27718 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 101 / Thursday, May 25, 1995 / Notices

Dated: May 19, 1995.

Darrel L. Kenops,

Forest Supervisor.

[FR Doc. 95–12824 Filed 5–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M

Rural Utilities Service

Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc.;

Draft Supplemental Environmental

Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft

supplemental environmental impact

statement.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) are issuing a Draft Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement

(DSEIS) related to Seminole Electric

Cooperative, Inc.’s, (Seminole) proposed

Hardee Unit 3. The DSEIS is a

supplement to the Final Environmental

Impact Statement issued in January

1991 by the Rural Electrification

Administration (predecessor of RUS),

with EPA, and the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission as cooperating

agencies, for their actions related to the

Hardee Power Station. Hardee Unit 3

would increase the originally proposed

ultimate output of the Hardee Power

Station from 660 megawatts (MW) to

880 MW.

RUS’s federal action related to Hardee

Unit 3 would be providing a loan

guarantee to Seminole to cover the cost

of project construction. EPA’s federal

action related to Hardee Unit 3 has, to

date, been the preparation of the draft

National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) permit

needed to operate the new unit.

However, on May 1, 1995, EPA

authorized the State of Florida to

administer the NPDES Permit Program

(with EPA program oversight retained).

As such, EPA’s role as an NPDES

permitting agency has changed and EPA

no longer has a direct federal action

related to the proposed Hardee Unit 3.

With program authorization, the NPDES

permitting decision now is a state action

as opposed to an EPA federal action.

The notice for the Draft NPDES permit

will be issued by the State of Florida.

Despite program authorization, EPA

nevertheless remains a cooperating

agency to RUS for the DSEIS and will

also have a role in the RUS National

Environmental Policy Act process for

Hardee Unit 3 by providing review and

comment on the DSEIS and Final

Supplemental Environmental Impact

Statement for Hardee Unit 3 via its

responsibilities pursuant to Section 309

of the Clean Air Act. The draft NPDES

permit is Appendix A to the DSEIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. Lawrence R. Wolfe, Chief,

Environmental Compliance Branch,

Electric Staff Division, Rural Utilities

Service, Ag. Box 1569, Washington, DC

20250, Telephone (202) 720–1784, Fax

(202) 720–7491.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DSEIS

for Hardee Unit 3 covers the

construction and operation of 440 MW

of additional generating capacity to be

installed at the existing 1,300-acre

Hardee Power Station site. The Hardee

Power Station site is located in Hardee

and Polk counties approximately 9

miles northwest of Wauchula, 16 miles

south-southwest of Bartow, and 40

miles east of Tampa Bay. The site is

bordered on the east by Hardee County

Road 663, a CSX Railroad right-of-way,

and CF Industries’ Hardee Complex.

IMC-Agrico properties surround the

remaining portions of the site. Payne

Creek flows along the southern and

western boundary of the Hardee Power

Station site. The proposed Hardee Unit

3 would occupy approximately 50 acres

of this site.

As proposed in the Final

Environmental Impact Statement for the

Hardee Power Station, Hardee Power

Partners has constructed and operates

295 MW of generation capacity at the

Hardee Power Station and proposes an

additional 145 MW of generation

capacity there by the year 2003 for use

by Seminole. Seminole originally

proposed to construct and operate an

additional 220 MW at the Hardee Power

Station at a future date to be

determined. That addition, along with

Hardee Power Partners’ 145 MW

addition, would have increased the

existing 295 MW Hardee Power Station

capacity to 660 MW. Seminole now

proposes in the DSEIS to construct 440

MW of additional capacity at the Hardee

Power Station at a specified date, 1999,

instead of the originally proposed 220

MW addition at an unspecified date. As

now proposed, the Hardee Power

Station Site would be made up of a total

of 880 MW of capacity when completed.

The proposed Hardee Unit 3 would

consist of natural gas fired combustion

turbines utilizing heat recovery steam

generators that will operate efficiently

by recovering heat from the combustion

turbines. Fuel oil would be used as a

backup source of fuel. These are the

same type of generators already

installed at the Hardee Power Station

(295 MW) and the same type proposed

for future installation (145 MW) at the

site by Hardee Power Partners. The

natural gas would be transported via an

existing 18 inch diameter, underground

gas pipeline connected to the Florida

Gas Transmission System to the Hardee

Power Station. Three existing 230

kilovolt transmission lines would be

utilized to connect Hardee Unit 3 into

the Florida transmission grid.

Alternatives to the project as

proposed included no action, design

alternatives, alternative fuels, and

conservation.

Seminole has provided RUS with a

Site Certification Application/

Environmental Analysis for Hardee Unit

3 which is the primary support

document used by RUS to develop its

DSEIS. RUS has concluded that the Site

Certification Application/

Environmental Analysis for Hardee Unit

3 represents an accurate assessment of

the potential environmental impacts

related to the proposed project. The

Hardee Unit 3 Site Certification

Application/Environmental Analysis

has been incorporated by reference into

the DSEIS and is available for

inspection by interested parties at RUS

or Seminole at the addresses provided

in this notice. That document, along

with the DSEIS, will also be available

for review at the following libraries:

Bartow Public Library, 315 E. Parker

Street, Bartow, Florida 33830

Hardee County Library, 315 N. 6th

Avenue, Suite 114, Wauchula, Florida

33837.

Anyone wishing to comment on the

DSEIS should do so in writing within

the 45-day comment period to RUS at

the appropriate address provided in this

notice. All comments received during

the comment period will be given

consideration in the formulation of the

Final Supplemental Environmental

Impact Statement for Hardee Unit 3.

(Oral responses submitted by telephone

will be considered, but it is

recommended that comments be

submitted in writing.) A copy of each

written comment and a summary of

each oral comment received will be

included in the Final Supplemental

Environmental Impact Statement.

Notice of availability of the DSEIS and

the 45-day comment period is being

published in the Federal Register by

RUS and EPA. Seminole will have a

notice similar to this one published in

newspapers of general circulation in the

proposed project area. As it is possible

that RUS, EPA, and Seminole’s notices

will not appear on the same date, the

45-day comment period will begin on

the date the latest notice (RUS, EPA or

Seminole’s) is published. Questions

concerning the closing date of the 45-

day comment period should be referred
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 101 / Thursday, May 25, 1995 / Notices 27719

to Mr. Lawrence Wolfe at (202) 720–

1784.

Dated: May 22, 1995.

Adam M. Golodner,

Deputy Administrator, Program Operations.

[FR Doc. 95–12884 Filed 5–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–M

South Mississippi Electric Power

Association; Notice of Intent To Hold

Scoping Meeting and Prepare an

Environmental Assessment and/or

Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to hold scoping

meeting and prepare an environmental

assessment and/or environmental

impact statement.

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that

the Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

formerly the Rural Electrification

Administration, pursuant to the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),

the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ) Regulations for Implementing

NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500–1508), and

RUS Environmental Policies and

Procedures (7 CFR Part 1794) may

prepare an Environmental Assessment

and/or an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) for its Federal action

related to a proposal by South

Mississippi Electric Power Association

(SMEPA) to construct additional natural

gas-fired generating capacity. RUS will

provide project approval and may

provide financing assistance to SMEPA

for project construction costs.

DATES: RUS will conduct a scoping

meeting in an open house forum from 6

p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday June

28, 1995.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in

SMEPA’s Headquarters conference

center at 7037 U.S. Highway 49 in

Hattiesburg, Mississippi.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Lawrence R. Wolfe, Chief,

Environmental Compliance Branch,

Rural Utilities Service, Room 1246

South Agriculture Building, Mail Code

1569, Washington, DC 20250, telephone

(202) 720–1784.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: South

Mississippi Electric Power Association

proposes to construct additional gasfired generating capacity at its Moselle

Station on Jones County. The Moselle

Station is located approximately 2 miles

west of Interstate 59 on Highway 589.

The proposed additions would consist

of a 100 megawatt (MW) simply cycle

combustion turbine and repowering an

existing 59 MW steam electric generator

with a 120 MW combined cycle

combustion turbine. Other facilities

include two 161 kilovolt bays that

would be added to the Moselle

Substation. The alternate site for the

simple cycle combustion turbine is

SMEPA’s Morrow Station in Lamar

County.

Alternatives to be considered by RUS

and SEPA include: (a) No action, (b)

demand-side reduction, (c) purchased

power from other utilities or

independent power producers and (d)

alternative sites.

To be presented at the public scoping

meeting will be the Combustion Turbine

Project Alternative Analysis and Siting

Study (Study) prepared by SMEPA. The

Study is available for public review at

RUS and SMEPA at the addresses

provided in this notice.

The Study can also be reviewed at the

Hattiesburg Public Library, Main Street,

Hattiesburg, the office of Dixie Electric

Power Association, Highway 84 East,

Laurel, and the office of Pearl River

Valley Electric Power Association,

Highway 13 North, Columbia.

Government agencies, private

organizations, and the public are invited

to participate in the planning and

analysis of the proposed project.

Representatives from RUS and SMEPA

will be available to discuss RUS’

environmental review process, describe

the project and alternatives under

consideration, discuss the scope of

environmental issues to be considered,

answer questions, and accept oral and

written comments. Written comments

will be accepted for at least 30 days after

the June 28 public scoping meeting.

Written comments should be sent to

RUS at the address provided in this

notice.

From information provided in the

Study, input from government agencies,

private organizations, and the public,

SMEPA will prepare an environmental

analysis to be submitted to RUS for

review. If significant effects are not

evident based on a review of the

environmental analysis and other

relevant information, RUS will prepare

an environmental assessment to

determine if the preparation of an EIS is

warranted.

Should RUS determine that the

preparation of an EIS is not warranted,

it will prepare a finding of no significant

impact (FONSI). The FONSI will be

made available for public review and

comment for 30 days. RUS will not take

its final action related to the project

prior to the expiration of the 30-day

period.

Any final action by RUS related to the

proposed project will be subject to, and

contingent upon, compliance with all

relevant Federal environmental laws

and regulations and completion of

environmental procedures as prescribed

by CEQ and RUS environmental policies

and procedures.

Dated: May 22, 1995.

Adam M. Golodner,

Deputy Administrator—Program Operations.

[FR Doc. 95–12855 Filed 5–24–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–M

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Foreign-Trade Zones Board

[Docket 24–95]

Foreign-Trade Zone 115, Beaumont,

TX; Proposed Foreign-Trade Subzone;

Mobil Corporation (Oil Refinery

Complex), Jefferson/Liberty Counties,

Texas

An application has been submitted to

the Foreign-Trade Zones Board (the

Board) by the Foreign-Trade Zone of

Southeast Texas, Inc., grantee of FTZ

115, requesting special-purpose subzone

status for the oil refinery complex of

Mobil Corporation, located in Jefferson/

Liberty Counties (Beaumont area),

Texas. The application was submitted

pursuant to the provisions of the

Foreign-Trade Zones Act, as amended

(19 U.S.C. 81a-81u), and the regulations

of the Board (15 CFR part 400). It was

formally filed on May 16, 1995.

The refinery complex (3,165 acres)

consists of 7 sites in Jefferson/Liberty

Counties, Texas: Site 1 (2,200 acres)—

main refinery and petrochemical

feedstock complex located along the

Neches River at End of Burt Road,

Jefferson County; Site 2 (51 acres)—

Mobil Colonial Tank Farm, located at

13300 West Port Arthur Road, Jefferson

County; Site 3 (24 acres)—Mobil Hull

underground storage facility, located

some 50 miles northwest of the refinery

at End of Mobil Road in the City of Hull

(Liberty County); Site 4 (188 acres)—

Daisetta underground petrochemical

storage facility, located some 50 miles

northwest of the refinery at End of

Bobcat Lane in the City of Daisetta

(Liberty County); Site 5 (625 acres)—

Mobil Magpetco Tank Farm, located at

State Highway 366, five miles south of

the refinery, Jefferson County; Site 6—

crude oil storage facility within the

Unocal Nederland tank farm, located at

State Highway 366, adjacent to Site 5,

Jefferson County; Site 7—crude oil

storage facility within the Sun Marine

Terminal, located at State Highway 347,

adjacent to Site 6, Jefferson County.

The refinery (330,000 barrels per day;

1,800 employees) is used to produce