Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Land-Use Plan Amendments for the Energy Gateway South Transmission Project in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, 9916-9920 [2014-03683]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 35 (Friday, February 21, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9916-9920]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-03683]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWY920000.51010000.ER0000.LVRWK09K1000; WYW174597; COC72909; 
UTU87237]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement and Land-Use Plan Amendments for the Energy Gateway South 
Transmission Project in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah

AGENCIES:  Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Land-Use Plan 
Amendments for the Energy Gateway South Transmission Project (Project).

[[Page 9917]]


DATES: The Draft EIS is now available for public review. The BLM and 
the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) request that comments be structured so 
that they are substantive and contain sufficient detail to allow the 
agencies to address them in the Final EIS. To be considered in the 
Final EIS, written comments on the Draft EIS must be received within 90 
days after the Environmental Protection Agency's publication in the 
Federal Register of its Notice of Availability of this Draft EIS. The 
BLM and the USFS will consider timely filed comments and respond to 
them in the Final EIS.
    All public meetings or other opportunities for public involvement 
related to the Project will be announced by the BLM at least 15 days in 
advance through public notices, media news releases, Web site 
announcements, or mailings.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Draft EIS have been sent to affected Federal, 
State, and local governments; public libraries in the Project area; and 
interested parties that previously requested a copy. The Draft EIS and 
supporting documents will be available electronically on the following 
BLM Web site: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hdd/gateway_south.html. A limited number of DVD copies of the document 
will be available as supplies last. To request a DVD copy, contact 
Tamara Gertsch, BLM National Project Manager, BLM, Wyoming State 
Office, P.O. Box 21150, Cheyenne, WY 82003.
    Written comments may be submitted by the following methods:
     Email: GatewaySouth_WYMail@blm.gov.
     Mail: BLM, Wyoming State Office, P.O. Box 21150, Cheyenne, 
WY 82003.
     Courier or hand delivery: Bureau of Land Management, 
Energy Gateway South Project, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 
82009.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tamara Gertsch, BLM National Project 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming State Office, P.O. Box 
21150, Cheyenne, WY 82003, or by telephone at 307-775-6115. Any persons 
wishing to be added to a mailing list of interested parties may write 
or call the BLM National Project Manager at this address or phone 
number. You may also contact Charles Kenton Call, USFS Project Manager, 
Dixie National Forest, 1789 North Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, UT 84721, 
or by telephone at 435-865-3730.
    Persons who use telecommunications devices for the deaf may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to leave 
a message or questions for Ms. Gertsch. FIRS is available 24 hours a 
day, 7 days a week. You will receive a reply during normal business 
hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Copies of the Draft EIS are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the following 
locations:

 BLM, Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 
82009
 BLM, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third St., Rawlins, WY 
82301
 BLM, Little Snake Field Office, 455 Emerson St., Craig, CO 
81625
 BLM, White River Field Office, 220 East Market St., Meeker, CO 
81641
 BLM, Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Road, Grand Junction, 
CO 81506
 BLM, Fillmore Field Office, 35 East 500 North, Fillmore, UT 
84631
 BLM, Moab Field Office, 82 East Dogwood, Moab, UT 84532
 BLM, Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, UT 84501
 BLM, Vernal Field Office,170 South 500 East, Vernal, UT 84078
 BLM, Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900 North, Richfield, UT 
84701
 U.S. Forest Service (Lead Forest Office), Dixie National 
Forest Office, 1789 North Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, UT 84721

    The Draft EIS analyzes the consequences of granting a right-of-way 
(ROW) to PacifiCorp (doing business as Rocky Mountain Power) for 
locating a 500-kilovolt (kV), overhead, single-circuit, alternating-
current, transmission line beginning near Medicine Bow, Carbon County, 
Wyoming, at the Aeolus Substation, and extending south and west to the 
planned Clover Substation near Mona, Juab County, Utah, a distance of 
between 400 miles and 540 miles (depending on the route selected). The 
Draft EIS also analyzes the consequences of the USFS issuing special 
use permits to construct, operate, and maintain those portions of the 
transmission line which would be located on lands administered by the 
USFS. The Project would also include a rebuild of two existing 345kV 
transmission lines between the Clover and Mona Substations (in an 
existing ROW), reroute of the Mona to Huntington 345kV transmission 
line through the Clover Substation, and two series compensation 
stations at points between Aeolus and Clover substations to improve 
transport capacity and efficiency of the transmission line. Equipment 
to accommodate the 500kV transmission line would be installed at the 
Aeolus and Clover substations. The Project is designed to provide up to 
1,500 megawatts of capacity to meet current and forecasted needs of 
Rocky Mountain Power's customers. The BLM, through consultation with 
other Federal, State, and local cooperating agencies, has included an 
Agency Preferred Alternative transmission route in the Draft EIS. The 
following discussions of the Project are specific to the 412-mile-long 
Agency Preferred Alternative.
    The requested ROW width would be 250 feet for the 500kV portion of 
the Project and 150 feet for the 345kV portion of the Project. 
Construction is projected to start in 2018. As a general goal, the 
Agency Preferred Alternative has been located parallel to existing 
transmission lines and other utilities within the West-wide energy 
corridors designated pursuant to Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 and within other federally designated utility corridors, unless 
precluded by resource or routing constraints or by technical 
infeasibility. Approximately 40 miles (10 percent) of the Agency 
Preferred Alternative is located within designated Federal utility 
corridors. Transmission line alternatives were developed and analyzed 
in detail as part of this EIS. These alternatives also cross Federal, 
State, local, and private lands.
    The Draft EIS includes draft amendments of BLM land-use plans 
(Resource Management Plans) and USFS Land and Resource Management Plans 
(Forest Plans) that would be needed for the Project under each of the 
alternative routes. Depending on the alternative selected in the Record 
of Decision (ROD), the National Park Service may consider applications 
for the Project across the Deerlodge Road that provides access to 
Dinosaur National Monument.
    By this notice and the Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS, 
published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2011 (76 FR 18241), the 
BLM is providing notice to the public of potential amendments to 
Resource Management Plans and Forest Plans, as required by 43 CFR 
1610.2(c) and 36 CFR 219.8. The impacts of these potential amendments 
are analyzed in the Draft EIS together with the impacts of the various 
Project alternative routes.
    Your input is important and will be considered in the environmental 
and land-use planning analysis processes. All comment submissions must 
include the commenter's name and street address. Comments, including 
the names and addresses of the commenter, will be available for public 
inspection at the locations listed below during normal business hours 
(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays. Before including your address, phone number, email address, 
or any other personal identifying information in your comment, be 
advised that your

[[Page 9918]]

entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be 
publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to 
withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we 
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. PacifiCorp (doing 
business as Rocky Mountain Power) originally submitted an Application 
for Transportation and Utility Systems and Facilities on Federal Lands 
(Standard Form 299) to the BLM and USFS on November 28, 2007. The 
application was revised by Rocky Mountain Power on December 17, 2008, 
October 11, 2010, and January 15, 2013, to reflect changes in the 
Project description and inform the BLM of Rocky Mountain Power's 
preferred route.
    Through planning studies analyzing the electrical power system, 
Rocky Mountain Power determined its existing system, last upgraded 
about 25 years ago, needs to be upgraded to ensure sufficient capacity 
and reliable power is available to its customers. The Project would 
increase capacity and service reliability for its customers in the 
region. When completed, the line would transmit up to 1,500 megawatts 
of electricity. The transmission line would transmit power from both 
renewable and thermal energy sources. Cooperating agencies currently 
include Federal, State, and local agencies along all of the alternative 
routes. The lead agency recognizes 29 cooperating agencies supporting 
the Project EIS.
    To allow the public an opportunity to review the proposal and 
Project information, the BLM held public meetings from May 10, 2011, to 
June 2, 2011, in: Baggs, Rock Springs, and Rawlins, Wyoming; Craig, 
Rangely, and Grand Junction, Colorado; and Roosevelt, Fort Duchesne, 
Nephi, Price, Mount Pleasant, and Green River, Utah. Issues and 
potential impacts to specific resources were identified during scoping 
and preparation of the Draft EIS.
    In response to scoping comments, Rocky Mountain Power made 
alternative route modifications and variations to its Proposed Action 
in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Some alternative routes presented in 
scoping were removed from further analysis. Alternative routes that 
were: (1) Ineffective (i.e., did not meet the agencies' purpose and 
need); (2) Technically or economically infeasible; (3) Inconsistent 
with the basic policy objectives of the management of an area (e.g., 
land-use plans); (4) Remote or speculative (i.e., could not be 
analyzed); or (5) Substantially similar in design or effects to another 
alternative route being analyzed were eliminated from further 
consideration. These route modifications and variations are documented 
in the Energy Gateway South Transmission Project Siting Study Report 
available online at https://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/hddo/gatewaysouth.Par.93351.File.dat/FinalSitingStudyReport.pdf.
    In addition to the Proposed Action, the Draft EIS considers the No 
Action Alternative and 33 alternative routes (including route 
variations) totaling 1,425 miles in detail. For this Draft EIS, the No 
Action Alternative means that the BLM ROW and USFS special-use 
authorization for the Project to cross Federal lands would not be 
granted and the transmission line and ancillary facilities would not be 
constructed.
    The BLM, in coordination with the USFS and other Federal, State, 
and local governments and agencies, developed the Agency Preferred 
Alternative through a comparative evaluation of routing opportunities 
and constraints and the relative potential impacts among the various 
alternative routes and route variations. The Agency Preferred 
Alternative is derived from currently available information and is not 
a decision. The BLM is inviting the public to offer comments on the 
Agency Preferred Alternative, as well as other alternative routes and 
route variations presented in the document.
    The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental consequences of 
granting a ROW to Rocky Mountain Power to construct, operate, and 
maintain a 500kV transmission line from the Aeolus Substation (near 
Medicine Bow, Carbon County, Wyoming) to the planned Clover Substation 
(near Mona, Juab County, Utah) and ancillary facilities. The 
approximately 412-mile Agency Preferred Alternative is discussed below.
    The Agency Preferred Alternative for this Project is the 
combination of routes named Alternative WYCO-B-2 (a route variation of 
WYCO-B) and Alternative COUT-C-3 (a route variation of Alternative 
COUT-C).
    The Alternative WYCO-B-2 portion of the Agency Preferred 
Alternative route exits the Aeolus Substation within the utility 
corridor designated by the Wyoming Executive Order 2011-5 for 
protection of sage-grouse, continuing to the southwest where it crosses 
Interstate 80 approximately 10 miles east of Sinclair, Wyoming. This 
Agency Preferred Alternative route (described below as the route) 
continues west on the southern side of Interstate 80 (approximately 3 
to 5 miles south) for approximately 57 miles. The route then parallels 
Wamsutter Road (on the east side of the road) south for approximately 
15 miles. At that point, the route continues southwest crossing Flat 
Top Mountain and continues toward the Wyoming and Colorado border, 
approximately 20 miles west of Baggs, Wyoming.
    The route continues south/southwest through the Sevenmile Ridge 
area where it crosses the Little Snake River, the western edge of the 
Godiva Rim, and Colorado State Highway 318 in an area approximately 10 
miles northwest of Maybell, Colorado. The route continues south, 
crossing the Yampa River 5 miles northeast of Cross Mountain Gorge to a 
point near U.S. Highway 40 approximately 12 miles southwest of Maybell. 
At that point, the route avoids the Tuttle Ranch Conservation Easement 
by paralleling U.S. Highway 40 on the north and crossing the Deerlodge 
Road, the eastern entrance to Dinosaur National Monument. The route 
then crosses the highway and continues southwest paralleling the 
Bonanza to Bears Ears 345kV and the Hayden to Artesia 138kV 
transmission lines for approximately 22 miles south of U.S. Highway 40 
to approximately 20 miles east of Dinosaur, Colorado.
    The Alternative COUT-C-3 portion of the Agency Preferred 
Alternative route begins at a point northeast of Rangely, Colorado, 
where Alternative WYCO-B-2 ends. From this point, the route continues 
to parallel the Bears Ears to Bonanza 345kV and the Hayden to Artesia 
138kV transmission lines to the west toward the Colorado/Utah border.
    This Agency Preferred Alternative alternative route continues to 
follow the Bears Ears to Bonanza 345kV transmission line southwest 
toward the Bonanza Power Plant. The route then continues west/southwest 
following an underground pipeline through the Uinta Basin and crossing 
the Green River approximately 8 miles north of Sand Wash boat launch, 
continuing west toward the western end of the Tavaputs Plateau. Within 
the plateau, it traverses through Argyle Ridge for approximately 12 
miles dropping southwest toward U.S. Highway 191. Following the highway 
through Indian Canyon for approximately 2 miles; it then crosses the 
highway heading west/northwest into the Emma Park area (approximately 
11 miles north of Helper, Utah) toward Soldier Summit for a distance of 
approximately 21 miles avoiding sage-grouse leks/habitat to the south 
and the Reservation Ridge Scenic Backway (designated by the USFS) to 
the north.
    It continues west toward U.S. Highway 6 and parallels the Spanish 
Fork to Carbon 138kV transmission line

[[Page 9919]]

northwest for approximately 25 miles through an area near Sheep Creek. 
It continues to parallel the Bonanza to Mona 345kV transmission line 
toward Thistle, Utah, turning south and crosses U.S. Highway 89 near 
Birdseye, Utah, continuing south/southwest to a point approximately 5 
miles north of Fountain Green, Utah. The route continues to parallel 
the Bonanza to Mona 345kV transmission line west through Salt Creek 
Canyon, south of Mount Nebo, toward Nephi, Utah, and the Clover 
Substation.
    The BLM, the USFS, and cooperating agencies worked together to 
develop alternative routes that would conform to existing Federal land-
use plans. However, this objective was not reached for a number of the 
alternative routes analyzed in the Draft EIS. Plan amendments that 
would be necessary to implement each of the evaluated alternatives were 
identified by affected agencies and analyzed in Chapter 5 of the Draft 
EIS. The specific land-use plan amendments that are needed will depend 
on which alternative route is selected in the BLM's ROD if the BLM 
makes a decision to approve the ROW application. Proposed plan 
amendments may be protested to the BLM Director at the Final EIS stage 
(43 CFR 1610.5-2). The decision to offer a ROW grant may be appealed to 
the Interior Board of Land Appeals (43 CFR 2801.10) after the BLM 
issues its ROD.
    The USFS's draft ROD, which would describe whether or not any 
special use permits will be issued, and would describe if any project-
level Forest Plan amendments will be made, may be objected to using the 
pre-decisional objection procedures described in 36 CFR 218 subparts A 
and B. Legal notice of such opportunity to object will appear in the 
applicable newspapers of record at the appropriate time (36 CFR 
218.26).
    In the Final EIS, the BLM will identify the agency-selected 
alternative and the requisite proposed plan amendments necessary to 
implement that alternative.
    The Agency Preferred Alternative identified in the Draft EIS would 
involve nine plan amendments (in five BLM Field Offices and one 
National Forest). The following land-use plan amendments may be needed 
to bring the Project into conformance with the applicable Resource 
Management Plans for BLM-managed land and Land and Resource Management 
Plans (Forest Plans) for National Forest System land crossed by the 
Project, depending on Project approval and on the final route selected. 
All prospective plan amendments will comply with applicable Federal 
laws and regulations, be analyzed in the Project EIS, and apply only to 
Federal lands and mineral estates administered by the BLM or the USFS.
    Rawlins Field Office Resource Management Plan (RMP) (2): Conversion 
of an underground utility corridor to include aboveground utilities and 
amending segments of the utility ROW from Visual Resource Management 
(VRM) Class III to Class IV.
    Little Snake Field Office RMP (2): Area within the Project's ROW 
determined to be noncompliant with VRM Class III objectives would be 
amended to Class IV.
    White River Field Office RMP (5): The approved RMP would be amended 
for decisions regarding ROW exclusion areas for listed plant species. 
Area within the Project's ROW determined to be noncompliant with VRM 
Class III objectives would be amended to Class IV where the Project 
with appropriate selective mitigation measures may still exceed the 
acceptable level of change that could occur within a specific VRM class 
after mitigation. Amend the Dragon Trail-Atchee Ridge utility corridor 
to include overhead linear facilities. If, after application of all 
feasible measures to reduce impacts to the amendments above, exceptions 
for the Project could be granted by the Field Manager to allow for the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the Project in areas that 
are in conflict with the plan.
    Grand Junction Field Office RMP (1): The area within the Project's 
ROW determined to be noncompliant with VRM Class III objectives would 
be amended to Class IV.
    Salt Lake City Field Office RMP (1): Amend the RMP to include the 
Project ROW as a utility corridor.
    Price Field Office RMP (5): Amended to Class IV the areas within 
the Project's ROW determined to be noncompliant with VRM Class III 
objectives. An exception for the exclusion for ROW grants for the 
Project to occur within the Rock Art ACEC for 0.2 mile. Amend the 
existing Interstate 70 utility corridor to 1.5 miles in width.
    Vernal Field Office RMP (5): Amend the RMP to address the areas 
within the Project's ROW determined to be noncompliant with VRM Class 
II and III objectives would be adjusted to Class III and IV.
    Moab Field Office RMP (3): The areas within the Project's ROW 
determined to be noncompliant with VRM Class III objectives would be 
amended to Class IV.
    Manti-La Sal National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan 
(LRMP) (1): Amend the LRMP to address the area within the Project ROW 
that is inconsistent with partial retention Visual Quality Objectives 
(VQO) that could not be mitigated through application of selective 
mitigation measures would be amended from a partial retention VQO to a 
modification VQO.
    Ashley National Forest LRMP (2): The areas within the Project ROW 
that are inconsistent with a retention and partial retention VQO that 
could not be mitigated through application of selective mitigation 
measures would be amended from a retention VQO to a modification VQO.
    Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest LRMP (1): The area within the 
Project ROW that is inconsistent with the utility corridor limitations 
would be amended to include the Project ROW under the applicable 
utility corridor.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the National Environmental 
Policy Act comment process to satisfy the public involvement process 
for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 
470f), as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Ongoing consultations 
with Native American tribes will continue in accordance with policy and 
tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets, will be 
given due consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with 
other stakeholders that may be interested or affected by the BLM's 
decision on this Project, are invited to participate.
    The USFS project-specific decisions regarding whether or not to 
issue the special use permits and project-specific Forest Plan 
amendments that the USFS will decide whether or not to make: the Notice 
of Intent to prepare the EIS was published on April 1, 2011. The 
proposed action is a project or activity implementing a land management 
plan and is not authorized under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act; 
therefore, it is subject to subparts A and B of 36 CFR Part 218. After 
the Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS was published, regulations at 
36 CFR Parts 215 and 218 were modified to change the administrative 
review process for proposed USFS projects implementing land and 
resource management plans; 78 FR 18481. Under 36 CFR 218.16, for all 
decisions implementing land management plans issued after September 27, 
2013, the USFS is required to follow the pre-decisional administrative 
review process under 36 CFR Part 218, which replaced the process for 
notice, comment, and appeal under 36 CFR Part 215 that was in effect 
when this project was proposed. Further, the amended rule requires that 
the USFS provide notice that the project

[[Page 9920]]

proposal will be subject to the pre-decisional review process. The 
regulation further provides that ``all interested and affected parties 
who provided written comment as defined in subsection 218.2 during 
scoping or the comment period will be eligible to participate in the 
objections process.'' 36 CFR 218.16(b)(3). The purpose of this 
paragraph is to provide notice that the proposed decisions made by the 
USFS for this project will be subject to the pre-decisional review 
process in 36 CFR Part 218 subparts A and B.

Donald A. Simpson,
Wyoming State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-03683 Filed 2-20-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-22-P