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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93390-93392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27844]

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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

Johnsonville Fossil Plant Ash Impoundment Closure

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) intends to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential 
environmental effects associated with the future management of coal 
combustion residuals (CCR) material in Ash Pond 2 at the Johnsonville 
Fossil Plant (JOF) located in Humphreys County, Tennessee. This EIS 
supports the implementation of the closure of Ash Pond 2, a CCR surface 
impoundment at JOF, in a manner that is protective of human health and 
the environment. TVA's intention to prepare an EIS to address CCR 
management at JOF Ash Pond 2 was previously noticed in November 2019. 
The project was paused after completion of scoping while TVA continued 
to refine the project proposal and alternatives. This current notice is 
to reinitiate the EIS.

DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this 
Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. To ensure consideration, 
comments must be postmarked, emailed, or submitted online no later than 
December 30, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to Brittany Kunkle, NEPA 
Compliance Specialist, 400 W Summit Hill Drive, WT 11B-K, Knoxville, TN 
37902. Comments also may be submitted online at: https://www.tva.gov/nepa or by email to [email protected]. To ensure your comment is correctly 
dispositioned, please specify the project when submitting comments. 
Please note that TVA encourages comments submitted electronically.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brittany Kunkle, 865-632-6470, 
[email protected], or by mail at the address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS identification number is EISX-455-
00-000-1723542522. This notice is provided in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act

[[Page 93391]]

(NEPA) along with the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 
1500 to 1508) and associated TVA regulations and procedures (18 CFR 
part 1318), and Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) and its implementing regulations (36 CFR part 800).

Background

    The Tennessee Valley Authority is the largest public power company 
in the United States providing electricity to 153 local power 
companies, 60 direct served customers, and serving roughly 10 million 
people across seven states. TVA is founded on a mission of service, 
providing low-cost, reliable power, environmental stewardship, and 
economic development. TVA is an industry leader in responsible coal ash 
management, pioneering new technologies to ensure our sites are safe, 
secure, and protective of human health and the environment.
    JOF had ten coal-fired generating units that had a combined 
capacity of 1,254 megawatts. Units 5 through 10 ceased power generation 
in 2012 and were retired on December 31, 2015. Units 1 through 4 ceased 
operation and were retired on December 31, 2017. While in operation, 
JOF consumed approximately 3.5 million tons of coal per year and 
produced approximately 7,195 million kilowatt-hours of electricity a 
year. A portion of the CCR produced as a by-product of burning coal by 
the collective units was stored in Ash Pond 2. It is estimated that 
approximately 4.5 million cubic yards of CCR material remains in JOF 
Ash Pond 2.
    In January 2019, TVA completed the Final Johnsonville Fossil Plant 
Decontamination and Deconstruction Environmental Assessment and Finding 
of No Significant Impact (FONSI) analyzing the potential demolition of 
the JOF generating units and facilities. As a result of the retirement 
of all coal-fired generating units at JOF, CCR is no longer being 
generated and Ash Disposal Area Number 2 (Ash Pond 2) is no longer 
receiving CCR materials.
    In June 2016, TVA issued the Final Ash Impoundment Closure 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) that analyzed 
methods for closing CCR impoundments at TVA fossil plants and 
identified specific screening and evaluation factors to help frame its 
evaluation of closures at its other facilities. A Record of Decision 
was released in July 2016 that would allow future environmental reviews 
of qualifying CCR impoundment closures to tier from the PEIS. The PEIS 
can be found at https://www.tva.com/nepa. This EIS is intended to tier 
from the 2016 PEIS to evaluate the closure alternatives for the JOF Ash 
Pond 2.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    In addition to a No Action Alternative, this EIS will address 
reasonable alternatives that meet the purpose and need for the project. 
TVA plans to consider the following: (1) Closure-in-Place of Ash Pond 
2, (2) Closure-by-Removal of Ash Pond 2 to an Existing Offsite 
permitted Landfill or (3) Closure-by-Removal to an Onsite or Offsite 
Beneficial Reuse Processing Facility, with unusable CCR and excavated 
soil material going to an existing offsite permitted landfill. If 
beneficial reuse is selected, subsequent environmental analyses would 
be conducted as appropriate.
    TVA has not selected an offsite landfill for any potential disposal 
of CCR from JOF. Therefore, impacts of any potential offsite CCR 
disposal options would be based on ``bounding'' characteristics of, for 
example, CCR transport to suitable existing landfills, using 
conservative assumptions for defining the upper bound of potential 
effects. Public comments are invited concerning both the scope of the 
review and environmental issues that should be addressed.
    TVA has not made any decisions about the final disposition of CCR 
storage at JOF. TVA is preparing this EIS to inform TVA decision 
makers, other agencies, and the public about the potential for 
environmental impacts associated with the final disposition of CCR at 
JOF Ash Pond 2. Final closure decisions may be subject to change 
depending on feedback from regulatory agencies.

Project Purpose and Need

    The purpose of this project is to address the closure of Ash Pond 
2, a CCR surface impoundment at JOF. As a result of the retirement of 
all coal-fired generating units at JOF, CCR is no longer being 
generated and Ash Disposal Area Number 2 (Ash Pond 2) is no longer 
receiving CCR materials and should be closed in a manner that is 
protective of the human health and the environment. This EIS will 
address the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of various 
alternatives for permanent closure of Ash Pond 2 on the environment.

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, and 
Analyses Relevant to the Proposed Action

    Public scoping is integral to the process for implementing NEPA and 
ensures that issues are identified early and properly studied, issues 
of little significance do not consume substantial time and effort, and 
the analysis of those issues is thorough and balanced. The final range 
of issues to be addressed in the environmental review will be 
determined, in part, from scoping comments received. TVA is 
particularly interested in public input on other reasonable 
alternatives that should be considered in the EIS. The preliminary 
identification of reasonable alternatives and environmental issues in 
this notice is not meant to be exhaustive or final.

Public Participation

    TVA is committed to the meaningful involvement of our stakeholders 
and the affected communities in the decision-making process. The public 
is invited to submit comments on the scope of this EIS no later than 
the date identified in the DATES section of this notice. Federal, 
state, and local agencies and Native American Tribes are also invited 
to provide comments. Written requests by agencies or Indian tribes to 
participate as a cooperating agency or consulting party must also be 
received by this date. Any comments received, including names and 
addresses, will become part of the administrative record and will be 
available for public inspection.
    After consideration of comments received during the scoping period, 
TVA will develop and distribute a scoping document that will summarize 
public and agency comments that were received and provide a schedule 
for completing the EIS process. Following analysis of the affected 
resources, TVA will prepare a Draft EIS for public review and comment. 
A final decision on proceeding with the management and final disposal 
of CCR and closure of the Ash Pond 2 surface impoundment will be based 
on a number of factors including public input, the conclusions of the 
EIS, the requirements of the CCR Rule, relevant legal requirements, 
engineering and risk evaluations, and financial considerations. TVA's 
intention to prepare an EIS to address CCR management in JOF Ash Pond 2 
was previously noticed (84 FR 62562, November 15, 2019). The project 
was paused after completion of scoping while TVA continued to refine 
the project proposal and alternatives. Comments received during the 
previous

[[Page 93392]]

scoping period will also be considered during the development of the 
Draft EIS.
    TVA expects to release the Draft EIS in late 2025. TVA anticipates 
holding a community meeting near JOF after releasing the Draft EIS. 
Meeting details will be posted on TVA's website and advertised in local 
media. TVA expects to release the Final EIS in Summer 2026.

Michael McCall,
Vice President, Environment and Sustainability.
[FR Doc. 2024-27844 Filed 11-22-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 8120-01-P
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