Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 165 / Monday, August 25, 2008 / Notices 50001 

information collection documents from 

the General Services Administration, 

FAR Secretariat (VPR), Room 4041, 1800 

F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20405, 

telephone (202) 501–4755. Please cite 

OMB Control No. 9000–0144, Payment 

by Electronic Funds Transfer, in all 

correspondence. 

Dated: August 15, 2008. 

Al Matera, 

Director, Office of Acquisition Policy. 

[FR Doc. E8–19669 Filed 8–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6820–EP–S 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Notice of Wetlands Involvement for the 

Abengoa Biorefinery Project Near 

Hugoton, KS (DOE/EIS 0407) 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement, 

conduct a public scoping meeting, and 

opportunity for public comment; Notice 

of Wetlands Involvement. 

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 

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

Council on Environmental Quality 

NEPA regulations (40 Code of Federal 

Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500–1508), 

and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR 

Part 1021) to assess the potential 

environmental impacts of a project 

proposed by Abengoa Bioenergy 

Biomass of Kansas, LLC (ABBK), to 

construct and operate a biomass-toethanol and energy facility near 

Hugoton, Kansas (hereinafter termed 

‘‘Abengoa Biorefinery Project’’ or the 

‘‘Project’’). DOE’s proposed action is to 

provide cost-share Federal funding to 

ABBK to construct and operate the 

Project. DOE is issuing this Notice of 

Intent to inform the public about the 

proposed action; announce plans to 

conduct a public scoping meeting; 

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 begins 

on August 25, 2008, and will continue 

through October 9, 2008. DOE will 

consider all comments received or 

postmarked by October 9, 2008, in 

defining the scope of this EIS. 

Comments received or postmarked after 

that date will be considered to the 

extent practicable. A public scoping 

meeting will be held in Memorial Hall 

at the Stevens County Courthouse, 

Hugoton, Kansas, on September 10, 

2008 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Written and 

oral comments will be given equal 

weight. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments on the 

scope of the EIS should be directed to 

Kristin Kerwin at the U.S. Department 

of Energy Golden Field Office, 1617 

Cole Boulevard, Golden, Colorado 

80401. You may also contact Ms. 

Kerwin by telephone at 303–275–4968, 

fascimilie at 303–275–4790, or e-mail: 

kristin.kerwin@go.doe.gov. Envelopes 

and the subject line of e-mails should be 

labeled ‘‘Abengoa EIS Scoping 

Comments.’’

The public scoping meeting will be 

held on September 10, 2008 from 6 p.m. 

to 8 p.m. at the following location: 

Memorial Hall, Stevens County 

Courthouse, 200 East 6th St., Hugoton, 

Kansas 67951–2606. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on the proposed project, 

information on how to comment, or to 

receive a copy of the draft EIS when it 

is issued, contact Kristin Kerwin by any 

of the means described in the 

ADDRESSES section above. 

For further information on the DOE 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy Integrated 

Biorefinery Program, contact Jacques 

Beaudry-Losique, Biomass Program 

Manager, U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., EE–

2E, 5H–021, Washington, DC 20585, 

telephone: 202–586–5188, facsimile: 

202–586–1640, e-mail: 

eere_biomass@ee.doe.gov. 

For general information on the DOE 

NEPA process, please contact: Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–20), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0103; e-mail: 

AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov; telephone: 202–

586–4600; leave a message at 1–800–

472–2756; or facsimile: 202–586–7031. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Need for Agency 

Action: The Energy Policy Act of 2005 

(EPAct 2005), Section 932, directs the 

Secretary of Energy to conduct a 

program of research, development, 

demonstration, and commercial 

application for bioenergy, including, 

integrated biorefineries that may 

produce biopower, biofuels, and 

bioproducts. Section 932 provides that 

‘‘the goals of the biofuels and 

bioproducts programs shall be to 

develop, in partnership with industry 

and institutes of higher education—

(1) Advanced biochemical and 

thermochemical conversion 

technologies capable of making fuels 

from lignocellulosic feedstocks that are 

price-competitive with gasoline or 

diesel in either internal combustion 

engines or fuel cell-powered vehicles; 

(2) Advanced biotechnology processes 

capable of making biofuels and 

bioproducts with emphasis on 

development of biorefinery technologies 

using enzyme-based processing systems; 

(3) Advanced biotechnology processes 

capable of increasing energy production 

from lignocellulosic feedstocks, with 

emphasis on reducing the dependence 

of industry on fossil fuels in 

manufacturing facilities; and 

(4) Other advanced processes that will 

enable the development of cost-effective 

bioproducts, including biofuels.’’

Section 932(d) provides that ‘‘the 

Secretary shall carry out a program to 

demonstrate the commercial application 

of integrated biorefineries. The 

Secretary shall ensure geographical 

distribution of biorefinery 

demonstration under this subsection. 

The Secretary shall not provide more 

than $100,000,000 under this subsection 

for any single biorefinery 

demonstration. In making awards under 

this subsection, the Secretary shall 

encourage—

(A) The demonstration of a wide 

variety of lignocellulosic feedstocks; 

(B) The commercial application of 

biomass technologies for a variety of 

uses, including—

i. Liquid transportation fuels; 

ii. High-value biobased chemicals; 

iii. Substitutes for petroleum-based 

feedstocks and products; and 

iv. Energy in the form of electricity or 

useful heat; and 

(C) The demonstration of the 

collection of treatment of a variety of 

biomass feedstocks.’’

Section 932(d) further directs the 

Secretary to solicit proposals for 

demonstration of advanced biorefineries 

and to select only proposals that 

demonstrate economic viability without 

Federal subsidy after initial 

construction costs are paid and for 

projects that are replicable. 

In implementing section 932, DOE’s 

goal is to demonstrate that commercialscale integrated biorefineries that use a 

wide variety of lignocellulosic 

feedstocks (biomass), can operate 

profitably once constructed, and can be 

replicated. Lignocellulosic feedstock 

includes energy crops, corn fiber, wood 

wastes, agricultural wastes such as corn 


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50002 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 165 / Monday, August 25, 2008 / Notices 

stover, and certain municipal solid 

wastes. DOE notes that, while the 

refining process for ethanol from 

biomass is more complex than the 

refining process for ethanol derived 

from grain, cellulosic ethanol can yield 

a greater net energy benefit and result in 

lower greenhouse gas emissions. 

Accordingly, DOE issued a funding 

opportunity announcement for the 

construction and operation of 

commercial-scale integrated 

biorefineries intended to demonstrate 

the use of a wide variety of cellulosic 

feedstocks. On February 28, 2007, DOE 

announced the selection of six 

biorefinery projects for negotiation of 

financial assistance awards. In that 

announcement, DOE proposes to invest 

up to $385 million in the six projects 

over the next four years. 

Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of 

Kansas, LLC (ABBK) of Chesterfield, 

Missouri, was one of the six applicants 

competitively selected for negotiation of 

award under DOE’s funding opportunity 

announcement. Abengoa proposed an 

innovative approach to biorefinery 

operations that involves production of a 

biofuel and of energy in the form of 

steam that can be used to meet energy 

needs and displace fossil fuels such as 

coal and natural gas. In addition, siting 

the facility in Kansas would qualify 

Abengoa for state tax credits for 

biofuels, which would make the 

biorefinery a more viable commercial 

operation. 

DOE granted an initial award to ABBK 

to advance the conceptual design; to 

initiate the permitting process; and to 

support an environmental review under 

NEPA for ABBK’s proposed biomass-toethanol-and-energy facility near 

Hugoton, KS. DOE requires that ABBK 

fulfill these design, permitting, and 

environmental review obligations prior 

to deciding whether to cofund the 

construction and operation phase of the 

project. The total anticipated cost of this 

initial work is $37.5 million of which 

DOE is funding 40% ($15 million) and 

ABBK is providing 60% ($22.5 million). 

As described below, DOE is now 

proposing to negotiate a second 

financial assistance agreement for 

approximately $61 million for the 

construction and operation of the 

biomass to ethanol facility, whose 

anticipated total cost is approximately 

$190.5 million. 

ABBK is also planning to construct 

and operate a traditional grain-toethanol production facility at the same 

site that would integrate the biomass-toethanol facility into the overall facility. 

This grain-to-ethanol facility would use 

a traditional starch conversion process 

to produce ethanol from grain 

feedstocks (sorghum or corn) along with 

distillers grains with solubles, which is 

a product. While the traditional grainto-ethanol facility would be constructed 

and operated with private funds, DOE 

plans to analyze the traditional grain-toethanol facility as a connected action in 

the EIS. 

Proposed Action: DOE is proposing to 

provide approximately $61 million in 

Federal funding to ABBK for the 

construction and operation of a 

commercial-scale biomass-to-ethanol 

and energy facility near Hugoton, KS. 

The total estimated cost (beyond the 

initial award) for construction and 

operation of the biomass-to-ethanol 

portion of the project is approximately 

$190.5 million. 

The biomass-to-ethanol facility would 

process 400 dry metric tons per day of 

biomass to produce approximately 12 

million gallons per year (MGPY) of 

denatured ethanol. The biomass-toethanol facility would utilize an 

enzymatic hydrolysis process for 

converting biomass feedstocks to 

ethanol and co-products, and a 

gasification technology to convert 

biomass to synthesis gas. Biomass 

feedstock would be supplied from waste 

products from the production of crops 

produced within a 30 mile radius of the 

facility, and may include sorghum 

stubble, corn stover, switchgrass, and 

other opportunity feedstocks that are 

available in the area. 

The traditional grain-to-ethanol 

process would use 32 million bushels of 

grain (sorghum and corn) to produce 

approximately 88 MGPY of denatured 

ethanol annually, two-thirds of which 

(i.e. that derived from sorghum) would 

qualify as Advanced Biofuels under 

Section 207 of the Energy Independence 

and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) (Per 

EISA, Advanced Biofuels includes all 

biofuels except corn-based ethanol). 

Solids from the process will be 

converted to animal feed, resulting in 

the production of up to 781,800 tons per 

year wet distillers grain with solubles 

(WDGS). The facility will have the 

capability to dry up to 50 percent of the 

WDGS, producing a maximum of 

152,000 tons per year of dried distiller’s 

grains with solubles (DDGS). The 

difference between the two sources of 

animal feed is moisture; DDGS contains 

approximately 10 percent moisture 

while WDGS contains approximately 65 

percent moisture. 

The overall integrated biorefinery, 

comprising both the proposed biomassto-ethanol facility and the grain-toethanol facility, would be capable of 

producing about 100 MGPY of 

denatured ethanol and would be located 

on approximately 800 acres, which 

includes the combined facility footprint 

of about 385 acres and a buffer area 

between the proposed biorefinery and 

the City of Hugoton to the east. Hugoton 

has a population of about 3,700 and is 

located in Stevens County in southwest 

KS. Land use in the area is primarily 

agricultural in nature with cropland 

being the dominant use and grassland 

being the secondary use. The area has 

diverse biomass feedstocks, numerous 

large cattle feedlots, and a variety of 

grains grown locally. 

The project site itself currently 

consists of row-cropped agricultural 

land and is adjoined by grain elevators, 

an asphalt plant, industrial park, and 

airport to the south; golf course and 

agricultural land to the west; two 

residences to the northwest; and 

agricultural cropland to the north. 

About 65 % of the site would qualify as 

prime farmland if it were irrigated. The 

proposed biorefinery site and additional 

buffer area to the east are currently 

zoned Agricultural, but the biorefinery 

location is proposed for a change to 

Heavy Industrial zoning. 

Infrastructure required to operate the 

proposed biorefinery would include the 

following: 

• Water, which would be supplied 

from wells on-site and near the project 

site utilizing water rights acquired from 

local owners; 

• Electricity, which would be brought 

to the project site by Pioneer Electric 

from an existing substation located a 

few miles to the north of the project site; 

• Natural gas, which would be 

brought through a lateral connection to 

one of the nearby interstate pipelines or 

through the local distribution company; 

• Wastewater treatment—wastewater 

would be treated on-site, non-contact 

cooling water will be used for irrigation; 

• Railroad service would be provided 

by the Cimarron Valley Short Line 

which runs adjacent to the project site; 

and 

• Road access would be via a truck 

bypass route that the City of Hugoton 

intends to construct prior to the 

completion of the project. 

During construction, truck traffic to 

the site would be expected to average 

about 30 shipments a day. During 

operations, truck traffic would be 

expected to increase to about 470 

shipments a day. Most of the grain and 

biomass would be obtained from 

growers located near the proposed 

facility, but about 8 million tons of grain 

would be shipped to the facility from 

non-local sources each year. 

Alternatives: NEPA requires that 

agencies evaluate reasonable 

alternatives to the proposed action in an 

EIS. To implement the requirements of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 165 / Monday, August 25, 2008 / Notices 50003 

EPAct 2005, Section 932(d), in a 

separate, earlier proceeding DOE 

conducted a competitive solicitation. 

DOE received 24 applications in the 

response to the solicitation. Of these, 

nine did not comply with statutory 

requirements for eligibility under 

Section 932. DOE reviewed the 

remaining 15 applications on their 

merits and, having considered the 

objectives set forth in Section 932, 

selected six proposals, including 

ABBK’s proposal for appropriate NEPA 

review. DOE selected ABBK’s proposal 

for negotiation of a funding agreement 

in part because of its particular scale, 

location, and technology. 

DOE will consider reasonable only 

alternatives to the proposed action that 

meet its purpose and need. Accordinly, 

DOE proposes to analyze the following 

alternatives in detail in the EIS: (1) To 

provide federal funding for the Abengoa 

Biorefinery Project as proposed by 

ABBK (the Proposed Action); (2) to 

provide federal funding for the Abengoa 

Biorefinery Project contingent on 

implementation of environmental 

mitigation measures, which would be 

determined based on the environmental 

impact analysis in the EIS; and (3) to not 

provide federal funding for the 

proposed project (the No Action 

alternative). 

Preliminary Identification of 

Environmental Issues: The purpose of 

this Notice is to solicit comments and 

suggestions for consideration in the 

preparation of the EIS. As background 

for public comment, this Notice 

contains a list of potential 

environmental issues that DOE has 

tentatively identified for analysis. This 

list identifies resource areas that may be 

affected by construction and operation 

of the proposed Project and that DOE 

plans to analyze in the EIS. This list is 

not intended to be all-inclusive or to 

imply any predetermination of impacts. 

DOE welcomes comments on this list 

and other suggestions on the scope of 

the EIS. 

1. Water Resources: Potential impacts 

on surface and groundwater resources 

and water quality, including effects of 

water usage, wastewater management, 

storm water management. 

2. Potential impacts on apparent 

isolated wetlands at the project site. 

3. Utility and transportation 

infrastructure requirements for delivery 

of feedstocks and process chemicals to 

the facility and distribution of products 

from the facility to the marketplace. 

4. Land Use: Changes in land use, 

including the proposed site and the 

geographical area that will provide 

feedstock to the proposed facility. 

5. Local and Regional Air Quality. 

6. Cultural Resources: Including 

potential effects on historic and 

archaeological resources and Native 

American tribal resources. 

7. Ecological Resources: Terrestrial 

and aquatic plants and animals 

including state and Federally listed 

threatened and endangered species and 

other protected resources. 

8. Health and safety impacts: 

Including construction-related safety 

and process-related safety associated 

with handling and management of 

process chemicals. 

9. Noise: Potential impacts resulting 

from construction and operation of the 

proposed plant and from transportation 

of feedstocks, process materials, and 

plant byproducts. 

10. Socioeconomic impacts: Potential 

socioeconomic impacts of plant 

construction and operation, including 

effects on public services and 

infrastructure resulting from the influx 

of construction personnel and plant 

operating staff, and environmental 

justice issues. 

11. Aesthetic and scenic resources: 

Potential visual effects associated with 

plant structures and operations. 

12. Cumulative impacts that result 

from the incremental impacts of the 

proposed plant when added to the other 

past, present, and reasonably 

foreseeable future activities within the 

regions of influence. This may include 

potential impacts resulting from 

widespread replication of this type of 

technology. 

13. Global Climate Change: Potential 

greenhouse gas emissions and impacts 

on global climate change that may result 

from this project. 

Public Scoping Process: Interested 

agencies, organizations, Native 

American tribes, and members of the 

public are encouraged to submit 

comments or suggestions concerning the 

content of the EIS, including the range 

of reasonable alternatives and the 

potential environmental impacts to be 

analyzed. DOE invites oral comments 

and suggestions at the public scoping 

meeting. The public scoping period will 

be open until October 9, 2008. 

Written comments should be sent to 

Kristin Kerwin as described in the 

ADDRESSES section of this Notice. The 

public scoping meeting will be held at 

the location, date, and time listed in the 

DATES and ADDRESSES sections of this 

notice. This meeting will be informal. A 

presiding officer designated by DOE will 

establish procedures governing the 

conduct of the meeting and an overview 

of the proposed Project will be 

provided. The meeting will not be 

conducted as an evidentiary hearing, 

and those who choose to make 

statements will not be cross-examined 

by other speakers. However, DOE 

representatives may ask speakers 

questions to help ensure that DOE fully 

understands their comments or 

suggestions. To request time to speak at 

the meeting, please contact Kristin 

Kerwin via telephone, mail, fax or email as listed in the ADDRESSES section 

of this Notice. Persons may also sign up 

to speak before the meeting at the 

reception desk at the entrance to the 

meeting and will be provided 

opportunities to speak after previously 

scheduled speakers have spoken, as 

time allows. To ensure that everyone 

who wishes to speak has a chance to do 

so, five minutes will be allotted to each 

speaker. Depending on the number of 

persons requesting to speak, DOE may 

allow longer times for representatives of 

organizations. Persons wishing to speak 

on behalf of an organization should 

identify that organization when they 

sign up to speak. 

A complete transcript of the public 

scoping meeting will be retained by 

DOE and made available to the public 

for review via the Golden Field Office 

Online Public Reading Room at: http:// 

www.eere.energy.gov/golden/ 

Reading_Room.aspx and during 

business hours at the Department of 

Energy, Freedom of Information Reading 

Room, Forrestal Building, Room 1E–90, 

1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0001. 

Additional copies of the public scoping 

meeting transcripts will be made 

available during business hours at the 

following location: Stevens County 

Library, 500 S. Monroe Street, Hugoton, 

Kansas 67951. 

Draft EIS Schedule and Availability: 

The draft EIS is scheduled to be issued 

in late 2008. The availability of the draft 

EIS will be announced in the Federal 

Register and local media. The draft EIS 

will be made available for public 

inspection at the location listed above 

and on the Internet. Comments on the 

Draft EIS will be considered in 

preparing the Final EIS. 

Interested parties who do not wish to 

submit comments at this time, but who 

would like to receive a copy of the draft 

EIS should contact Kristin Kerwin as 

provided in the ADDRESSES section of 

this notice. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on this 19th day 

of August, 2008. 

Alexander A. Karsner, 

Assistant Secretary, Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy. 

[FR Doc. E8–19633 Filed 8–22–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 


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