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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to authorize the expenditure of Federal grant funding to design, permit, and construct a biomass boiler house at the Frito-Lay North America (Frito-Lay) plant in Beloit, Wisconsin. Frito-Lay would construct and operate a new boilerhouse for a wood chip boiler and purchase wood fuel from regional suppliers (proposed project).
The project area is located in a region of the state where Loggerhead Shrikes (Lanius ludovicianus) are consistently observed and known to be nesting. With populations steadily declining throughout its breeding range, the Loggerhead Shrike is officially listed as a state Threatened species in Minnesota; its status may be upgraded to Endangered during the current list review process. The shrike is also considered a Species of Special Concern in Minnesota and is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Species of Regional Concern in the Midwest Region. Dakota County is believed to harbor the densest concentration of shrikes in Minnesota. As recently as 2009 a breeding pair was documented to the east of the UMore property, further prompting concern for assessing the species’ status on the wind turbine project site.
The Phase IA architectural history investigation consisted of a review of documents of previously inventoried properties and of surveys previously conducted within the architectural history study area, as well as a field reconnaissance to identify properties that are 45 years of age or older within the study area. Greg Mathis, M.C.R.P. served as principal investigator. The following report describes project methodology, environmental setting, previous investigations, results, and recommendations for the project area.
A table summarizing the analytical data from the proposed wind turbine area and a map showing the locations of the test trenches.
DOE Golden Field Office is now considering whether to authorize the use of federal funds by the University of Minnesota (University) to design, permit, construct, and operate a 2.5-Megawatt (MW) Clipper Liberty wind turbine and an associated 34.5-kilovolt (kV) low-voltage transmission line at the University of Minnesota Outreach, Research, and Education Park (UMore Park) in Rosemount, Minnesota (referred to here as the Proposed Project). The Proposed Project would be located on a 212-acre section of land in the northeastern corner of the UMore Park property. The permanent construction-related footprint of the proposed turbine facility on the University‟s 7,822 acres of property would be approximately 0.6 acres. In addition to the proposed wind turbine and related infrastructure, DOE federal funds would pay for state-of-the- art sensors, measurement devices, and other equipment for use at UMore Park and other University research facilities. The total grant award to the University for the Proposed Project, including the wind turbine and associated research, is approximately $7.98 million. Including recipient cost share, the total cost of the University‟s Proposed Project is $11.16 million.The EA evaluates the potential individual and cumulative impacts of the Proposed Project. For purposes of comparison, this EA also evaluates the impacts that could occur if DOE did not provide funding (the No Action Alternative), under which DOE assumes that University would not proceed with the Proposed Project. Based on the analysis in this EA, DOE will either issue a Finding of No Significant Impact, which could include mitigation measures, or determine that it must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is proposing to provide cost share funding to Enerkem, Inc (Enerkem) for the final design, construction, and operation of a proposed Heterogeneous Feed Biorefinery Project to be located in Pontotoc, Mississippi (hereafter referred to as the biorefinery or the proposed project). The biorefinery would use the dried and post-sorted biomass fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW) and wood biomass as feedstock. Enerkem’s biorefinery would produce approximately 10 million gallons (38 million liters) of ethanol per year for commercial sale. This EA analyzes the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts that would result from implementation of the Proposed Action (with DOE funding) and the No Action Alternative (without DOE funding), and evaluates the potential individual and cumulative effects of the Proposed Action. While it is possible that the project could be implemented without DOE financial assistance, that scenario would not provide for a meaningful No Action Alternative analysis, as it would be identical to the Proposed Action. For purposes of this assessment, the EA therefore evaluates, as the No Action Alternative, the potential impacts that would occur if the project were not built and operated. No other action alternatives are analyzed.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) to analyze and describe the potential environmental impacts associated with the: Heterogeneous Feed Biorefinery Pontotoc, MS
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or the Department) is proposing to provide $18 million of federal cost share funding to American Process, Inc. (API) to support the final design, construction, and start-up of a cellulose to ethanol biorefinery that would be located on property purchased from Decorative Panels International (DPI) in Alpena, Michigan (hereafter referred to as the Alpena Prototype Biorefinery (APB), the APB project or proposed project). API would purchase approximately 28 acres from DPI for the proposed project, including 1 acre of primarily unpaved industrial land adjacent to the DPI wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) on which it would construct the biorefinery. The remaining 27 acres of the project site includes the existing wastewater treatment plant and associated lagoons. This EA analyzes the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts that would result from implementation of the Proposed Action (with DOE funding) and the No Action Alternative (without DOE funding), and evaluates the potential individual and cumulative effects of the Proposed Action. While it is possible that the project could be implemented without DOE financial assistance, that scenario would not provide for a meaningful No Action Alternative analysis, as it would be identical to the Proposed Action. For purposes of this assessment, the EA therefore evaluates, as the No Action Alternative, the potential impacts that would occur if the APB project were not built and operated. No other action alternatives are analyzed.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is proposing to authorize the expenditure of federal cost share funding to Myriant Lake Providence, LLC (Myriant) to support the final design, construction, and start-up of the proposed Myriant Succinic Acid Biorefinery to be located on a 55-acre industrial site leased from the Lake Providence Port Commission in Lake Providence, Louisiana. The Myriant Succinic Acid Biorefinery will hereafter be referred to as “MySAB” or “the biorefinery.” The biorefinery and all related infrastructure and utilities will be referred to as “the proposed project.” This EA analyzes the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts that would result from implementation of the Proposed Action (with DOE funding) and the No Action Alternative (without DOE funding), and evaluates the potential individual and cumulative effects of the Proposed Action. While it is possible the project could be implemented without DOE financial assistance, that scenario would not provide for a meaningful No Action Alternative analysis, as it would be identical to the Proposed Action. For purposes of this assessment, the EA therefore evaluates, as the No Action Alternative, the potential impacts that would occur if the project were not built and operated. No other action alternatives are analyzed.
DOE prepared this EA to evaluate the potential environmental consequences of providing a financial assistance in a cooperative agreement with Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB). If SECARB received the funding, they would demonstrate the injection of 125,000 tons/year of carbon dioxide (CO2) from a power plant into a deep saline aquifer for enhanced oil recovery and geologic sequestration. This funding would be used for drilling up to two injection wells, reconditioning of four existing wells for monitoring, and two new shallow water wells. Connected actions include the CO2 source at the CO2 capture unit at Plant Barry, the 12.3-mile long, 4.5-inch outside diameter pipeline to transport the CO2 to the oilfield, and the two electric service lines for a total of 3,275 feet. No connected actions are receiving federal money. DOE’s proposed action would provide approximately $30.0 million in financial assistance in a cost-sharing arrangement to SECARB. The cost of the proposed project would be approximately $39.3 million.