Department of Energy September 30, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In August 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) received an amendment to the July 2013 Northern Pass Transmission Line Project Presidential permit amended application. The August 2015 application amendment changed the proposed transmission line route by adding three miles of buried transmission line adjacent to a road not previously analyzed, added two new transition stations and increased the total amount of proposed buried transmission line from approximately 8 miles to approximately 60 miles. In addition, the amendment proposed a minor shift in the international border crossing location and identified some other project changes. The proposed transmission line route and associated changes in the amended application is a new ``Applicant's Preferred Alternative.'' The Supplement to the Draft EIS will present an analysis of the new Applicant's Preferred Alternative. This analysis will compare the new proposed transmission line route and configuration (above ground/ underground) against the alternatives currently presented in the Draft EIS. To accommodate public review and comment on both the Draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS, DOE is extending the public comment period until December 31, 2015. DOE has canceled the public hearings on the Draft EIS that were to be held in October 2015 and will reschedule those hearings after the Supplement to the Draft EIS is issued.