[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 147 (Monday, August 3, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38391-38392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18413]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules
or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings
and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings,
delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are examples of documents
appearing in this section.
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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 147 / Monday, August 3, 2009 /
Notices
[[Page 38391]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc., Notice
of Intent To Hold Public Scoping Meetings and Prepare an Environmental
Assessment
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Hold Public Scoping Meetings and Prepare an
Environmental Assessment.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) intends to hold public
scoping meetings and prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to meet
its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
and 7 CFR part 1794 in connection with potential impacts related to a
proposed project in Colorado by Tri-State Generation and Transmission
Association, Inc. (Tri-State) and Public Service Company of Colorado
(Public Service), an Xcel Energy Operating Company. The proposed San
Luis Valley-Calumet-Comanche Transmission Project (proposed action)
consists of the following: a proposed 230/345-kilovolt (kV) Calumet
Substation to be located approximately 6 miles north of the existing
Walsenburg Substation in Huerfano County; a proposed double-circuit
230-kV transmission line between the existing San Luis Valley
Substation in Alamosa County and the Calumet Substation; a proposed
single-circuit 230-kV transmission line between the Calumet Substation
and the Walsenburg Substation; and a proposed double-circuit 345-kV
transmission line connecting the Calumet Substation to the existing
Comanche Substation in Pueblo County. Tri-State is requesting that RUS
provide financial assistance for the proposed action.
DATES: RUS will conduct public scoping meetings in an open house format
to provide information and solicit comments for the preparation of the
EA. The scoping meetings will be held on the following dates: Monday,
August 17, 2009, from 4-7 p.m. at the Blanca/Fort Garland Community
Center, 17591 Highway 160, Blanca, Colorado 81123; Tuesday, August 18,
2009, from 4-7 p.m. at the Alamosa Recreation Center, 2222 Old Sanford
Road, Alamosa, Colorado 81101; Wednesday, August 19, 2009, from 9 a.m.-
11 a.m. at the Gardner Community Center, 28 County Road 632, Gardner,
Colorado 81040; Wednesday, August 19, 2009, from 4-7 p.m. at the
Walsenburg Community Center, 928 Russell Avenue, Walsenburg, Colorado
81089-2155; Thursday, August 20, 2009, from 9 a.m.-11 a.m. at the
Hollydot Golf Course, 55 North Parkway Drive, Colorado City, Colorado
81019; and Thursday, August 20, 2009, from 4-7 p.m. at the Sangre de
Cristo Arts and Conference Center, 210 N. Santa Fe Avenue, Pueblo,
Colorado 81003. All written questions and comments must be received by
RUS by September 21, 2009.
ADDRESSES: To send comments or for further information, contact: Dennis
Rankin, Environmental Protection Specialist, USDA Rural Utilities
Service, at 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, Washington, DC
20250-1571, or e-mail: dennis.rankin@wdc.usda.gov. A combined
Alternative Evaluation Study (AES) and Macro Corridor Study (MCS) has
been prepared for the San Luis Valley to Walsenburg portion of the
proposed project, and an AES and MCS have been prepared for the Calumet
to Comanche portion of the proposed project. All documents are
available for public review prior to and at the public scoping
meetings. The reports are available at the RUS address provided in this
notice and on the agency's Web site: http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/eis.htm. The documents are also available for review at the offices of
Tri-State and its member cooperatives San Luis Valley Rural Electric
Cooperative and San Isabel Electric Cooperative. In addition, the
following repositories will have the AES and MCS available for public
review:
Tri-State Generation & Transmission, 1100 West 116th Avenue,
Westminster, CO 80234-2814,
San Isabel Electric Association, 893 East Enterprise Drive, Pueblo
West, CO 81007-1476
La Veta Public Library District, 310 Main Street, La Veta, CO 81055-
0028
Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library, 100 East Abriendo Avenue, ,
Pueblo, CO 81004-4232
Costilla County Public Library, 418 Gasper Street, San Luis, CO 81152-
0351
San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative, 3625 U.S. Highway 160 W,
Monte Vista, CO 81144-9300
Southern Peaks Public Library, 423 Fourth Street , Alamosa, CO 81101-
2601
Carnegie Public Library, 120 Jefferson Street, Monte Vista, CO 81144-
1797
Lamb Branch Library, 2525 South Pueblo Boulevard, Pueblo, CO 81005-2700
Spanish Peaks Library District, 323 Main Street, Walsenburg, CO 81089-
1842
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The primary purpose for the proposed action
is to improve the electric service and increase reliability for Tri-
State and Public Service customers in the San Luis Valley and Front
Range areas. The proposed action would also provide a transmission
outlet for renewable energy generation in the San Luis Valley. This
proposed action will assist Tri-State and Public Service in meeting
their respective transmission needs in the region by using one common
transmission corridor instead of two separate corridors. This joint
approach will minimize potential impacts to property owners and the
environment.
Tri-State is seeking financing from RUS for its percent ownership
in the proposed project. Prior to making a financial decision about
whether to provide financial assistance for a proposed project, RUS is
required to conduct an environmental review under the NEPA in
accordance with the RUS policies and procedures codified in 7 CFR Part
1794. Government agencies, private organizations, and the public are
invited to participate in the planning and analysis of the proposed
action. Representatives from the RUS, Tri-State, and Public Service
will be available at the scoping meetings to discuss the environmental
review process, describe the proposed action, discuss the scope of
environmental issues to be considered, answer questions, and
[[Page 38392]]
accept comments. RUS will use comments and input provided by government
agencies, private organizations, and the public in the preparation of
the Draft EA. If RUS finds, based on the EA, that the proposed action
will not have a significant effect on the quality of the human
environment, RUS will prepare a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI). Public notification of a Finding of No Significant Impact
would be published in the Federal Register and in newspapers with
circulation in the project area. RUS may take its final action on
proposed actions requiring an EA (Sec. 1794.23) any time after
publication of applicant notices that a FONSI has been made and any
required review period has expired. When substantive comments are
received on the EA, RUS may provide an additional period (15 days) for
public review following the publication of its FONSI determination.
Final action will not be taken until this review period has expired.
Where appropriate to carry out the purposes of NEPA, RUS may impose, on
a case-by-case basis, additional requirements associated with the
preparation of an EA. If at any point in the preparation of an EA, RUS
determines that the proposed action will have a significant effect on
the quality of the human environment, the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement will be required.
Any final action by RUS related to the proposed action will be
subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with all relevant Federal,
State, and local environmental laws and regulations and completion of
the environmental review requirements as prescribed in the RUS
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794).
Dated: July 28, 2009.
Mark S. Plank,
Director, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. E9-18413 Filed 7-31-09; 8:45 am]
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