Department of Energy August 2, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Western Area Power Administration (Western) intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for its proposal to participate with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Tri-State), to construct the proposed Eastern Plains Transmission Project (Project). Western's participation with Tri-State would be in exchange for capacity rights on the transmission lines. These rights would provide Western with approximately 275 megawatts (MW) of capacity on the proposed transmission system. Western needs this additional transmission capacity to provide more economical, reliable, diverse, and flexible power delivery to its customers. The EIS will address the construction, operation, and maintenance of approximately 1,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and ancillary facilities. In addition, the EIS will address expansions of existing substations and construction of new substations, access roads, and fiber optic communication facilities. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures. Because the Project could involve action in a floodplain, the EIS will address floodplain and wetlands impacts under DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review.