Mine Plan Approval for Illinois Coal Mineral Rights Lease, Sugar Camp Mine No. 1

Franklin, Hamilton and Jefferson Counties, Illinois

On August 23, 2024, TVA issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the proposed expansion of mining operations under Sugar Camp Mine No.1 under Significant Boundary Revision (SBR) 8. TVA prepared the EIS to evaluate the environmental effects of the proposed expansion of mining operations by Sugar Camp to extract TVA-owned coal from a 21,868-acre area in southern Illinois as proposed in Significant Boundary Revision (SBR) Number (No.) 8 of its Underground Coal Mine (UCM) Permit No. 382. Four alternatives are evaluated in this EIS, consisting of a No Action Alternative and three action alternatives including divestiture of TVA-owned coal. The final EIS is tentatively scheduled for release in late summer/early fall 2024. TVA will consider all comments received on the draft in the final EIS and subsequent Record of Decision tentatively scheduled for release in January 2025.

Since 2011, TVA has conducted several environmental reviews of proposals to mine TVA-owned coal reserves underlying areas of Franklin and Hamilton counties, Illinois by Sugar Camp Energy LLC, with whom TVA has executed a lease to mine its coal reserves. TVA’s reviews have considered expansions of underground mining operations of the Sugar Camp Energy Mine No. 1 (Illinois Mine Permit No. 382) into areas of TVA-owned coal reserves. The State of Illinois must approve operations and expansions of Mine No. 1; mining of TVA-owned coal reserves by Sugar Camp Energy requires approval by TVA.

In 2011, TVA approved Sugar Camp Energy’s plan for Mine No. 1 to mine coal from approximately 2,600-acres of TVA holdings in Hamilton County, Illinois. In 2013, TVA approved a mine expansion to allow Sugar Camp Energy to mine additional coal reserves underlying an 880.3-acre area. In 2018, TVA approved another mine expansion into the Viking District #2 area, encompassing almost 2,250 acres in Franklin and Hamilton counties. In 2019, TVA completed a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) to review an 85-acre expansion of Mine No. 1 and issued a finding of no significant impact. In 2020, TVA issued a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision approving Sugar Camp’s application to mine approximately 12,125 acres of TVA-owned coal reserves in Illinois, as part of the Sugar Camp Mine No. 1 expansion.

Public Involvement

TVA is making the Draft EIS available for a 45-day public review and comment period. Comments may be submitted online, via email to [email protected], or mailed to Elizabeth Smith at the address below. To be considered, comments must be received no later than October 15, 2024.

Please note that any comments received, including names and addresses, will become part of the project administrative record and will be available for public inspection.

Project Schedule

(Dates are subject to change. Unexpected issues may arise, resulting in the need to adjust the schedule.)