confined field
trials may range in size and could include development-scale (up to 5
acres), pilot-scale (up to 250 acres), or demonstration-scale (up to
15,000 acres). All necessary permits, such as from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS), would be obtained before initiating confined field trials.
This PEIS will assess the potential environmental impacts of such
confined field trials in the southeastern United States.
DATES: DOE invites comments on the proposed scope of this PEIS from all
interested parties. The scoping period for this PEIS starts with the
publication of this notice and continues through July 22, 2013. DOE
will consider all comments submitted electronically or postmarked by
July 22, 2013. Comments submitted after this date will be considered to
the extent practicable.
DOE will conduct scoping meetings to solicit input on the issues,
concerns, and alternatives of the PEIS. Poster sessions will be hosted
at each location from 5:00 to 6:45 p.m., followed by an open forum to
receive comments from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The scoping meetings will be
held:
July 9, 2013--Lexington Convention Center, 430 West Vine
Street, Lexington, KY
July 10, 2013--Mississippi e-Center at Jackson State
University (Convention Hall), 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson, MS
July 11, 2013--Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S. Salisbury
Street, Raleigh, NC
DOE will also host one web-based meeting on July 17, 2013 from 3:00
to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Details regarding the scoping meetings,
including how to participate in the web-based meeting, are provided
under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION and on the PEIS Web site: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
ADDRESSES: Written comments may be submitted by any of the following
methods:
PEIS Web site: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
Email: comments@engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
Mail: Dr. Jonathan Burbaum, Program Director, ARPA-E, U.S.
Department of Energy, ATTN: EHEC PEIS, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Mailstop-950-8043, Washington, DC 20585. Note: Comments submitted by
U.S. Postal Service may be delayed by mail screening.
This Notice of Intent (NOI), the Draft PEIS, and the Final PEIS
will be posted on the DOE National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Web
site at https://energy.gov/nepa. These documents and additional
materials relating to this PEIS will also be available on the PEIS Web
site at: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For more information on the PEIS or to
be added to the PEIS distribution list, contact Dr. Jonathan Burbaum,
Program Director, by one of the methods described in the ADDRESSES
section, or by telephone at (202) 287-5453.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-54), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585, or telephone at (202) 586-4600, voicemail at (800) 472-2756, or
email at askNEPA@hq.doe.gov. Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication (Braille, large print, audio tape,
etc.) should contact (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EHEC PEIS (DOE/EIS-0481) is being
prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requirements, the Council on
Environmental Quality's NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and
DOE's NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021).
DOE has prepared this NOI to inform interested parties of the
planned PEIS and scoping meetings, and to invite public comments on the
proposed action, reasonable alternatives for program implementation,
and the range of environmental issues to be considered in the PEIS. DOE
will consult with interested American Indian Tribes and federal, state,
regional and local agencies during preparation of the PEIS. In
addition, DOE invites agencies with jurisdiction by law or special
expertise to participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of
this PEIS.
Background
DOE's mission and strategic goals include promoting U.S. energy
security by providing reliable, clean, and affordable energy and
strengthening U.S. technological leadership and economic
competitiveness through advancements in science and technology. ARPA-
E's goals include enhancing U.S. economic and energy security through
the development of advanced energy technologies that reduce imports of
foreign oil, reduce energy-related emissions, and ensure that the U.S.
maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced
energy technologies. A core aspect of ARPA-E's mission is to expedite
the timeline for bringing technologies to market. The proposed
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programs aim to deploy EHECs that produce more energy per acre and
produce fuel molecules that require little or no processing prior to
being introduced into existing energy infrastructure (e.g., refineries,
pipelines, and vehicles), thus promoting agriculturally-derived fuels
that are cost-competitive with petroleum-based fuels. Programs that
catalyze the deployment of EHECs to market, including development and
demonstration field trials, would further the mission and strategic
goals of DOE.
Purpose and Need for DOE Action
Present day production of biofuels is limited by the relatively
inefficient capture of solar energy and conversion of carbon dioxide
that occurs during plant photosynthesis into a ready-to-use energy
source. EHEC programs are experimenting with a variety of plants to
create molecules similar to those found in petroleum-based fuels that
will facilitate biofuel production. EHECs include those being developed
under the ARPA-E PETRO program. Successful EHEC programs can advance
the environmentally responsible deployment of biofuels produced by, or
through the processing of, engineered plants to provide cost-effective,
large-scale, and renewable substitute fuels.
The purpose and need for agency action is to facilitate the
deployment of EHECs through funding programs that support research,
development, and demonstration of EHECs up to commercial scale. In the
absence of DOE funding and support for EHEC programs, scientific
understanding and innovation in the responsible use of EHEC crops and,
ultimately, commercial deployment of EHECs would develop more slowly or
not at all. Accordingly, DOE needs to take action to catalyze the
development and deployment of EHEC crops.
Proposed Action
DOE proposes to develop and implement one or more programs to
catalyze the development and deployment of EHECs. A main component of
these programs would be providing financial assistance to recipients,
such as research institutions, independent contract growers, or
commercial entities, for conducting confined field trials to test the
effectiveness of EHECs. Confined field trials are experiments to
evaluate the performance of a crop that are conducted under stringent
terms and conditions designed to confine the experimental crop.
Confined field trials may range in size and could include development-
scale (up to 5 acres), pilot-scale (up to 250 acres), or demonstration-
scale (up to 15,000 acres). Confined field trials are essential to test
the viability of EHECs under real field conditions in local
environments. Engineered crops within confined field trials are grown
only after obtaining regulatory permits that identify procedures to
limit or prevent the unintentional spread and establishment of the
crop. Specifically, funding recipients would need to acquire a permit
from the USDA APHIS before initiating each confined field trial. To
acquire an APHIS permit, a funding recipient would need to prepare a
permit application that provides detailed information about the nature
of the crops to be introduced and the conditions that would be used to
prevent the spread and establishment of the crop in the environment.
Following a careful review of the permit application and a project-
specific review of the proposed permitting action under NEPA, APHIS may
determine to issue a permit for the proposed confined field trial. The
funding recipients could then carry out the confined field trial in
accordance with the terms and conditions of the APHIS permit and
applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.
Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, regulates the
planting, food, and feed use of transgenic plants into which genetic
material has been inserted that imparts pesticidal properties. The Food
and Drug Administration, under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act, regulates transgenic food and feed crops or products from
transgenic crops that may come in contact with food. Analyses from this
PEIS would inform these permit applications as well.
Examples of EHECs that may be used in confined field trials
include, but are not limited to, crops being investigated under ARPA-
E's PETRO program such as genetically engineered varieties of camelina,
loblolly pine, tobacco, giant cane, sugarcane, miscanthus, sorghum, and
switchgrass. For additional information regarding ARPA-E's PETRO
program and the specific technologies being investigated in PETRO
projects, visit the PETRO program Web site at: https://arpa-e.energy.gov/?q=arpa-e-programs/petro.
This PEIS will assess the potential environmental impacts of
confined field trials in the southeastern United States. DOE's proposed
action under this PEIS will be limited to the states of Alabama,
Florida (excluding the Everglades/Southern Florida coastal plain
ecoregion), Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. These states offer climate and
agricultural conditions that favor cultivation of EHECs. If experience
in these states indicates expansion of the EHEC program is warranted,
additional states may be assessed in subsequent environmental reviews.
DOE is proposing to use the EPA's Level II ecoregions (also known as
``ecological regions'') to assess common and different potential
environmental impacts of the proposed action. Ecoregions are determined
based on the presence or absence of common flora, fauna, and non-living
ecosystems characteristics. The EPA Level II ecoregions are presented
on the EPA's ``Ecoregions Maps and GIS Resources'' Web page at: https://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/ecoregions/na_eco.htm#Level II.
Alternatives
The PEIS will evaluate the range of reasonable implementation
alternatives. DOE will consider a range of plant characteristics and
engineered modifications when analyzing the potential environmental
impacts of each alternative at the ecoregion level. The plant
characteristics to be considered include, but are not limited to,
potential for existing compatible relatives in the region, means of
pollination, level of domestication, weediness and competitiveness,
toxicity, alternative commercial uses, nativity and range, persistence
in the environment, agricultural planting cycles and inputs (water,
fertilizers, pesticides), and fire hazard potential. DOE is considering
the following alternatives:
Development-scale Confined Field Trials (up to 5 acres).
This scale is small in size and common for testing whether a plant will
grow under agricultural conditions.
Pilot-scale Confined Field Trials (up to 250 acres).
Pilot-scale field trials begin to experiment with an engineered plant
in a larger sized area and inform decisions of whether to proceed to
demonstration-scale. Pilot-scale field trials could involve multiple
growers at multiple smaller non-contiguous locations.
Demonstration-scale Confined Field Trials (up to 15,000
acres). Demonstration-scale field trials test whether crops are
commercially viable. This is the estimated acreage of EHECs necessary
to demonstrate a hypothetical, small-scale, commercial ethanol plant.
Demonstration-scale field trials could involve multiple growers at
multiple smaller non-contiguous locations.
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No Action Alternative. Under the No Action Alternative,
DOE would not provide financial assistance for the development and
implementation of EHEC programs. Although some private-sector field
trials involving EHEC crops may be undertaken under permits issued by
APHIS, for purposes of the no-action analysis DOE assumes that
development of EHEC crops would occur slowly or in an uncoordinated
fashion, and that wide-scale commercial deployment would not occur.
Preliminary Environmental Issues for Consideration
DOE issued a public Request for Information (RFI) (DE-FOA-0000908)
on April 12, 2013 soliciting input regarding concerns about and
barriers to the development of EHECs (including potential environmental
impacts), such as those crops being investigated under the ARPA-E PETRO
program and potential future DOE programs. Responses were submitted by
individuals, academic/research institutions and laboratories,
environmental and health organizations, and industry groups. Responses
focused on potential environmental issues such as: invasiveness,
lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, agricultural runoff; the potential
for EHECs to compete with food and feed crops; specific plants to
consider for EHEC programs; issues with the location, duration, and
scale of field trials; the desirable environmental and commercial
traits of EHECs; and specific agencies and organizations DOE should
engage while developing EHEC programs. DOE considered the comments
received from the RFI in developing this NOI.
DOE proposes to address the environmental issues listed below. This
list is not intended to be comprehensive or to provide a predetermined
set of potential impacts. DOE invites comments on whether the following
resource areas and impacts are appropriate to be addressed in this
PEIS. The preliminary list of potentially affected resources or
activities and their related environmental issues includes:
Biological resources: including potential impacts to
vegetation, wildlife, threatened or endangered species, migratory
birds, ecologically sensitive habitats, alteration in weediness
characteristics (invasiveness), biodiversity, and susceptibility to
disease or insects;
Water resources: including surface water, groundwater,
soil hydrology, sedimentation, runoff, and erosion;
Cultural and historic resources;
Floodplains and wetlands;
Socioeconomic resources: including food and feed crop
supplies and prices, schools, housing, public services, employment, and
local revenues;
Transportation;
Air quality: including regional air quality;
Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change;
Land use: including agriculture, farmland availability,
recreation, timber harvesting, grazing, and soils;
Environmental justice: including potential for
disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low-income
populations;
Noise;
Wilderness areas;
Wild and scenic rivers;
Wildfires;
Visual resources;
Human health and safety;
Terrorism and accidents; and
Cumulative impacts: for each alternative, DOE will assess
potential effects that could result from the incremental impacts of the
action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable
future actions, including potential impacts from commercial deployment
and use of EHECs.
Public Scoping Process and Invitation To Comment
Scoping Process: This NOI initiates the scoping process under NEPA,
which helps guide the development of the Draft PEIS. To ensure that all
issues related to the proposed action are addressed, DOE requests
comments to further delineate the scope, including alternatives and
potential environmental issues. Interested government agencies,
American Indian tribes, private-sector organizations, and the general
public are encouraged to submit comments or suggestions on the scope of
the PEIS. DOE is particularly interested in receiving comments on the
proposed action, such as: suggestions for reasonable alternatives; the
environmental issues to be considered in the PEIS; methods for
assessing the common and unique impacts of confined field trials in
different ecoregions; and comments concerning the proposed scale of
confined field trials. DOE encourages the submission of scientific
data, studies, or research to support comments.
DOE will conduct in-person and web-based scoping meetings to
solicit input on the potential issues, concerns, and alternatives of
the PEIS:
July 9, 2013--Lexington Convention Center, 430 West Vine
Street, Lexington, KY
July 10, 2013--Mississippi e-Center at Jackson State
University (Convention Hall), 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson, MS
July 11, 2013--Raleigh Convention Center, 500 S. Salisbury
Street, Raleigh, NC
DOE will also host one web-based scoping meeting on July 17, 2013
from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Information about the web-based
meeting, how to register, and to sign up to provide comments, as well
as information about the scoping meetings and comment instructions are
provided on the PEIS Web site: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com.
The in-person scoping meetings will include a poster session from
5:00 to 6:45 p.m. for the public to view exhibits related to the
project and to talk with subject matter experts, followed by an open
forum to provide oral comments from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The open forum
will begin with a presentation that will provide an overview of the
project and the NEPA process and then the formal commenting session
will begin. All oral comments will be transcribed by a court reporter
to ensure that all comments are available to DOE for consideration
during preparation of the Draft PEIS. Comments will be accepted at the
scoping meetings, by mail, by email, and electronically through the
online comment form on the PEIS Web site: https://engineeredhighenergycropsPEIS.com (see ADDRESSES). DOE will give equal
consideration to oral and written comments.
The scoping period will end July 22, 2013. Comments should be
submitted by that date to ensure consideration (see ADDRESSES). DOE
will consider comments emailed or postmarked after that date to the
extent practicable.
Personally Identifiable Information: Personally identifiable
information, such as address, telephone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information submitted in comments may become
publicly available during the PEIS process. Individual commenters may
choose to withhold personally identifiable information from their
comments on the PEIS.
PEIS Schedule and Availability: DOE will consider public scoping
comments in preparing the Draft PEIS. After consideration of comments,
DOE will issue the Draft PEIS for public review. The EPA will publish a
notice of availability of the Draft PEIS in the Federal Register, which
will begin a public comment period of at least 45 days. DOE will
announce the methods for commenting on the Draft PEIS, and
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will hold at least one public hearing. DOE will consider public
comments on the Draft PEIS and respond as appropriate in the Final
PEIS. No sooner than 30 days following publication in the Federal
Register of the EPA's notice of availability of the Final PEIS, DOE
will issue a Record of Decision regarding the proposed action.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 14th day of June, 2013.
Cheryl Martin,
Deputy Director for Commercialization, Advanced Research Projects
Agency--Energy.
[FR Doc. 2013-14724 Filed 6-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
