Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Notice of Potential Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement for the W.A. Parish Post-Combustion CO2 Capture and Sequestration Project, Southeastern TX

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and DOE's NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part 1021), to assess the potential environmental impacts of providing financial assistance for a project proposed by NRG Energy, Inc (NRG). DOE selected NRG's proposed W.A. Parish Post-Combustion CO<INF>2</INF> Capture and Sequestration Project (Parish PCCS Project) for a financial assistance award through a competitive process under the Clean Coal Power Initiative (CCPI) program. NRG would design, construct and operate a commercial-scale carbon dioxide (CO<INF>2</INF>) capture facility at its existing W.A. Parish Generating Station (Parish Plant) in Fort Bend County, Texas; deliver the CO<INF>2</INF> via a new pipeline to the existing West Ranch oil field in Jackson County, Texas for use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations; and demonstrate monitoring techniques to verify the permanence of geologic CO<INF>2</INF> storage. The project would use an amine-based post-combustion technology to capture 90 percent (approximately 1.6 million tons) of the CO<INF>2</INF> annually from a 250-megawatt equivalent (MWe) flue gas slip stream taken from the 617 megawatt (MW) Unit 8 at the Parish Plant. Captured CO<INF>2</INF> would be dried, compressed, and transported about 80 miles in a new pipeline to an existing oil field where it would be used for EOR. The project would demonstrate an integrated commercial-scale deployment of post-combustion CO<INF>2</INF> capture technology for use in EOR operations and long- term geologic storage. DOE selected this project to receive a financial assistance award through a competitive process under Round 3 (second selection phase) of the CCPI program. The EIS will further inform DOE's decision on whether to provide financial assistance to NRG for the Parish PCCS Project. DOE proposes to provide NRG with up to $355 million of the overall project cost, which would constitute approximately 42 percent of the estimated $845 million total (in 2010 dollars). The project would further a specific objective of Round 3 of the CCPI program by demonstrating advanced coal-based technologies that capture and sequester, or put to beneficial use, CO<INF>2</INF> emissions from coal-fired power plants. The purposes of this Notice of Intent (NOI) are to: (1) Inform the public about DOE's proposed action and NRG's proposed project; (2) announce the public scoping meetings; (3) solicit comments for DOE's consideration regarding the scope and content of the EIS; (4) invite those agencies with jurisdiction by law or special expertise to be cooperating agencies in preparation of the EIS; and (5) provide notice that the proposed project may involve potential impacts to floodplains and wetlands. DOE does not have regulatory jurisdiction over the Parish PCCS Project, and its decisions are limited to whether and under what circumstances it would provide financial assistance to the project. As part of the EIS process, DOE will consult with interested federal, state, regional and local agencies and Native American tribes.