[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 157 (Friday, August 14, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 43659]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-21920]
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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
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 157 / Friday, August 14, 1998 /
Notices
[[Page 43659]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
Georgia Transmission Corporation, Notice of Intent
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Hold Scoping Meeting and Prepare an
Environmental Assessment and/or Environmental Impact Statement.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS),
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
Regulations for Implementing NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), and RUS
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR Part 1794) proposes to
prepare an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for its Federal action related to a proposal by Georgia
Transmission Corporation to construct approximately 35 miles of 230 kV
transmission line between Moultrie and Valdosta, Georgia.
MEETING INFORMATION: RUS will conduct scoping meetings in an open house
forum on Thursday, September 17, 1998, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the
Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation auditorium located at 17
Rowland Drive, in Moultrie, Georgia, and on Friday, September 18, 1998,
from 9 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. in the Patterson Room of the Holiday Inn
in Valdosta, Georgia, which is located on Interstate 75 at State Route
133 (exit 5).
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Bob Quigel, Engineering and Environmental
Staff, Rural Utility Service, Stop 1571, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone (202) 720-0468. Bob's E-mail
address is [email protected]. Information on this project will also
be available on Georgia Transmission Corporation's web site. The web
site address is www.gatrans.com.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Georgia Transmission Corporation proposes to
construct the transmission line from a proposed substation to be
constructed in Northeast Moultrie to a proposed substation to be
constructed in Northwest Valdosta. Both substations will be constructed
by Georgia Power Company. Steel or concrete H-frame structures will be
used to support the conductors for the majority of the length of the
project. The heights of these structures typically range from 65 to 85
feet and require a right-of-way width of 125 feet. Single pole steel or
concrete structures may also be used to support the conductors. These
structures would typically range in height from 80 to 100 feet and
require a right-of-way width of 100 feet. The study area for the
transmission line includes portions of Colquitt, Brooks, Cook, and
Lowndes Counties, Georgia.
Alternatives considered by RUS and Georgia Transmission Corporation
to constructing the transmission line as proposed include no action and
constructing a 230 kV transmission line between Moultrie and
Thomasville.
To be presented at the public scoping meeting will be a corridor
and alternative study prepared by Georgia Transmission Corporation. The
corridor and alternative study is available for public review at RUS at
the address provided in this notice or at Georgia Transmission
Corporation, 2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, Georgia. This document
will also be available at the Cook County Library located at 213 East
2nd Street in Adel, Georgia, the South Georgia Regional Library located
at 300 Woodrow Wilson Drive in Valdosta, Georgia, the Brooks County
Library located at 404 Talokas Road in Quitman, Georgia, and the
Moultrie/Colquitt County Library located at 204 5th Street, SE, in
Moultrie, Georgia.
Government agencies, private organizations, and the public are
invited to participate in the planning and analysis of the proposed
project. Representatives from RUS and Georgia Transmission Corporation
will be available at the scoping meeting to discuss RUS's environmental
review process, describe the project and alternatives under
consideration, discuss the scope of environmental issues to be
considered, answer questions, and accept oral and written comments.
Written comments will be accepted for at least 30 days after the public
scoping meeting. Written comments should be sent to RUS at the address
provided in this notice.
From information provided in the corridor and alternative study,
input that may be provided by government agencies, private
organizations, and the public, Georgia Transmission Corporation will
prepare an environmental analysis to be submitted to RUS for review. If
significant impacts are not evident based on a review of the
environmental analysis and other relevant information, RUS will prepare
an environmental assessment to determine if the preparation of an EIS
is warranted.
Should RUS determine that the preparation of an EIS is not
warranted, it will prepare a finding of no significant impact (FONSI).
The FONSI will be made available for public review and comment for 30
days. Public notification of a FONSI would be published in the Federal
Register and in newspapers with a circulation in the project area. RUS
will not take its final action related to the project prior to the
expiration of the 30-day period.
Any final action by RUS related to the proposed project will be
subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with environmental review
requirements as prescribed by CEQ and RUS environmental policies and
procedures.
Dated: August 11, 1998.
Glendon Deal,
Acting Director, Engineering and Environmental Staff.
[FR Doc. 98-21920 Filed 8-13-98; 8:45 am]
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