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BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project Volume 1 - Final Environmental Impact Statement DOE/EIS-0349 Lead Agencies: Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council Bonneville Power Administration Cooperating Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers August 2004 EFSEC Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council July 12, 2004 Dear Reader: Enclosed for your reference is the abbreviated Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the proposed BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project. This document is designed to correct information and further explain what was provided in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The proponent, BP West Coast Products, LLC, has requested to build a 720-megawatt gas-fired combined cycle cogeneration facility in Whatcom County, Washington, and interconnect this facility into the regional power transmission grid. To integrate the new power generation into the transmission grid, Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville) may need to rebuild 4.7 miles of an existing 230-kV transmission line. The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC or Council) and Bonneville have completed this FEIS under contract with Shapiro and Associates, Inc. The analysis was undertaken to meet the direction of the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) for state and private lands, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and other relevant federal laws and regulations for federal permits and approvals. A DEIS was issued for public comment on September 5, 2003. The public comment period closed on October 27, 2003. A public comment hearing was held on October 1, 2003, in Blaine, Washington. EFSEC and Bonneville received 33 comment letters and oral comments from 11 individuals. The FEIS was prepared from information received from agencies, organizations, and individuals who submitted written and oral comments on the DEIS, and from testimony presented in the adjudicative hearings before EFSEC. Comments on the DEIS have resulted in changes to text and illustrations where appropriate. Volume 1, Chapter 1of this FEIS contains an updated summary and project description. Chapters 2 and 3 contain the text revisions to the DEIS. Volume 2 includes copies of written comments and public hearing testimony concerning the DEIS, and responses to those comments. For further information regarding this proposed project, you may contact Irina Makarow at (360) 956- 2047 or Tom McKinney at (503) 230-4749. For copies of the DEIS, please contact Irina Makarow at (360) 956-2047 or you may access it on the Internet at www.efsec.wa.gov. Allen J. Fiksdal Thomas C. McKinney Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council Bonneville Power Administration FACT SHEET BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project, Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (DOE/EIS-0349) Responsible Agencies: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville), and Washington State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) Cooperating Agency: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers States Involved: Washington Abstract: BP West Coast Products, LLC proposes to construct and operate a 720-megawatt, natural-gas-fired, combined-cycle cogeneration facility on land adjacent to its BP Cherry Point Refinery. Approximately 195 acres of undeveloped land would be converted for the cogeneration facility; gas, water, wastewater, and steam pipelines; construction laydown areas; access roads; and wetland mitigation areas. The proposed project would be located in Whatcom County, Washington, and approximately 15 miles northwest of Bellingham and 7 miles south of Blaine. The purpose of the proposed power project is to provide stable and reliable electricity and steam to meet the needs of the refinery and provide electricity to the Bonneville Federal Columbia River Transmission System. Electrical energy from the proposed project would require construction of a new transmission line from the switchyard in the cogeneration facility to an interconnection point on Bonneville’s Custer/Intalco Transmission Line No. 2. The length of the new line would be 0.8 mile. From the interconnection point, a 230-kilovolt (kV) circuit may be constructed to the existing Custer substation. The most reliable method of adding the new line would be replacing approximately 5 miles of the existing 230-kV single-circuit Custer/Intalco Transmission Line No. 2 with a double-circuit line. Alternatively, preliminary studies of the transmission system indicate that the circuit might not be needed if an agreement can be reached between the Applicant and the Intalco Aluminum Corporation to interrupt electrical service at the Alcoa Intalco Works under potential transmission system overload conditions. The formal agreement would be known as a Remedial Action Scheme. This EIS assesses the existing natural and built environment, evaluates the potential environmental impacts and economic benefits of the proposed action, and identifies mitigation measures to compensate for the unavoidable impacts. Alternative project sites, power-generating and pollution-control technologies, and the No Action Alternative also are described. Proposal’s Sponsor: BP West Coast Products, LLC (Applicant) Date of Implementation: Construction activities are expected to last approximately 25 months. The start of construction depends on the date the governor of Washington approves and signs the Site Certification Agreement for this project. BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project Fact Sheet Final EIS i August 2004 List of Possible Permits, Approvals, and Licenses: Table 2-6 of the Draft EIS lists federal and state requirements, permits, and approvals required for the proposed project, the agencies that administer the permits, and either the statute or regulation requiring the permit and approval. The EFSEC Site Certification Agreement would provide construction and operation requirements and all other relevant Washington State permits and approvals for the project. No other state or local permit is required for the proposed project. As a federal agency, Bonneville must comply with federal permits and is precluded from participating in procedural requirements associated with state and local land use approvals or permits. The agency strives to meet or exceed the substantive standards and policies of the environmental regulations referenced above. Authors and Principal Contributors to EIS: An independent consultant of EFSEC, Shapiro and Associates, Inc., is the principal author of the EIS. The primary source of information used to prepare the EIS is the Application for Site Certification, as amended, which was prepared by the Applicant and its primary consultants Anvil Corporation, Golder and Associates, URS Corporation, Bechtel, and Duke Energy/Fluor Daniel. A list of contributors is included in the EIS. Subsequent Environmental Review: None anticipated. Date of Final Lead Agency Action: After EFSEC deliberates on the facts, testimony, and EIS contents, it will send a recommendation to the governor of the state of Washington to approve or deny the project (expected in fall 2004). The governor has 60 days to accept or reject the recommendation or to remand the recommendation to EFSEC for further investigation. Bonneville Power Administration will make a decision on the proposed interconnection no sooner than 30 days after publication of the Final EIS. Contact for Additional Information: Irina Makarow Thomas McKinney Siting Manager Environmental Lead Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council Bonneville Power Administration 925 Plum Street SE, Building 4 P.O. Box 3621 P.O. Box 43172 Portland, OR 97208 Olympia, WA 98504-3172 (503) 230-4749 (360) 956-2047 [email protected] [email protected] BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project Fact Sheet Final EIS ii August 2004 Location of Background Information: You may access this EIS and find more information about the project and the responsible agencies on the Bonneville Web site at www.efw.bpa.gov and the EFSEC Web site at www.efsec.wa.gov. Copies of the BP Cogeneration Project Application for Site Certification, EFSEC No. 2002-01, and this EIS also are available for public review at the following locations: Washington State Library Bellingham Library Joel M. Pritchard Library Attn: Gayle Helgoe Point Plaza East 210 Central Avenue 6880 Capitol Blvd Bellingham, WA 98225-4421 Tumwater, WA, 98504-2460 360-704-5200 Ocean Park Library City of Surrey Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council Attn: Isabelle Hay 925 Plum Street SE, Building 4 12854 17th Avenue Olympia, WA, 98504-3172 Surrey, BC V4A 1T5 360-956-2121 Canada Whatcom County Library White Rock Public Library Attn: Kathy Richardson Attn: Barb Hynek 610 Third Street 15342 Buena Vista Avenue Blaine, WA 98230 White Rock, BC V4B 1Y6 Canada Whatcom County Library Attn: Dave Menard P.O. Box 1209 Ferndale, WA 98248 Cost of EIS Copy to the Public: There will be no cost for the Final EIS. For information on DOE NEPA activities, please contact Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, EH-25, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585; by telephone at 1-800-472-2756; or visit the DOE Web site at www.eh.de.gov/nepa. BP Cherry Point Cogeneration Project Fact Sheet Final EIS iii August 2004 Volume 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page FACT SHEET......................................................................................................................................................i CHAPTER 1: SUMMARY 1.1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................
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