[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 81947-81948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-32934]
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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement on
Proposal to Transfer 710 Acres at Site of the Previously Proposed
Hartsville Nuclear Plant, Trousdale and Smith Counties, Tennessee
AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: Members of the local communities in Trousdale and Smith
Counties, Tennessee have requested TVA to transfer 710 acres (about 287
hectares) of land within the site of the formerly proposed Hartsville
Nuclear Plant to a public/private entity for industrial and office
development. TVA will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or
environmental impact statement (EIS) that assesses the impacts of the
transfer. We are inviting comments concerning the scope of the issues
and the alternatives that should be addressed in the EA/EIS.
TVA will begin by developing an EA for the proposed transfer. In
the event that information gathered or analyses conducted in preparing
this EA indicate that the proposal could have a significant impact on
the environment, the agency will prepare an EIS. If TVA decides to
prepare an EIS, the scoping process now underway for the EA will be
used for the EIS and will not be repeated.
How and When to Comment: Send written comments to Peter K.
Scheffler, Tennessee Valley Authority, 400 West Summit Hill Drive,
Knoxville, Tennessee, 37902-1499. Send comments by e-mail to
[email protected]. You may comment by telephone to TVA's automated
voice mail system at 1-800-TVA-LAND (882-5263). Mailed comments should
be postmarked no later than 30 days following publication of this
notice in the Federal Register to ensure consideration. E-mailed and
telephoned comments should be made no later than 30 days following
publication to ensure consideration.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You can find information on TVA's web
site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports. For basic project information
you can also contact Michael A. Montgomery, Tennessee Valley Authority,
P.O. Box 292409, Nashville, TN 37229-2409; 615/232-6053,;
[email protected]. For information on the environmental review, you
can contact Charles L. McEntyre, Tennessee Valley Authority, 1101
Market Street, HB 2A, Chattanooga, TN 37402-2801; 423/751-4123;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
TVA acquired 1,940 acres (about 785 hectares) of land in Trousdale
and Smith Counties, Tennessee, in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a
site on which to construct a nuclear power plant. The site is located
on the Cumberland River on the north shore of Old Hickory Reservoir at
approximate river mile 285. The town of Hartsville is about 5 miles (8
kilometers) northwest of the site, and Nashville is about 40 miles
(about 64 kilometers) southwest.
TVA prepared an EIS for the proposed nuclear plant on the proposed
nuclear plant and made it available to the public on May 23, 1975.
Following completion of the EIS, TVA began construction of the plant,
but did not complete it. TVA has used some of the buildings on the site
for storage and has leased other buildings for industrial activity.
In the years since the plant construction was discontinued, the
pace of economic growth in the counties around the site has been slow,
and high unemployment and low wages continue to be problems. Members of
the local communities have seen the largely undeveloped site of the
proposed nuclear plant as a suitable site for an industrial and office
park which would help remedy the area's economic problems. On June 5,
2000, members of the local communities and elected representatives met
with TVA to present the idea of transferring 710 acres (about 287
hectares) of the site to a public/
[[Page 81948]]
private entity for the park. The requested property lies along the
western edge of the nuclear plant site and straddles the Trousdale/
Smith County line. At the request of the communities, TVA prepared a
conceptual plan to evaluate the feasibility of the requested property
as an industrial/office park from an engineering standpoint. A copy of
the conceptual plan is shown on TVA's web site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports and can be obtained from Mr. Montgomery or Mr.
McEntyre.
Proposed Issues To Be Addressed
The EA/EIS will describe and evaluate the impact of the proposed
industrial/business park on the existing natural, cultural, and
socieconomic resources and conditions in the project vicinity. Specific
issues will include air quality, water quality, terrestrial and aquatic
life, endangered and threatened species, wetlands, floodplains,
historic and archaeological resources, (particularly historic
properties listed or eligible for listing in the National Register of
Historic Places), jobs, traffic, and existing use of the park site for
hunting and business activity.
Alternatives
The EA/EIS will evaluate the impact of reasonable alternatives. The
alternatives now being contemplated are the transfer of the 710 acres
as requested by the communities, the transfer of individual tracts when
requested for specific purposes, and the no-action alternative. TVA
will take into account the potential impacts of the alternatives on the
natural, cultural, and socioeconomic resources and conditions, together
with engineering and economic considerations, to select a preferred
alternative. The preliminary identification of reasonable alternatives
and environmental issues in this notice is not meant to be exhaustive
or final.
Scoping Process
Scoping, which is integral to the EA/EIS process, ensures that: (1)
All pertinent issues are identified early and properly studied, (2)
issues of little significance do not consume substantial time and
effort, (3) the draft EA/EIS is thorough and balanced, and (4) delays
caused by an inadequate EA/EIS are avoided. TVA's NEPA procedures
require that the scoping process begin soon after a decision is made to
prepare an EA or EIS, to provide an early and open process for
determining the scope and for identifying the significant issues
related to a proposed action.
The scoping process for this review includes specific opportunities
for both public and interagency input. In addition to this notice
requesting written comments, TVA is requesting comments by publishing a
notice in area newspaper and is placing a notice on the TVA web site at
www.tva.gov/environment/reports. Also, TVA is distributing information
to and requesting comments from the owners and operators of businesses
leasing buildings on the site, all persons who have requested permits
for hunting on the site, the landowners from whom TVA bought of the
site (who have a life estates for agricultural use of the tracts they
sold), and other parties who have expressed interest in similar TVA
activities in middle Tennessee. The public is being asked to submit
comments on the scope of this EA/EIS no later than 30 days after
publication of this notice or they receive information through one of
the other means.
TVA is also requesting comments from federal, state, and regional
agencies, and Indian tribes. The federal agencies identified at this
time for inclusion in the interagency scoping are the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. State agencies include the Tennessee
Department of Economic and Community Development, Tennessee Department
of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency,
the Tennessee State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Tennessee
Commission of Indian Affairs. Regional agencies include the Mid-
Cumberland Council of Governments, Trousdale County, Smith County, and
the towns of Hartsville and Carthage. Indian tribes include the Eastern
Band and United Keetoowah Band of the Cherokee Indians, the Cherokee
Nation of Oklahoma, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, the
Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of
Oklahoma, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Other agencies, as
appropriate and identified, will also be included.
TVA will develop and maintain a mailing list of agencies,
organizations, and other interested parties who have requested to be
included in the process. TVA will also maintain a public reference file
at its Highland Ridge Tower offices, 535 Marriott Drive, Nashville,
Tennessee, 37214, which will include copies of all written
correspondence, documents, meeting notices, agendas and summaries, etc.
After consideration of the scoping comments, TVA will develop the
sets of environmental issues and alternatives to be addressed in the
EA/EIS. Once the analysis of the environmental consequences of each
alternative is completed, TVA will issue a draft EA/EIS for public
review and comment. TVA will issue public notices announcing the
availability and requesting comments in area newspapers, post
information on its web site at www.tva.gov/environment/reports, and
provide a copy to those who request one in their comments on the scope.
If an EIS is prepared, a Notice of Availability of the draft EIS will
also be published in the Federal Register. TVA anticipates completing
the draft EA/EIS in early 2001.
If an EA is prepared, a public information meeting on the draft EA/
EIS will be held if adequate public interest in such a meeting has been
demonstrated. If an EIS is prepared, a public information meeting on
the draft will be held, with the schedule to be announced in the Notice
of Availability, the newspapers, TVA's web site, and information
accompanying the copies of the EIS sent to the public.
TVA is providing this notice pursuant to the Council on
Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR 1500 to 1508), TVA's
procedures implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, and
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its
implementing regulations (36 CFR Part 800).
Dated: December 20, 2000.
Kathryn J. Jackson,
Executive Vice President, River System Operations & Environment.
[FR Doc. 00-32934 Filed 12-26-00; 8:45 am]
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