Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2004 / Notices 6013

17 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

18 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).

19 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).

subject to automatic execution by April 

30, 2005 (i.e., 15 months from January 

2004), thus, the ultimate timetable that 

ROT Limit Orders in all options on the 

Exchange would be subject to automatic 

execution would be unchanged. 

Accordingly, the Commission finds 

good cause, pursuant to section 19(b)(2) 

of the Act,17 for approving the proposed 

rule change, as amended, prior to the 

30th day after the date of publication of 

notice thereof in the Federal Register.

V. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

section 19(b)(2) of the Act,18 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–Phlx–2004–

01), as amended, is hereby approved on 

an accelerated basis.

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated 

authority.19

Margaret H. McFarland, 

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 04–2647 Filed 2–6–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P

TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Paradise-Wilson 500-kV Transmission 

System Upgrades

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

SUMMARY: This notice is provided in 

accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s regulations (40 

CFR 1506.6), Section 106 of the National 

Historic Preservation Act and its 

implementing regulations (36 CFR part 

800) and the Tennessee Valley 

Authority (TVA) procedures for 

implementing the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). TVA 

will prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) addressing the proposed 

construction and operation of a new 

500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and 

other transmission system upgrades in 

Kentucky and Tennessee. The proposed 

transmission line would extend from 

TVA’s Paradise Fossil Plant in 

Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, to 

TVA’s Wilson 500-kV Substation in 

Wilson County, Tennessee. Depending 

on the route, the proposed line could 

involve portions of Muhlenberg, Butler, 

Simpson, Warren, Logan, Allen, and 

Ohio Counties in Kentucky and parts of 

Robertson, Sumner, and Wilson 

Counties in Tennessee. Proposed 

transmission system upgrades include 

uprating 52 miles of TVA’s ParadiseMontgomery 500-kV line from 2000 

amps to 3000 amps and the replacement 

of conductors (i.e., wires) on 

approximately 6 miles of TVA’s WilsonGladeville 161-kV transmission line. In 

the EIS, TVA will evaluate the potential 

environmental impacts of the 

construction, operation, and 

maintenance of the new line and other 

system upgrades. As part of its EIS 

process, TVA will include public 

involvement on this proposal. Public 

comment is invited concerning both the 

scope of the EIS and environmental 

issues that should be addressed as a part 

of this EIS.

DATES: Comments on the scope and 

environmental issues for the EIS must 

be postmarked or e-mailed no later than 

March 26, 2004, to ensure 

consideration. Late comments will be 

considered if possible.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be sent to James F. Williamson, Jr., 

Senior NEPA Specialist, Environmental 

Policy and Planning, Tennessee Valley 

Authority, WT 8C, 400 West Summit 

Hill Drive, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902–

1499. Comments may be e-mailed to 

jfwilliamson@tva.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Hugh S. Barger, Environmental 

Engineer, Transmission/Power Supply, 

Tennessee Valley Authority, MR 4G–C, 

1101 Market Street, Chattanooga, 

Tennessee 37402–2801, or telephone 1–

800–362–4355. E-mail may be sent to 

hsbarger@tva.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background 

Peabody Energy Corporation plans to 

construct and operate the Thoroughbred 

Energy Campus, which would consist of 

a 1,500 megawatt power plant and mine 

complex, in northern Muhlenberg 

County, Kentucky. The Federal Power 

Act, as amended, requires operators of 

transmission systems to provide 

interconnection access to independent 

power generators. Peabody has 

requested interconnection to the TVA 

power transmission system and would 

use the TVA transmission system to 

distribute as much as half of the 1,500 

megawatts of electric power generated 

by the Thoroughbred plant. Because 

interconnection service would be 

provided at Peabody’s request, Peabody 

will reimburse TVA for the cost of 

necessary upgrades to its transmission 

system. The planned upgrades are 

necessary to accommodate Peabody’s 

request and maintain the reliability of 

the TVA transmission system. 

Project Description 

In order to interconnect to the TVA 

transmission system, Peabody Energy 

Corporation would construct and 

operate a new 13-mile-long 500-kV 

transmission line from the 

Thoroughbred plant to the switchyard at 

TVA’s Paradise Fossil Plant. To 

maintain reliability of its transmission 

system, TVA would construct and 

operate a new 500-kV transmission line 

from TVA’s Paradise Fossil Plant to 

TVA’s Wilson 500-kV substation located 

about 10 miles west of Lebanon, 

Tennessee. This proposed line would 

likely be about 90 miles long, depending 

on the final route alignment. Neither 

detailed routing studies nor line design 

studies have yet been conducted. The 

Kentucky portion of the proposed line 

route is primarily rural, consisting of 

forested areas, reclaimed strip mines, 

and scattered agriculture. The 

Tennessee portion contains developing 

suburban areas along with mixed 

agricultural land uses. The line would 

likely be built using self-supporting, 

laced steel towers on 175-foot-wide 

right-of-way. The structure type, rightof-way characteristics, and line length 

remain to be determined and could 

change when additional information is 

gathered. 

Line construction would require 

removal of trees within the line right-ofway as well as any other nearby tall 

trees that would endanger the safe 

operation of the line.

Construction of the support structures 

would require the excavation of 

foundations for the tower legs. Cranes 

and other heavy equipment would be 

needed for tower construction and to 

pull the electrical conductors into place. 

After construction, the disturbed areas 

would be restored, and the right-of-way 

would be maintained periodically to 

control the growth of tall vegetation that 

could endanger the line. A detailed 

description of these activities, as well as 

applicable and appropriate 

environmental protection measures, will 

be provided in the EIS. 

TVA also proposes to upgrade 

portions of two of its existing 

transmission lines. The 52-mile-long 

Paradise-Montgomery 500-kV 

transmission line would be uprated 

from 2000 amps to 3000s amps by retensioning the line (i.e., removing 

excess slack to allow adequate clearance 

between the conductors and the 

ground). This line is located in 

Muhlenberg and Todd Counties, 

Kentucky, and in Montgomery County, 

Tennessee. Also, the electrical 

conductors would be replaced on about 

6 miles of the Wilson-Gladeville 161-kV 

6014 Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 26 / Monday, February 9, 2004 / Notices 

transmission line in Wilson County, 

Tennessee. Acquisition of new right-ofway would not be necessary for either 

of these two upgrades. 

After the completion of scoping, TVA 

will begin detailed line routing studies 

using maps, aerial photography, and 

other relevant data. When the studies 

have progressed sufficiently, potentially 

affected landowners will be contacted 

directly, and additional field surveys 

will be conducted. 

Proposed Issues To Be Addressed 

The EIS will contain descriptions of 

the existing environmental and 

socioeconomic resources within the area 

that would be affected by construction 

and operation of the proposed 

transmission line and upgrades. TVA’s 

evaluation of potential environmental 

impacts to these resources will include, 

but will not necessarily be limited to, 

the potential impacts on water quality, 

aquatic and terrestrial ecology, 

endangered and threatened species, 

wetlands, aesthetics and visual 

resources, land use, historic and 

archaeological resources, and 

socioeconomic resources. 

Alternatives 

The results of evaluating the potential 

environmental impacts and other 

important issues identified in the 

scoping process, as well as engineering 

and economic considerations, will be 

used by TVA in selecting a preferred 

alternative. At this time, the range of 

alternatives TVA has identified for 

detailed evaluation include: (1) No 

action; and (2) construction and 

operation of a 500-kV transmission line 

from Paradise Fossil Plant to the Wilson 

500-kV Substation, along with upgrades 

to existing lines. As additional analyses 

are conducted, TVA contemplates that 

alternative routes within the study 

corridor from Paradise to the Wilson 

Substation will be identified and 

evaluated in detail. The no action 

option is included as an alternative 

consistent with applicable regulations 

implementing NEPA. Because TVA is 

legally required to provide 

interconnection service to Peabody, the 

no action alternative is not a feasible 

option. 

Scoping Process 

Scoping, which is integral to the 

process for implementing NEPA, is a 

procedure that solicits public input to 

the EIS process to ensure that: (1) Issues 

are identified early and studied 

properly; (2) issues of little significance 

do not consume substantial time and 

effort; (3) the draft EIS is thorough and 

balanced; and, (4) delays caused by an 

inadequate EIS are avoided. TVA’s 

NEPA procedures require that the 

scoping process commence soon after a 

decision has been reached to prepare an 

EIS in order to provide an early and 

open process for determining the scope 

of the analysis and for identifying the 

significant issues related to a proposed 

action. The range of alternatives and the 

issues to be addressed in the draft EIS 

will be determined, in part, from written 

comments submitted by mail or e-mail 

and comments presented orally or in 

writing at public meetings. The 

preliminary identification of reasonable 

alternatives and environmental issues in 

this notice is neither exhaustive nor 

final. The scoping process will include 

both interagency and public scoping. 

The public is invited to submit written 

comments or e-mail comments on the 

scope of this EIS no later than the date 

given under the DATES section of this 

notice. 

TVA will conduct three public 

scoping meetings within the project 

study area. Dates and locations of the 

meetings are: 

• February 24, 4–8 p.m.—Butler 

County High School, 2247 South Main 

Street, Morgantown, Kentucky. 

• February 25, 3–7 p.m.—FranklinSimpson County School Central Office, 

Board Room, 400 S. College Street, 

Franklin, Kentucky. 

• March 2, 3–7 p.m.—Gallatin Civic 

Center, Room 101, 210 Albert Gallatin 

Avenue, Gallatin, Tennessee. 

At each meeting, TVA management 

and project staff will present overviews 

of the proposed transmission line 

project and the EIS process, answer 

questions, and solicit comments on the 

issues that the public would like 

addressed in the EIS. These meetings 

will be publicized through notices in 

local newspapers, by TVA press releases 

to newspapers and radio stations in the 

study area, and on the TVA Web site 

(http://www.tva.gov/environment/

calendar.htm). 

The agencies to be included in the 

interagency scoping are U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, Kentucky Department 

for Environmental Protection, Kentucky 

State Historic Preservation Officer, 

Tennessee Department of Environment 

and Conservation, Tennessee State 

Historic Preservation Officer, and other 

federal, state, and local agencies, as 

appropriate. 

After consideration of the scoping 

comments, TVA will identify any 

additional alternatives and 

environmental issues to be addressed in 

the EIS. Following analysis of the 

environmental consequences of each 

alternative, TVA will prepare a draft EIS 

for public review and comment. Notice 

of availability of the draft EIS will be 

published by the Environmental 

Protection Agency in the Federal 

Register. TVA will solicit written 

comments on the draft EIS, and 

information about possible public 

meetings to comment on the draft EIS 

will be announced. TVA expects to 

release a draft EIS by fall 2004 and a 

final EIS by summer of 2006.

Dated: February 2, 2004. 

Kathryn J. Jackson, 

Executive Vice President, River System 

Operations and Environment.

[FR Doc. 04–2703 Filed 2–6–04; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8120–08–U

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Docket No. AB–55 (Sub-No. 645X)] 

CSX Transportation, Inc.—

Abandonment Exemption—in Floyd 

County, KY 

CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT) has 

filed a notice of exemption under 49 

CFR 1152 subpart F—Exempt 

Abandonments to abandon 

approximately 9.1 miles of railroad 

between milepost COQ–1.0 at McNalley 

and milepost COQ–10.1 near East 

David, in Floyd County, KY. The line 

traverses United States Postal Service 

Zip Codes 41653 and 41616. The 

stations on the line are located at 

McNally, Samson, Joyce, Marie, 

Permele, Beverly Ann and David. 

CSXT has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least 2 years; (2) there is no overhead 

traffic on the line; (3) no formal 

complaint filed by a user of rail service 

on the line (or by a state or local 

government entity acting on behalf of 

such user) regarding cessation of service 

over the line either is pending with the 

Surface Transportation Board (Board) or 

with any U.S. District Court or has been 

decided in favor of complainant within 

the 2-year period; and (4) the 

requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 

(environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 

(historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 

(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment and discontinuance shall 

be protected under Oregon Short Line R. 

Co.—Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 

91 (1979). To address whether this 

condition adequately protects affected