52228 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 195 / Friday, October 9, 2009 / Notices 

1The amount requested for the loan guarantee is 

not being disclosed at this time because it is 

business sensitive. Moreover, should DOE approve 

a loan guarantee, the amount may differ from the 

original request. 

the proposed priorities, requirements, 

definitions, and selection criteria would 

be limited to paperwork burden related 

to preparing an application and that the 

benefits of implementing these 

proposals would outweigh any costs 

incurred by applicants. 

Participation in this program is 

voluntary. For this reason, the proposed 

priorities, requirements, definitions, and 

selection criteria would impose no 

burden on small entities in general. 

Eligible applicants would determine 

whether to apply for funds, and have 

the opportunity to weigh the 

requirements for preparing applications, 

and any associated costs, against the 

likelihood of receiving funding and the 

requirements for implementing projects 

under the program. Eligible applicants 

most likely would apply only if they 

determine that the likely benefits exceed 

the costs of preparing an application. 

The likely benefits include the potential 

receipt of a grant as well as other 

benefits that may accrue to an entity 

through its development of an 

application, such as the use of that 

application to spur educational reforms 

and improvements without additional 

Federal funding. 

The U.S. Small Business 

Administration Size Standards defines 

as ‘‘small entities’’ for-profit or 

nonprofit institutions with total annual 

revenue below $7,000,000 or, if they are 

institutions controlled by small 

governmental jurisdictions (that are 

comprised of cities, counties, towns, 

townships, villages, school districts, or 

special districts), with a population of 

less than 50,000. The Urban Institute’s 

National Center for Charitable Statistics 

reported that of 203,635 nonprofit 

organizations that had an educational 

mission and reported revenue to the IRS 

by July 2009, 200,342 (or about 98 

percent) had revenues of less than $5 

million. In addition, there are 12,484 

LEAs in the country that meet the 

definition of small entity. However, the 

Secretary believes that only a small 

number of these entities would be 

interested in applying for funds under 

this program, thus reducing the 

likelihood that the proposals contained 

in this notice would have a significant 

economic impact on small entities. 

In addition, the Secretary believes 

that the proposed priorities, 

requirements, definitions, and selection 

criteria discussed in this notice do not 

impose any additional burden on small 

entities applying for a grant than they 

would face in the absence of the 

proposed action. That is, the length of 

the applications those entities would 

submit in the absence of the regulatory 

action and the time needed to prepare 

an application would likely be the same. 

Further, the proposed action may help 

small entities determine whether they 

have the interest, need, or capacity to 

implement activities under the program 

and, thus, prevent small entities that do 

not have such an interest, need, and 

capacity from absorbing the burden of 

applying. 

This proposed regulatory action 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on small entities once they 

receive a grant because they would be 

able to meet the costs of compliance 

using the funds provided under this 

program and with any matching funds 

provided by private-sector partners. 

The Secretary invites comments from 

small nonprofit organizations and small 

LEAs as to whether they believe this 

proposed regulatory action would have 

a significant economic impact on them 

and, if so, requests evidence to support 

that belief. 

Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. One of the objectives of the 

Executive order is to foster an 

intergovernmental partnership and a 

strengthened federalism. The Executive 

order relies on processes developed by 

State and local governments for 

coordination and review of proposed 

Federal financial assistance. 

This document provides early 

notification of our specific plans and 

actions for this program. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. If you have questions about 

using PDF, call the U.S. Government 

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 

1–888–293–6498; or in the Washington, 

DC, area at (202) 512–1530. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: October 6, 2009. 

Arne Duncan, 

Secretary of Education. 

[FR Doc. E9–24387 Filed 10–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for a 

Proposed Federal Loan Guarantee To 

Support Construction and Start-up of 

the Taylorville Energy Center in 

Taylorville, IL 

AGENCY: Department of Energy, Loan 

Guarantee Program. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement and 

conduct a public scoping meeting. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) pursuant to the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as 

amended (NEPA), the Council on 

Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA 

regulations, and the DOE NEPA 

implementing procedures to assess the 

potential environmental impacts for its 

proposed action of issuing a Federal 

loan guarantee to Christian County 

Generation, L.L.C. (CCG) (DOE/EIS– 

0430). CCG submitted an application to 

DOE under the Federal loan guarantee 

program pursuant to the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) to support 

construction and start-up of the 

Taylorville Energy Center in Taylorville, 

Illinois (‘‘the Facility’’).1

CCG is a limited liability company 

that is currently owned by Tenaska 

Taylorville, LLC, an affiliate of Tenaska, 

Inc., an Omaha, Nebraska-based power 

development company, and by MDL 

Holding Company, L.L.C. of Louisville, 

Kentucky. CCG proposes to develop the 

Facility on an 886-acre parcel of land. 

As proposed, the approximately 730 

megawatt (gross) electric generation 

Facility would utilize integrated 

gasification combined-cycle technology 

to produce electricity from Illinois 

bituminous coal. Synthesis gas 

processing would also allow the 

separation and capture of carbon 

dioxide (CO2) and the manufacture of 

pipeline-quality Substitute Natural Gas 

(‘‘SNG’’ or ‘‘methane’’). SNG would be 

used in a power block with two 

combustion turbines and one steam 

turbine. The Facility would be designed 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 195 / Friday, October 9, 2009 / Notices 52229 

such that surplus SNG can be 

transported offsite to an interstate 

pipeline for sale. The Facility would 

capture at least 50 percent of the CO2

and over 99 percent of the sulfur 

compounds that would otherwise be 

emitted. The CO2 stream would be 

compressed and delivered at the 

fenceline to another party for pipeline 

transport to enhanced oil recovery 

operations and geologic storage. CCG is 

also studying the feasibility of geologic 

storage of CO2 in the vicinity of the site. 

The EIS will evaluate the potential 

impacts of the issuance of a DOE Loan 

Guarantee for CCG’s proposed project 

and the range of reasonable alternatives. 

The purpose of this Notice of Intent is 

to inform the public about DOE’s 

proposed action; invite public 

participation in the EIS process; 

announce plans for a public scoping 

meeting; and solicit public comments 

for consideration in establishing the 

scope and content of the EIS. DOE 

invites those agencies with jurisdiction 

by law or special expertise to be 

cooperating agencies. 

DATES: To ensure that all of the issues 

related to this proposal are addressed, 

DOE invites comments on the proposed 

scope and content of the EIS from all 

interested parties. Comments must be 

postmarked or emailed by November 9, 

2009 to ensure consideration. Late 

comments will be considered to the 

extent practicable. In addition to 

receiving written comments (see 

ADDRESSES below), DOE will conduct a 

public scoping meeting in the vicinity of 

the proposed Facility at which 

government agencies, private-sector 

organizations, and the general public are 

invited to provide comments or 

suggestions with regard to the 

alternatives and potential impacts to be 

considered in the EIS. The date, time, 

and location of the public scoping 

meeting will be announced in local 

news media and on the DOE Loan 

Guarantee Program’s ‘‘NEPA Public 

Involvement’’ Web site (http:// 

www.lgprogram.energy.gov/NEPA– 

2.html) at least 15 days prior to the date 

of the meeting. 

ADDRESSES: Public comments can be 

submitted electronically or by U.S. Mail. 

Written comments on the proposed EIS 

scope should be addressed to: Ms. 

Angela Colamaria, Loan Guarantee 

Program Office (CF–1.3), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Please submit 

one signed original paper copy. 

Electronic submission of comments is 

encouraged due to processing time 

required for regular mail. Comments can 

be submitted electronically by sending 

an email to: TEC-EIS@hq.doe.gov. All 

electronic and written comments should 

reference Project No. DOE/EIS–0430. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information about this 

EIS, the public scoping meeting, or to 

receive a copy of the draft EIS when it 

is issued, contact Angela Colamaria by 

telephone: 202–287–5387; toll-free 

number: 800–832–0885 ext. 75387; or 

electronic mail: 

Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov. For 

general information on the DOE NEPA 

process, please contact: Ms. Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; telephone: 202– 

586–4600; facsimile: 202–586–7031; 

electronic mail: askNEPA@hq.doe.gov; 

or leave a toll-free message at 800–472– 

2756. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

EPAct 2005 established a Federal loan 

guarantee program for eligible energy 

projects that employ innovative 

technologies. Title XVII of EPAct 2005 

authorizes the Secretary of Energy to 

make loan guarantees for a variety of 

types of projects, including those that 

‘‘avoid, reduce, or sequester air 

pollutants or anthropogenic emissions 

of greenhouse gases; and employ new or 

significantly improved technologies as 

compared to commercial technologies in 

service in the United States at the time 

the guarantee is issued.’’ A principal 

goal of the loan guarantee program is to 

encourage commercial use in the United 

States of new or significantly improved 

energy-related technologies. DOE 

believes that accelerated commercial 

use of these new or improved 

technologies will help to sustain 

economic growth, yield environmental 

benefits, and produce a more stable and 

secure energy supply. 

Purpose and Need for Agency Action 

CCG submitted a Part I application to 

DOE for a loan guarantee on December 

19, 2008, and submitted a Part II 

application on March 23, 2009. The 

purpose and need for agency action is 

to comply with DOE’s mandate under 

Title XVII of EPAct 2005 by selecting 

eligible projects that meet the goals of 

the Act. DOE is using the NEPA process 

to assist in determining whether to issue 

a loan guarantee to CCG to support the 

proposed project. 

Proposed Action 

DOE’s proposed action is to issue a 

loan guarantee to CCG to support the 

construction and start-up of the 

Taylorville Energy Center in Taylorville, 

Illinois. 

The site of the proposed Facility 

consists of an 886-acre parcel of land 

located in Taylorville, Illinois. Of the 

886 acres, CCG currently owns or 

controls via option agreements 713 

acres, and is attempting to option 

approximately 173 additional, 

contiguous acres. The site and 

additional acreage to be acquired is 

bounded by County Road E1700N on 

the north, State Road 48 (and the 

Norfolk Southern Railroad) on the east, 

farmland on the south, and County Road 

N1400E on the west. 

As proposed, the Facility would 

manufacture pipeline quality SNG from 

Illinois bituminous coal and produce 

electricity utilizing integrated 

gasification combined-cycle technology. 

The Facility is expected to use 7,500 

tons of coal per day (2.5 million tons of 

coal annually). The primary water 

supply would be municipal treated 

effluent from a local sanitary district. 

The Facility is expected to contribute 

2 billion kilowatt-hours per year to the 

electric grid system. SNG would be used 

to fuel a power block with two 

combustion turbines and one steam 

turbine. The amount of SNG produced 

may exceed the requirements of the 

power block under certain operating 

conditions. The Facility would be 

designed such that surplus SNG can be 

transported offsite to an interstate 

pipeline for sale. 

The Facility would capture at least 50 

percent of the CO2 and over 99 percent 

of the sulfur compounds that would 

otherwise be emitted. The CO2 stream 

would be compressed and delivered at 

the fenceline to another party for 

pipeline transport to enhanced oil 

recovery operations and geologic storage 

at a location to be determined by the offtaker. CCG is also studying the 

feasibility of geologic storage in the 

vicinity of the site using the Mt. Simon 

formation. 

Supporting infrastructure and 

facilities would include local access 

roads, rail interconnections, water 

supply and wastewater pipelines, CO2

pipelines, a natural gas pipeline, and a 

high voltage transmission line to 

connect the Facility to the electric grid 

system. Rail access to the site would be 

provided by construction of a rail 

connection to the Norfolk Southern 

Railroad east of the site. Coal may also 

be delivered by truck. Approximately 6 

miles of County Road E1700N would be 

reconstructed and enhanced to 80,000 

lbs. gross vehicle weight standards. DOE 

plans to analyze the impacts of 

construction and operation of the 

mstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES

52230 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 195 / Friday, October 9, 2009 / Notices 

supporting infrastructure and facilities 

in the EIS. 

The Facility would eliminate process 

wastewater entirely through use of 

water treatment, recycling, and zero 

liquid discharge systems. Solid waste 

(slag) and sulfur, by-products from the 

process, would be sold as a commercial 

product, disposed of onsite, or 

transported offsite for disposal at a nonhazardous, solid waste landfill. The 

construction work force would peak at 

up to 1,500 construction workers over a 

4-year period. The Facility would be 

operated and maintained by a staff of 

approximately 145 employees and 

contractors. 

Coal gasification and electric 

generation components of the Facility 

would be constructed on approximately 

70 acres of the site. The site is currently 

used for agriculture (row crops), is 

surrounded by farmland, and is zoned 

for industrial and agricultural use. The 

coal gasification and electric generation 

components of the Facility are entirely 

within property that is zoned for 

industrial use. In addition, several 

hundred acres of Prime Farmland 

within the 886-acre parcel could be 

affected by the construction of the 

Facility. Preliminary assessments 

indicate that the footprint of the 

proposed facility would not affect any 

wetlands or floodplains. In the event 

that further analysis indicates that 

wetlands or floodplains would be 

affected, DOE will prepare a floodplain 

and wetland assessment in accordance 

with its regulations at 10 CFR part 1022 

and include the assessment in the EIS. 

Alternatives 

In determining the range of reasonable 

alternatives to be considered in the EIS 

for the proposed CCG Facility, DOE 

identified the reasonable alternatives 

that would satisfy the underlying 

purpose and need for agency action. 

DOE currently plans to analyze in detail 

the project proposed by CCG and the no 

action alternative. DOE will also analyze 

design options available to CCG within 

the scope of the project (e.g., various 

methods for disposition of slag and 

sulfur and transportation of coal) and 

mitigation measures as appropriate. 

Under the no action alternative, DOE 

would not provide the loan guarantee 

for the CCG project and the project 

would not be constructed as part of the 

DOE loan guarantee program. This 

option would not contribute to the 

Federal loan guarantee program goals to 

make loan guarantees for energy projects 

that ‘‘avoid, reduce, or sequester air 

pollutants or anthropogenic emissions 

of greenhouse gases; and employ new or 

significantly improved technologies.’’ 

Preliminary Identification of 

Environmental Issues 

The following environmental resource 

areas have been tentatively identified 

for consideration in the EIS. This list is 

neither intended to be all-inclusive nor 

a predetermined set of potential 

environmental impacts: 

• Air quality; 

• Greenhouse gas emissions and 

climate change; 

• Energy use and production; 

• Water resources, including 

groundwater and surface waters; 

• Wetlands and floodplains; 

• Geological resources; 

• Ecological resources, including 

threatened and endangered species and 

species of special concern; 

• Cultural resources, including 

historic structures and properties; sites 

of religious and cultural significance to 

tribes; and archaeological resources; 

• Land use; 

• Visual resources and aesthetics; 

• Transportation and traffic; 

• Noise and vibration; 

• Hazardous materials and solid 

waste management; 

• Human health and safety; 

• Accidents and terrorism; 

• Socioeconomics, including impacts 

to community services; 

• Environmental justice. 

DOE invites comments on whether 

other resource areas or potential issues 

should be considered in the EIS. 

Public Scoping Process 

To ensure that all issues related to 

DOE’s proposed action are addressed, 

DOE seeks public input to define the 

scope of the EIS. The public scoping 

period will begin with publication of 

the NOI and end on November 9, 2009. 

Interested government agencies, privatesector organizations, and the general 

public are encouraged to submit 

comments concerning the content of the 

EIS, issues and impacts to be addressed 

in the EIS, and alternatives that should 

be considered. Scoping comments 

should clearly describe specific issues 

or topics that the EIS should address to 

assist DOE in identifying significant 

issues. Comments must be postmarked 

or e-mailed by November 9, 2009 to 

ensure consideration. (See ADDRESSES

above). Late comments will be 

considered to the extent practicable. 

DOE invites those agencies with 

jurisdiction by law or special expertise 

to be cooperating agencies. 

A public scoping meeting will be held 

at a date, time, and location to be 

determined. Notice of this meeting will 

be provided in local news media and on 

the DOE Loan Guarantee Program’s 

‘‘NEPA Public Involvement’’ Web site 

(http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov/ 

NEPA–2.html) at least 15 days prior to 

the date of the meeting. Members of the 

public and representatives of groups 

and Federal, State, local, and tribal 

agencies are invited to attend. The 

meeting will include both a formal 

opportunity to present oral comments 

and an informal session during which 

DOE and CCG personnel will be 

available for discussions with attendees. 

Displays and other forms of information 

about the proposed agency action, the 

EIS process, and the CCG proposed 

Facility will also be available for review. 

DOE requests that anyone who wishes 

to present oral comments at the meeting 

contact Ms. Colamaria by phone or email (see ADDRESSES above). Individuals 

who do not make advance arrangements 

to speak may register at the meeting. 

Speakers who need more than five 

minutes should indicate the length of 

time desired in their request. DOE may 

need to limit speakers to five minutes 

initially, but will provide additional 

opportunities as time permits. Written 

comments regarding the scoping process 

can also be submitted to DOE officials 

at the scoping meeting. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on October 6, 

2009. 

Steve Isakowitz, 

Chief Financial Officer, Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer. 

[FR Doc. E9–24422 Filed 10–8–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[ER–FRL–8598–2] 

Environmental Impact Statements and 

Regulations; Availability of EPA 

Comments 

Availability of EPA comments 

prepared pursuant to the Environmental 

Review Process (ERP), under section 

309 of the Clean Air Act and Section 

102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 

Policy Act as amended. Requests for 

copies of EPA comments can be directed 

to the Office of Federal Activities at 

202–564–7146 or http://www.epa.gov/ 

compliance/nepa/. 

An explanation of the ratings assigned 

to draft environmental impact 

statements (EISs) was published in FR 

dated July 17, 2009 (74 FR 34754). 

Draft EISs 

EIS No. 20090038, ERP No. D–COE– 

K35045–CA, PROGRAMMATIC—Los 

Angeles Regional Dredge Material 

Management Plan, Develop a Longmstockstill on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with NOTICES