Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Sun Valley to Morgan Transmission Line Project (Formerly Called TS-5 to TS-9) and the Proposed Bradshaw-Harquahala Resource Management Plan Amendment, AZ, 43224-43225 [2013-17226]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 139 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43224-43225]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17226]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[L51010000.FX0000.LVRWA11A2990. LLAZP02000.XXX; AZA35079]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Sun Valley to Morgan Transmission Line 
Project (Formerly Called TS-5 to TS-9) and the Proposed Bradshaw-
Harquahala Resource Management Plan Amendment, AZ

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 
Sun Valley to Morgan 500/230-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project 
(Project) and Proposed Bradshaw-Harquahala Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) Amendment for the BLM Hassayampa Field Office, and by this notice 
is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions 
must file the protest within 30 days of the date that the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes its notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS and Proposed RMP Amendment have been 
sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and to 
other stakeholders. Copies of the Final EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment are 
available for public inspection at local libraries and the BLM 
Hassayampa Field Office.
    Interested persons may also review the Final EIS/Proposed RMP 
Amendment on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/energy/aps-sunvalley.html. All protests must be in writing and mailed to one 
of the following addresses:

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
20 M Street SE., Room 2134 LM, Washington, DC 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joe Incardine, BLM National Project 
Manager, telephone 801-539-4118; address BLM Phoenix District Office, 
Hassayampa Field Office, 21605 North 7th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85027-
2929; email jincardi@blm.gov. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during 
normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week, to leave a message or question with the above individual. You 
will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Arizona Public Service Company (APS) 
submitted a right-of-way (ROW) application to construct, operate, and 
maintain a 500/230-kV overhead transmission line from the Sun Valley 
Substation to the Morgan Substation in Maricopa County. The APS was 
reacting

[[Page 43225]]

to a decision in 2009 by the Arizona Corporation Commission, the line-
siting authority in the State, to certificate a route that includes the 
BLM-managed lands.
    The proposed Project would be located on a combination of BLM-
managed lands, Arizona State Trust lands, and private lands in northern 
Maricopa County, northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. The proposed Project is 
an overhead transmission line, approximately 38 miles long, on monopole 
structures. The BLM-managed lands within the Project area are managed 
under the existing Bradshaw-Harquahala RMP.
    Environmental and social concerns and issues were identified 
through both the initial public scoping and Draft EIS/Draft RMP 
Amendment comment periods. The issues addressed in the EIS that shaped 
the Project's scope and alternatives include:
     Land Use Plan conformance;
     Need and reliability;
     Project design features, mitigation measures, and 
alternatives;
     Air and climate;
     Biological resources;
     Cultural resources;
     Health and safety;
     Recreation;
     Socioeconomic and environmental justice;
     Scenic/Visual; and
     Transportation and traffic.
    In addition to the Proposed Action and No Action Alternative, three 
action alternative routes and one sub-alternative route (as proposed by 
the Arizona State Land Department) were analyzed in detail in the EIS. 
As proposed, the Project would require an RMP Amendment because the 
current RMP requires high-voltage transmission lines crossing BLM-
managed lands to be within designated utility corridors, and a utility 
corridor for the proposed ROW was not established in the current RMP. 
However, the Proposed Action is within a transportation corridor which 
is designated for the expansion of State Route 74. In addition, the 
Visual Resource Management (VRM) class designation would need to be 
amended from Class III to Class IV for those BLM-managed lands where 
views would be dominated by the transmission line and thus would not 
meet the objectives of the current VRM designation. The VRM class would 
also be changed for those BLM-managed lands south of State Route (SR) 
74 surrounding the proposed transmission line ROW (i.e., the existing 
transportation corridor north of SR 74 and the key-shaped piece south 
of SR 74).
    An interdisciplinary approach was used to develop the Final EIS in 
order to consider the variety of resource issues and concerns 
identified. An amendment to the Bradshaw-Harquahala RMP would be based 
upon the following planning criteria:
     The amendment would be completed in compliance with FLPMA, 
NEPA, and all other relevant Federal laws, executive orders, and 
management policies of the BLM;
     Where existing planning decisions are still valid, those 
decisions would remain unchanged and be incorporated into the new 
amendment; and
     The amendment would recognize valid existing rights.
    The BLM has identified the Proposed Action route (with slight 
modifications as needed to reduce potential impacts) crossing BLM-
managed lands as the Agency Preferred Alternative route for the 
proposed transmission line, including best management practices (BMPs). 
The BMPs would consist of minor route deviations for micro-siting of 
structures or segments of the line at the time of route engineering to 
reduce impacts to visual and other sensitive resources.
    Under the Agency Preferred Alternative, the BLM would amend the RMP 
to:
     Designate a 200-foot-wide utility corridor (2,362 acres) 
on BLM-managed lands north of SR 74, and eliminate Decision LR-30, 
which states that there would be no new utility corridors designated in 
the Castle Hot Springs Management Unit;
     Designate a multiuse utility corridor on 1,013 acres of 
BLM-managed lands south of SR 74 (key shaped area) to address potential 
future BLM management considerations; and
     Change the existing VRM class designations of 2,362 acres 
north of SR 74 and 1,013 acres south of SR 74 from VRM Class III to VRM 
Class IV to allow for the newly established utility corridors.
    If the BLM approves the RMP Amendment, the BLM would also approve a 
ROW on BLM-managed lands.
    The BLM has utilized the NEPA comment period to satisfy the public 
involvement process for Section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470) as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
Native American tribal consultations will continue to be conducted in 
accordance with policy, and tribal concerns, including impacts on 
Indian trust assets, will be given due consideration.
    Comments on the Draft EIS/Draft RMP Amendment received from the 
public and internal BLM review were considered, and document revisions 
were incorporated as appropriate into the Final EIS/Proposed RMP 
Amendment. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, 
but did not result in significant changes to the proposed Project, the 
Proposed RMP Amendment, or the impact analysis between the Draft and 
Final EIS.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the BLM Director regarding 
the Final EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment may be found in the ``Dear 
Reader'' Letter of the APS Sun Valley to Morgan Transmission Line 
Project Final EIS and Proposed RMP Amendment and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. 
Emailed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless the 
protesting party also provides the original letter by either regular or 
overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under 
these conditions, the BLM will consider the emailed protest as an 
advance copy and it will receive full consideration. If you wish to 
provide the BLM with such advance notification, please direct email 
protests to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator Brenda 
Hudgens-Williams at bhudgens@blm.gov.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate 
address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2, 43 CFR 
1610.5.

Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2013-17226 Filed 7-18-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-32-P