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Environmental Assessment for Hydropower License

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ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR HYDROPOWER LICENSE Wallace Dam Pumped Storage Project FERC Project No. 2413-124 Georgia Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Office of Energy Projects Division of Hydropower Licensing 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426 October 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. - 1 - 1.1 APPLICATION ......................................................................................... - 1 - 1.2 PURPOSE OF ACTION AND NEED FOR POWER ............................. - 1 - 1.2.1 Purpose of Action ........................................................................... - 1 - 1.2.2 Need for Power............................................................................... - 3 - 1.3.2 Clean Water Act ............................................................................. - 5 - 1.3.3 Endangered Species Act ................................................................. - 5 - 1.3.4 Coastal Zone Management Act ...................................................... - 8 - 1.3.5 National Historic Preservation Act ................................................ - 8 - 1.4 PUBLIC REVIEW AND CONSULTATION .......................................... - 9 - 1.4.1 Scoping ........................................................................................... - 9 - 1.4.2 Comments on the Preliminary Licensing Proposal ..................... - 10 - 1.4.3 Interventions ................................................................................. - 10 - 1.4.4 Comments on the License Application ........................................ - 11 - 2.0 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES ............................................... - 12 - 2.1 NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE .............................................................. - 12 - 2.1.1 Existing Project Features ............................................................. - 12 - 2.1.2 Project Safety ............................................................................... - 17 - 2.1.3 Existing Project Operation and Environmental Measures .......... - 17 - 2.2 APPLICANT’S PROPOSAL .................................................................. - 20 - 2.2.1 Proposed Project Facilities ........................................................... - 20 - 2.2.2 Proposed Project Operation ......................................................... - 20 - 2.2.3 Proposed Environmental Measures ............................................. - 20 - 2.3 STAFF ALTERNATIVE ........................................................................ - 25 - 2.4 STAFF ALTERNATIVE WITH MANDATORY CONDITIONS ....... - 26 - 2.5 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT ELIMINATED FROM FURTHER ANALYSIS .......................................................................... - 26 - 2.5.1 Issuing a Non-Power License ...................................................... - 26 - 2.5.2 Federal Government Takeover of the Project.............................. - 26 - 2.5.3 Retiring the Project ...................................................................... - 27 - 3.0 ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ..................................................................... - 28 - 3.1 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE RIVER BASIN .......................... - 28 - 3.2 SCOPE OF CUMULATIVE EFFECTS ANALYSIS ............................ - 31 - 3.2.1 Geographic Scope ........................................................................ - 31 - 3.2.2 Temporal Scope............................................................................ - 32 - 3.3 PROPOSED ACTION AND ACTION ALTERNATIVES ................... - 32 - 3.3.1 Geologic and Soil Resources ....................................................... - 32 - 3.3.2 Water Resources ........................................................................... - 41 - 3.3.3 Terrestrial Resources .................................................................. - 103 - i 3.3.4 Threatened and Endangered Species ......................................... - 148 - 3.3.5 Recreation and Land Use ........................................................... - 160 - 3.3.6 Cultural Resources ..................................................................... - 183 - 3.4 NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE ............................................................ - 189 - 4.0 DEVELOPMENTAL ANALYSIS ................................................................... - 189 - 4.1 POWER AND ECONOMICS BENEFITS OF THE PROJECT ......... - 190 - 4.2 COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES ............................................... - 191 - 4.2.1 No Action Alternative ................................................................ - 192 - 4.2.2 Georgia Power’s Proposal .......................................................... - 193 - 4.2.3 Staff Alternativ ........................................................................... - 193 - 4.2.4 Staff Alternative with Mandatory Conditions ........................... - 193 - 4.3 COST OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES .................................... - 193 - 5.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................... - 202 - 5.1 COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT AND RECOMMENDED ALTERNATIVE ................................................................................... - 202 - 5.1.1 Measures Proposed by Georgia Power ...................................... - 202 - 5.1.2 Additional Measures Recommended by Staff ........................... - 205 - 5.1.3 Measures not Recommended by Staff ....................................... - 206 - 5.2 UNAVOIDABLE ADVERSE EFFECTS ............................................ - 208 - 5.3 FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCY RECOMMENDATIONS AND SECTION 4(e) Conditions .................................................................... - 209 - 5.3.1 Fish and Wildlife Agency Recommendations ........................... - 209 - 5.3.2 Forest Service’s Section 4(e) Conditions .................................. - 211 - 5.4 CONSISTENCY WITH COMPREHENSIVE PLANS ....................... - 213 - 6.0 FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ................................................... - 214 - 7.0 LITERATURE CITED ...................................................................................... - 215 - 8.0 LIST OF PREPARERS ..................................................................................... - 229 - APPENDIX A – Draft License Conditions Recommended by Staff............................... A-1 APPENDIX B – U.S. Forest Service Section 4(e) Conditions ........................................ B-1 ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Location of the Wallace Dam Pumped Storage Project in the Oconee River Basin. ...................................................................................... - 2 - Figure 2. Project facilities for the Wallace Dam Project ............................................. - 13 - Figure 3. Wallace Dam Project boundary and surrounding area ................................. - 16 - Figure 4. Project location in the Oconee River Basin .................................................. - 29 - Figure 5. Location of the Pond 2 Waterfowl Management Area in the Oconee WMA Downstream from Wallace Dam ....................................................... - 39 - Figure 6. Wallace Dam Pumped Storage Project Annual Flow Duration Curve. ....... - 43 - Figure 7. Georgia Power Water Quality Monitoring Stations. .................................... - 48 - Figure 8. Monthly Vertical Temperature and DO Profiles at Lake Oconee Station OC1. .................................................................................................. - 50 - Figure 9. Seasonal Vertical Temperature and DO Profiles at Lake Oconee Station OC1, 2003 to 2016. .......................................................................... - 52 - Figure 10. 24-Hour Vertical Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Profiles in July from Lake Oconee Station OC1 ....................................... - 53 - Figure 11. 24-Hour Vertical Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen Profiles in July from Lake Oconee Station OC2 ....................................... - 54 - Figure 12. Daily Average Water Temperature and Dissolved Oxygen in the Wallace Dam Tailrace, 2015-2017 ...................................................... - 56 - Figure 13. Correlation between Project Operation and Water Quality Changes in the Wallace Dam Tailrace, June 28, 2016 through July 12, 2017. ....... - 57 - Figure 14. Conceptual Design of Forebay Oxygen Line Diffuser System for the Wallace Dam Project. ................................................................................. - 74 - Figure 15. Location of Proposed Liquid Oxygen Facility at the Wallace Dam Project. ............................................................................................... - 75 - Figure 16. Waterfowl habitat at Dyar Pasture Recreation Area ................................ - 114 - Figure 17. Location of waterfowl Ponds 2, 3, and 4 within the Wallace Dam Project boundary downstream from Wallace Dam ................................. - 115 - Figure 18. Forest and timber management areas within the Wallace Dam Project .. - 125 - Figure 19. Recreation Areas on Lake Oconee............................................................ - 167 - Figure 20. Viewshed Buffers at the Wallace Project. ................................................ - 173 - iii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Daily minimum, mean, and maximum calculated inflow by month at Wallace Dam; 1997 through 2016. ...........................................................
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