Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement To Evaluate Wind Energy Development in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Landscape-Level Easement Program in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Eastern Montana; and To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings, 52855-52858 [E8-21149]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 177 / Thursday, September 11, 2008 / Notices
Western Area Power Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement To Evaluate Wind Energy
Development in Iowa, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and
South Dakota; Including the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service’s Landscape-Level
Easement Program in North Dakota,
South Dakota, and Eastern Montana;
and To Conduct Public Scoping
Meetings
Western Area Power
Administration, U.S. Department of
Energy, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
AGENCIES:
Notice of Intent to Prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, and to Conduct Public
Scoping Meetings.
ACTION:
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended; and the
Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations; the U.S. Department
of Energy, Western Area Power
Administration (Western), and the U.S.
Department of the Interior, Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), will, as joint
lead agencies, prepare a Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
(Programmatic EIS) to evaluate issues
associated with wind energy
development within Western’s Upper
Great Plains Customer Service Region
(UGP Region), which encompasses all or
parts of the States of Iowa, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and
South Dakota; and upon the Service’s
landscape-level grassland and wetland
easements in North Dakota, South
Dakota, and eastern Montana. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Rural Utility
Services (RUS) plans to participate as a
cooperating agency. Public scoping
meetings will be held during the
Programmatic EIS scoping period.
The public scoping meetings will
be held September 30, October 1 and 2,
2008. The public scoping period starts
with the publication of this notice in the
Federal Register and will continue until
November 10, 2008. Western and the
Service will consider all electronic and
written comments on the scope of the
Programmatic EIS received on the
project Web site (https://
plainswindeis.anl.gov), or postmarked
by November 10, 2008.
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DATES:
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Western and the Service
will hold public scoping meetings to
obtain comments on the Programmatic
EIS at 6 p.m., at the following locations:
1. September 30, 2008, Holiday Inn
City Centre, 100 West 8th St., Sioux
Falls, SD.
2. October 1, 2008, Radisson Hotel,
605 East Broadway Avenue, Bismarck,
ND.
3. October 2, 2008, Quality Inn
Homestead Park, 2036 Overland
Avenue, Billings, MT.
The agencies will also announce the
exact locations and times of the public
meetings through the local media, the
project Web site (https://
plainswindeis.anl.gov), and an
interested party mailing list. You may
submit comments electronically, using
the online comment form available on
the project Web site (https://
plainswindeis.anl.gov), or by letter to
WAPA/FWS Wind Energy
Programmatic EIS Scoping, Argonne
National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass
Avenue–EVS/900, Argonne, IL 60439.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on Western’s proposed
Comprehensive Management Program
for Wind Energy Project
Interconnections, and general
information about interconnections with
Western’s transmission system, contact
Nicholas Stas, Regional Environmental
Manager, Upper Great Plains Customer
Service Region, Western Area Power
Administration, P.O. Box 35800,
Billings, MT 59107–5800, telephone
(406) 247–7404, facsimile (406) 247–
7408, e-mail stas@wapa.gov. For
information on the Programmatic EIS
process, or to receive a copy of the Draft
Programmatic EIS when it is issued,
contact Mark Wieringa, NEPA
Document Manager, Western Area
Power Administration, P.O. Box 281213,
Lakewood, CO 80228–8213, telephone
(800) 336–7288, facsimile (720) 962–
7263, e-mail wieringa@wapa.gov.
For information on the Service’s
participation in the Programmatic EIS,
contact Michael Spratt, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 134 Union Boulevard,
Lakewood, CO 80228–1807, telephone
(303) 236–4366, facsimile (303) 236–
4792, e-mail Michael_Spratt@fws.gov.
For information on RUS’s
participation in the Programmatic EIS,
contact Barbara R. Britton,
Environmental Protection Specialist,
Engineering and Environmental Staff,
Water and Environmental Programs,
Rural Development-Utilities Programs,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400
Independence Avenue, SW., Mail Stop
1571, Washington, DC 20250; telephone
(202) 720–1414; facsimile (202) 720–
ADDRESSES:
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
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0820; e-mail
Barbara.Britton@wdc.usda.gov.
For general information on the DOE’s
NEPA review process, contact Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance, GC–20, 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’s
UGP Region proposes to develop and
implement a comprehensive regionwide management program for windenergy project interconnections in
response to an increasing number of
wind-energy project interconnection
requests. The UGP Region includes all
or parts of the States of Iowa,
Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North
Dakota, and South Dakota. The requests
are primarily from independent wind
project developers who wish to
interconnect their projects to the UGP
Region’s transmission system, in order
to move their generation to market.
Currently, Western addresses each
request for interconnection separately,
in the order that they are received.
The objective of Western’s proposed
program would be to support the
processing of these interconnection
requests, including NEPA analyses, by
having already addressed generic
environmental interconnection concerns
and issues in a Programmatic EIS. The
Programmatic EIS would analyze, to the
extent practicable, the impacts resulting
from development of wind energy
projects and the effectiveness of
mitigation measures, standard
construction practices, and best
management practices in reducing
potential impacts. Impacts and
mitigation would be analyzed for each
environmental resource, and all aspects
of wind energy projects would be
addressed, including turbine,
transformer, collector line, access road,
and substation installations, and
operational and maintenance activities.
The program would be structured to
complement Western’s Open Access
Transmission Service Tariff (Tariff),
which includes procedures for
addressing wind-energy project
interconnection requests.
Many of the impacts resulting from
wind energy infrastructure
development, including siting wind
turbines, access roads, underground
collector lines, overhead lines, and
substations, are well known. Similarly,
effective mitigation measures and best
management practices have been
developed to reduce the environmental
impacts of constructing and operating
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 177 / Thursday, September 11, 2008 / Notices
wind-energy developments. The
Programmatic EIS will collect and
analyze this information as it applies to
wind-energy development in the six
states included in the UGP Region.
Specifically, the EIS and program
would:
1. Define areas with a high potential
for wind-energy development near UGP
Region’s transmission system in
anticipation of future wind-generation
interconnection requests.
2. Define natural and human
environment resources in areas with
high wind-energy development
potential, including Native American
lands, to support analyses of the
environmental impacts and
development of wind-energy resources.
3. Develop and present mitigation
measures for reducing wind-energy
development impacts on the natural and
human environment for use by
interconnection applicants in
addressing the environmental impacts
of their projects.
4. Complete a programmatic
Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 7
consultation for listed and proposed
threatened and endangered species
within the study area boundaries
established for the Programmatic EIS.
5. Implement an adaptive
management approach that requires
mitigation implementation monitoring
and reporting to ensure that the best
mitigation measures are identified and
employed to reduce environmental
impacts. The monitoring reports would
be used by Western and the Service to
periodically update mitigation practices.
6. Define thresholds for significant
direct, indirect, and cumulative
environmental impacts from windenergy developments and associated
transmission system enhancements to
support the impact analysis in the
Programmatic EIS.
7. Define circumstances tied to laws,
regulations, and policies that have
potential to affect wind-energy resource
development.
8. Define possible transmission
system enhancements to support wind
development and the general level of
impacts expected from these
transmission enhancements.
9. Provide a guide for interconnection
applicants that includes information
about natural resources within areas
with a high potential for wind
development, requirements for
subsequent site-specific environmental
reviews, transmission capacity needs
and availability, and appropriate
mitigation measures to minimize
adverse environmental impacts related
to wind projects and associated
transmission system enhancements.
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The Service maintains a grassland and
wetland easement program to support
and enhance waterfowl populations in
the Prairie Pothole Region. The
Service’s Region 6 has developed a plan
that will allow partial release of an
easement for wind generation purposes,
only with defined conditions and on a
specified area, in exchange for
additional easement acreage being
conveyed to the Service. As the Service
moves forward with this plan,
understanding the individual and
cumulative impacts to wildlife habitat
(primarily grasslands easements) and
wildlife is critical. It is important to
understand which habitats should be
avoided. A streamlined approach for
compliance (NEPA, National Historic
Properties Act [NHPA], and ESA) for
subsequent site-specific wind
development projects in the future
would result from this Programmatic
EIS.
In accordance with the NEPA (42
U.S.C. 4321), and the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations (40 CFR parts 1500–1508),
1501.5(b), Western and the Service will
be joint lead agencies in the preparation
of the Programmatic EIS. Western and
the Service will consult under section 7
of the ESA in support of the
Programmatic EIS process. The Service
intends to prepare a programmatic
Biological Opinion as a result of this
consultation.
Western and the Service invite any
Federal, State, or local agency or tribal
government with jurisdiction by law or
special expertise in wind energy
development and/or electricity
transmission operation to be a
cooperating agency. RUS has already
indicated that it plans to participate as
a cooperating agency. Other agencies or
state or tribal governments may become
cooperating agencies at a later date.
Meetings
Scoping meetings will include
introductory presentations on the
proposed action by Western and the
Service; an overview of wind-energy
technologies, interconnections, and
power transmission; the Service’s
landscape-level easement and avian
protection programs; and the public
participation process. Oral comments
from the public will commence
immediately after the presentations.
Equal consideration will be given to
electronic, oral, and written comments.
Western and the Service encourage
electronic submissions if possible. All
meeting locations will be handicappedaccessible. Anyone needing special
accommodations should contact
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Western or the Service to make
arrangements.
Public Involvement and Comments
Interested parties are invited to
participate in the scoping process, both
to refine preliminary alternatives and
environmental issues to be analyzed in
depth and to eliminate from detailed
study those alternatives and
environmental issues that are not
feasible or pertinent. The scoping
process is intended to involve all
interested agencies (Federal, State,
county, and local), public interest
groups, businesses, and members of the
public.
The outcome of this Programmatic EIS
may affect or apply to tribal resources.
Therefore, Western and the Service will
meet their Federal requirements to
consult with affected tribes throughout
the development of the Programmatic
EIS to jointly evaluate and address the
potential effects, if any, of the proposed
action. These consultations would 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 22961), agencyspecific guidance on tribal interactions,
and applicable natural and cultural
resource laws and regulations (e.g.,
NEPA, ESA, NHPA, and Migratory Bird
Treaty Act).
Public scoping meetings will be held
at the locations listed under ADDRESSES
above. A presiding officer will establish
only those procedures needed to ensure
that everyone who wishes to speak has
a chance to do so and that the agencies
understand all issues and comments.
Speakers will be asked to provide brief
comments to allow adequate time to
hear all comments. Depending upon the
number of persons wishing to speak, the
presiding officer may allow longer
speaking times. Persons wishing to
speak on behalf of an organization
should identify that organization in
their request to speak. Meetings will
begin at the times specified and will
continue until all those present who
wish to participate have had an
opportunity to do so. Should any
speaker desire to provide further
information for the record that cannot
be presented within the designated
time, such additional information may
be submitted electronically or by letter
by November 10, 2008. A transcript of
the comments offered during the
scoping meetings will be prepared and
made available.
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The public is encouraged to
communicate information and
comments on issues it believes Western
and the Service should address in the
Programmatic EIS. The agencies request
information and comments on resources
in the UGP Region that development of
wind energy may impact. Comments
may be in terms of broad areas or
restricted to specific areas of concern.
Individual respondents may request
confidentiality. For written comments
or comments received through the Web
site, respondents may request to
withhold names or street addresses,
except for the city or town, from public
view or from disclosure under the
Freedom of Information Act. Such a
request must be stated prominently at
the beginning of the comment. We will
honor requests to the extent allowed by
law. All submissions from organizations
or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as
representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be
available for public inspection in their
entirety.
After gathering public comments on
what issues should be addressed in the
Programmatic EIS, Western and the
Service will identify and provide
rationale in the EIS on those issues
addressed and those issues beyond the
scope of the EIS. In addition to the
major issues, Western and the Service
will address a number of management
questions and concerns in the
Programmatic EIS. The public is
encouraged to help identify these
questions and concerns during the
public scoping period. A scoping
summary report will be available for
public review approximately 45 days
following closure of the scoping period.
The report will be posted on the project
Web site (https://plainswindeis.anl.gov),
or may be requested from the contacts
noted in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section.
Background Information
The Western’s UGP Region sells more
than 12 billion kilowatt-hours of firm
power per year, generated from eight
dams and powerplants of the Pick-Sloan
Missouri Basin Program-Eastern
Division. This power is enough to serve
more than 3 million households. The
UGP Region delivers this hydropower
through nearly 100 substations and
across nearly 7,800 miles of Federal
transmission lines in Iowa, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and
South Dakota, which are connected with
other regional transmission systems and
groups.
Western offers transmission capacity
in excess of the capacity it requires for
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the delivery of long-term, firm capacity
and energy to current contractual
electrical service customers of the
Federal government in accordance with
its Tariff. The Tariff was developed in
response to Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission Orders implementing key
provisions of the Energy Policy Act of
2005. Section 211 of the Federal Power
Act requires that transmission service be
provided upon request if transmission
capacity is available. Under the Tariff,
Western is required to provide firm and
non-firm, point-to-point transmission
service and network integration
transmission service to applicants to the
extent that Western has transmission
capability available.
Western must respond to a wind
developer’s request for interconnection
to the Federal transmission system. To
each request, Western applies the terms
and conditions of its Tariff, including its
Large Generator Interconnection (LGI)
and Small Generator Interconnection
(SGI) procedures for providing
nondiscriminatory transmission access.
Interconnection requests to UGP
Region’s system require Federal action;
therefore, Western has the need to
respond to an applicant’s request for
interconnection to the Federal power
system by approving or denying the
request. In 2008, Western’s UGP Region
has received to date eight requests for
interconnection for about 1,500
megawatts (MW) of wind generation.
If Western determines that existing
transmission capacity is available for a
proposed wind development, Western
must ensure that existing transmission
system reliability and service to existing
customers is not degraded. The LGI and
SGI procedures provide for transmission
and system studies to ensure that
capacity is available and system
reliability and service to existing
customers are not adversely affected.
These studies also identify any system
upgrades or additions necessary to
accommodate a proposed wind
development and ensure that they are
included in the project’s scope.
Wind generation looks promising to
Western’s customers, other utilities, and
wind energy developers in the UGP
Region as a solution to increasing
energy needs. To date, Western’s
process for addressing wind-energy
interconnection requests has been on an
individual basis and in the order of
preference defined by interconnection
procedures in its Tariff. With the
passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005
and other policy initiatives, Western
supports development of wind-energy
resources in the UGP Region. In
response to increasing wind-energy
development, UGP Region needs to
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52857
establish a more proactive program to
support wind-energy resources in the
UGP Region.
In the Service’s Region 6, commercial
wind energy development has grown
from almost nothing in the early 1980s
to over 11.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2006.
Much of this growth has occurred in the
past five years, and some predict the
industry’s installed generating capacity
will continue to grow exponentially.
Much of this potential development is
occurring in areas having some of the
largest intact tracts of native prairie and
highest wetland densities, making it
some of the most productive waterfowl
habitat in North America. The scope
and geographic extent of the Service’s
landscape level easement program in
North Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern
Montana make it difficult for wind
companies to avoid impacting Service
easements when developing windenergy resources in the UGP Region.
Under the Service’s grassland and
wetlands easement program, the owners
of land subject to grassland and wetland
easements cannot engage in or allow
any activity that would destroy
vegetation. The intent of the program is
to prevent conversion of grassland and
wetlands and to protect these habitats at
a landscape level while complementing
existing agricultural practices and allow
for other compatible uses where
feasible. Cooperation with the
agricultural community has resulted in
the overwhelming success of this
program, with over three million acres
of grassland and wetlands protected to
date. However, where wind-energy
development is proposed for lands
subject to the Service’s easements, there
must be a mechanism for reconciling
these otherwise conflicting interests. It
is essential that the Service consider the
effects of the expansion of wind
generation on the wildlife that uses
these easement lands.
Draft EIS Schedule and Availability
Western and the Service anticipate
the Programmatic EIS process will take
about 22 months and will include the
public scoping meetings; consultation
and involvement with appropriate
Federal, State, and local agencies, and
tribal governments; public review and
hearing(s) on the published Draft EIS; a
published Final EIS; and publication of
Records of Decision (ROD).
The public will be provided an
opportunity to review the Draft EIS, and
hearings on the published Draft EIS are
expected to be conducted in the
calendar year 2009. A notice of the
location of these public hearings will be
provided at a later date. A published
final EIS, a waiting period, and
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 177 / Thursday, September 11, 2008 / Notices
Desk Officer for EPA, 725 17th St., NW.,
Washington, DC 20503.’’
Dated: July 23, 2008.
Instructions: Direct your comments to
Docket ID No. EPA–RO4–SFUND–2008–
Timothy J. Meeks,
0631. EPA’s policy is that all comments
Administrator, Western Area Power
received will be included in the public
Administration.
docket without change and may be
Dated: September 2, 2008.
made available online at https://
Stephen D. Guertin,
www.regulations.gov, including any
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
personal information provided, unless
Service.
the comment includes information
[FR Doc. E8–21149 Filed 9–10–08; 8:45 am]
claimed to be Confidential Business
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
Information (CBI) or other information
whose disclosure is restricted by statute.
Do not submit information that you
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
consider to be CBI or otherwise
AGENCY
protected through https://
www.regulations.gov or e-mail. The
[Docket # EPA–RO4–SFUND–2008–0631,
FRL–8713–4]
https://www.regulations.gov Web site is
an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which
19th Avenue Drum Superfund Site,
means EPA will not know your identity
Opa Locka, Dade County, FL; Notice of or contact information unless you
Settlement
provide it in the body of your comment.
If you send an e-mail comment directly
AGENCY: Environmental Protection
to EPA without going through https://
Agency.
www.regulations.gov your e-mail
ACTION: Notice of settlement.
address will be automatically captured
SUMMARY: Under Section 122(h)(1) of the and included as part of the comment
that is placed in the public docket and
Comprehensive Environmental
made available on the Internet. If you
Response, Compensation and Liability
submit an electronic comment, EPA
Act (CERCLA), the United States
recommends that you include your
Environmental Protection Agency has
name and other contact information in
entered into a settlement for
the body of your comment and with any
reimbursement of past response costs
disk or CD–ROM you submit. If EPA
concerning the 19th Avenue Drum
cannot read your comment due to
Superfund Site located in Opa Locka,
technical difficulties and cannot contact
Dade County, Florida for publication.
you for clarification, EPA may not be
DATES: The Agency will consider public
able to consider your comment.
comments on the settlement until
Electronic files should avoid the use of
October 14, 2008. The Agency will
special characters, any form of
consider all comments received and
encryption, and be free of any defects or
may modify or withdraw its consent to
viruses. For additional information
the settlement if comments received
about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA
disclose facts or considerations which
Docket Center home page at https://
indicate that the settlement is
inappropriate, improper, or inadequate. www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
Docket: All documents in the docket
ADDRESSES: Copies of the settlement are
are listed in the https://
available from Ms. Paula V. Painter.
www.regulations.gov index. Although
Submit your comments, identified by
Docket ID No. EPA–RO4–SFUND–2008– listed in the index, some information is
not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other
0631 or Site name 19th Avenue Drum
information whose disclosure is
Superfund Site by one of the following
restricted by statute. Certain other
methods:
• https://www.regulations.gov: Follow material, such as copyrighted material,
will be publicly available only in hard
the on-line instructions for submitting
copy. Publicly available docket
comments.
materials are available either
• E-mail: Painter.Paula@epa.gov.
electronically in https://
• Fax: 404/562–8842/Attn Paula V.
www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at
Painter.
the U.S. EPA Region 4 office located at
Mail: Ms. Paula V. Painter, U.S. EPA
Region 4, SD–SEIMB, 61 Forsyth Street, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, Georgia
30303. Regional office is open from 7
SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. ‘‘In
a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Monday through
addition, please mail a copy of your
comments on the information collection Friday, excluding legal holidays.
Written comments may be submitted to
provisions to the Office of Information
Ms. Painter within 30 calendar days of
and Regulatory Affairs, Office of
the date of this publication.
Management and Budget (OMB), Attn:
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publications of ROD are anticipated in
calendar year 2010.
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14:21 Sep 10, 2008
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Paula V. Painter at 404/562–8887.
Dated: August 12, 2008.
Anita L. Davis,
Chief, Superfund Enforcement & Information
Management Branch, Superfund Division.
[FR Doc. E8–21203 Filed 9–10–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Change in Bank Control Notices;
Acquisition of Shares of Bank or Bank
Holding Companies
The notificants listed below have
applied under the Change in Bank
Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817(j)) and
§ 225.41 of the Board’s Regulation Y (12
CFR 225.41) to acquire a bank or bank
holding company. The factors that are
considered in acting on the notices are
set forth in paragraph 7 of the Act (12
U.S.C. 1817(j)(7)).
The notices are available for
immediate inspection at the Federal
Reserve Bank indicated. The notices
also will be available for inspection at
the office of the Board of Governors.
Interested persons may express their
views in writing to the Reserve Bank
indicated for that notice or to the offices
of the Board of Governors. Comments
must be received not later than
September 26, 2008.
A. Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas
City (Todd Offenbacker, Assistant Vice
President) 1 Memorial Drive, Kansas
City, Missouri 64198–0001:
1. The Schifferdecker Limited
Partnership, Girard, Kansas; Mark W.
Schifferdecker, Girard, Kansas, in an
individual capacity and as managing
general partner; Susan B. Friesen,
Omaha, Nebraska, Joy L. Shoop,
Hiawatha, Kansas, in an individual
capacity and as general partners; and
John and Carole Schifferdecker, Girard,
Kansas, Nancy Schifferdecker, Girard,
Kansas, and Nancy George, Hepler,
Kansas, to become part of the family
group acting in concert, to acquire
control of GN Bankshares, Inc., and
thereby indirectly acquire control of The
Girard National Bank, both in Girard,
Kansas. In addition, the Neihart Limited
Partnership, Kansas City, Missouri; and
David Neihart, Prairie Village, Kansas,
and Robert Neihart, Overland Park,
Kansas, in an individual capacity and as
general partners; and Wendy Neihart,
Prairie Village, Kansas, to become part
of the family group acting in concert to
acquire control of GN Bankshares, Inc.,
and thereby indirectly acquire control of
The Girard National Bank, Girard,
Kansas.
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 177 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52855-52858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21149]
[[Page 52855]]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement To Evaluate Wind Energy Development in Iowa, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; Including the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service's Landscape-Level Easement Program in North
Dakota, South Dakota, and Eastern Montana; and To Conduct Public
Scoping Meetings
AGENCIES: Western Area Power Administration, U.S. Department of Energy,
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement, and to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended; and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations; the U.S. Department of Energy, Western Area Power
Administration (Western), and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish
and Wildlife Service (Service), will, as joint lead agencies, prepare a
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (Programmatic EIS) to
evaluate issues associated with wind energy development within
Western's Upper Great Plains Customer Service Region (UGP Region),
which encompasses all or parts of the States of Iowa, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota; and upon the
Service's landscape-level grassland and wetland easements in North
Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Montana. The U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Rural Utility Services (RUS) plans to participate as a
cooperating agency. Public scoping meetings will be held during the
Programmatic EIS scoping period.
DATES: The public scoping meetings will be held September 30, October 1
and 2, 2008. The public scoping period starts with the publication of
this notice in the Federal Register and will continue until November
10, 2008. Western and the Service will consider all electronic and
written comments on the scope of the Programmatic EIS received on the
project Web site (https://plainswindeis.anl.gov), or postmarked by
November 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Western and the Service will hold public scoping meetings to
obtain comments on the Programmatic EIS at 6 p.m., at the following
locations:
1. September 30, 2008, Holiday Inn City Centre, 100 West 8th St.,
Sioux Falls, SD.
2. October 1, 2008, Radisson Hotel, 605 East Broadway Avenue,
Bismarck, ND.
3. October 2, 2008, Quality Inn Homestead Park, 2036 Overland
Avenue, Billings, MT.
The agencies will also announce the exact locations and times of
the public meetings through the local media, the project Web site
(https://plainswindeis.anl.gov), and an interested party mailing list.
You may submit comments electronically, using the online comment form
available on the project Web site (https://plainswindeis.anl.gov), or by
letter to WAPA/FWS Wind Energy Programmatic EIS Scoping, Argonne
National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue-EVS/900, Argonne, IL 60439.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on Western's proposed
Comprehensive Management Program for Wind Energy Project
Interconnections, and general information about interconnections with
Western's transmission system, contact Nicholas Stas, Regional
Environmental Manager, Upper Great Plains Customer Service Region,
Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 35800, Billings, MT 59107-
5800, telephone (406) 247-7404, facsimile (406) 247-7408, e-mail
stas@wapa.gov. For information on the Programmatic EIS process, or to
receive a copy of the Draft Programmatic EIS when it is issued, contact
Mark Wieringa, NEPA Document Manager, Western Area Power
Administration, P.O. Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213, telephone
(800) 336-7288, facsimile (720) 962-7263, e-mail wieringa@wapa.gov.
For information on the Service's participation in the Programmatic
EIS, contact Michael Spratt, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 134 Union
Boulevard, Lakewood, CO 80228-1807, telephone (303) 236-4366, facsimile
(303) 236-4792, e-mail Michael_Spratt@fws.gov.
For information on RUS's participation in the Programmatic EIS,
contact Barbara R. Britton, Environmental Protection Specialist,
Engineering and Environmental Staff, Water and Environmental Programs,
Rural Development-Utilities Programs, U.S. Department of Agriculture,
1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Mail Stop 1571, Washington, DC 20250;
telephone (202) 720-1414; facsimile (202) 720-0820; e-mail
Barbara.Britton@wdc.usda.gov.
For general information on the DOE's NEPA review process, contact
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-
20, 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's UGP Region proposes to develop and
implement a comprehensive region-wide management program for wind-
energy project interconnections in response to an increasing number of
wind-energy project interconnection requests. The UGP Region includes
all or parts of the States of Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North
Dakota, and South Dakota. The requests are primarily from independent
wind project developers who wish to interconnect their projects to the
UGP Region's transmission system, in order to move their generation to
market. Currently, Western addresses each request for interconnection
separately, in the order that they are received.
The objective of Western's proposed program would be to support the
processing of these interconnection requests, including NEPA analyses,
by having already addressed generic environmental interconnection
concerns and issues in a Programmatic EIS. The Programmatic EIS would
analyze, to the extent practicable, the impacts resulting from
development of wind energy projects and the effectiveness of mitigation
measures, standard construction practices, and best management
practices in reducing potential impacts. Impacts and mitigation would
be analyzed for each environmental resource, and all aspects of wind
energy projects would be addressed, including turbine, transformer,
collector line, access road, and substation installations, and
operational and maintenance activities. The program would be structured
to complement Western's Open Access Transmission Service Tariff
(Tariff), which includes procedures for addressing wind-energy project
interconnection requests.
Many of the impacts resulting from wind energy infrastructure
development, including siting wind turbines, access roads, underground
collector lines, overhead lines, and substations, are well known.
Similarly, effective mitigation measures and best management practices
have been developed to reduce the environmental impacts of constructing
and operating
[[Page 52856]]
wind-energy developments. The Programmatic EIS will collect and analyze
this information as it applies to wind-energy development in the six
states included in the UGP Region. Specifically, the EIS and program
would:
1. Define areas with a high potential for wind-energy development
near UGP Region's transmission system in anticipation of future wind-
generation interconnection requests.
2. Define natural and human environment resources in areas with
high wind-energy development potential, including Native American
lands, to support analyses of the environmental impacts and development
of wind-energy resources.
3. Develop and present mitigation measures for reducing wind-energy
development impacts on the natural and human environment for use by
interconnection applicants in addressing the environmental impacts of
their projects.
4. Complete a programmatic Endangered Species Act (ESA) section 7
consultation for listed and proposed threatened and endangered species
within the study area boundaries established for the Programmatic EIS.
5. Implement an adaptive management approach that requires
mitigation implementation monitoring and reporting to ensure that the
best mitigation measures are identified and employed to reduce
environmental impacts. The monitoring reports would be used by Western
and the Service to periodically update mitigation practices.
6. Define thresholds for significant direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts from wind-energy developments and
associated transmission system enhancements to support the impact
analysis in the Programmatic EIS.
7. Define circumstances tied to laws, regulations, and policies
that have potential to affect wind-energy resource development.
8. Define possible transmission system enhancements to support wind
development and the general level of impacts expected from these
transmission enhancements.
9. Provide a guide for interconnection applicants that includes
information about natural resources within areas with a high potential
for wind development, requirements for subsequent site-specific
environmental reviews, transmission capacity needs and availability,
and appropriate mitigation measures to minimize adverse environmental
impacts related to wind projects and associated transmission system
enhancements.
The Service maintains a grassland and wetland easement program to
support and enhance waterfowl populations in the Prairie Pothole
Region. The Service's Region 6 has developed a plan that will allow
partial release of an easement for wind generation purposes, only with
defined conditions and on a specified area, in exchange for additional
easement acreage being conveyed to the Service. As the Service moves
forward with this plan, understanding the individual and cumulative
impacts to wildlife habitat (primarily grasslands easements) and
wildlife is critical. It is important to understand which habitats
should be avoided. A streamlined approach for compliance (NEPA,
National Historic Properties Act [NHPA], and ESA) for subsequent site-
specific wind development projects in the future would result from this
Programmatic EIS.
In accordance with the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321), and the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508),
1501.5(b), Western and the Service will be joint lead agencies in the
preparation of the Programmatic EIS. Western and the Service will
consult under section 7 of the ESA in support of the Programmatic EIS
process. The Service intends to prepare a programmatic Biological
Opinion as a result of this consultation.
Western and the Service invite any Federal, State, or local agency
or tribal government with jurisdiction by law or special expertise in
wind energy development and/or electricity transmission operation to be
a cooperating agency. RUS has already indicated that it plans to
participate as a cooperating agency. Other agencies or state or tribal
governments may become cooperating agencies at a later date.
Meetings
Scoping meetings will include introductory presentations on the
proposed action by Western and the Service; an overview of wind-energy
technologies, interconnections, and power transmission; the Service's
landscape-level easement and avian protection programs; and the public
participation process. Oral comments from the public will commence
immediately after the presentations. Equal consideration will be given
to electronic, oral, and written comments. Western and the Service
encourage electronic submissions if possible. All meeting locations
will be handicapped-accessible. Anyone needing special accommodations
should contact Western or the Service to make arrangements.
Public Involvement and Comments
Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping
process, both to refine preliminary alternatives and environmental
issues to be analyzed in depth and to eliminate from detailed study
those alternatives and environmental issues that are not feasible or
pertinent. The scoping process is intended to involve all interested
agencies (Federal, State, county, and local), public interest groups,
businesses, and members of the public.
The outcome of this Programmatic EIS may affect or apply to tribal
resources. Therefore, Western and the Service will meet their Federal
requirements to consult with affected tribes throughout the development
of the Programmatic EIS to jointly evaluate and address the potential
effects, if any, of the proposed action. These consultations would 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 22961),
agency-specific guidance on tribal interactions, and applicable natural
and cultural resource laws and regulations (e.g., NEPA, ESA, NHPA, and
Migratory Bird Treaty Act).
Public scoping meetings will be held at the locations listed under
ADDRESSES above. A presiding officer will establish only those
procedures needed to ensure that everyone who wishes to speak has a
chance to do so and that the agencies understand all issues and
comments. Speakers will be asked to provide brief comments to allow
adequate time to hear all comments. Depending upon the number of
persons wishing to speak, the presiding officer may allow longer
speaking times. Persons wishing to speak on behalf of an organization
should identify that organization in their request to speak. Meetings
will begin at the times specified and will continue until all those
present who wish to participate have had an opportunity to do so.
Should any speaker desire to provide further information for the record
that cannot be presented within the designated time, such additional
information may be submitted electronically or by letter by November
10, 2008. A transcript of the comments offered during the scoping
meetings will be prepared and made available.
[[Page 52857]]
The public is encouraged to communicate information and comments on
issues it believes Western and the Service should address in the
Programmatic EIS. The agencies request information and comments on
resources in the UGP Region that development of wind energy may impact.
Comments may be in terms of broad areas or restricted to specific areas
of concern. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. For
written comments or comments received through the Web site, respondents
may request to withhold names or street addresses, except for the city
or town, from public view or from disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act. Such a request must be stated prominently at the
beginning of the comment. We will honor requests to the extent allowed
by law. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of
organizations or businesses, will be available for public inspection in
their entirety.
After gathering public comments on what issues should be addressed
in the Programmatic EIS, Western and the Service will identify and
provide rationale in the EIS on those issues addressed and those issues
beyond the scope of the EIS. In addition to the major issues, Western
and the Service will address a number of management questions and
concerns in the Programmatic EIS. The public is encouraged to help
identify these questions and concerns during the public scoping period.
A scoping summary report will be available for public review
approximately 45 days following closure of the scoping period. The
report will be posted on the project Web site (https://
plainswindeis.anl.gov), or may be requested from the contacts noted in
the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Background Information
The Western's UGP Region sells more than 12 billion kilowatt-hours
of firm power per year, generated from eight dams and powerplants of
the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program-Eastern Division. This power is
enough to serve more than 3 million households. The UGP Region delivers
this hydropower through nearly 100 substations and across nearly 7,800
miles of Federal transmission lines in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana,
Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, which are connected with
other regional transmission systems and groups.
Western offers transmission capacity in excess of the capacity it
requires for the delivery of long-term, firm capacity and energy to
current contractual electrical service customers of the Federal
government in accordance with its Tariff. The Tariff was developed in
response to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Orders implementing
key provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Section 211 of the
Federal Power Act requires that transmission service be provided upon
request if transmission capacity is available. Under the Tariff,
Western is required to provide firm and non-firm, point-to-point
transmission service and network integration transmission service to
applicants to the extent that Western has transmission capability
available.
Western must respond to a wind developer's request for
interconnection to the Federal transmission system. To each request,
Western applies the terms and conditions of its Tariff, including its
Large Generator Interconnection (LGI) and Small Generator
Interconnection (SGI) procedures for providing nondiscriminatory
transmission access. Interconnection requests to UGP Region's system
require Federal action; therefore, Western has the need to respond to
an applicant's request for interconnection to the Federal power system
by approving or denying the request. In 2008, Western's UGP Region has
received to date eight requests for interconnection for about 1,500
megawatts (MW) of wind generation.
If Western determines that existing transmission capacity is
available for a proposed wind development, Western must ensure that
existing transmission system reliability and service to existing
customers is not degraded. The LGI and SGI procedures provide for
transmission and system studies to ensure that capacity is available
and system reliability and service to existing customers are not
adversely affected. These studies also identify any system upgrades or
additions necessary to accommodate a proposed wind development and
ensure that they are included in the project's scope.
Wind generation looks promising to Western's customers, other
utilities, and wind energy developers in the UGP Region as a solution
to increasing energy needs. To date, Western's process for addressing
wind-energy interconnection requests has been on an individual basis
and in the order of preference defined by interconnection procedures in
its Tariff. With the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and other
policy initiatives, Western supports development of wind-energy
resources in the UGP Region. In response to increasing wind-energy
development, UGP Region needs to establish a more proactive program to
support wind-energy resources in the UGP Region.
In the Service's Region 6, commercial wind energy development has
grown from almost nothing in the early 1980s to over 11.5 gigawatts
(GW) in 2006. Much of this growth has occurred in the past five years,
and some predict the industry's installed generating capacity will
continue to grow exponentially. Much of this potential development is
occurring in areas having some of the largest intact tracts of native
prairie and highest wetland densities, making it some of the most
productive waterfowl habitat in North America. The scope and geographic
extent of the Service's landscape level easement program in North
Dakota, South Dakota, and eastern Montana make it difficult for wind
companies to avoid impacting Service easements when developing wind-
energy resources in the UGP Region.
Under the Service's grassland and wetlands easement program, the
owners of land subject to grassland and wetland easements cannot engage
in or allow any activity that would destroy vegetation. The intent of
the program is to prevent conversion of grassland and wetlands and to
protect these habitats at a landscape level while complementing
existing agricultural practices and allow for other compatible uses
where feasible. Cooperation with the agricultural community has
resulted in the overwhelming success of this program, with over three
million acres of grassland and wetlands protected to date. However,
where wind-energy development is proposed for lands subject to the
Service's easements, there must be a mechanism for reconciling these
otherwise conflicting interests. It is essential that the Service
consider the effects of the expansion of wind generation on the
wildlife that uses these easement lands.
Draft EIS Schedule and Availability
Western and the Service anticipate the Programmatic EIS process
will take about 22 months and will include the public scoping meetings;
consultation and involvement with appropriate Federal, State, and local
agencies, and tribal governments; public review and hearing(s) on the
published Draft EIS; a published Final EIS; and publication of Records
of Decision (ROD).
The public will be provided an opportunity to review the Draft EIS,
and hearings on the published Draft EIS are expected to be conducted in
the calendar year 2009. A notice of the location of these public
hearings will be provided at a later date. A published final EIS, a
waiting period, and
[[Page 52858]]
publications of ROD are anticipated in calendar year 2010.
Dated: July 23, 2008.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator, Western Area Power Administration.
Dated: September 2, 2008.
Stephen D. Guertin,
Regional Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. E8-21149 Filed 9-10-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
