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Land Survey Work for Catoctin Power Plant Project
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park » Land Survey Work for Catoctin Power Plant Project » Document List
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park will issue a special use permit to Catoctin Power, LLC, a division of Sempra Energy, to allow topographical survey work. This work will help establish property lines within a proposed project area, located at Mile 48.38 of the park (Point of Rocks/Route 15).
Catoctin Power is pursuing the construction of a gas-fired electric generation plant to be located at Buckeystown, Frederick County, Maryland. As part of their project proposal to the State of Maryland, they identified that treated effluent would be their primary source of water for the cooling operation of the plant. They are also evaluating a secondary source of water in the event that treated effluent cannot be obtained. The secondary source of raw water is the Potomac River and Catoctin Power would need to apply for a pipeline right-of-way across the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP. This right-of-way proposal will be evaluated under a separate compliance package.
However, in order to evaluate the feasibility of Potomac River raw water alternative, the company has requested to enter onto NPS property at Point of Rocks, Maryland to conduct land topographical surveys pertaining to land ownership boundaries. They also plan to conduct geo-tech borings on non-NPS property. While the geo-tech borings are not on NPS lands, access to the drilling sites would would require access across NPS land to the adjacent property of Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA).
The work requested would be outlined and monitored through the National Park Service's special use permit program.
This project has been reviewed for impacts to natural and cultural resources by the park's Interdisciplinary Team. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets Categorical Exclusion #E.6 - non-destructive data collection, inventory (including field, aerial, and satellite surveying and mapping), study, research, and monitoring activities (this is also a departmental CE).
Catoctin Power is pursuing the construction of a gas-fired electric generation plant to be located at Buckeystown, Frederick County, Maryland. As part of their project proposal to the State of Maryland, they identified that treated effluent would be their primary source of water for the cooling operation of the plant. They are also evaluating a secondary source of water in the event that treated effluent cannot be obtained. The secondary source of raw water is the Potomac River and Catoctin Power would need to apply for a pipeline right-of-way across the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP. This right-of-way proposal will be evaluated under a separate compliance package.
However, in order to evaluate the feasibility of Potomac River raw water alternative, the company has requested to enter onto NPS property at Point of Rocks, Maryland to conduct land topographical surveys pertaining to land ownership boundaries. They also plan to conduct geo-tech borings on non-NPS property. While the geo-tech borings are not on NPS lands, access to the drilling sites would would require access across NPS land to the adjacent property of Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA).
The work requested would be outlined and monitored through the National Park Service's special use permit program.
This project has been reviewed for impacts to natural and cultural resources by the park's Interdisciplinary Team. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets Categorical Exclusion #E.6 - non-destructive data collection, inventory (including field, aerial, and satellite surveying and mapping), study, research, and monitoring activities (this is also a departmental CE).