Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, New Mexico, 30066-30068 [2021-11788]
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Notices
required to ‘‘assess the security of each
surface transportation mode and
evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency
of current Federal Government surface
transportation security initiatives.’’ E.O.
13416, sec. 3(a) (Dec. 5, 2006).
TSA developed the BASE program in
2007, in an effort to engage with surface
transportation entities to establish a
‘‘baseline’’ of security and emergency
response operations. This program was
initially created for Mass Transit/
Passenger Rail (MT/PR) (including rail
and bus operations) and passenger rail.
Based on the success of the program,
TSA developed the Highway (HWY)
BASE program in 2012, which achieved
full implementation in 2013. The HWY
BASE applies to trucking, school bus
contractors, school districts, and overthe-road motor coach. This voluntary
program enables TSA to collect and
evaluate physical and operational
preparedness information and critical
assets and key point-of-contact lists.
TSA also reviews emergency procedures
and domain awareness training and
provides an opportunity to share
industry best practices. The program
provides TSA with current information
on adopted security-practices within the
MT/PR and HWY modes of the surface
transportation sector. The information
collected also allows TSA to
dynamically adapt programs to the
changing threat with an understanding
of the improvements surface
transportation entities make in their
security posture. Without this
information, the ability for TSA to
perform its security mission would be
severely hindered. Additionally, the
relationships these face-to-face contacts
foster are critical to TSA’s ability to
reach out to the surface transportation
entities participating in the BASE
program.
Absent this program, there would be
no consistent data about these
transportation security programs, nor a
database that could be used to
benchmark the programs. While many
MT/PR and HWY entities have security
and emergency response plans or
protocols in place, the BASE provides a
consistent approach to evaluate the
delegated to him by the Secretary of Homeland
Security. Section 403(2) of the Homeland Security
Act (HSA) of 2002, Public Law 107–296, 116 Stat.
2315 (Nov. 25, 2002), transferred all functions of
TSA, including those of the Secretary of
Transportation and the Under Secretary of
Transportation of Security related to TSA, to the
Secretary of Homeland Security. Pursuant to DHS
Delegation Number 7060.2, the Secretary delegated
to the Assistant Secretary (now referred to as the
Administrator of TSA), subject to the Secretary’s
guidance and control, the authority vested in the
Secretary with respect to TSA, including that in sec.
403(2) of the HSA.
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17:08 Jun 03, 2021
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extent to which security programs exists
and the content of those programs.
The Government Accountability
Office, audit GA–20–404, recommended
TSA update the BASE cybersecurity
questions to ensure they reflect key
practices. As a result, TSA is revising
the collection to include all five core
functions of the National Institute of
Standards and Technology
cybersecurity framework. All core
functions and a majority of the
subcategories are amalgamated with
industry best practices in the newly
developed cybersecurity questions and
cyber annex, strengthening the
cybersecurity health for the
transportation sector.
In carrying out the voluntary BASE
program, TSA’s Transportation Security
Inspectors-Surface (TSIs-S) conduct
BASE reviews during site visits with
security and operating officials of MT/
PR and HWY systems, throughout the
Nation. The TSIs-S receive and
document relevant information using a
standardized electronic checklist.
Advance coordination and planning
ensures the efficiency of the assessment
process. The TSIs-S review and analyze
the stakeholders’ security plan, if
adopted, and determine if the mitigation
measures included in the plan are being
effectively implemented, while
providing additional resources for
further security enhancement. In
addition to examining the security plan
document, TSIs-S reviews one or more
assets of the private and/or public
owner/operator.
During BASE site visits of MT/PR and
HWY entities, TSIs-S collect
information and complete a BASE
checklist from the review of each
entity’s documents, plans, and
procedures. They also interview
appropriate entity personnel and
conduct system observations prompted
by questions raised during the
document review and interview stages.
TSA conducts the interviews to
ascertain and clarify information on
security measures and to identify
security gaps. The interviews also
provide TSA with a method to
encourage the surface transportation
entities participating in the BASE
reviews to be diligent in effecting and
maintaining security-related
improvements.
While TSA has not set a limit on the
number of BASE program reviews to
conduct, TSA estimates it will conduct
approximately 75 MT/PR BASE reviews
and approximately 107 HWY BASE
reviews on an annual basis. TSA does
not intend to conduct more than one
BASE review per mass transit or
passenger rail system in a single year.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
TSA estimates that the hour burden per
MT/PR entity to engage its security and/
or operating officials with inspectors in
the interactive BASE program review
process is approximately 11.7 hours,
while those who choose to also take the
new cyber annex assessment will spend
17.7 hours. Also, TSA estimates that the
hour burden per HWY entity to engage
its security and/or operating officials
with inspectors in the interactive BASE
program review process is
approximately 1.8 hours, while those
who choose to also take the new cyber
annex assessment will spend 7.8 hours.
Thus, the total annual hour burden for
the MT/PR BASE program review is
1,196 hours annually and for HWY
BASE 512 hours annually.
Christina A. Walsh,
TSA Paperwork Reduction Act Officer,
Information Technology.
[FR Doc. 2021–11751 Filed 6–3–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9110–05–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNM930000 L51010000.ER0000
LVRWG19G0690 19XL5017AP]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement and
Resource Management Plan
Amendments for the SunZia Southwest
Transmission Project, New Mexico
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) New Mexico State
Office (NMSO), Santa Fe, New Mexico
(NM), intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
to analyze the environmental impacts
associated with SunZia’s application
seeking to amend its right-of-way grant
for the SunZia Southwest Transmission
Project. Proposed amendments to
SunZia’s right-of-way grant may require
plan amendments to the Socorro Field
Office Resource Management Plan, the
Las Cruces District Mimbres Resource
Management Plan, the Sevilleta
National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and
the Cibola National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan, which the
agencies will analyze in the EIS. BLM
NMSO is the lead agency for purposes
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) analysis with the U.S. Fish
& Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Forest
Service (FS), National Park Service
(NPS), and other agencies serving as
SUMMARY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Notices
cooperating agencies. This Notice
initiates the scoping process and opens
a 30-day public comment period to
solicit public comments and identify
issues.
DATES: The BLM requests comments
concerning the scope of the analysis and
identification of relevant information,
studies, and analyses. All comments
must be received by July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments
electronically via the ePlanning site:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2011785/510. Comments and
requests for additional information may
also be sent to Adrian Garcia, Project
Manager, Bureau of Land Management,
New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur
Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Verbal
comment may also be submitted via a
telephone hotline at 1–888–959–2510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Adrian Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau
of Land Management, New Mexico State
Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe,
New Mexico 87508, telephone: (505)
954–2199, or email: agarcia@blm.gov.
Persons who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1–800–
877–8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business
hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for the Proposed
Action
In compliance with NEPA, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the BLM
NMSO intends to prepare an EIS to
analyze the environmental impacts
associated with SunZia Transmission,
LLC’s (SunZia) application seeking to
amend its right-of-way grant for the
SunZia Southwest Transmission Project
(Project). Proposed amendments to
SunZia’s right-of-way grant may require
plan amendments to the Socorro Field
Office Resource Management Plan, the
Las Cruces District Mimbres Resource
Management Plan, the Sevilleta
National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and
the Cibola National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan, which the
agencies will analyze in the EIS.
Preliminary Proposed Action and
Alternatives
The proposed Project is composed of
two planned 500 kilovolt (kV)
transmission lines located across
approximately 520 miles of Federal,
State, and private lands between central
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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Jkt 253001
New Mexico and central Arizona. The
purpose of the Project is to transport up
to 4,500 megawatts of primarily
renewable energy from New Mexico to
markets in Arizona and California. The
permitted route originates at a planned
substation in Torrance County, New
Mexico, and terminates at the existing
Pinal Central Substation in Pinal
County, Arizona. The Project traverses
Lincoln, Socorro, Sierra, Luna, Grant,
Hidalgo, Valencia, and Torrance
counties in New Mexico and Graham,
Greenlee, Cochise, Pinal, and Pima
counties in Arizona. The route has four
segments:
• Segment 1: Pinal Central Substation to
Willow Substation
• Segment 2: Willow Substation to
SunZia South Substation (Segment 2a
in Arizona, Segment 2b in New
Mexico)
• Segment 3: SunZia South Substation
to New Mexico Institute of Mining
and Technology (NM Tech)
• Segment 4: NM Tech to SunZia East
Substation
Prior environmental documents
include a Final EIS in 2013 and a
Record of Decision and a subsequent
Environmental Assessment and Finding
of No New Significant Impact in 2015 to
accommodate burial of approximately 5
miles of the transmission line in three
locations in the vicinity of White Sands
Missile Range. The BLM issued a rightof-way (ROW) grant to SunZia in 2016,
authorizing use of a 400-foot-wide
corridor across 183 miles of Federal
lands administered by the BLM.
Construction of the lines has not begun.
SunZia is proposing to amend the
existing grant in four components:
• Component 1—Localized Route
Modifications: Five route modifications
in New Mexico in Segments 2 and 3.
These five modifications involve BLMadministered land (an increase in route
length of approximately 0.8 miles and
an additional approximate 38.8 acres).
Proposed modifications on non-BLMadministered land involve an increase
in route length of approximately 0.8
miles and an additional approximate
38.9 acres. These modifications are
being proposed to address a range of
issues, including challenges in
obtaining a private landowner ROW or
easement and topography.
• Component 2—Access Roads and
Temporary Work Areas Outside the
Granted ROW: Adding a ROW for about
761 miles of existing and new access
roads, of which approximately 708.8
miles would be permanent, 52.2 miles
would be temporary, and approximately
739.8 acres of temporary work areas that
fall outside the permitted 400-foot-wide
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
30067
corridor across both States. About 216.5
miles of access roads are on BLMadministered land (172.3 in New
Mexico; 44.2 in Arizona). About 157.7
acres of temporary work areas are
located on BLM-administered land in
New Mexico and 22.6 in Arizona.
• Component 3—Segment 4 Reroute:
A reroute of Segment 4 to accommodate
ongoing concerns of White Sands
Missile Range, take advantage of an
opportunity to partially parallel the
Western Spirit 345 kV Transmission
Project, and move the eastern substation
closer to proposed wind-generation
projects. The total length of the
currently permitted Segment 4 route is
91.7 miles, of which 20.2 miles are
Federal land administered by the BLM.
SunZia is considering three alternative
routes. Common to all three alternatives
are approximately the first 65 miles,
from the SunZia East Substation to
where the alternative routes diverge.
These 65 miles would cross BLM
(approximately 0.2 mile), State, and
private lands, 33 miles of which are
parallel to the proposed Western Spirit
345 kV Transmission Project. The three
alternative routes (including the initial
65 miles) are:
Æ Alternative Route 1: options
ranging from 151.8 to 153.9 miles,
would cross approximately 28.1 to 31.5
miles of BLM-administered land and
approximately 4.7 miles across the
Cibola National Forest administered by
the FS.
Æ Alternative Route 2: options
ranging from 114.9 to 121.5 miles,
would cross approximately 5.9 miles of
BLM-administered land and 14.2 miles
across the Sevilleta National Wildlife
Refuge administered by the FWS.
Æ Alternative Route 3: options
ranging from 118.1 to 125.9 miles,
would cross 9 to 9.6 miles of BLMadministered land and approximately
11.6 miles across the Sevilleta National
Wildlife Refuge administered by the
FWS.
Additionally, the BLM may consider
and analyze in detail additional route
alternatives through the NEPA process
other than those requested by SunZia.
• Component 4—SunZia West
Substation: A substation to convert
power from DC to AC. SunZia intends
for one of the two proposed SunZia
transmission lines to be AC and the
other transmission line to be either AC
or DC. The DC line would require
equipment at each terminus to convert
the power from AC to DC (SunZia East
HVDC converter) and from DC to AC
(SunZia West HVDC converter). The
SunZia West Substation is being sited
along the permitted SunZia ROW on
approximately 80.7 acres of Arizona
E:\FR\FM\04JNN1.SGM
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30068
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 106 / Friday, June 4, 2021 / Notices
State land just east of Red Rock, Arizona
(no Federal ROW is needed).
SunZia states the width of the
permanent ROW for the transmission
lines typically is a minimum of 400 feet
on BLM-administered lands but may be
up to 1,000 feet wide in areas with
terrain constraints.
Summary of Expected Impacts
Impacts from the proposed action
would include ground disturbanceassociated impacts to natural and
cultural resources; visual impacts;
potential impacts to threatened and
endangered species at the Rio Grande
River crossing, including the
Southwestern Willow Flycatcher,
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, and the Silvery
Minnow; and socioeconomic effects
from construction, operation, and
maintenance. If an alternative reroute is
selected, Federal agencies may need to
amend land use plans. The disciplines
to be represented and used to prepare
the EIS include, but are not limited to:
• Land use and recreation;
• Visual resources;
• Wilderness, wilderness study areas,
lands with wilderness characteristics,
and FS designated roadless areas;
• Vegetation/riparian/noxious and
invasive weeds/special status plant
species, including Threatened and
Endangered Species and their habitat;
• General and special-status wildlife
species, including Threatened and
Endangered Species and their habitat;
• Earth resources (geology, minerals,
and soils);
• Water resources;
• Air quality;
• Cultural resources;
• Social and economic conditions;
• Health and safety/hazardous
materials;
• Paleontological resources;
• Special designations; and
• Wildland fire ecology and
management.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
If approved, the BLM would issue a
ROW Grant and Temporary Use Permit
for Federal lands. Any alternative
reroute selected that would cross the
Cibola National Forest or the Sevilleta
National Wildlife Refuge would require
permit approval from the FS and FWS,
respectively.
Public Scoping Process
The BLM will initiate a 30-day
scoping period beginning with the
publication of this Notice of Intent
(NOI). The BLM will hold a series of
public scoping meetings to begin
approximately 15 days after issuance of
the NOI.
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17:08 Jun 03, 2021
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The BLM will utilize and coordinate
the NEPA scoping process to help fulfill
the public involvement process under
the National Historic Preservation Act
(54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36
CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about
historic and cultural resources within
the area potentially affected by the
proposed action will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to
such resources.
The BLM will continue to consult
with Native American tribes on a
government-to-government basis in
accordance with Executive Order 13175
and other policies. Tribal concerns,
including impacts on Indian 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 Project that the
BLM is evaluating are invited to
participate in the scoping process and,
if eligible, may request, or be requested
by the BLM, to participate in the
development of the environmental
analysis as a cooperating agency.
Authorization of this proposal may
require amendments to the Socorro
Field Office Resource Management Plan,
the Las Cruces District Mimbres
Resource Management Plan, the
Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and
the Cibola National Forest Land and
Resource Management Plan. By this
notice, the BLM is complying with
requirements 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify
the public of potential plan
amendments. The BLM will integrate
the land use planning process with the
NEPA analysis process for this project.
A Forest plan amendment may be
required for this project. The 2012
Planning Rule (36 CFR part 219)
requires consideration of the applicable
substantive requirements as described
in 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that are
directly related to the plan direction
being added, modified, or removed by
the amendment (36 CFR 219.13).
Request for Identification of Potential
Alternatives, Information, Analyses,
and Mitigation Measures Relevant to
the Proposed Action
The BLM encourages comments
concerning the proposed SunZia
Southwest Transmission Project,
feasible alternatives, possible measures
to mitigate, minimize and/or avoid
adverse environmental impacts, and any
other information relevant to the
proposed action. You may submit
comments at any time by using one of
the methods listed in the ADDRESSES
PO 00000
Frm 00082
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
section of this Notice. Public scoping
meetings will be conducted virtually
with BLM staff to explain project details
and gather information from interested
individuals or groups. Representatives
from SunZia will be available to answer
questions. You should submit
comments by the close of the 30-day
scoping period or 10 days after the last
public meeting.
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. Any persons wishing to be added
to a mailing list of interested parties can
call or write to the BLM, as described in
this Notice. Additional information
meetings may be conducted throughout
the process to keep the public informed
of the progress of the EIS. (Authority: 40
CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Steven R. Wells,
Acting New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021–11788 Filed 6–3–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
[Docket No.: BOEM–2021–0029]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
Revolution Wind LLC’s Proposed Wind
Energy Facility Offshore Rhode Island;
Reopening of Comment Period and
Corrections
Bureau of Ocean Energy
Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice; reopening of comment
period and corrections.
AGENCY:
On April 30, 2021, the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
published the ‘‘Notice of Intent to
Prepare an [EIS] for Revolution Wind
LLC’s Proposed Wind Energy Facility
Offshore Rhode Island’’ in the Federal
Register. The NOI announced that
BOEM will prepare an EIS as part of its
review of a construction and operations
plan submitted by Revolution Wind LLC
and provided project information. The
notice stated that comments received by
June 1, 2021, will be considered. This
notice corrects two statements in the
NOI regarding the energy capacity of the
proposed wind facility and its distance
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\04JNN1.SGM
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30066-30068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11788]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNM930000 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWG19G0690 19XL5017AP]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest
Transmission Project, New Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office
(NMSO), Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM), intends to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the environmental impacts associated
with SunZia's application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. Proposed amendments to
SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments to the Socorro
Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District Mimbres
Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies will analyze in the
EIS. BLM NMSO is the lead agency for purposes of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (FWS), U.S. Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS),
and other agencies serving as
[[Page 30067]]
cooperating agencies. This Notice initiates the scoping process and
opens a 30-day public comment period to solicit public comments and
identify issues.
DATES: The BLM requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis
and identification of relevant information, studies, and analyses. All
comments must be received by July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the ePlanning site:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2011785/510. Comments
and requests for additional information may also be sent to Adrian
Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State
Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Verbal comment may also
be submitted via a telephone hotline at 1-888-959-2510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau
of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa
Fe, New Mexico 87508, telephone: (505) 954-2199, or email:
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
In compliance with NEPA, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the BLM NMSO intends to prepare an EIS to
analyze the environmental impacts associated with SunZia Transmission,
LLC's (SunZia) application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project (Project). Proposed
amendments to SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments
to the Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces
District Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National
Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies
will analyze in the EIS.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
The proposed Project is composed of two planned 500 kilovolt (kV)
transmission lines located across approximately 520 miles of Federal,
State, and private lands between central New Mexico and central
Arizona. The purpose of the Project is to transport up to 4,500
megawatts of primarily renewable energy from New Mexico to markets in
Arizona and California. The permitted route originates at a planned
substation in Torrance County, New Mexico, and terminates at the
existing Pinal Central Substation in Pinal County, Arizona. The Project
traverses Lincoln, Socorro, Sierra, Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, Valencia, and
Torrance counties in New Mexico and Graham, Greenlee, Cochise, Pinal,
and Pima counties in Arizona. The route has four segments:
Segment 1: Pinal Central Substation to Willow Substation
Segment 2: Willow Substation to SunZia South Substation
(Segment 2a in Arizona, Segment 2b in New Mexico)
Segment 3: SunZia South Substation to New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology (NM Tech)
Segment 4: NM Tech to SunZia East Substation
Prior environmental documents include a Final EIS in 2013 and a
Record of Decision and a subsequent Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No New Significant Impact in 2015 to accommodate burial of
approximately 5 miles of the transmission line in three locations in
the vicinity of White Sands Missile Range. The BLM issued a right-of-
way (ROW) grant to SunZia in 2016, authorizing use of a 400-foot-wide
corridor across 183 miles of Federal lands administered by the BLM.
Construction of the lines has not begun.
SunZia is proposing to amend the existing grant in four components:
Component 1--Localized Route Modifications: Five route
modifications in New Mexico in Segments 2 and 3. These five
modifications involve BLM-administered land (an increase in route
length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional approximate 38.8
acres). Proposed modifications on non-BLM-administered land involve an
increase in route length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional
approximate 38.9 acres. These modifications are being proposed to
address a range of issues, including challenges in obtaining a private
landowner ROW or easement and topography.
Component 2--Access Roads and Temporary Work Areas Outside
the Granted ROW: Adding a ROW for about 761 miles of existing and new
access roads, of which approximately 708.8 miles would be permanent,
52.2 miles would be temporary, and approximately 739.8 acres of
temporary work areas that fall outside the permitted 400-foot-wide
corridor across both States. About 216.5 miles of access roads are on
BLM-administered land (172.3 in New Mexico; 44.2 in Arizona). About
157.7 acres of temporary work areas are located on BLM-administered
land in New Mexico and 22.6 in Arizona.
Component 3--Segment 4 Reroute: A reroute of Segment 4 to
accommodate ongoing concerns of White Sands Missile Range, take
advantage of an opportunity to partially parallel the Western Spirit
345 kV Transmission Project, and move the eastern substation closer to
proposed wind-generation projects. The total length of the currently
permitted Segment 4 route is 91.7 miles, of which 20.2 miles are
Federal land administered by the BLM. SunZia is considering three
alternative routes. Common to all three alternatives are approximately
the first 65 miles, from the SunZia East Substation to where the
alternative routes diverge. These 65 miles would cross BLM
(approximately 0.2 mile), State, and private lands, 33 miles of which
are parallel to the proposed Western Spirit 345 kV Transmission
Project. The three alternative routes (including the initial 65 miles)
are:
[cir] Alternative Route 1: options ranging from 151.8 to 153.9
miles, would cross approximately 28.1 to 31.5 miles of BLM-administered
land and approximately 4.7 miles across the Cibola National Forest
administered by the FS.
[cir] Alternative Route 2: options ranging from 114.9 to 121.5
miles, would cross approximately 5.9 miles of BLM-administered land and
14.2 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge administered
by the FWS.
[cir] Alternative Route 3: options ranging from 118.1 to 125.9
miles, would cross 9 to 9.6 miles of BLM-administered land and
approximately 11.6 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
administered by the FWS.
Additionally, the BLM may consider and analyze in detail additional
route alternatives through the NEPA process other than those requested
by SunZia.
Component 4--SunZia West Substation: A substation to
convert power from DC to AC. SunZia intends for one of the two proposed
SunZia transmission lines to be AC and the other transmission line to
be either AC or DC. The DC line would require equipment at each
terminus to convert the power from AC to DC (SunZia East HVDC
converter) and from DC to AC (SunZia West HVDC converter). The SunZia
West Substation is being sited along the permitted SunZia ROW on
approximately 80.7 acres of Arizona
[[Page 30068]]
State land just east of Red Rock, Arizona (no Federal ROW is needed).
SunZia states the width of the permanent ROW for the transmission
lines typically is a minimum of 400 feet on BLM-administered lands but
may be up to 1,000 feet wide in areas with terrain constraints.
Summary of Expected Impacts
Impacts from the proposed action would include ground disturbance-
associated impacts to natural and cultural resources; visual impacts;
potential impacts to threatened and endangered species at the Rio
Grande River crossing, including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher,
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, and the Silvery Minnow; and socioeconomic effects
from construction, operation, and maintenance. If an alternative
reroute is selected, Federal agencies may need to amend land use plans.
The disciplines to be represented and used to prepare the EIS include,
but are not limited to:
Land use and recreation;
Visual resources;
Wilderness, wilderness study areas, lands with wilderness
characteristics, and FS designated roadless areas;
Vegetation/riparian/noxious and invasive weeds/special
status plant species, including Threatened and Endangered Species and
their habitat;
General and special-status wildlife species, including
Threatened and Endangered Species and their habitat;
Earth resources (geology, minerals, and soils);
Water resources;
Air quality;
Cultural resources;
Social and economic conditions;
Health and safety/hazardous materials;
Paleontological resources;
Special designations; and
Wildland fire ecology and management.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
If approved, the BLM would issue a ROW Grant and Temporary Use
Permit for Federal lands. Any alternative reroute selected that would
cross the Cibola National Forest or the Sevilleta National Wildlife
Refuge would require permit approval from the FS and FWS, respectively.
Public Scoping Process
The BLM will initiate a 30-day scoping period beginning with the
publication of this Notice of Intent (NOI). The BLM will hold a series
of public scoping meetings to begin approximately 15 days after
issuance of the NOI.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will continue to consult with Native American tribes on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175
and other policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian 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
Project that the BLM is evaluating are invited to participate in the
scoping process and, if eligible, may request, or be requested by the
BLM, to participate in the development of the environmental analysis as
a cooperating agency.
Authorization of this proposal may require amendments to the
Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District
Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife
Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan. By this notice, the BLM is complying
with requirements 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of potential
plan amendments. The BLM will integrate the land use planning process
with the NEPA analysis process for this project. A Forest plan
amendment may be required for this project. The 2012 Planning Rule (36
CFR part 219) requires consideration of the applicable substantive
requirements as described in 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that are
directly related to the plan direction being added, modified, or
removed by the amendment (36 CFR 219.13).
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information,
Analyses, and Mitigation Measures Relevant to the Proposed Action
The BLM encourages comments concerning the proposed SunZia
Southwest Transmission Project, feasible alternatives, possible
measures to mitigate, minimize and/or avoid adverse environmental
impacts, and any other information relevant to the proposed action. You
may submit comments at any time by using one of the methods listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this Notice. Public scoping meetings will be
conducted virtually with BLM staff to explain project details and
gather information from interested individuals or groups.
Representatives from SunZia will be available to answer questions. You
should submit comments by the close of the 30-day scoping period or 10
days after the last public meeting.
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. Any persons wishing to be added to a mailing list of
interested parties can call or write to the BLM, as described in this
Notice. Additional information meetings may be conducted throughout the
process to keep the public informed of the progress of the EIS.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Steven R. Wells,
Acting New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-11788 Filed 6-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P
