South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper County Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project

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The South Mississippi Electric Power Association (SMEPA), a rural electric generation and transmission cooperative, has approached the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS, the Agency) for financial assistance through which SMEPA would acquire a 17.5% undivided ownership interest in Plant Ratcliff, an Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project currently under construction in Kemper County, Mississippi (hereinafter "the Project") and owned by Mississippi Power Company (MPCo). In accordance with RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR 1794, RUS has discretion in determining whether a proposal is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, when potential borrowers will have only partial ownership of a project for which they are requesting financing (7 CFR 1794.20, Control). Though acknowledging that RUS financing will provide SMEPA with significantly limited control of the Project, RUS considers the Project subject to NEPA and to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations at 36 CFR part 800. This notice documents the efforts undertaken by RUS to ensure compliance with NEPA, NHPA, and all other ap