Application for Proposed Project for Clean Line Plains & Eastern Transmission Line, 23520-23522 [2015-09941]

Download as PDF 23520 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES objectives, and compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or submitted a report of unacceptable quality. In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 3. Special Conditions: Under 2 CFR 3474.10, the Secretary may impose special conditions and, in appropriate circumstances, high-risk conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; has a financial or other management system that does not meet the standards in 2 CFR part 200, subpart D; has not fulfilled the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible. VI. Award Administration Information 1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN); or we may send you an email containing a link to access an electronic version of your GAN. We may notify you informally, also. If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you. 2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify administrative and national policy requirements in the application package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice. We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also incorporates your approved application as part of your binding commitments under the grant. 3. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition, you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b). (b) At the end of your project period, you must submit a final performance report, including financial information, as directed by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an annual performance report VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:18 Apr 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 that provides the most current performance and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ fund/grant/apply/appforms/ appforms.html. 4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has developed the following performance measures for measuring the overall effectiveness of the Demonstration Grants for Indian Children program: (1) The percentage of the annual measurable objectives, as described in the application, that are met by grantees; and (2) The percentage of grantees that report a significant increase in community collaborative efforts that promote college and career readiness of Indian children. These measures constitute the Department’s indicators of success for this program. Consequently, we advise an applicant for a grant under this program to give careful consideration to these measures in developing the proposed project and identifying the method of evaluation. Each grantee will be required to provide, in its annual performance and final reports, data about its progress in meeting these measures. 5. Continuation Awards: In making a continuation award under 34 CFR 75.253, the Secretary considers, among other things: Whether a grantee has made substantial progress in achieving the goals and objectives of the project; whether the grantee has expended funds in a manner that is consistent with its approved application and budget; and, if the Secretary has established performance measurement requirements, the performance targets in the grantee’s approved application. In making a continuation grant, the Secretary also considers whether the grantee is operating in compliance with the assurances in its approved application, including those applicable to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). VII. Agency Contact FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David E. Emenheiser, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 3W215, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 260–1488 or by email: david.emenheiser@ed.gov. PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 VIII. Other Information Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disk) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of this notice. Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department. Dated: April 23, 2015. Deborah S. Delisle, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education. [FR Doc. 2015–09832 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY [OE Docket No. TPF–01] Application for Proposed Project for Clean Line Plains & Eastern Transmission Line Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE. ACTION: Notice of Application. AGENCY: The Department of Energy (DOE) requests public comment on the first complete application submitted in response to its June 10, 2010 Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the Federal Register (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean Line Energy Partners, LLC, submitted an application for its Plains & Eastern Clean Line project. The project would include an overhead ±600-kilovolt (kV) high voltage, direct current electric transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts SUMMARY: E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM 28APN1 asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions to loadserving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast United States via an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. DOE has concluded that Clean Line’s application was responsive to the 2010 RFP and is making it available for public review. DATES: Comments on the application must be submitted on or before June 12, 2015. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed as follows: 1222 Program, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE–20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. Electronic comments can be emailed to plainsandeastern@hq.doe.gov. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Colamaria at 202–287–5387 or via electronic mail at Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (42 U.S.C. 16421), the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) or the Western Area Power Administration (Western), has the authority to design, develop, construct, operate, maintain, or own, or participate with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, operating, maintaining, or owning two types of projects: (a) Electric power transmission facilities and related facilities needed to upgrade existing transmission facilities owned by Southwestern or Western (42 U.S.C. 16421(a)), or (b) new electric power transmission facilities and related facilities located within any State in which Southwestern or Western operates (42 U.S.C. 16421(b)). In carrying out either type of section 1222 project (Project), the Secretary may accept and use funds contributed by another entity for the purpose of executing the Project (42 U.S.C. 16421(c)). In order to exercise the authority to engage in these activities under section 1222, the Secretary, in consultation with the applicable Power Marketing Administrator, must first determine that a proposed Project satisfies certain statutory criteria: i. The proposed Project must be either: (A) Located in an area designated under section 216(a) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)) and will reduce congestion of electric transmission in interstate commerce; or VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:18 Apr 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 (B) Necessary to accommodate an actual or projected increase in demand for electric transmission capacity; ii. The proposed Project must be consistent with both: (A) Transmission needs identified, in a transmission expansion plan or otherwise, by the appropriate Transmission Organization (as defined in the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) if any, or approved regional reliability organization; and (B) Efficient and reliable operation of the transmission grid; iii. The proposed Project will be operated in conformance with prudent utility practice; iv. The proposed Project will be operated by, or in conformance with the rules of, the appropriate Transmission Organization, if any; or if such an organization does not exist, regional reliability organization; and v. The proposed Project will not duplicate the functions of existing transmission facilities or proposed facilities which are the subject of ongoing or approved siting and related permitting proceedings. In June 2010, DOE issued Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). To be responsive to the 2010 RFP, the application must demonstrate how the proposed Project meets all of the above statutory criteria, as well as several additional criteria, including, but not limited to, the following: 1. Whether the Project is in the public interest; 2. Whether the Project will facilitate the reliable delivery of power generated by renewable resources; 3. The benefits and impacts of the Project in each state it traverses, including economic and environmental factors; 4. The technical viability of the Project, considering engineering, electrical, and geographic factors; and 5. The financial viability of the Project. In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean Line Energy Partners LLC of Houston, Texas, the parent company of Plains and Eastern Clean Line LLC and Plains and Eastern Clean Line Oklahoma LLC (collectively referred to with its subsidiaries as Clean Line or the Applicant) submitted a proposal to DOE in July 2010 for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line Project. In August 2011, Clean Line modified the proposal. In December 2014, DOE requested additional information from the Applicant to supplement and update its original application. This ‘‘Part II’’ PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 23521 application and other documentation are now available for a 45-day public comment period. Clean Line proposes to construct an overhead ±600-kilovolt (kV), high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions to loadserving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast United States via an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. Major associated facilities identified in the application consist of converter stations; an approximate 720-mile, ±600kV HVDC transmission line; an alternating current (AC) collection system; and access roads. Clean Line requests that Southwestern participate in development of the facilities in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As part of their environmental review of the project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), DOE has identified and analyzed potential environmental impacts for several additional alternatives. These alternatives include an Arkansas converter station (capable of supplying an additional 500 megawatts of energy into the Arkansas electrical grid) and alternative routes for the HVDC transmission line. Procedural Matters: Prior to making a determination whether or not to participate in the proposed Project, DOE, in consultation with Southwestern, must evaluate the proposed Project for compliance with section 1222 of EPAct, the criteria in the 2010 RFP, and NEPA. On December 21, 2012, DOE issued a Notice of Intent to Draft an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS; 77 FR 75623) pursuant to NEPA. On December 17, 2014, DOE issued a Notice of Availability and announced public hearings for the Draft EIS (79 FR 75132). DOE made the Draft EIS available on DOE’s Plains & Eastern EIS Web site (www.PlainsandEasternEIS.com) and the DOE NEPA Web site (www.energy.gov/nepa). The Draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of participating in the proposed Project. DOE hosted fifteen public hearings across the proposed Project area. The public comment period for the NEPA review is scheduled to end on April 20, 2015. DOE will address the public comments in the Final EIS, which will inform the Department’s determination. In addition to conducting a NEPA review, DOE is conducting due E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM 28APN1 23522 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 81 / Tuesday, April 28, 2015 / Notices diligence on other factors related to the statutory criteria identified above. DOE’s review will include making all required statutory findings and will consider all criteria listed in section 1222 of EPAct, as well as all factors included in DOE’s 2010 RFP. This due diligence is the reason for today’s notice. DOE is requesting comments on whether the proposed Project meets the statutory criteria and the factors identified within the 2010 RFP. Any person may comment on the application by filing such comment at the address provided above. Copies of the application are available by accessing the program Web site at https://www.energy.gov/oe/services/ electricity-policy-coordination-andimplementation/transmission-planning/ section-1222-0. Issued in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2015. Patricia A. Hoffman, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. [FR Doc. 2015–09941 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6450–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Notice of Staff Attendance at Southwest Power Pool Regional Entity Trustee, Regional State Committee, Members’ and Board of Directors’ Meetings The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) hereby gives notice that members of its staff may attend the meetings of the Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) Regional Entity Trustee (RE), Regional State Committee (RSC), SPP Members Committee and Board of Directors, as noted below. Their attendance is part of the Commission’s ongoing outreach efforts. All meetings will be held at the Tulsa Hyatt Regency Downtown, 100 East Second Street, Tulsa, OK 74103. SPP RE April 27, 2015 (8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.) asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES SPP RSC April 27, 2015 (1:00 p.m.–5:00 p.m.) SPP Members/Board of Directors April 28, 2015 (8:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.) The discussions may address matters at issue in the following proceedings: Docket No. EL05–19, Southwestern Public Service Company Docket No. ER05–168, Southwestern Public Service Company VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:18 Apr 27, 2015 Jkt 235001 Docket No. ER06–274, Southwestern Public Service Company Docket No. ER09–35, Tallgrass Transmission, LLC Docket No. ER09–36, Prairie Wind Transmission, LLC Docket No. ER09–548, ITC Great Plains, LLC Docket No. EL11–34, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER11–1844, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER11–4105, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. EL12–28, Xcel Energy Services Inc., et al. Docket No. EL12–59, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. Docket No. EL12–60, Southwest Power Pool, Inc., et al. Docket No. ER12–480, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER12–959, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER12–1179, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER12–1586, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–366, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–367, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–1173, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–1864, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–1937, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER13–1939, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. EL14–21, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. EL14–30, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. EL14–93, Kansas Corporation Commission v. Westar Energy, Inc. Docket No. ER14–67, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–781, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–1174, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–1713, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2022, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2081, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2107, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2363, Southwestern Public Service Company Docket No. ER14–2399, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2445, Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2553, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 9990 Docket No. ER14–2570, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2850, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER14–2851, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–10, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–21, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–279, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–509, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–534, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–763, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–879, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–929, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–964, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–990, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1139, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1140, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1152, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1163, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1228, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1293, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1304, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1340, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1370, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1401, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. Docket No. ER15–1414, Southwest Power Pool, Inc. These meetings are open to the public. For more information, contact Patrick Clarey, Office of Energy Market Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at (317) 249–5937 or patrick.clarey@ferc.gov. Dated: April 16, 2015. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2015–09749 Filed 4–27–15; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P E:\FR\FM\28APN1.SGM 28APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23520-23522]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09941]


=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. TPF-01]


Application for Proposed Project for Clean Line Plains & Eastern 
Transmission Line

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Application.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) requests public comment on the 
first complete application submitted in response to its June 10, 2010 
Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded Transmission Line Projects 
Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 in the Federal 
Register (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean 
Line Energy Partners, LLC, submitted an application for its Plains & 
Eastern Clean Line project. The project would include an overhead 
600-kilovolt (kV) high voltage, direct current electric 
transmission system and associated facilities with the capacity to 
deliver approximately 3,500 megawatts

[[Page 23521]]

primarily from renewable energy generation facilities in the Oklahoma 
and Texas Panhandle regions to load-serving entities in the Mid-South 
and Southeast United States via an interconnection with the Tennessee 
Valley Authority electrical grid. DOE has concluded that Clean Line's 
application was responsive to the 2010 RFP and is making it available 
for public review.

DATES: Comments on the application must be submitted on or before June 
12, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be addressed as follows: 1222 
Program, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585. Electronic comments can be emailed to 
plainsandeastern@hq.doe.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Colamaria at 202-287-5387 or 
via electronic mail at Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to section 1222 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (42 U.S.C. 16421), the Secretary of Energy, 
acting through the Southwestern Power Administration (Southwestern) or 
the Western Area Power Administration (Western), has the authority to 
design, develop, construct, operate, maintain, or own, or participate 
with other entities in designing, developing, constructing, operating, 
maintaining, or owning two types of projects: (a) Electric power 
transmission facilities and related facilities needed to upgrade 
existing transmission facilities owned by Southwestern or Western (42 
U.S.C. 16421(a)), or (b) new electric power transmission facilities and 
related facilities located within any State in which Southwestern or 
Western operates (42 U.S.C. 16421(b)). In carrying out either type of 
section 1222 project (Project), the Secretary may accept and use funds 
contributed by another entity for the purpose of executing the Project 
(42 U.S.C. 16421(c)).
    In order to exercise the authority to engage in these activities 
under section 1222, the Secretary, in consultation with the applicable 
Power Marketing Administrator, must first determine that a proposed 
Project satisfies certain statutory criteria:
    i. The proposed Project must be either:
    (A) Located in an area designated under section 216(a) of the 
Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824p(a)) and will reduce congestion of 
electric transmission in interstate commerce; or
    (B) Necessary to accommodate an actual or projected increase in 
demand for electric transmission capacity;
    ii. The proposed Project must be consistent with both:
    (A) Transmission needs identified, in a transmission expansion plan 
or otherwise, by the appropriate Transmission Organization (as defined 
in the Federal Power Act, 16 U.S.C. 791a et seq.) if any, or approved 
regional reliability organization; and
    (B) Efficient and reliable operation of the transmission grid;
    iii. The proposed Project will be operated in conformance with 
prudent utility practice;
    iv. The proposed Project will be operated by, or in conformance 
with the rules of, the appropriate Transmission Organization, if any; 
or if such an organization does not exist, regional reliability 
organization; and
    v. The proposed Project will not duplicate the functions of 
existing transmission facilities or proposed facilities which are the 
subject of ongoing or approved siting and related permitting 
proceedings.
    In June 2010, DOE issued Request for Proposals for New or Upgraded 
Transmission Line Projects Under Section 1222 of the Energy Policy Act 
of 2005 (75 FR 32940) (2010 RFP). To be responsive to the 2010 RFP, the 
application must demonstrate how the proposed Project meets all of the 
above statutory criteria, as well as several additional criteria, 
including, but not limited to, the following:
    1. Whether the Project is in the public interest;
    2. Whether the Project will facilitate the reliable delivery of 
power generated by renewable resources;
    3. The benefits and impacts of the Project in each state it 
traverses, including economic and environmental factors;
    4. The technical viability of the Project, considering engineering, 
electrical, and geographic factors; and
    5. The financial viability of the Project.
    In response to the 2010 RFP, Clean Line Energy Partners LLC of 
Houston, Texas, the parent company of Plains and Eastern Clean Line LLC 
and Plains and Eastern Clean Line Oklahoma LLC (collectively referred 
to with its subsidiaries as Clean Line or the Applicant) submitted a 
proposal to DOE in July 2010 for the Plains & Eastern Clean Line 
Project. In August 2011, Clean Line modified the proposal. In December 
2014, DOE requested additional information from the Applicant to 
supplement and update its original application. This ``Part II'' 
application and other documentation are now available for a 45-day 
public comment period.
    Clean Line proposes to construct an overhead 600-
kilovolt (kV), high voltage direct current (HVDC) electric transmission 
system and associated facilities with the capacity to deliver 
approximately 3,500 megawatts primarily from renewable energy 
generation facilities in the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandle regions to 
load-serving entities in the Mid-South and Southeast United States via 
an interconnection with the Tennessee Valley Authority electrical grid. 
Major associated facilities identified in the application consist of 
converter stations; an approximate 720-mile, 600kV HVDC 
transmission line; an alternating current (AC) collection system; and 
access roads. Clean Line requests that Southwestern participate in 
development of the facilities in Oklahoma and Arkansas. As part of 
their environmental review of the project pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), DOE has identified and analyzed 
potential environmental impacts for several additional alternatives. 
These alternatives include an Arkansas converter station (capable of 
supplying an additional 500 megawatts of energy into the Arkansas 
electrical grid) and alternative routes for the HVDC transmission line.
    Procedural Matters: Prior to making a determination whether or not 
to participate in the proposed Project, DOE, in consultation with 
Southwestern, must evaluate the proposed Project for compliance with 
section 1222 of EPAct, the criteria in the 2010 RFP, and NEPA. On 
December 21, 2012, DOE issued a Notice of Intent to Draft an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS; 77 FR 75623) pursuant to NEPA. On 
December 17, 2014, DOE issued a Notice of Availability and announced 
public hearings for the Draft EIS (79 FR 75132). DOE made the Draft EIS 
available on DOE's Plains & Eastern EIS Web site 
(www.PlainsandEasternEIS.com) and the DOE NEPA Web site 
(www.energy.gov/nepa). The Draft EIS assesses the potential 
environmental effects of participating in the proposed Project. DOE 
hosted fifteen public hearings across the proposed Project area. The 
public comment period for the NEPA review is scheduled to end on April 
20, 2015. DOE will address the public comments in the Final EIS, which 
will inform the Department's determination.
    In addition to conducting a NEPA review, DOE is conducting due

[[Page 23522]]

diligence on other factors related to the statutory criteria identified 
above. DOE's review will include making all required statutory findings 
and will consider all criteria listed in section 1222 of EPAct, as well 
as all factors included in DOE's 2010 RFP. This due diligence is the 
reason for today's notice. DOE is requesting comments on whether the 
proposed Project meets the statutory criteria and the factors 
identified within the 2010 RFP.
    Any person may comment on the application by filing such comment at 
the address provided above. Copies of the application are available by 
accessing the program Web site at https://www.energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/transmission-planning/section-1222-0.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on April 23, 2015.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery 
and Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-09941 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
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