[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28065-28068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10802]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ADMINISTRATION
Western Area Power Administration
Record of Decision for the San Luis Transmission Project (DOE/
EIS-0496)
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Record of decision and statement of floodplain findings.
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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), a power
marketing administration within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),
and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority (Authority), a
California joint powers agency, have prepared a joint Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the San
Luis Transmission Project (SLTP or Proposed Project). Western is the
Federal lead agency under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
and the Authority is the state lead agency under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) is a NEPA Cooperating Agency. The California Department
of Water Resources (DWR) is a CEQA Responsible Agency. Western proposes
to construct, own, operate, and maintain approximately 95 miles of new
transmission lines within easements ranging from 125 to 250 feet wide
through Alameda, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties along the
foothills of the western San Joaquin Valley. Western also would upgrade
or expand its existing substations, make the necessary arrangements to
upgrade or expand existing Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E)
substations, or construct new substations to accommodate the
interconnections of these new transmission lines. The Notice of
Availability (NOA) of the Final EIS/EIR was published in the Federal
Register on March 25, 2016 (81 FR 16175). After considering the
environmental impacts, Western has decided to construct, operate, and
maintain the transmission line and other project components within the
corridors identified as the Agency Preferred Alternative in the Final
EIS/EIR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Donald Lash, NEPA Document
Manager, Western Area Power Administration, Sierra Nevada Region, 114
Parkshore Drive, Folsom, CA 95630-4710; telephone (916) 353-4048. Hard
copies of the EIS/EIR are available from Mr. Lash upon request. For
general information on DOE's NEPA review
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process, please contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of
NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-20, U.S. Department of Energy,
Washington, DC 20585; telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756.
For information related to Reclamation's participation, contact Mr.
Russell Grimes, Chief, Environmental Compliance and Conservation,
Bureau of Reclamation, Mid-Pacific Region, 2800 Cottage Way,
Sacramento, CA 95818, telephone (916) 978-5051, email at
[email protected]. For information related to the Authority's
participation and the CEQA process, contact Ms. Frances Mizuno, General
Manager, San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority, 15990 Kelso Road,
Byron, CA 94514, telephone (209) 832-6200.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western delivers Federal electric power
(mostly hydroelectric power) to Federal preference customers defined to
include municipalities, rural electric cooperatives, public utilities,
irrigation districts, Federal and state agencies, and Native American
tribes. Western also is responsible for making the necessary
arrangements to deliver federal power to Federally authorized projects.
Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country,
supplying more than 31 million people, and providing one out of five
western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million acres of farmland.
Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power
in the western United States with 53 power plants that provide more
than 40 billion kilowatt hours annually and generate nearly a billion
dollars in power revenues. Reclamation's mission is to assist in
meeting the increasing water demands of the West while protecting the
environment and the public's investment in these structures.
Reclamation emphasizes fulfilling its water delivery obligations, water
conservation, water recycling, and reuse goals; developing partnerships
with customers, states, and Native American tribes; and finding ways to
address the competing needs for limited water resources.
The Authority is a California joint powers agency, comprised of
water agencies representing approximately 28 Federal and exchange water
service contractors within the western San Joaquin Valley, San Benito
and Santa Clara counties. One of the primary purposes of establishing
the Authority was to assume the operation and maintenance
responsibilities of certain Reclamation facilities located in the
Central Valley, and to do so at an optimum level and at a lower cost
than Reclamation. The Authority also has the mission of pursuing
additional reliable water supply for its member districts and
delivering the water with a reliable system in a cost efficient manner.
Reclamation entered into a contract with PG&E in 1965 for power
transmission and distribution service between Western's Tracy
Substation and Reclamation's San Luis Unit (SLU) facilities. The
existing transmission contract with PG&E expired in March 2016, and
PG&E has stated it will not be renewed. Without the contract or a
federal transmission line to serve the primary SLU facilities, the
Federal Government will have to take transmission service under the
California Independent System Operator Tariff. This would substantially
increase Reclamation's transmission costs, which are paid by its water
service contractors, including members of the Authority. Reclamation
submitted a transmission service request to Western to consider various
transmission service arrangements, including the construction of new
Federal transmission lines for Reclamation's continued delivery of
federal water after the PG&E contract expires. To meet its purpose and
need Western must respond to Reclamation's request for transmission
service consistent with Western's Open Access Transmission Tariff and
existing laws. In October 2013, Duke American Transmission Company
(DATC) submitted a transmission service request to Western for
transmission service within the same corridor as requested by
Reclamation. Western evaluated both requests jointly in order to
determine if it can satisfy Reclamation's need and DATC's request with
a single project.
The Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS/EIR was published in
the Federal Register on November 22, 2013 (78 FR 70035). Formal public
scoping for the EIS/EIR began with the publication of the NOI and ended
on January 21, 2014. Two public scoping meetings were held on January 8
and 9, 2014. Western distributed notices to 75 local agencies, 8 state
agencies, 6 Federal agencies, 21 organizations, and 39 elected
officials. Western also sent postcards announcing the public scoping
meetings and comment period to all property owners within or adjacent
to the Proposed Project or alternative routes, and published
advertisements on the meetings and comment period in five local
newspapers. The NOA for the Draft EIS/EIR was published in the Federal
Register on July 17, 2015 (80 FR 42491). The NOA established a 45-day
public comment period that ended August 31, 2015. Two public meetings
on the Draft EIS/EIR were held in Tracy, California, on August 10, 2015
and Los Banos, California, on August 11, 2015. Notice of the meeting
was provided through an advertisement in the local newspaper and direct
mailing to approximately 475 addressees. Four individuals provided oral
comments during the public meetings. Western received 26 comment
letters and emails on the Draft EIS/EIR during the comment period, and
Western considered all comments received in developing the Final EIS/
EIR. The NOA for the Final EIS/EIR was published in the Federal
Register on March 25, 2016 (81 FR 16175). Approximately 500
notifications were sent to landowners in the Project area and other
agencies and stakeholders, and notices were published in online and
printed versions of the local newspaper on March 25, 2016. Copies of
the Final EIS/EIR were available for review at two local reading rooms
and were available for download from Western SNR's Web site and the
project Web site. A copy of the EIS/EIR was sent to those who requested
one.
Proposed Action
The SLTP would consist of: (1) A new 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission
line about 65 miles in length between the new Tracy East and Los Banos
West Substations; (2) a new 230-kV transmission line about 3 miles in
length between the new Los Banos West Substation and Western's existing
San Luis Substation; (3) a new 230-kV transmission line about 20 miles
in length between Western's existing San Luis Substation and Western's
existing Dos Amigos Substation or a new 230-kV transmission line about
18 miles in length between the new Los Banos West Substation and
Western's existing Dos Amigos Substation; (4) an interconnection with
the existing Western 500-kV Los Banos-Gates No. 3 transmission line
just south of PG&E's existing Los Banos Substation into the new Los
Banos West Substation; and (5) a new 70-kV transmission line about 7
miles in length between the existing San Luis and O'Neill Substations.
Additional components of the SLTP would include new 230-kV line
terminal bays at Western's San Luis and Dos Amigos Substations, as well
as a new 230/70-kV transformer bank and interconnection facilities at
the San Luis Substation. The SLTP also would include ancillary
facilities, such as communication facilities, improvements to existing
access roads, new permanent access roads, and temporary access roads to
facilitate construction activities. Western would acquire the
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necessary easements and fee land for the Proposed Project.
Western implements Environmental Protection Measures (EPMs) and
Construction Standards to reduce environmental consequences associated
with its construction and maintenance activities. The Final EIS
analysis of environmental consequences considered the EPMs listed in
Table 2-5 and the Construction Standards presented in Appendix F to the
Final EIS as integral components of the Proposed Action. These EPMs and
Construction Standards would be implemented as part of the Proposed
Project.
Description of Alternatives
Western analyzed six corridor alternatives and the No Action/No
Project alternative in the EIS/EIR. An additional seven alternatives
were considered in a screening process and eliminated from further
review based on feasibility considerations. Western divided the
Proposed Project, at common points of the corridors, into four segments
(North, Central, San Luis, South) and examined available alternatives.
Alternative corridors are presented by segment in Table 1, with the
Agency Preferred Alternative shown in highlight:
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN09MY16.295
The No Action/No Project Alternative is the Environmentally
Preferred Alternative because it would avoid any adverse direct,
indirect, or cumulative environmental impacts. However, the No Action/
No Project Alternative would not achieve the purpose and need or basic
project objectives. Therefore, an environmentally preferred action
alternative was identified among the other (i.e., action) alternatives.
The Environmentally Preferred Action Alternative is comprised of:
North Segment--Proposed Route;
Central Segment--Patterson Pass Road Alternative;
San Luis Segment (500-kV)--Proposed Route;
San Luis Segment (70-kV)--Proposed Route; and
South Segment--San Luis to Dos Amigos Alternative.
After analysis of public comments and further internal review of
the EIS/EIR, Western has determined its Agency Preferred Alternative is
the same as the Environmentally Preferred Action Alternative in the
Northern and San Luis (500-kV and 70-kV) segments. In the Central
Segment, the Proposed Route is the Agency Preferred Alternative.
Although it would be closer to residences and have slight increases in
the associated visual and temporary noise impacts, it would have less
of an impact on biological resources. In particular, it would impact
fewer special-status plant species. Additionally, it would require
fewer crossings of the existing high voltage transmission lines, which
would increase reliability by providing more space between circuits. In
the South Segment, the Billy Wright Road Alternative is the Agency
Preferred Alternative. Although it would have greater recreation
impacts by crossing the Path of the Padres Trail and slightly greater
soil disturbance due to its longer length, it would avoid conflicts
with the Wright Solar Park, which is now fully permitted and expected
to begin construction in 2016.
The Agency Preferred Alternative is comprised of:
North Segment--Proposed Route;
Central Segment--Proposed Route;
San Luis Segment (500-kV)--Proposed Route;
San Luis Segment (70-kV)--Proposed Route; and
South Segment--Billy Wright Road Alternative.
Mitigation Measures
All methods identified in Final EIS Table 6.1 to avoid, minimize,
and mitigate environmental impacts from the selected alternative are
adopted in this Record of Decision. Western's standard practices and
project-specific protection measures, listed in the Final EIS/EIR, will
be implemented as part of the Proposed Action, as will all terms and
conditions of any required permits or consultation agreements.
Floodplain Statement of Findings
In accordance with 10 CFR part 1022, Western considered the
potential impacts of the Project on floodplains and wetlands. The
Project could affect floodplains through ground disturbance associated
with construction and operations and maintenance activities, including
operation of heavy equipment, grading, and vegetation clearing for
access roads, site leveling,
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auguring of transmission tower foundations, and other infrastructure
excavations. The Project will place new structures outside of
floodplains where possible. In areas where floodplains cannot be
avoided, Western will engineer transmission towers to withstand a 100-
year flood. Additionally, new structures will be located and designed
so as not to impede flood flows. All construction within a designated
100-year floodplain will be undertaken in consultation with the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. No floodwater will be blocked, nor will
floodwater be diverted outside of an existing floodplain. If avoidance
is infeasible, transmission towers will be located and engineered so as
not to block or substantially alter the natural drainage pattern. In
accordance with Western's Environmental Protection Measures and
Construction Standard 13, culverts or bridges will be installed where
needed to avoid surface water impacts during construction of
transmission line structures.
Decision
Western's decision is to construct the project along the Agency
Preferred Alternative described in the Final EIS/EIR. The measures
identified in Final EIS Table 6.1 are adopted as part of this decision.
The selection of the Agency Preferred Alternative, the adopted measures
from Final EIS Table 6.1, and all terms and conditions of required
permits and consultation agreements satisfies Western's statutory
mission while minimizing harm to the environment. This decision is
based on the information in the Final EIS/EIR. The EIS including this
Record of Decision was prepared according to the requirements of NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality's
regulations for implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and DOE's
procedures for implementing NEPA (10 CFR part 1021).
Dated: April 29, 2016.
Mark A. Gabriel,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2016-10802 Filed 5-6-16; 8:45 am]
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