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[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8047-8049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3494]

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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Department of the Army; Corps of Engineers

Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, Offshore Wind 
Demonstration Project Within the Pamlico Sound, Dare County, NC

AGENCY: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, DoD.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Wilmington District, 
Regulatory Division has received a request for Department of the Army 
authorization, pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and 
Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, from Duke Energy Carolinas, 
LLC, to construct up to three (3) power generating wind turbines within 
the Pamlico Sound and to conduct research relating to the development 
of future offshore wind energy projects. This project is located within 
a 3-mile square area located approximately 7.3 miles west of Avon and 
9.1 miles north of Frisco within the Pamlico Sound, NC. In order to 
maximize exposure to prevailing winds, the turbines will be oriented in 
a northwest to southeast

[[Page 8048]]

configuration (NW corner: Lat. 35.23.9.78 N, Long. 75.39.26.32 W/SE 
corner: Lat. 35.22.4.26 N, Long. 75.38.20.80 W). Construction will 
require barge-supported equipment to install the foundations supporting 
the turbines, rock aprons may be installed to protect the base of each 
structure, and an approximately 6-inch diameter electric cable will be 
buried within the bottom of Pamlico Sound for connection to an 
existing, land-based substation near the communities of either Avon, 
Buxton, Frisco, or Hatteras, NC. Power generated by this project would 
be supplied to the electric grid on Hatteras Island. The University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) will conduct research on the 
project to evaluate water user conflicts, ecological risks, engineering 
obstacles, and measures to mitigate the effects of the turbines on the 
public.

DATES: A public scoping meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (DEIS) will be held at the Dare County Justice Center, 962 
Marshall C. Collins Drive, Manteo, NC, on Thursday, March 18, 2010, 
beginning at 6 p.m. EST. Written comments will be received until April 
2, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Copies of comments and questions regarding scoping of the 
Draft EIS may be addressed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington 
District, Regulatory Division, ATTN: File Number SAW 2009-01880, Post 
Office Box 1000, Washington, NC 27889-1000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions about the proposed action 
and DEIS may be directed to the Regulatory Division, Mr. David Lekson, 
telephone (910) 251-4595; or Ms. Tracey Wheeler, telephone (910) 251-
4627.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC, is an investor-
owned utility that serves over 2 million customers within both North 
and South Carolina. Legislation was passed in NC to facilitate the 
development of this project and UNC completed a study on the 
feasibility of establishing wind turbines in NC's coastal waters, 
entitled Coastal Wind, Energy for North Carolina's Future, dated June 
2009. The report includes a broad-scale analysis of environmental, 
engineering, and other issues that would likely affect wind energy 
development in NC's coastal waters. The analysis took into account 
potential conflicts with birds, bats, marine mammals, threatened and 
endangered species, fisheries, geology, aviation and military use, 
recreation, commercial fishing, cultural resources, visual resources, 
and other factors. These environmental considerations were combined 
with wind power, geology and foundation analyses, and an economic 
feasibility analysis to produce a map depicting areas that are most 
suitable for wind energy development and that hold promise for future 
study.
    Duke Energy's stated purpose of the project is to construct and 
operate a demonstration wind energy facility in the coastal waters of 
North Carolina in order to evaluate the ecological risks, engineering 
obstacles, and potential mitigation measures associated with water-
based wind energy development in North Carolina. If commercial-scale 
wind energy development is deemed to be feasible, this demonstration 
project will also provide research data that can be used in development 
of future wind power projects.
    Proposed Impacts to Wetlands and Surface Waters: Issues to be 
addressed include, but are not limited to, potential adverse impacts to 
navigation, high quality tidal and non-tidal coastal wetlands, 
designated outstanding resource waters, endangered species, essential 
fish habitat, other fish and wildlife resources, military operations, 
commercial and recreational fishing interests, U.S. Coast Guard 
interests, tourism, aesthetics, and traditional and future public use 
of the Pamlico Sound.
    Scope of Investigations: Based upon the proposed impacts to 
navigable waters of the United States, including wetlands, Duke Energy 
has been advised by the USACE that an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) should be prepared for the proposed project. The scope of the EIS 
investigation will include the following: Alternatives analyses, 
Affected environment, Environmental consequences, Secondary and 
Cumulative Environmental Impacts, and Compensatory Mitigation.
    Alternatives analyses: Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations (40 CFR 1502.14(a)) require an environmental impact 
statement (EIS) to ``rigorously explore and objectively evaluate all 
reasonable alternatives'' for a proposed action. The regulations (40 
CFR 1502.14(b)) further require that substantial treatment be made of 
each alternative considered in detail, including the proposed action. 
The proposed project and a reasonable number of alternatives, including 
the no action alternative and constructing the wind turbines and 
ancillary facilities in other areas within and outside of eastern NC, 
will be evaluated and compared in the EIS. The factors used to compare 
the alternatives will be the same for each of the alternatives.
    Affected environment: CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1502.15) require the 
EIS to describe the environment of the areas to be affected or created 
by the alternatives under consideration. The data and analysis shall be 
commensurate with the importance of the impact. Based upon preliminary 
evaluation of the proposed project, it appears the primary areas of 
environmental concern will focus on navigable waters, benthic and 
water-column estuarine resources, coastal wetlands and other aquatic 
resource functions and values including mitigation of such losses.
    Environmental consequences: CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1502.16) state 
the EIS will include the environmental impacts of the alternatives 
including the proposed action, any adverse environmental effects which 
cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented, the relationship 
between short-term uses of man's environment and the maintenance and 
enhancement of long-term productivity, and any irreversible or 
irretrievable commitments of resources which would be involved in the 
proposal should it be implemented. The EIS will identify and disclose 
the direct impacts of the proposed project and study a reasonable 
number of alternatives.
    Secondary and cumulative environmental impacts: Cumulative impacts 
result from the incremental impact of the proposed action when added to 
past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions, regardless of 
what agency or person undertakes the action. Geographic information 
system data and mapping will be used to evaluate and quantify secondary 
and cumulative impacts of the proposed project with particular emphasis 
given to navigable waters, benthic and water-column estuarine 
resources, and wetlands.
    Mitigation: CEQ regulations (40 CFR 1502.14, 1502.16, and 1508.20) 
require the EIS to include appropriate mitigation measures. The USACE 
has adopted, through the CEQ, a mitigation policy which embraces the 
concepts of ``no net loss of wetlands'' and project sequencing. The 
purpose of this policy is to restore and maintain the chemical, 
biological, and physical integrity of ``Waters of the United States,'' 
specifically wetlands. Mitigation of wetland impacts has been defined 
by the CEQ to include: avoidance of impacts (to wetlands), minimizing 
impacts, rectifying impacts, reducing impacts over time, and 
compensating for impacts (40 CFR 1508.20). Each of these aspects 
(avoidance, minimization, and compensatory mitigation) must be 
considered in sequential order. As part of the EIS, the applicant will 
develop a

[[Page 8049]]

compensatory mitigation plan detailing the methodology and approach to 
compensate for unavoidable impacts to waters of the United States, 
including wetlands.
    Based on the size, complexity, and potential impacts of the 
proposed project, Duke Energy has been advised by the USACE to identify 
and disclose the environmental impacts of the proposed project in an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Within the EIS, the Applicant 
will conduct a thorough environmental review, including an evaluation 
of a reasonable number of alternatives. After distribution and review 
of the Draft EIS and Final EIS, the Applicant understands that the 
USACE will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) for the project. The ROD 
will document the completion of the EIS process and will serve as a 
basis for permitting decisions by Federal and State agencies.

Jefferson M. Ryscavage,
Colonel, EN, Commanding.
[FR Doc. 2010-3494 Filed 2-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3720-58-P
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