[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 229 (Tuesday, November 30, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74042-74043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30067]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
[DOE/EIS-0462]
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and To
Conduct Scoping Meetings: Interconnection of the Proposed Crowned Ridge
Wind Energy Center Project, South Dakota
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and To Conduct Scoping Meetings; Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands
Involvement.
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SUMMARY: NextEra Energy Resources (NextEra) applied to interconnect its
proposed 150-megawatt (MW) Crowned Ridge Wind Energy Center Project
(Project) with the Western Area Power Administration's (Western)
existing Watertown Substation in Codington County, South Dakota. The
proposed Project would be located in Codington and Grant counties,
South Dakota. Western will prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS) on the proposal to interconnect the Project in accordance with
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) NEPA Implementing Procedures, and the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA.
Western's need for agency action is precipitated by NextEra's
application to interconnect with Western's power transmission system.
Western needs to consider NextEra's interconnection request under its
Open Access Transmission Service Tariff (Tariff). This EIS will address
Western's Federal action of interconnecting the proposed Project to
Western's transmission system, making changes within Western's existing
Watertown Substation to physically connect NextEra's proposed Project,
and making any necessary system modifications to accommodate the
interconnection. By taking these actions, power generated by NextEra's
proposed Project would use Western's transmission system to reach the
market.
Portions of NextEra's proposed Project may affect floodplains and
wetlands, so this Notice of Intent (NOI) also serves as a notice of
proposed floodplain or wetland action in accordance with DOE floodplain
and wetland environmental review requirements.
DATES: A public scoping meeting will be held on December 15, 2011, from
5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Watertown, South Dakota.
The public scoping period starts with the publication of this
notice and ends on January 14, 2011. Western will consider all comments
on the scope of the EIS received or postmarked by that date. The public
is invited to submit comments on the proposed Project at any time
during the EIS process.
ADDRESSES: Western will host public scoping meetings at the Watertown
Public Library Community Room, 160 6th Street North, Watertown, South
Dakota, to provide information on the Project and gather comments on
the proposal. Oral or written comments may be provided at the public
scoping meetings or mailed or e-mailed to Matt Marsh, Upper Great
Plains Regional Office, Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box
35800, Billings, MT 59107-5800, e-mail [email protected], telephone (800)
358-3415.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information on the
proposed Project, the EIS process, or to receive a copy of the Draft
EIS when it is published, contact Matt Marsh at the addresses above.
For general information on the DOE's NEPA review process, contact Carol
M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-54,
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC 20585-0119, telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756, facsimile
(202) 586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western is a Federal power marketing agency
within the DOE that markets and delivers Federal wholesale electric
power (principally hydroelectric power) to municipalities, rural
electric cooperatives, public utilities, irrigation districts, Federal
and State agencies, and Native American tribes in 15 western and
central States. NextEra's proposed Project would be located within
Western's Upper Great Plains Region, which operates in North and South
Dakota, most of Montana, and portions of Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.
NextEra applied to interconnect their proposed 150-MW Project with
Western's existing Watertown Substation in Codington County, South
Dakota. The proposed wind farm Project would be located entirely on
private lands; no State- or Federal-managed land would be affected.
There are no designated cooperating agencies at this time, but
cooperating agencies could be identified at a later date.
Western will prepare an EIS on the interconnection of the proposed
Project in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347); DOE NEPA
Implementing Procedures (10 CFR part 1021), and the CEQ regulations for
implementing NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508).\1\
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\1\ On October 4, 1999, DOE's Assistant Secretary for
Environmental, Safety and Health delegated to Western's
Administrator the authority to approve EISs for integrating
transmission facilities with Western's transmission grid.
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Purpose and Need for Agency Action
Western's need for agency action is precipitated by NextEra's
application to interconnect with Western's power transmission system.
Western needs to consider NextEra's interconnection request under
Western's Tariff, which provides for open access to its transmission
system through an interconnection if there is available capacity in the
transmission system. This EIS will address Western's Federal action of
interconnecting NextEra's proposed Project with Watertown Substation,
making changes within the substation to physically accomplish the
interconnection, and making any necessary system modifications to
accommodate the interconnection. Preliminary studies indicate that the
power system can accommodate the proposed interconnection without
negatively affecting system reliability or power deliveries to existing
customers. The transmission system may require network and/or
transmission system upgrades as determined in the final studies. Any
such upgrades would be funded by NextEra as a condition of the
interconnection.
Proposed Action
In compliance with the provisions of the Tariff, and considering
the environmental impacts of NextEra's proposed Project as identified
by the EIS process, Western will consider NextEra's interconnection
request. If approved the necessary changes within Watertown Substation
would be made to accomplish the interconnection, and power generated by
the proposed Project would use Western's transmission system to reach
the
[[Page 74043]]
market. Western will consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act and with the South Dakota
State Historic Preservation Office under section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act.
Alternatives
Western must respond to NextEra's proposed Project as it is
described in the interconnection application, and make a decision on
interconnection based on that application. However, Western will use
the information in NextEra's interconnection request to evaluate
possible options for transmission line approaches to Watertown
Substation. The location of the interconnection bay within the
substation, other transmission lines, and any future development plans
will all be considered in siting the approach. Under the no action
alternative, Western would not approve the interconnection request, nor
construct the interconnection facility.
Applicant's Proposed Project
NextEra's proposed Project would consist of up to 100 wind turbine
generators with a combined total generating capacity of 150 MW, located
within an approximately 20,000-acre site in Codington and Grant
counties, northeast of Watertown and east of Interstate 29. The
turbines would be located in short east-west or southwest-northeast
oriented strings, with the strings widely scattered over an area of
roughly 6 by 11 miles in size. Each turbine would be approximately 389
feet tall from tip of blade to base, and 262 feet tall from the ground
to the hub. In addition to the turbines, other proposed Project
facilities would include all-weather access roads to each turbine
location; underground power collection lines linking turbines to the
Project collector substation; the Project collector substation; an
approximately 15-mile-long high-voltage transmission line linking the
collector substation to Western's Watertown Substation; operation and
maintenance facilities and yard; Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition equipment and metering equipment; and two or three
permanent meteorological towers.
While Western's Federal action is to consider the interconnection
request and the physical interconnection to Western's existing
substation, the EIS will also identify and review the environmental
impacts of NextEra's proposed Project. NextEra will be responsible for
completing necessary coordination with State and local agencies to
permit their proposed Project.
NextEra intends to provide renewable energy to local utilities in
response to South Dakota's Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, passed
in 2008, which mandate that 10 percent of all electricity consumed in
the State be produced from renewable sources by 2015.
Floodplain or Wetland Involvement
Floodplains and wetlands are common in this part of South Dakota.
Since the proposed Project may involve action in floodplains or
wetlands, this NOI also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or
wetland action. The EIS will include a floodplain/wetland assessment
and floodplain/wetland statement of findings following DOE regulations
for compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review (10
CFR part 1022).
Environmental Issues
The location of the proposed Project is in a relatively sparsely
populated portion of eastern South Dakota. The area is characterized by
extensive agriculture and pasture with scattered farmsteads on section
line roads. NextEra has secured leases with willing landowners for its
wind generation turbines and related facilities. Available overview
information indicates this area has a relatively low probability of
substantial natural resources conflicts. NextEra's siting process for
the wind turbine strings and associated facilities considered sensitive
resources, and the proposed Project was designed to avoid these areas.
The EIS will evaluate the level of impact the interconnection and
NextEra's proposed Project would have on environmental resources within
the 20,000-acre site, which may lead to minor modifications in the
proposed Project to further avoid or minimize resource impacts. While
no substantive resource conflicts have been identified thus far, the
EIS will analyze the potential impacts on potentially affected
environmental resources. Wind farm projects are generally known to have
visual and noise effects, and may affect birds and bats.
Public Participation
Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping
process to help define the scope, significant resources, and issues to
be analyzed in depth, and to eliminate from detailed study issues that
are not pertinent. The scoping process will involve all interested
agencies (Federal, State, county, and local), Native American tribes,
public interest groups, businesses, affected landowners, and individual
members of the public.
Western will consult with potentially affected or interested tribes
to jointly evaluate and address the potential effects on cultural
resources, traditional cultural properties, or other resources
important to the tribes. These nation-to-nation consultations will be
conducted in accordance with Executive Order 13175, Consultation and
Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments (65 FR 67249), the
President's memorandum of April 29, 1994, Government-to-Government
Relations with Native American Tribal Governments (59 FR 22951), DOE-
specific guidance on tribal interactions, and applicable natural and
cultural resources laws and regulations.
A public scoping meeting will be held as described under DATES and
ADDRESSES above. The meeting will be informal, and attendees will be
able to speak directly with Western and NextEra representatives about
the proposed Project. The public is encouraged to provide information
and comments on issues it believes Western should address in the EIS.
Comments may be broad in nature or restricted to specific areas of
concern. After gathering comments on the scope of the EIS, Western will
address those issues raised in the EIS. Comments on Western's proposed
action and NextEra's proposed Project will be accepted at any time
during the EIS process, and may be directed to Western as described
under ADDRESSES above.
Western's EIS process will include the public scoping meetings;
consultation and coordination with appropriate Federal, State, county,
and local agencies and tribal governments; involvement with affected
landowners; distribution of and public review and comment on the Draft
EIS; a formal public hearing or hearings on the Draft EIS; distribution
of a published Final EIS; and publication of Western's Record of
Decision in the Federal Register.
Dated: November 19, 2010.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-30067 Filed 11-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P