June 21, 2019
CENAO-WRR
NAO-2012-00080
FEDERAL PUBLIC NOTICE
ANNOUNCING A PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING AND PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate project alternatives and the public interest review factors for the Virginia Electric Power Company (Dominion) proposal known as Surry – Skiffes Creek – Whealton Aerial Transmission Line “Project”.
APPLICANT
Virginia Electric & Power Company
c/o: Dominion Energy
Mr. Robert M. Blue; President & CEO
701 E. Cary Street; 12th Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK: The Project begins in Surry County near Surry Nuclear Power Plant, crosses the James River towards Skiffes Creek in James City County, and continues through Newport News, York County, and Hampton to an existing substation in Whealton. The Project is located within the Lower James River and Lynnhaven-Poquoson watersheds; specifically the James River, Skiffes Creek, Lee-Hall Reservoir, Harwood’s Mill Reservoir, Woods Creek, Jones Run, Brick Kiln Creek, Newmarket Creek and Whiteman Swamp. Hydrologic Unit Codes 02080206 & 02080108.
PROPOSED PROJECT: Construct 17 in-stream transmission towers and fender protection systems to support a 500kiloVolt (kV) aerial transmission line over navigable waters and placement of 27 transmission towers in non-tidal wetlands. In total, the Project permanently impacts 2712 square feet (0.06 acres) of subaqueous river bottom and 281 square feet (0.006 acres) of non-tidal wetlands, and converts 0.67 acres of palustrine forested non-tidal wetlands to palustrine scrub shrub non-tidal wetlands.
PROJECT PURPOSE AND NEED: Dominion has identified a need for the project. Dominion is responsible for supplying power to the North Hampton Roads Load Area (NHRLA) which consists of approximately 285,000 customers. This need was previously met through generation from Yorktown Power Station (approximately 1,141 MW) and delivery via two transmission corridors. To comply with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mercury Air and Toxics Standards (MATS) Rule requiring power generation facilities to reduce their toxic air pollutant emissions, Dominion is decommissioning the Yorktown Plant. Due to growth within the NHRLA and the decommissioning of the Yorktown Plant, Dominion would be unable to maintain compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) standards after 2021 without additional generation or delivery. NERC has confirmed that these standards are absolute requirements that have no waiver provision.
The purpose of the project, as determined by the Corps, is to provide sustainable electrical capacity into the NHRLA in a manner that addresses future load growth deficiencies, replaces aging infrastructure, complies with Federal regulations (including MATS), and maintains compliance with NERC Reliability Standards.
AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (33 U.S.C. 403), Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia for impacts to jurisdictional wetlands and waters of the United States.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION: This notice serves to announce that a Public Scoping meeting will be held on July 17, 2019, between 5:00PM – 8:00PM, at the Doubletree by Hilton Williamsburg located at 50 Kingsmill Road, Williamsburg, Virginia 23185. The Corps will use the comments received through scoping to assist in identifying the significant issues, which should be addressed in a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Between the hours of 5:00PM and 8:00PM participants will be able to tour various informational displays specific to the project, including alternatives. Representatives from the Corps, along with our 3rd Party Contractor Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. will be present onsite. Information about the project can be found at the following website: https://www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/SkiffesCreekPowerLine.aspx
Federal, State and Local agencies as well as private individuals, organizations or groups are invited to attend this meeting. Attendance at the public meeting is not necessary to provide comments, however participants will be allowed to leave comments upon exit. The comment period will remain open thru August 1, 2019 for the submission of written comments. This is not a public hearing. The decision on whether or not to conduct a public hearing will be made at a later date.
COMMENT PERIOD: Comments on this project should be in writing and can be sent by either email to randy.l.steffey@usace.army.mil, or by regular mail, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN: CENAO-WRR), 803 Front Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23510-1011, and should be received by the close of business on August 1, 2019.
PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY: Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, submitted in response to this Public Notice may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.
If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact:
Randy Steffey at 757-201-7579 or by email randy.l.steffey@usace.army.mil.
Attachments:
Location Map
Notice of Intent