Cheatham County Generation Site EIS Scoping Report
Appendix C Summary of Scoping Comments
Tennessee Valley Authority
Cheatham County Generation Site_#197 Cheatham County Generation Site_#196
negative
Andrew
Muller
7/7/2023
I do NOT want a gas pipeline running through middle Tennessee!
My main concerns are around the environmental impact a facility like this will have on the surrounding areas. That is beautiful mostly untouched land out there and it would be a tragedy to see it become slowly poisoned by the inevitable factory runoff and air pollution negative Jordan Fletcher
7/7/2023
I would like to see TVA compare the planned gas buildout to other alternatives, like wind and solar with battery storage for the Cheatham County generation site. TVA cannot keep saying they need methane gas as a transition fuel. Solar is becoming increasingly cheaper and more reliable, as already seen in many cases. Solar is also safe for the community and the environment. It doesn't leak hazardous methane gas into the air and water, putting people at risk of deadly explosions, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Methane is 80 times more potent as a GHG than carbon dioxide. We just don't hear as much about it because it's not as abundant in our atmosphere. The planned gas buildouts do not align with our nation’s executive order to reduce GHG emissions, yet TVA keeps planning gas plants and pipelines. Since TVA anticipates such an increase in energy demands, why not go back to investing in energy efficiency programs and offer net metering? If TVA offered net metering many local residents would be able to install solar on their properties and produce their own electricity. That would slash TVA’s anticipated increase in energy demand. People's lives are being ruined by TVA's plans, the second-largest methane gas plant buildout of any other utility in the country, and it's all happening in my home state of Tennessee! We do not need any more gas plants or pipelines! All over the news you hear stories about explosions and water contamination when there is existing technology that would prevent all of that from happening. Especially with the government bipartisan infrastructure law and the inflation reduction act, we should not be planning more fossil fuel buildouts. The world cannot continue to run on fossil fuels. The time to transition is now, before we use up all of the fossil fuels that took millions of years to form. There are other alternatives to consider. Why is TVA only considering an action (gas plant and pipeline) and a non- action plan?! Other alternatives would not destroy the land that many have worked so hard to attain and care for, many using their entire life savings to purchase land that is rural to get away from all of the big city pollution and noise. The plans for this Cheatham County site would take all of that away. It would completely ruin the rest of these people's lives so that TVA can profit for a decade or two. What happens when the pipeline and gas plant become obsolete, which is very quickly happening? Who will clean up all the mess that's left behind? Will the pipeline just become a stranded asset? Will it just continue to contaminate the environment, or will the gas company remove it and "restore" things back to precondition? Even if someone put their best effort into restoring these areas, they will never be "normal" again. You cannot replace trees that are in excess of 70 years old that will be clear cut for the pipeline construction. TVA needs to consider the pipeline construction in their DEIS because it is part of the gas plant. It may have a separate permitting process, but it would not even be considered if it weren't for TVA's planned gas buildout. TVA can look at the environmental impacts of the construction, but the biggest impacts will likely happen during operation, when leaks, contamination, and possible explosions take place. When the noise sends away all the precious wildlife and drives the locals crazy because they're forced to transition from a quiet country life to the loud sounds of the combustion turbines that sound like jet engines. Studies show that less than half the methane leaks are caught, regardless of the technology the gas companies are using. In Texas they recently had to release methane into the air to relieve pressure off the pipelines because of the intense heat. The kind of intense heat we have here in TN. Methane that is released or leaked will go straight into the atmosphere and intensify the current climate crisis we are facing, leading to even further increased temperatures. TVA was formed long ago to help rural communities. They helped us regular folks with erosion and flooding and brought electricity to areas that weren't able to have it before. They need to live up to their name and expectations and help the rural people instead of creating so much destruction and pollution. TVA has an opportunity to step up and be a real hero, leading the nation into a clean energy future. Leave a legacy to be proud of, not one that tarnishes its reputation by continuing to subject us all to the use of fossil fuels. Thank you for reading and considering my comment. negative Angela Mummaw
Cheatham County Generation Site_#195
7/7/2023
In the federal register it is stated that: “strategies were analyzed in the context of six different scenarios that described plausible future economic, financial, regulatory, and legislated conditions, as well as social trends and adoption of technological innovations.” Your proposal to create a natural gas pipeline through farmland and pristine waters neglects other possibilities that would make more sense, those that are more technologically advanced than trenching and drilling pipelines, such as implementing solar farms throughout different parts of Nashville, incentivizing land owners to willingly be a part of the implementation of CLEAN energy. People want to choose less disruptive options, you can’t assume there wouldn’t be people willing to cooperate with a program like that because I know several people that have stated they would be! States like California, New Hampshire & New York have plenty of incentives that are helping create more available, non invasive energy sources. This would take time and effort, but so would building a 12 mile pipeline through crazy terrain and there would be a lot less angry people who feel their privacy in the country has been invaded. Another note is to remember, younger generations will not be aspiring to learn and work on pipelines. They are learning about technological innovations and social trends such as solar, hydroelectric, and other new forms of energy production. In a recent posting from the EPA, they announced a $7 billion grant for solar in low income communities. “As we work to build a clean energy future, we must do so in a way that benefits all Americans—no matter their zip code or income,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper (DE), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “When developing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, we intended for $7 billion of the program’s investments to target residential and community solar projects in communities with the greatest need. I’m pleased that the Biden-Harris administration’s Solar for All grant program is going to help deploy clean energy to millions of households, lowering energy costs and creating good-paying jobs across our nation.” This is something the TVA could apply for and implement solar closer to the areas where it is needed and could also benefit low income communities with lower energy costs. I am in support of the No Action Alternative. If you choose to proceed with your invasive pipeline, please consider another site that would be closer to West Nashville where this pipeline is planned to power. Our Cheatham County community does not want to turn into a light pollution, air pollution, soil pollution & water pollution zone at the expense of developing a smart city. We are country folk that choose to live in Ashland City because of the quiet hills and clean air. We live simply and mindfully, we turn the lights off when we leave the house, we enjoy the outdoors and we would hate to see our little paradise turn into an industrial power plant. The proposed power plant would be a mile from us. We would see the lights, we would hear and smell different strange off gases and be worried that if something were to go wrong it would be at the detriment of our community’s safety, health & wellbeing. This does not feel at all aligned with why we choose to live here. Many of our neighbors are living on land that has been passed down through several generations. The skills of farming were passed down along with that which is utterly important to carry on. Don’t displace people for your own greed. Make decisions that make more sense. The disruption, pain, anger and rage that this proposal has caused many will NEVER be forgotten. If you build trust and HEAR our comments and TRULY consider what you can do to ALIGN with our communities’ requests that would be a step in the right direction. It would have been beneficial for your initial proposal to have had multiple ideas of what you could propose to the community as alternatives to the pipeline idea, before getting “permission” to do it. Again, this should be a decision that involves the community not diminishes our feelings about it. WE live here. A couple of questions for you: 1. How would you be sure that the natural gas production would not produce contaminated water? 2. With such a long pipeline, how would you be sure that leaks are tended to? And, how can you assure communities in the area that there will be precautions taken when the pipeline is underground and we may not know that it is leaking and affecting crops, drinking water etc. 3. What other alternatives could you imagine working here if the pipeline was out of the question? https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-launches-7-billion-solar-all-grant- competitionfund#:~:text=The%20Solar%20for%20All%20program%20advances%20President%20Biden's%20Justice40%20Initiative,underserved%2C%20and%20overburdened%20by%20pollution. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/natural-gas-and-theenvironment.php#:~:text=Well%20drilling%20activities%20produce%20air,large%20volumes%20of%20contaminated%20water. chrome- extension://bdfcnmeidppjeaggnmidamkiddifkdib/viewer.html?file=https://tva-azr-eastus-cdn-ep-tvawcm-prd.azureedge.net/cdn-tvawcma/docs/defaultsource/environment/environmental-stew
Cheatham County Generation Site_#194
7/7/2023
negative
Nicolette
Maio
Page 25 of 133
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker