Final Environmental Assessment Construction and Operation of a Proposed Cellulosic Ethanol Plant, Range Fuels, Inc. Treutlen County, Georgia DOE/EA 1597 Prepared for U.S. Department of Energy October 2007 Contents Section Page Contents........................................................................................................................................iii Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................vii 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................................1 1.1 Background ..........................................................................................................1 1.2 The National Environmental Policy Act ..........................................................1 1.3 Proposed Action ..................................................................................................3 1.4 Purpose and Need for Proposed Action ..........................................................4 1.5 Applicable Regulatory Requirements and Coordination ..............................4 1.5.1 Federal Statutes .......................................................................................4 1.5.2 Regulations...............................................................................................5 1.5.3 Executive Orders.....................................................................................5 1.5.4 DOE Policies, Orders and Guidance ....................................................5 1.5.5 Applicable Permits Required for Proposed Action............................6 1.6 Scope of Analysis.................................................................................................6 1.7 Public Scoping and Agency Consultation .......................................................7 1.8 Document Organization.....................................................................................8 2.0 Description of Proposed Action and Alternatives ....................................................9 2.1 Proposed Action (Preferred Alternative) .........................................................9 2.1.1 Facility and Infrastructure Description................................................9 2.1.2 Site Background and Proposed Layout..............................................12 2.1.3 Construction ..........................................................................................21 2.1.4 Operations..............................................................................................23 2.2 No Action Alternative.......................................................................................37 2.3 Alternatives Considered but Dismissed by Range Fuels.............................37 2.3.1 Alternative Site 1 ...................................................................................37 2.3.2 Alternative Site 2 ...................................................................................37 3.0 Affected Environment and Environmental Consequences...................................38 3.1 Land Use and General Site Description .........................................................38 3.1.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................38 3.1.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................40 3.2 Geomorphology, Geology, Seismic Hazard, and Soils ................................40 3.2.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................40 3.2.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................41 3.3 Hydrology ..........................................................................................................43 3.3.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................43 3.3.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................46 3.4 Water Quality.....................................................................................................47 3.4.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................47 3.4.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................47 iii CONTENTS, CONTINUED 3.5 Wetlands.............................................................................................................49 3.5.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................49 3.5.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................49 3.6 Biological Resources..........................................................................................50 3.6.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................50 3.6.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................51 3.7 Protected Species ...............................................................................................53 3.7.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................53 3.7.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................54 3.8 Safety and Occupational Health......................................................................56 3.8.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................56 3.8.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................56 3.9 Noise....................................................................................................................58 3.9.1 Existing Environment...........................................................................58 3.9.2 Consequences of Proposed Action .....................................................58 3.10 Meteorology .......................................................................................................60 3.10.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................60 3.10.2 Consequences of the Proposed Action.............................................61 3.11 Air Quality..........................................................................................................61 3.11.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................61 3.11.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................63 3.12 Waste Management and Hazardous Materials.............................................65 3.12.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................65 3.12.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................66 3.13 Cultural Resources ............................................................................................67 3.13.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................67 3.13.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................69 3.14 Transportation ...................................................................................................69 3.14.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................69 3.14.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................71 3.15 Utility Infrastructure.........................................................................................73 3.15.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................73 3.15.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................74 3.16 Aesthetics............................................................................................................75 3.16.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................75 3.16.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................75 3.17 Socioeconomic Factors......................................................................................76 3.17.1 Existing Environment.........................................................................76 3.17.2 Consequences of Proposed Action ...................................................81 3.18 Cumulative Impacts of the Proposed Action ................................................83 3.19 Consequences of the No Action Alternative .................................................84 3.20 Short-Term Uses and Commitment of Resources.........................................85 4.0 References.......................................................................................................................86 iv CONTENTS, CONTINUED Appendices A Department of Energy Scoping Letters B Responses to Scoping Letters C Scoping Letter Distribution List D Biomass Wood Resource Assessment on a County-by-County Basis for the State of Georgia E Site Wetland and Protected Species Survey Report F Archaeological Sites and Isolated Finds G SHPO Concurrence Letter H Economic Impact of Cellulosic Ethanol Production in Treutlen County Tables 2-1 Components of Proposed Action 2-2 Parcels within Proposed Range Fuels Site 3-1 Surface Area Required for Construction 3-2 GNHP Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species in Treutlen County, GA 3-3 Typical Equivalent Sound Levels (dBa) from Wood Chipping