Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project, 59165-59166 [2012-23471]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 26, 2012 / Notices
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Woodland Treatments (202 Acres)
The woodland treatments would cut
all loblolly pine. Virginia pine, white
pine, maples, yellow-poplar, and other
species would be cut as needed to
reduce competition. All pitch pine and
Table mountain pine would be retained
unless removal is necessary for safety or
for equipment operability reasons. The
treatment would include thinning oaks,
hickories, and shortleaf pine to a basal
area (BA) of 30–40 ft\2\/acre. All oak,
hickory, and shortleaf pine would be
left where (BA) is currently less than
30–40 ft\2\/acre. Three of these stands
would be managed to benefit smooth
coneflower.
After initial treatments are completed,
the areas would be prescribe-burned on
a periodic basis, every 1–5 years
(prescribed burning is covered under
existing NEPA Decisions). Herbicide,
manual and mechanical methods would
be applied to sprouts/seedlings within
1–2 years after the initial post-harvest
prescribed burn to reduce competition.
These methods would be applied up to
two more times after the initial
treatment if needed to reduce
competition. For woodlands
management, the type of herbicide,
method of application, and timing of
application would be the same as that
proposed for site preparation and
release treatments.
Manual and mechanical methods
including but not limited to hand tools
(chainsaws, brush saws), and/or heavy
equipment (tractor with mower, gyrotrack) would be used to control sprouts
and seedlings of tree species to maintain
the woodland condition. Mechanical
treatments would grind up or masticate
undesirable understory vegetation.
Connected Actions
The following activities would be
conducted in connection with
vegetation management activities.
• System Road Construction: Twelve
(12) system roads would be built
providing access to 20 loblolly timber
stands. These new roads are needed to
provide access during timber harvest
and to provide for long term resource
management. These roads are designed
by Forest Service engineers to specific
standards that include designing
drainage structures such as culvert
installations, inside slope ditching, road
crown specifications, widened turnaround, gates, and signage. Total
specified system road construction is
estimated at 6.5 miles but would vary
once actual design is completed.
Information on roads is contained in the
road analysis.
• Road Reconstruction and
Maintenance: System road
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reconstruction and maintenance would
be needed on approximately 60 miles of
roads. Reconstruction work would
consist of but not be limited to graveling
road surfaces, replacing culverts—
including replacements for aquatic
organism passage, ditch cleaning,
removing brush and trees along road
rights-of-way, installing, repairing or
replacing gates and correcting road
safety hazards. Road maintenance
would consist of spot gravel
replacement, blading, cleaning culverts,
brushing and mowing.
• Temporary Roads: Log landings
that have no access to existing roads
would be accessed by a temporary road
that connects to the forest transportation
system. Temporary roads are lowstandard roads generally under 10
percent grade and road widths less than
14 feet. Approximately 21.7 miles of
temporary roads are needed for access.
Most temporary roads would be in the
form of utilizing existing undesignated
‘‘woods’’ roads that already exist in the
forest, that are in suitable locations, and
for the most part have stabilized cut and
fill slopes that would not be disturbed.
Upon completion of treatments,
temporary roads would be closed,
obliterated and adequate erosion and
storm water control measures completed
and replanted with vegetation.
• Skid Trails: Skid trails would be
used to skid logs to log landings. They
would be closed after use with adequate
storm water and erosion control
measures.
• Log Landings: Log landings are
locations where logs are piled and then
loaded onto trucks. Existing landings
sites would be used as practicable to
limit soil effects (compaction). They
would be closed after use with adequate
storm water and erosion control
measures.
Possible Alternatives
The Proposed Action and another
action alternative are proposed for
achieving the stated purpose and need,
as well as a No-Action Alternative. The
other action alternatives was developed
to respond to issues raised by the public
during scoping.
Responsible Official
The Andrews Pickens District Ranger,
Sumter national Forest is the
responsible official for this project.
Nature of Decision To Be Made
The District Ranger will decide
whether or not to implement the action
as proposed or an alternative way to
achieve the desired outcome.
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59165
Scoping Process
The scoping process for this project
occurred when the original NOI was
published in 2010. Issues identified
during the scoping period were used to
determine the alternatives considered
and to frame the effects analysis. This
proposal has been listed in the Francis
Marion and Sumter National Forests
Schedule of Proposed Actions since
2010.
Dated: September 17, 2012.
Mike Crane,
District Ranger.
[FR Doc. 2012–23615 Filed 9–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement/Environmental Impact
Report for the Tehachapi Renewable
Transmission Project
Forest Service, USDA.
Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The USDA Forest Service,
together with the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), will
prepare a joint Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
and Supplemental Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) to assess the effects
of Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) recommendations on National
Forest System lands for the Tehachapi
Renewable Transmission Project
(TRTP). The CPUC granted Southern
California Edison (SCE) approval to
build TRTP in Decision 09–12–044 on
non-federal lands, and the Forest
Service approved SCE to implement the
TRTP on National Forest System lands
in a 2010 Record of Decision (ROD). The
decision required SCE to consult with
the FAA for aviation safety. The FAA
recommended installing marker balls on
certain transmission line spans and
aviation lighting on certain transmission
structures. These recommendations will
be analyzed in the joint Supplemental
EIS/EIR.
Following the public review period
for the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR the
Forest Service and CPUC will issue a
Final Supplemental EIS/EIR. The Forest
Service will issue a ROD to document
the decision to either approve or deny
the changes to SCE’s project. As the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) Lead Agency for the project, the
Forest Service will conduct a detailed
review of the effects of the FAA
recommendations on National Forest
SUMMARY:
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59166
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 26, 2012 / Notices
System lands. Within the Angeles
National Forest it is estimated that
approximately 649 marker balls on 119
spans and 4 structures with aviation
lights would impact Segments 6 and 11
to implement the FAA’s
recommendations. Two of the 4
structures recommended for aviation
lights are on private lands within the
Angeles National Forest, and are not
subject to Forest Service jurisdiction or
control.
The Forest Service is providing notice
of this analysis so that interested and
affected individuals are aware of how
they may participate and contribute
towards the final decision on the TRTP
by the Forest Service. Note: Segment 8A
undergrounding options are not the
subject of this Notice of Intent.
DATES: The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR
is expected to be published in January
2013. A 45-day comment period will
occur following publication of the
Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: To request a copy of the
Draft Supplemental EIS/SEIR or Final
Supplemental EIS/EIR when it is
available, or to obtain further
information about the project, please
write to the Angeles National Forest,
c/o Aspen Environmental Group, 5020
Chesebro Road, Suite 200, Agoura Hills,
CA 91301. Alternately, electronic
comments may be sent to trtpsuppeireis@aspeneg.com. Electronic comments
must be submitted as part of the actual
email message, or as an attachment in
plain text (.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc),
rich text format(.rtf), or portable
document format (.pdf). Information
about the Supplemental EIS/EIR and the
environmental review process will be
posted on the Internet at: https://
www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/projects/. This
site will be used to post links to all
public documents during the
Supplemental EIS/EIR process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lorraine Gerchas, Special Uses
Coordinator, Forest Service, Angeles
National Forest, 701 N. Santa Anita
Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006, phone: (626)
574–5281. For additional information
related to the project on non-National
Forest System lands, contact Mary Jo
Borak, California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC), 505 Van Ness
Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102;
phone: (415) 703–1333. All projectrelated documents are available on the
Project Web site: ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/
gopher-data/environ/
tehachapi_renewables/TRTP.htm.
Responsible Official: The responsible
official is Thomas Contreras, Forest
Supervisor, Angeles National Forest,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:27 Sep 25, 2012
Jkt 226001
701 North Santa Anita Avenue, Arcadia,
California 91006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Lead
Agencies: The Forest Service is the
Federal Lead Agency in accordance
with 40 CFR 1501(b), and is responsible
for the preparation of the Supplemental
Draft EIS/EIR and Supplemental Final
EIS/EIR.
Comments: Under NEPA regulations
scoping is not required for supplements.
As such, no NEPA scoping effort will
occur as part of the Draft Supplemental
EIS/EIR preparation process. No public
scoping meetings will be held.
The Forest Service is not accepting
public comment at this time, but the
agency may be contacted with any
questions, or requests for documents.
The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR will be
made available for public comment. The
comment period on the Draft
Supplemental EIS/EIR is 45-days from
the date the US Environmental
Protection Agency publishes the Notice
of Availability in the Federal Register.
In the Final Supplemental EIS/EIR the
Forest Service is required to respond to
substantive comments received during
the comment period for the Draft
Supplemental EIS/EIR. The Forest
Service is the NEPA Lead Agency and
the responsible official is the Forest
Supervisor, Angeles National Forest.
The responsible official will decide
whether and how to issue Special Use
authorization for the modifications to
the project or alternatives. The
responsible official will also decide how
to mitigate impacts of these actions and
will determine when and how
monitoring of effects will take place.
The TRTP Supplemental EIS/EIR
decision and the reasons for the
decision will be documented in the
ROD. That decision will be subject to
Forest Service Appeal Regulations (35
CFR part 215).
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22;
Forest Service Handbook 1909.15, Section
22.
Dated: September 18, 2012.
Thomas A. Contreras,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012–23471 Filed 9–25–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–11–M
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
South Mississippi Electric
Cooperative: Plant Ratcliffe, Kemper
County Integrated Gasification
Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project
AGENCY:
PO 00000
Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
Frm 00004
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Notice of Availability of a
Record of Decision.
ACTION:
The Rural Utilities Service
(RUS) has issued a Record of Decision
(ROD) for the adoption of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the proposed participation of South
Mississippi Electric Power Association
(SMEPA) in Plant Ratcliffe, an
Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle
Facility located in Kemper County,
Mississippi (the Project). The Acting
Administrator of RUS has signed the
ROD, which is effective on the
publication of this notice. The U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE) prepared
an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Project in cooperation with
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
(USACE). The purpose of the EIS was to
evaluate the potential environmental
impacts of the Project so that the DOE
could assess potential cost-shared
financing under the Clean Coal Power
Initiative (CCPI) and issuance of a loan
guarantee under the Energy Policy Act
of 2005 (EPAct05), and the USACE
could consider potential issuance of
permits under Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act.
The DOE/USACE Final EIS was
issued in May 2010, and DOE issued
their Record of Decision (ROD) in
August 2010. RUS is considering
providing a $480 million loan guarantee
to SMEPA that would provide for the
acquisition of a 15% undivided
ownership interest in the Project. RUS
adopted the Final EIS pursuant to the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), and
in accordance with the Council on
Environmental Quality’s (CEQ)
regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
Parts 1500–1508) and RUS’s
Environmental Policies and Procedures
(7 CFR Part 1794). RUS determined that
the actions covered by the DOE/USACE
Final EIS and RUS’s proposed action
were substantially the same, given that
no new infrastructure would be required
for SMEPA’s participation (40 CFR
1506.3(b)). RUS conducted an
independent evaluation of the DOE/
USACE Final EIS, the associated
Mitigation Action Plan (MAP) and
Record of Decision (ROD), determined
the documentation met the standards of
an adequate statement (40 CFR
1506.3(a)), and adopted the
documentation (Subpart H, 7 CFR Part
1794).
ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the
ROD, or for further information, please
contact Ms. Emily Orler, Environmental
Protection Specialist, at USDA, Rural
Utilities Service, 1400 Independence
SUMMARY:
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59165-59166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23471]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Tehachapi
Renewable Transmission Project
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service, together with the California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), will prepare a joint Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Supplemental Environmental
Impact Report (EIR) to assess the effects of Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) recommendations on National Forest System lands
for the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). The CPUC
granted Southern California Edison (SCE) approval to build TRTP in
Decision 09-12-044 on non-federal lands, and the Forest Service
approved SCE to implement the TRTP on National Forest System lands in a
2010 Record of Decision (ROD). The decision required SCE to consult
with the FAA for aviation safety. The FAA recommended installing marker
balls on certain transmission line spans and aviation lighting on
certain transmission structures. These recommendations will be analyzed
in the joint Supplemental EIS/EIR.
Following the public review period for the Draft Supplemental EIS/
EIR the Forest Service and CPUC will issue a Final Supplemental EIS/
EIR. The Forest Service will issue a ROD to document the decision to
either approve or deny the changes to SCE's project. As the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Lead Agency for the project, the Forest
Service will conduct a detailed review of the effects of the FAA
recommendations on National Forest
[[Page 59166]]
System lands. Within the Angeles National Forest it is estimated that
approximately 649 marker balls on 119 spans and 4 structures with
aviation lights would impact Segments 6 and 11 to implement the FAA's
recommendations. Two of the 4 structures recommended for aviation
lights are on private lands within the Angeles National Forest, and are
not subject to Forest Service jurisdiction or control.
The Forest Service is providing notice of this analysis so that
interested and affected individuals are aware of how they may
participate and contribute towards the final decision on the TRTP by
the Forest Service. Note: Segment 8A undergrounding options are not the
subject of this Notice of Intent.
DATES: The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR is expected to be published in
January 2013. A 45-day comment period will occur following publication
of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
ADDRESSES: To request a copy of the Draft Supplemental EIS/SEIR or
Final Supplemental EIS/EIR when it is available, or to obtain further
information about the project, please write to the Angeles National
Forest, c/o Aspen Environmental Group, 5020 Chesebro Road, Suite 200,
Agoura Hills, CA 91301. Alternately, electronic comments may be sent to
trtpsuppeir-eis@aspeneg.com. Electronic comments must be submitted as
part of the actual email message, or as an attachment in plain text
(.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text format(.rtf), or portable
document format (.pdf). Information about the Supplemental EIS/EIR and
the environmental review process will be posted on the Internet at:
https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/projects/. This site will be used to
post links to all public documents during the Supplemental EIS/EIR
process.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorraine Gerchas, Special Uses
Coordinator, Forest Service, Angeles National Forest, 701 N. Santa
Anita Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006, phone: (626) 574-5281. For additional
information related to the project on non-National Forest System lands,
contact Mary Jo Borak, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC),
505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: (415) 703-1333.
All project-related documents are available on the Project Web site:
ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/gopher-data/environ/tehachapi_renewables/TRTP.htm.
Responsible Official: The responsible official is Thomas Contreras,
Forest Supervisor, Angeles National Forest, 701 North Santa Anita
Avenue, Arcadia, California 91006.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Lead Agencies: The Forest Service is the
Federal Lead Agency in accordance with 40 CFR 1501(b), and is
responsible for the preparation of the Supplemental Draft EIS/EIR and
Supplemental Final EIS/EIR.
Comments: Under NEPA regulations scoping is not required for
supplements. As such, no NEPA scoping effort will occur as part of the
Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR preparation process. No public scoping
meetings will be held.
The Forest Service is not accepting public comment at this time,
but the agency may be contacted with any questions, or requests for
documents. The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR will be made available for
public comment. The comment period on the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR is
45-days from the date the US Environmental Protection Agency publishes
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
In the Final Supplemental EIS/EIR the Forest Service is required to
respond to substantive comments received during the comment period for
the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR. The Forest Service is the NEPA Lead
Agency and the responsible official is the Forest Supervisor, Angeles
National Forest. The responsible official will decide whether and how
to issue Special Use authorization for the modifications to the project
or alternatives. The responsible official will also decide how to
mitigate impacts of these actions and will determine when and how
monitoring of effects will take place.
The TRTP Supplemental EIS/EIR decision and the reasons for the
decision will be documented in the ROD. That decision will be subject
to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (35 CFR part 215).
Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook
1909.15, Section 22.
Dated: September 18, 2012.
Thomas A. Contreras,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-23471 Filed 9-25-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-11-M