[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51559-51560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20892]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLUTC010000-L51010000-ER0000-LVRWJ10J4080; UTU-044897]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the
Proposed Cameron to Milford--138 kV Transmission Line Project and
Possible Amendment to the Cedar Beaver Garfield Antimony Resource
Management Plan for the Cedar City Field Office, Cedar City, UT
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Cedar
City Field Office, Cedar City, Utah, intends to prepare an
Environmental Assessment (EA) and possible Resource Management Plan
(RMP) amendment and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the
scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EA and
possible RMP amendment. Comments on issues may be submitted in writing
until September 24, 2012. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local
media, newspapers and the BLM Web site at: https://www.ut.blm.gov/enbb/index.php. In order to be included in the EA, all comments must be
received prior to the close of the scoping period or 15 days after the
last public meeting, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Cameron to Milford--
138 kV Transmission Line Project by any of the following methods:
Web site: https://www.ut.blm.gov/enbb/index.php.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 435-865-3058.
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City Field Office,
176 East DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721, ATTN: Karen McAdams-
Kunze.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Cedar
City Field Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Karen McAdams-Kunze,
telephone 435-865-3073; Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City Field
Office, 176 East DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah; email
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant PacifiCorp, doing business as
Rocky Mountain Power, has requested a right-of-way (ROW) authorization
to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 138 kV single-
circuit overhead transmission line on Federal lands. The project would
provide an additional 27 megawatts of reliable electrical capacity by
2014 to resolve current system constraints and respond to anticipated
load growth in western Beaver County, Utah. The proposed project would
begin at the existing Cameron Substation near Beaver, Utah, and
terminate at the existing Milford Substation near the town of Milford,
Utah. The project area would span approximately 19 miles, about 12 of
which would be on BLM-administered lands, depending on the route
selected. Rocky Mountain Power has identified alternative routes
between the two substations. These routes would affect Federal, State,
and private lands. The requested ROW width on Federal lands is 60 feet
except for a portion of one alternative route. The requested width for
that portion is 100 feet where it passes over steep terrain. Rocky
Mountain Power proposes to use predominately single wood pole
structures, approximately 55 to 90 feet in height with average spans
between poles of 350 to 500 feet. No new permanent roads would be
constructed. Temporary spur routes approximately 12 feet wide and
temporary workspace would be needed during construction for material
storage, conductor-tensioning sites, and to accommodate vehicles and
equipment.
Authorization of this proposal may require amending the Cedar
Beaver Garfield Antimony RMP, approved in 1986, by changing
approximately 594 acres of an existing 27,494-acre Visual Resource
Management (VRM) Class II to Class III or IV. This would occur in the
Mineral Mountains along the existing Pass Road, which is a Beaver
County, Utah, recorded Class B Road. By this notice, the BLM is
complying with requirements in 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of
potential amendments to land use plans,
[[Page 51560]]
predicated on the finding of the EA. Should an RMP amendment be
necessary, it will be based on the following preliminary planning
criteria:
The RMP amendment will focus only on VRM class
designations;
The RMP amendment will comply with NEPA, FLPMA, and other
applicable laws, executive orders, regulations and policy;
The RMP amendment will recognize valid existing rights;
The BLM will use a collaborative and multi-jurisdictional
approach, where possible to determine the desired future condition of
the public lands;
The BLM will consider the management prescriptions on
adjoining lands to minimize inconsistent management; and
Management prescriptions will focus on the relative values
of resources and not necessarily the combination of uses that will give
the greatest economic return or economic output.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant
issues and planning criteria that will influence the scope of the
environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process
for developing the EA. At present, the BLM has identified the following
preliminary issues: cultural resources; crucial deer, elk, greater
sage-grouse and upland game habitat, migratory bird habitat; special
status species; surface water quality; recreation; socioeconomics; soil
erosion; riparian areas; forestry; vegetation management; wilderness
character; and visual resources.
You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To
be most helpful, comments should be submitted by the close of the 30-
day scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting,
whichever is later.
The BLM will use NEPA public participation requirements to assist
the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C.
470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic
and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by the
proposed project will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating
impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106
of the NHPA.
The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the
proposed project that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis
as a cooperating agency.
Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us to withhold
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot
guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.
Shelley J. Smith,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-20892 Filed 8-23-12; 8:45 am]
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