[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15556-15557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06626]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAZ920000 16X L51010000.ER0000 LVRWA16A3240]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Ten West Link 500-Kilovolt Transmission Line Project and
Potential Amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan
in Maricopa and La Paz Counties, AZ, and Riverside County, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona State
Office, Phoenix, Arizona, with the possibility of Western Area Power
Administration serving as a co-lead agency, intends to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Ten West Link
500-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (Project) and potential
amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan pursuant to
the BLM's land use planning regulations. By this notice, the BLM is
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify issues on the proposed transmission line and
potential plan amendment.
DATES: Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until May 9,
2016. 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: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html. In order to
be included in the Draft EIS, all comments must be received prior to
the close of the scoping period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will provide additional
opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft
EIS.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the
following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 602-417-9452,
Mail: BLM, Arizona State Office, Attention: Eddie Arreola/
Ten West Link Project, One North Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ
85004.
[[Page 15557]]
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Arizona
State Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eddie Arreola, Project Manager, at
telephone 602-417-9505; address: BLM, Arizona State Office, One North
Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85004; email: [email protected].
People who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339 during
normal business hours to contact the BLM Project Manager listed above.
The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question for the above individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, DCR Transmission, LLC, has
submitted an application to the BLM for a right-of-way (ROW) to
construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a single-circuit 500-kV
transmission line. Authorization of the proposed transmission line may
require an amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan
(January 2010) to change visual resource management classifications and
to possibly change or reclassify designated utility corridors. The
proposed transmission line may require other land use plan amendments
for the Project, including the Lower Sonoran, Bradshaw-Harquahala, Lake
Havasu Resource Management Plans and the California Desert Conservation
Area Plan, depending on newly proposed alternatives during scoping and
during the analysis. The Project would provide a connection between the
Arizona Public Service Company's Delaney Substation in Tonopah,
Arizona, and the Southern California Edison Company's (SCE) Colorado
River Substation in Blythe, California. The project purpose is to
strengthen the electrical grid and improve reliability. The Project
area involves approximately 83 miles of public lands along a route
spanning roughly 114 miles. Approximately 97 miles is in Arizona and 17
miles is in California. The Project would largely follow the existing
SCE Devers-Palo Verde 500-kV No.1 (DPV1) transmission line in an
established utility corridor. The transmission line may be supported by
a combination of self-supporting H-frame structures and steel lattice
structures. Any final decision on a specific type of structure will be
based on topography, structural requirements, economics, the
environment, and other applicable considerations. The structures are
anticipated to be constructed of guyed galvanized steel with a height
ranging from 100 to 190 feet, and a width of approximately 100 feet.
The distance between each structure would depend on site-specific
characteristics, but is expected to be 400 to 2,200 feet with an
average span length of approximately 1,600 feet.
The Project would involve additional facilities, including the
construction of a series compensation substation parallel to the
existing compensation substation located in Vicksburg, Arizona. To the
extent possible, existing access roads for the DPV1 transmission line
would be used for construction and maintenance. For a 2.8-mile segment
of the proposed route, DCR Transmission would need an agreement with
SCE to use the vacant circuit positions on SCE's existing double-
circuit towers in the Copper Bottom Pass area. The requested ROW width
on public lands is 200 feet.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis,
including potential alternatives, and guide the process for developing
the EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary
issues: Visual resource management classifications that would not allow
a 500kV transmission line, possible route changes outside the
designated corridors, potential interference with the U.S. Army's Yuma
Proving Ground; cultural resources; Native American cultural concerns;
social and economic effects; potential public health and safety;
wildlife (including migratory birds); special status species; and
recreation. The analysis will also consider mitigation at a regional
scale for those resources that warrant mitigation offsite.
The BLM will use the NEPA public participation requirements to
assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54
U.S.C. 306108) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about
historic and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by
the Project will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts
to such resources in the context of both the 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.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes and other
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the Project are
invited to participate in the scoping process. If eligible, they may
request or be requested by the BLM to participate in the development of
the environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.
Raymond Suazo,
Arizona State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-06626 Filed 3-22-16; 8:45 am]
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