WAOR65753; Notice of Availability of the Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project in Benton, Grant, Kittitas, and Yakima Counties, Washington, 50-52 [2014-30597]
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 2015 / Notices
property is described as for ‘‘off-site use
only’’ recipients of the property will be
required to relocate the building to their
own site at their own expense.
Homeless assistance providers
interested in any such property should
send a written expression of interest to
HHS, addressed to Theresa Ritta, Ms.
Theresa M. Ritta, Chief Real Property
Branch, the Department of Health and
Human Services, Room 5B–17,
Parklawn Building, 5600 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, MD 20857, (301) 443–6672
(This is not a toll-free number.) HHS
will mail to the interested provider an
application packet, which will include
instructions for completing the
application. In order to maximize the
opportunity to utilize a suitable
property, providers should submit their
written expressions of interest as soon
as possible. For complete details
concerning the processing of
applications, the reader is encouraged to
refer to the interim rule governing this
program, 24 CFR part 581.
For properties listed as suitable/to be
excess, that property may, if
subsequently accepted as excess by
GSA, be made available for use by the
homeless in accordance with applicable
law, subject to screening for other
Federal use. At the appropriate time,
HUD will publish the property in a
Notice showing it as either suitable/
available or suitable/unavailable.
For properties listed as suitable/
unavailable, the landholding agency has
decided that the property cannot be
declared excess or made available for
use to assist the homeless, and the
property will not be available.
Properties listed as unsuitable will
not be made available for any other
purpose for 20 days from the date of this
Notice. Homeless assistance providers
interested in a review by HUD of the
determination of unsuitability should
call the toll free information line at 1–
800–927–7588 for detailed instructions
or write a letter to Ann Marie Oliva at
the address listed at the beginning of
this Notice. Included in the request for
review should be the property address
(including zip code), the date of
publication in the Federal Register, the
landholding agency, and the property
number.
For more information regarding
particular properties identified in this
Notice (i.e., acreage, floor plan, existing
sanitary facilities, exact street address),
providers should contact the
appropriate landholding agencies at the
following addresses: COE: Ms. Brenda
John-Turner, Army Corps of Engineers,
Real Estate, HQUSACE/CEMP–CR, 441
G Street NW., Washington, DC 20314;
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(202) 761–5222 (This is not a toll-free
number).
Dated: December 18, 2014.
Brian P. Fitzmaurice,
Director, Division of Community Assistance,
Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs.
TITLE V, FEDERAL SURPLUS PROPERTY
PROGRAM FEDERAL REGISTER REPORT
FOR 01/02/2015
Suitable/Available Properties
Building
Virginia
Comfort Stations, Property ID#
PHL–17771
1058 Philpott Dam Rd
Bassett VA 24055
Landholding Agency: COE
Property Number: 31201440010
Status: Unutilized
Comments: off-site removal only; 189 sq. ft.;
difficult to remove due to structure type;
no future agency need; contact COE for
more information.
[FR Doc. 2014–30344 Filed 12–31–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210–67–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLORW00000 L51010000.ER0000
LVRWH09H0570 14XL5017AP; HAG–14–
0191]
WAOR65753; Notice of Availability of
the Supplemental Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for the Proposed
Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV
Transmission Line Project in Benton,
Grant, Kittitas, and Yakima Counties,
Washington
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has prepared a
Supplemental Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vantage
to Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission
Line Project and, by this notice, is
announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Supplemental
Draft EIS for the Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line
Project within 45 days following the
date the Environmental Protection
Agency publishes its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The
BLM will announce future meetings or
hearings and any other public
SUMMARY:
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involvement activities at least 15 days
in advance through public notices,
media releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line
Project by any of the following methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/or/
districts/spokane/plans/vph230.php.
• Email: blm_or_vantage_pomona@
blm.gov (please reference Vantage to
Pomona Heights Supplemental Draft EIS
in the subject line).
• Fax: 509–536–1275 Attn: Vantage to
Pomona Heights Supplemental Draft EIS
Project Manager.
• Mail to: Spokane District, Records
Manager, 1103 North Fancher Road,
Spokane, Washington 99212, Attn:
Vantage to Pomona Heights
Supplemental Draft EIS.
• Hand-deliver to: BLM Wenatchee
Field Office, Attn: Vantage to Pomona
Heights Supplemental Draft EIS, 915
Walla Walla Avenue, Wenatchee,
Washington 98801–1521, between 8:00
a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Copies of the Supplemental Draft EIS
for the Vantage to Pomona Heights 230
kV Transmission Line Project, as well as
copies of the January 2013 DEIS, are
available in the BLM Wenatchee Field
Office at the above address and
electronically at the following Web site:
https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/
spokane/plans/vph230.php.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Vantage to Pomona Heights
Supplemental Draft EIS Project
Manager; telephone, 509–665–2100;
address, BLM Wenatchee Field Office,
915 Walla Walla Avenue, Wenatchee,
Washington 98801–1521; email, blm_
or_vantage_pomona@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
project proponent, Pacific Power, filed
Federal applications for rights-of-way
with the BLM, the U.S. Department of
Defense Joint Base Lewis McChord
Yakima Training Center (JBLM YTC),
and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(Reclamation) for construction,
operation, and maintenance of a 230kilovolt (kV) transmission line from
Pacific Power’s Pomona Heights
Substation located east of Selah,
Washington, in Yakima County to the
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Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)
Vantage Substation located just east of
the Wanapum Dam in Grant County,
Washington. The project proponent’s
interest in the new line is to enhance
overall operating flexibility and security
of the regional transmission grid and to
improve system reliability in the
Yakima Valley.
On January 4, 2013, the BLM released
a Draft EIS for public review and
comment. As a result of the comments
received at public meetings and
submitted in writing during the Draft
EIS comment period, the BLM, Pacific
Power, and the JBLM YTC met and
identified a New Northern Route
Alternative that is located largely on
JBLM YTC land. The BLM therefore
decided to prepare a Supplemental Draft
EIS to fully describe the New Northern
Route Alternative, analyze the direct,
indirect, and cumulative impacts
associated with this alternative, and
describe mitigation measures that could
avoid, minimize, or reduce impacts. The
Supplemental Draft EIS focuses the
analysis on the New Northern Route
Alternative as well as any significant
new circumstances or information that
has become available since the January
2013 publication of the Draft EIS. New
information that has been incorporated
into the Supplemental Draft EIS is
primarily related to Greater SageGrouse, a Candidate species under the
Endangered Species Act. Following
publication of the Draft EIS, the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Conservation Objectives Team (COT)
published the Greater Sage-grouse
Conservation Objectives: Final Report
(COT Report). A key component of the
COT Report is the identification of
Priority Areas of Conservation (PACs),
which are considered key habitats
essential for Greater Sage-Grouse
conservation. The COT Report identifies
four PACs within the state of
Washington, two of which have extant
populations, Moses Coulee and Yakima
Training Center. With the exception of
a small portion of the New Northern
Route Alternative, the Project is located
entirely within the Yakima Training
Center PAC. The impact analysis for
Sage-Grouse was expanded in the
Supplemental Draft EIS to address
USFWS and Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) concerns
regarding sage-grouse and to incorporate
information from the COT Report and
the Yakima Training Center PAC. In
addition, the Supplemental Draft EIS
analyzed two identified areas
(approximately 10 miles in total length)
with both an Overhead and an
Underground Design Option to address
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wildlife agency concerns regarding
impacts to sage-grouse.
The BLM remains the lead Federal
agency and, along with the Cooperating
Agencies, is responsible for analyzing
the effects of Pacific Power’s right-ofway applications to construct, operate,
and maintain a 230 kV transmission
line, associated access roads, and other
ancillary facilities. The JBLM YTC,
Reclamation, BPA, Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), USFWS,
Washington Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), Washington
Department of Transportation (WSDOT),
and Kittitas and Yakima Counties are
Cooperating Agencies and assisted with
the preparation of the Supplemental
Draft EIS.
As preliminarily designed by Pacific
Power and analyzed in the Draft EIS and
the Supplemental DEIS, most of the
proposed transmission line would be
constructed on H-frame wood pole
structures between 65 and 90 feet tall
and spaced approximately 650 to 1,000
feet apart, depending on terrain. In
developed or agricultural areas, single
wood or steel monopole structures
would be used. The single pole
structures would be between 80 and 110
feet tall and spaced approximately 400
to 700 feet apart. The right-of-way width
for the H-frame structure type would be
between 125 to 150 feet and, for the
single pole structure type, between 75 to
100 feet. For the Columbia River
crossing, steel lattice structures
approximately 200 feet tall would be
used to safely span the up to 2,800-foot
crossing.
The Supplemental Draft EIS considers
three alternatives: No Action, New
Northern Route Alternative, and the
Draft EIS Agency Preferred Alternative.
The New Northern Route Alternative is
41 miles in length and includes one
potential subroute section and analyzes
two identified areas (approximately 10
miles in total length) with both an
Overhead and an Underground Design
Option to address wildlife agency
concerns regarding impacts to sagegrouse. The New Northern Route
Alternative crosses Federal land
managed by the BLM, the JBLM YTC,
and Reclamation; State land managed by
the WSDOT and the WDNR; and
Yakima, Kittitas, and Grant Counties.
The Supplemental Draft EIS also
identifies mitigation measures to avoid,
minimize, or reduce impacts for the
New Northern Route Alternative. To
minimize the amount and significance
of impacts from the proposed Project to
sage-grouse, a Framework for the
Development of a Sage-grouse Habitat
Mitigation Plan is currently being
developed by the project’s Sage-grouse
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51
Subgroup which is comprised of
wildlife biologists representing the
USFWS, WDFW, JBLM YTC, and BLM.
This framework will provide the basis
for the project proponent to prepare a
Sage-grouse Habitat Mitigation Plan
which will provide an overview of
impacts and proposed sage-grouse
compensatory mitigation actions for the
project. The draft ‘‘Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line
Project Framework for Development of a
Sage-Grouse Habitat Mitigation Plan’’ is
included as an appendix to the
Supplemental Draft EIS.
The BLM will continue to use the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) public participation
requirements to assist the agency in
satisfying the public involvement
requirements under Section 106 of the
National Preservation Act (NHPA) (16
U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3). The information about
historic and cultural resources within
the area potentially affected by the
proposed Vantage to Pomona Heights
230 kV Transmission Line Project will
continue to assist BLM in identifying
and evaluating impacts to such
resources in the context of both NEPA
and Section 106 of the NHPA.
The BLM will continue to consult
with Indian tribes on a government-togovernment basis in accordance with
Executive Order 13175 and other
policies. Tribal concerns, including
impacts to trust assets and potential
impacts to cultural resources, will be
given due consideration. Federal, state,
and local agencies, along with tribes and
other stakeholders that may be
interested in or affected by the proposed
Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV
Transmission Line Project were invited
to participate in the scoping process and
comment on the Draft EIS.
The BLM has consulted with the
federally recognized Yakama Nation and
the Colville Confederated Tribes and
with the non-federally recognized
Wanapum Band of Indians. BLM
continues to work with the state and
federal agencies and consulting tribes
regarding development of a
Programmatic Agreement (PA) that
outlines how the federal agencies will
comply with Section 106 for this
undertaking, the draft PA is included as
an appendix to the Supplemental Draft
EIS.
Major issues brought forward during
the scoping process that were addressed
in the Draft EIS and carried forward in
the Supplemental Draft EIS include:
• Land use conflicts and effects on
agricultural operations and property
values
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Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 1 / Friday, January 2, 2015 / Notices
• Effects on wildlife habitat, plants, and
animals including threatened,
endangered, and sensitive species
(especially sage-grouse)
• Potential effects to JBLM YTC military
training operations
• Effects to visual resources and
existing view sheds
• Effects to cultural resources
• Effects to soils and water from
surface-disturbing activities
• Social and economic effects
• Management and control of invasive
plant species
• Public health and safety
The Supplemental Draft EIS analysis
identified several advantages associated
with the New Northern Route
Alternative and they include:
• Reduced overall transmission line
length; approximately 22-miles shorter
than the DEIS Agency Preferred
Alternative. The reduced transmission
line length provides reduced resource
impacts for several issues compared to
the original DEIS Agency Preferred
Alternative.
• Reduced overall transmission line
length across non-federal lands; The
New Northern Route Alternative occurs
primarily on federal lands and therefore
has less impacts on land use, public
health and safety, and other issues
compared to the DEIS Agency Preferred
Alternative.
• Reduced overall disturbance
footprint; the New Northern Route
Alternative is consolidated in an
existing transmission line corridor
(approximately 200-foot centerline-tocenterline separation) for the majority of
the proposed routing. The reduced
disturbance foot-print thus reduced
resource impacts such as impacts to
wildlife habitat (especially SageGrouse), military training, soils, water
resources, invasive species spread, and
others issues compared to the DEIS
Agency Preferred Alternative.
Before including your address, phone
number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment—including your
personal identifying information—may
be made publicly available at any time.
While you can ask us in your comment
to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to
do so. Please note that public comments
and information submitted, including
names, street addresses, and email
addresses of persons who submit
comments, will be available for public
review and disclosure at the above
address during regular business hours (8
a.m. to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday,
except holidays.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Jkt 235001
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR
1506.10.
Daniel C. Picard,
Spokane District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2014–30597 Filed 12–31–14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–33–P
DEPARMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[14XLLAKF02000.L16100000.
DQ0000.LXSS094L0000]
Notice of Availability of Additional
Information on Proposed Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern and
Associated Resource Use Limitations
Identified in the Draft Eastern Interior
Resource Management Plan/Draft
Environmental Impact Statement,
Alaska
Bureau of Land Management,
Department of the Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
On February 24, 2012, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
published a Notice of Availability
(NOA) of the Eastern Interior Draft
Resource Management Plan (RMP)/
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for public review and comment in the
Federal Register. BLM planning
regulations require the BLM to notify
the public of proposed Areas of Critical
Environmental Concern (ACEC) and
specify the resource use limitations
which would occur if the ACECs were
formally designated through approval of
the Eastern Interior RMP. Based on
public comment on the Draft RMP, the
BLM proposes the reconfiguration of the
Fortymile ACEC and proposes a new
ACEC on the Mosquito Flats. These
specific proposed ACEC boundaries
were not noticed in the Draft RMP/EIS.
Thus, the BLM is providing this notice
and public comment period for these
two proposed ACECs.
DATES: You may submit comments
related to the new ACEC information in
this notice until March 3, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the new ACEC information by
any of the following methods:
• Email: easterninterior@blm.gov.
• Fax: 907–474–2282.
• Mail: Eastern Interior Field Office,
Attention—Eastern Interior RMP,
Bureau of Land Management, 1150
University Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska
99709.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeanie Cole, telephone 907–474–2340 or
email j05cole@blm.gov. Persons who use
a telecommunications device for the
SUMMARY:
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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: Comments
on the Draft RMP/EIS received from the
public and internal BLM analyses on
ACECs were reviewed and considered
for incorporation into the proposed
plan. As a result, the BLM now proposes
the addition of the 30,000 acre Mosquito
Flats ACEC and reconfiguration of the
Fortymile ACEC to 685,000 acres. It is
unnecessary to issue a supplement to
the Draft EIS pursuant to 40 CFR 1502.9
because the proposed land management
direction for these ACECs was within
the spectrum of alternatives analyzed in
the Draft EIS. The following description
details the information for these two
proposed ACECs. Maps of both ACECs
are available on the BLM’s Eastern
Interior RMP Web site at www.blm.gov/
ak/eirmp.
Mosquito Flats ACEC (30,000 Acres)
During the public comment period for
the Eastern Interior RMP, the BLM
received two nominations for an ACEC
on the Mosquito Flats. The proposed
Mosquito Flats ACEC is a large wetland
complex unique to BLM lands in the
planning area; it consists of a wetland
basin situated in the upper portion of
the drainage, at relatively high elevation
(∼2250 ft), and surrounded by
mountains. Mosquito Flats provides
unique wetland and aquatic habitats
and supports a variety of wildlife
species.
The proposed ACEC is comprised of
a complex of floating bog wetland
vegetation partially surrounded by
mountains. The Mosquito Fork River
flows over continuous sand beds that
are uncharacteristically clean, light
colored, well-sorted, and low in
organics. These sand beds provide
unique aquatic habitat essential for
maintaining diverse species within the
planning area.
Mosquito Flats is an important moose
calving area and summer habitat for the
regional moose population. The area
also supports short-eared owls and
nesting trumpeter swans, both BLMAlaska sensitive species. It may also
support other BLM-sensitive species,
including olive-sided flycatcher, rusty
blackbird, and blackpoll warbler.
Proposed Use Limitations: Closed to
locatable mineral entry and mineral
leasing, subject to valid existing rights.
Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use is
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 1 (Friday, January 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50-52]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30597]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLORW00000 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWH09H0570 14XL5017AP; HAG-14-0191]
WAOR65753; Notice of Availability of the Supplemental Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project in Benton, Grant, Kittitas,
and Yakima Counties, Washington
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vantage
to Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project and, by this notice,
is announcing the opening of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Supplemental Draft EIS for the Vantage to
Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project within 45 days
following the date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its
Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce
future meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities
at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project by any of the following
methods:
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/spokane/plans/vph230.php.
Email: blm_or_vantage_pomona@blm.gov (please reference
Vantage to Pomona Heights Supplemental Draft EIS in the subject line).
Fax: 509-536-1275 Attn: Vantage to Pomona Heights
Supplemental Draft EIS Project Manager.
Mail to: Spokane District, Records Manager, 1103 North
Fancher Road, Spokane, Washington 99212, Attn: Vantage to Pomona
Heights Supplemental Draft EIS.
Hand-deliver to: BLM Wenatchee Field Office, Attn: Vantage
to Pomona Heights Supplemental Draft EIS, 915 Walla Walla Avenue,
Wenatchee, Washington 98801-1521, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays.
Copies of the Supplemental Draft EIS for the Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project, as well as copies of the
January 2013 DEIS, are available in the BLM Wenatchee Field Office at
the above address and electronically at the following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/or/districts/spokane/plans/vph230.php.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vantage to Pomona Heights Supplemental
Draft EIS Project Manager; telephone, 509-665-2100; address, BLM
Wenatchee Field Office, 915 Walla Walla Avenue, Wenatchee, Washington
98801-1521; email, blm_or_vantage_pomona@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 project proponent, Pacific Power, filed
Federal applications for rights-of-way with the BLM, the U.S.
Department of Defense Joint Base Lewis McChord Yakima Training Center
(JBLM YTC), and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for
construction, operation, and maintenance of a 230-kilovolt (kV)
transmission line from Pacific Power's Pomona Heights Substation
located east of Selah, Washington, in Yakima County to the
[[Page 51]]
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Vantage Substation located just
east of the Wanapum Dam in Grant County, Washington. The project
proponent's interest in the new line is to enhance overall operating
flexibility and security of the regional transmission grid and to
improve system reliability in the Yakima Valley.
On January 4, 2013, the BLM released a Draft EIS for public review
and comment. As a result of the comments received at public meetings
and submitted in writing during the Draft EIS comment period, the BLM,
Pacific Power, and the JBLM YTC met and identified a New Northern Route
Alternative that is located largely on JBLM YTC land. The BLM therefore
decided to prepare a Supplemental Draft EIS to fully describe the New
Northern Route Alternative, analyze the direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts associated with this alternative, and describe
mitigation measures that could avoid, minimize, or reduce impacts. The
Supplemental Draft EIS focuses the analysis on the New Northern Route
Alternative as well as any significant new circumstances or information
that has become available since the January 2013 publication of the
Draft EIS. New information that has been incorporated into the
Supplemental Draft EIS is primarily related to Greater Sage-Grouse, a
Candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. Following
publication of the Draft EIS, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) Conservation Objectives Team (COT) published the Greater Sage-
grouse Conservation Objectives: Final Report (COT Report). A key
component of the COT Report is the identification of Priority Areas of
Conservation (PACs), which are considered key habitats essential for
Greater Sage-Grouse conservation. The COT Report identifies four PACs
within the state of Washington, two of which have extant populations,
Moses Coulee and Yakima Training Center. With the exception of a small
portion of the New Northern Route Alternative, the Project is located
entirely within the Yakima Training Center PAC. The impact analysis for
Sage-Grouse was expanded in the Supplemental Draft EIS to address USFWS
and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) concerns
regarding sage-grouse and to incorporate information from the COT
Report and the Yakima Training Center PAC. In addition, the
Supplemental Draft EIS analyzed two identified areas (approximately 10
miles in total length) with both an Overhead and an Underground Design
Option to address wildlife agency concerns regarding impacts to sage-
grouse.
The BLM remains the lead Federal agency and, along with the
Cooperating Agencies, is responsible for analyzing the effects of
Pacific Power's right-of-way applications to construct, operate, and
maintain a 230 kV transmission line, associated access roads, and other
ancillary facilities. The JBLM YTC, Reclamation, BPA, Federal Highway
Administration (FHWA), USFWS, Washington Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), and
Kittitas and Yakima Counties are Cooperating Agencies and assisted with
the preparation of the Supplemental Draft EIS.
As preliminarily designed by Pacific Power and analyzed in the
Draft EIS and the Supplemental DEIS, most of the proposed transmission
line would be constructed on H-frame wood pole structures between 65
and 90 feet tall and spaced approximately 650 to 1,000 feet apart,
depending on terrain. In developed or agricultural areas, single wood
or steel monopole structures would be used. The single pole structures
would be between 80 and 110 feet tall and spaced approximately 400 to
700 feet apart. The right-of-way width for the H-frame structure type
would be between 125 to 150 feet and, for the single pole structure
type, between 75 to 100 feet. For the Columbia River crossing, steel
lattice structures approximately 200 feet tall would be used to safely
span the up to 2,800-foot crossing.
The Supplemental Draft EIS considers three alternatives: No Action,
New Northern Route Alternative, and the Draft EIS Agency Preferred
Alternative. The New Northern Route Alternative is 41 miles in length
and includes one potential subroute section and analyzes two identified
areas (approximately 10 miles in total length) with both an Overhead
and an Underground Design Option to address wildlife agency concerns
regarding impacts to sage-grouse. The New Northern Route Alternative
crosses Federal land managed by the BLM, the JBLM YTC, and Reclamation;
State land managed by the WSDOT and the WDNR; and Yakima, Kittitas, and
Grant Counties. The Supplemental Draft EIS also identifies mitigation
measures to avoid, minimize, or reduce impacts for the New Northern
Route Alternative. To minimize the amount and significance of impacts
from the proposed Project to sage-grouse, a Framework for the
Development of a Sage-grouse Habitat Mitigation Plan is currently being
developed by the project's Sage-grouse Subgroup which is comprised of
wildlife biologists representing the USFWS, WDFW, JBLM YTC, and BLM.
This framework will provide the basis for the project proponent to
prepare a Sage-grouse Habitat Mitigation Plan which will provide an
overview of impacts and proposed sage-grouse compensatory mitigation
actions for the project. The draft ``Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV
Transmission Line Project Framework for Development of a Sage-Grouse
Habitat Mitigation Plan'' is included as an appendix to the
Supplemental Draft EIS.
The BLM will continue to use the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) public participation requirements to assist the agency in
satisfying the public involvement requirements under Section 106 of the
National Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR
800.2(d)(3). The information about historic and cultural resources
within the area potentially affected by the proposed Vantage to Pomona
Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project will continue to assist BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of
both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA.
The BLM will continue to consult with Indian tribes on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175
and other policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts to trust assets
and potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration. Federal, state, and local agencies, along with tribes
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the
proposed Vantage to Pomona Heights 230 kV Transmission Line Project
were invited to participate in the scoping process and comment on the
Draft EIS.
The BLM has consulted with the federally recognized Yakama Nation
and the Colville Confederated Tribes and with the non-federally
recognized Wanapum Band of Indians. BLM continues to work with the
state and federal agencies and consulting tribes regarding development
of a Programmatic Agreement (PA) that outlines how the federal agencies
will comply with Section 106 for this undertaking, the draft PA is
included as an appendix to the Supplemental Draft EIS.
Major issues brought forward during the scoping process that were
addressed in the Draft EIS and carried forward in the Supplemental
Draft EIS include:
Land use conflicts and effects on agricultural operations and
property values
[[Page 52]]
Effects on wildlife habitat, plants, and animals including
threatened, endangered, and sensitive species (especially sage-grouse)
Potential effects to JBLM YTC military training operations
Effects to visual resources and existing view sheds
Effects to cultural resources
Effects to soils and water from surface-disturbing activities
Social and economic effects
Management and control of invasive plant species
Public health and safety
The Supplemental Draft EIS analysis identified several advantages
associated with the New Northern Route Alternative and they include:
Reduced overall transmission line length; approximately
22-miles shorter than the DEIS Agency Preferred Alternative. The
reduced transmission line length provides reduced resource impacts for
several issues compared to the original DEIS Agency Preferred
Alternative.
Reduced overall transmission line length across non-
federal lands; The New Northern Route Alternative occurs primarily on
federal lands and therefore has less impacts on land use, public health
and safety, and other issues compared to the DEIS Agency Preferred
Alternative.
Reduced overall disturbance footprint; the New Northern
Route Alternative is consolidated in an existing transmission line
corridor (approximately 200-foot centerline-to-centerline separation)
for the majority of the proposed routing. The reduced disturbance foot-
print thus reduced resource impacts such as impacts to wildlife habitat
(especially Sage-Grouse), military training, soils, water resources,
invasive species spread, and others issues compared to the DEIS Agency
Preferred Alternative.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. Please note that public comments and information
submitted, including names, street addresses, and email addresses of
persons who submit comments, will be available for public review and
disclosure at the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m.
to 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.
Daniel C. Picard,
Spokane District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2014-30597 Filed 12-31-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-33-P
