Bureau of Land Management April 7, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service (Forest Service), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) will prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Barren Ridge Renewable Transmission Project. This action is in response to LADWP's application to the Forest Service for a special use authorization and amendments to existing special use authorizations, and application to BLM for a right-of-way grant and amendments to existing right-of-way grants. It has been determined that this project is a major federal action which may have a significant impact upon the environment. Therefore, the appropriate environmental analysis document is an EIS/EIR. The EIS/EIR would describe and analyze potential environmental impacts from the proposed project/action and the range of reasonable alternatives. LADWP proposes the following: (1) Construction of a 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from the existing Barren Ridge Switching Station to Haskell Canyon on double circuit structures; (2) addition of a 230 kV circuit on existing double circuit structures from Haskell Canyon to the Castaic Power Plant; (3) upgrading of the existing Owens Gorge- Rinaldi (OG-RIN) 230 kV Transmission Line with larger capacity conductors between the Barren Ridge Switching Station and Rinaldi Substation; (4) construction of a new electrical switching station within Haskell Canyon near the southern boundary of the Angeles National Forest. This notice initiates the public participation and scoping process for the EIS/EIR and also serves as an invitation for other interested agencies, individuals, organizations and Native American Tribes to provide comments on the scope and content of the EIS/EIR.