Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Notices 102871 

operations identified in the RCBA. 

Corps, Reclamation, and Bonneville also 

will work with NMFS and FWS to 

ensure compliance with the ESA, 

coordinate environmental reviews, and 

maintain protections afforded to ESAlisted species and critical habitat under 

existing environmental compliance 

documentation. 

The Co-lead agencies (and Bonneville 

when appropriate) will comply with all 

applicable statutory and regulatory 

requirements in evaluating the Proposed 

Action, including but not limited to the 

ESA, Clean Water Act, Section 106 of 

the NHPA, and Executive Orders, 

including E.O. 12898 Federal Actions to 

Address Environmental Justice in 

Minority Populations and Low-Income 

Populations and E.O. 14096 on 

Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment 

to Environmental Justice For All, and 

the recent Presidential Memorandum, 

Restoring Healthy and Abundant 

Salmon, Steelhead, and Other Native 

Fish Populations in the Columbia River 

Basin, 88 FR 67617 (October 2, 2023). 

The Co-Lead Agencies wi.ll also 

ensure government-to-government 

consultation with Tribes that honors the 

U.S. Government’s longstanding 

commitments to Tribal Nations. 

6. Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process. To the extent feasible, the CoLead Agencies will complete the SEIS in 

compliance with the deadlines and 

schedules set forth in 40 Code of 

Federal Regulations (CFR) 1501.10(b). 

The draft SEIS will be available for 

public review and comment. A 45-day 

public review period will be provided 

for interested parties and agencies to 

review and comment on this draft 

document. All interested parties are 

encouraged to respond to this Notice of 

Intent and provide a current address if 

they wish to be notified of the Draft 

SEIS circulation. The Co-Lead Agencies 

would issue a decision at the conclusion 

of the NEPA process, in accordance 

with 40 CFR 1506.10. Corps, 

Reclamation, and Bonneville would also 

determine how to proceed consistent 

with their Section 7 obligations under 

the ESA and any resulting biological 

opinions in accordance with 50 CFR 

402.15. 

7. Scoping Process/Public 

Involvement. The Co-Lead Agencies 

invite all affected Federal, State, and 

local agencies, affected Tribes, other 

interested parties, and the general 

public to participate in the NEPA 

process during development of the SEIS. 

Three (3) virtual public scoping 

meetings will be held the week of 

February 10, 2025. The specific dates, 

times, and meeting information will be 

published on the project website: 

https://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/ 

CRSO/. Additional public meetings will 

be scheduled after release of the draft 

SEIS. 

The Co-Lead Agencies are issuing this 

Notice of Intent to: (1) Advise other 

Federal and State agencies, Tribes, and 

the public of their plan to analyze 

effects related to system operations, 

maintenance and configuration; (2) 

obtain suggestions and information that 

may inform the scope of issues to 

evaluate in the SEIS; and (3) provide 

notice and request public input on 

potential effects on historic properties 

from system operations, maintenance 

and configuration due to potential 

modification of the undertaking in 

accordance with section 106 of the 

NHPA (36 CFR 800.2(d)(3) and 

800.8(c)(5)). The Co-Lead agencies will 

also identify any cooperating and 

participating agencies that the Co-Lead 

agencies may require information from 

to facilitate their future decision after 

completion of the Notice of Intent 

scoping period. 

William C. Hannan, 

Brigadier General, US Army, Division 

Commander. 

Jennifer Carrington, 

Regional Director, Columbia-Pacific 

Northwest Region, Bureau of Reclamation. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29936 Filed 12–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board, Paducah 

AGENCY: Office of Environmental 

Management, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open meeting. 

SUMMARY: This notice announces a 

meeting of the Environmental 

Management Site-Specific Advisory 

Board (EM SSAB), Paducah. The 

Federal Advisory Committee Act 

requires that public notice of this 

meeting be announced in the Federal 

Register. 

DATES: Thursday, January 16, 2025; 

5:30–7 p.m. CST. 

ADDRESSES: West Kentucky Community 

and Technical College, Emerging 

Technology Center, Room 215, 5100 

Alben Barkley Drive, Paducah, 

Kentucky 42001. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert ‘‘Buz’’ Smith, Federal 

Coordinator, by Phone: (270) 441–6821 

or Email: Robert.Smith@pppo.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of the Board: The purpose of 

the Board is to provide advice and 

recommendations concerning the 

following EM site-specific issues: cleanup activities and environmental 

restoration; waste and nuclear materials 

management and disposition; excess 

facilities; future land use and long-term 

stewardship. The Board may also be 

asked to provide advice and 

recommendations on any EM program 

components. 

Tentative Agenda: 

• Administrative Activities 

• Public Comment Period 

Public Participation: The meeting is 

open to the public. The EM SSAB, 

Paducah will make every effort to 

accommodate persons with physical 

disabilities or special needs. If you 

require special accommodations due to 

a disability, please contact Robert ‘‘Buz’’ 

Smith in advance of the meeting. The 

Department of Energy will hear oral 

public comments during the meeting. A 

15-minute public comment period will 

take place at the end of the agenda. 

Individual oral comments are to be 

limited to two minutes per speaker to 

ensure time for all who wish to speak. 

Written statements may be filed either 

before or after the meeting. Written 

comments submitted by 5 p.m. CST on 

Friday, January 24, 2025, will be 

included in the minutes. Please submit 

written comments to Zachery Boyarski 

at Zachary.Boyarski@pppo.gov with 

‘‘Public Comment’’ in the subject line. 

The Deputy Designated Federal Officer 

is empowered to conduct the meeting in 

a fashion that will facilitate the orderly 

conduct of business. 

Minutes: Minutes will be available by 

writing or calling Eric Roberts, Board 

Support Manager, Emerging Technology 

Center, Room 221, 4810 Alben Barkley 

Drive, Paducah, KY 42001; Phone: (270) 

554–3004. Minutes will also be 

available at the following website: 

https://www.energy.gov/pppo/pgdp-cab/ 

listings/meeting-materials. 

Signing Authority: This document of 

the Department of Energy was signed on 

December 12, 2024, by Alyssa Petit, 

Deputy Committee Management Officer, 

pursuant to delegated authority from the 

Secretary of Energy. That document 

with the original signature and date is 

maintained by DOE. For administrative 

purposes only, and in compliance with 

requirements of the Office of the Federal 

Register, the undersigned DOE Federal 

Register Liaison Officer has been 

authorized to sign and submit the 

document in electronic format for 

publication, as an official document of 

the Department of Energy. This 

administrative process in no way alters 

the legal effect of this document upon 

publication in the Federal Register. 


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102872 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 243 / Wednesday, December 18, 2024 / Notices 

Signed in Washington, DC, on December 

12, 2024. 

Jennifer Hartzell, 

Alternate Federal Register Liaison Officer, 

U.S. Department of Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2024–29868 Filed 12–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Intent to Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub 

(ARCH2), (DOE/EIS–0569) 

AGENCY: Office of Clean Energy 

Demonstrations, U.S. Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement, notice 

of scoping meetings, request for 

comments. 

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 (NEPA) and 

applicable NEPA implementing 

regulations to assess the potential 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

action of providing financial assistance 

to Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle) 

to facilitate the design, construction, 

operation, and maintenance of the 

Appalachian Hydrogen Hub (also 

referred to as the Appalachian Regional 

Clean Hydrogen Hub or ARCH2) in the 

Appalachian Region including Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. DOE 

is issuing this Notice of Intent to inform 

the public about the proposed action; 

announce plans to conduct public 

scoping meetings; invite public 

participation in the scoping process; 

and solicit public comments for 

consideration in establishing the scope 

of the EIS, including the range of 

reasonable alternatives and the potential 

environmental impacts to be analyzed. 

DATES: The public scoping period for 

the EIS starts with the publication of 

this notice of intent (NOI) and ends on 

March 3, 2025. DOE will hold one 

virtual public scoping meeting at the 

following date and time (eastern time): 

• Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 6 

p.m.–8 p.m. 

DOE will hold three in-person public 

scoping meetings. Dates, times, and 

locations are to be determined and will 

be shared on the DOE’s web page for 

this EIS no less than 15 days before the 

meetings. 

All meetings are open to the public 

and free to attend. Details on how to 

participate in the virtual and in-person 

public scoping meetings are available on 

the DOE’s web page for this EIS: https:// 

www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0569- 

appalachian-hydrogen-hub-multiplelocations. In defining the scope of the 

EIS, DOE will consider all scoping 

comments received or postmarked by 

March 3, 2025. Comments received or 

postmarked after the scoping period end 

date will be considered to the extent 

practicable. 

ADDRESSES: Oral or written comments 

may be provided at the public scoping 

meetings or submitted in any of the 

following ways: 

• Through the regulations.gov web 

portal: Navigate to www.regulations.gov 

and search for Docket No. DOE–HQ– 

2024–0082 and follow the instructions 

for submitting comments. 

• Mail or Hand Delivery Service: 

Send comments in an envelope labeled 

‘‘DOE/EIS–0569’’ and addressed to TRC 

APPALACHIAN HYDROGEN HUB 

Coordinator, Teays Corporate Centre, 

135 Corporate Center Drive, Suite 540, 

Scott Depot, West Virginia 25560 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sarah Moore, Project Manager, Office of 

Clean Energy Demonstrations, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 

20585, email OCED_ARCH2_EIS@

hq.doe.gov, or telephone (202) 309– 

2037. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

In the Infrastructure Investment and 

Jobs Act, commonly known as the 

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), 

Congress directed DOE to establish a 

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs 

(H2Hubs) program to create regional 

networks of hydrogen producers, 

consumers, and local connective 

infrastructure to accelerate the use of 

hydrogen as a clean energy carrier. The 

Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations 

(OCED) within DOE is implementing the 

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs program 

and will use the NEPA process to help 

it decide whether to provide financial 

assistance for the H2Hubs. 

Congress directed DOE to select 

H2Hubs using certain criteria. 

Specifically, Congress directed DOE to 

select H2Hubs that will use a diversity 

of feedstocks to produce clean 

hydrogen, including at least one H2Hub 

that will demonstrate the production of 

clean hydrogen from fossil fuels, one 

H2Hub that will demonstrate the 

production of clean hydrogen from 

renewables, and one H2Hub that will 

demonstrate the production of clean 

hydrogen from nuclear energy. Congress 

also directed DOE to select H2Hubs that 

will use clean hydrogen in a diversity of 

end uses, including at least one H2Hub 

that will demonstrate the use of clean 

hydrogen in the following sectors: 

electric power generation, industrial, 

residential and commercial heating, and 

transportation. Congress required that 

DOE give priority to H2Hubs that are 

likely to create opportunities for skilled 

training and long-term employment to 

the greatest number of residents of the 

region. Congress also directed DOE to 

include geographic diversity, directing 

that DOE locate H2Hubs in different 

regions of the United States, and that 

the H2Hubs are to use the energy 

resources that are abundant in their 

respective regions. Congress further 

required DOE to select, to the maximum 

extent practicable, at least two H2Hubs 

in the regions of the United States with 

the greatest natural gas resources. 

DOE issued a Funding Opportunity 

Announcement (FOA–0002779) to 

solicit applications for H2Hubs. DOE 

selected the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub 

for award negotiations following a 

rigorous Merit Review process to 

identify meritorious applications to the 

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs Program 

based on the criteria listed in FOA– 

0002779. DOE has provided limited 

funding in support of preliminary 

Appalachian Hydrogen Hub planning 

activities. 

The Appalachian Hydrogen Hub, as 

proposed, satisfies certain criteria 

Congress required in the BIL for the 

Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs 

program. The Appalachian Hydrogen 

Hub has the potential to demonstrate 

the production of clean hydrogen from 

fossil fuels. The Appalachian Hydrogen 

Hub proposes to use clean hydrogen in 

a diversity of end uses, including but 

not limited to industry, power 

generation, and transportation. Further, 

the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub would 

create opportunities for skilled training 

and long-term employment for residents 

of the region. In addition, the location 

of the Appalachian Hydrogen Hub in 

the Appalachian Region that includes 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia 

meets the criterion requiring geographic 

diversity within the Regional Clean 

Hydrogen Hubs program. The 

Appalachian Hydrogen Hub also 

satisfies the criterion that DOE select a 

Hub in a region of the United States 

with the greatest natural gas resources. 

The Appalachian Hydrogen Hub is 

proposed to consist of a suite of 

demonstration projects involving clean 

hydrogen production, transportation, 

and end uses located within the 

Appalachian Region that includes Ohio, 

Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. 

Battelle is the primary funding recipient 

and lead Appalachian Hydrogen Hub 


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