Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Proposed Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement for the Kemper County IGCC Project, Kemper County, MS

Zusammenfassung

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) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and the DOE NEPA regulations (10 CFR Part 1021), to assess the potential environmental impacts associated with the construction and operation of a project proposed by Southern Company, through its affiliate Mississippi Power Company (Mississippi Power), which has been selected by DOE for consideration for cost- shared funding under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) program. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region IV has expressed an interest in also participating in the preparation of the EIS as a cooperating agency. The proposed project would demonstrate Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology using lignite coal as a feedstock for a new electrical generating plant at a site in Kemper County, Mississippi. The facilities would convert lignite coal into synthes