Rural Utilities Service October 22, 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has issued a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Environmental Assessment (EA) associated with the Holland Cliff to Hewitt Road 230 kV Transmission proposal in Calvert and St. Mary's Counties, Maryland. The EA was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) and in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ's) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and RUS's NEPA implementing regulations (7 CFR part 1794, Environmental Policies and Procedures). The purpose of the EA was to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to a Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) application for a RUS loan for the proposal. The proposal includes construction of a 30-mile 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line, a new 230/69 kV switching station, and a 230/69 kV switching station expansion.