Western Area Power Administration May 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Western Area Power Administration (Western), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Upper Great Plains Customer Service Region, and the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Department of Defense, as cooperating agencies, announce the availability of the Draft Big Stone II Power Plant and Transmission Project (Project) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for public review and comment. The draft EIS addresses the environmental impacts of constructing and operating the proposed Project. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Western to make the Draft EIS available to interested members of the public, groups, and Federal, state, local, and tribal agencies for review and comment to assure they have an opportunity to provide input to the Federal decision making process. Comments on the Draft EIS may be provided in writing or at one of three hearings scheduled during the review period.

The Western Area Power Administration (Western), Department of Energy (DOE), intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to construct and operate a transmission line for the Sacramento Area Voltage Support (SVS) Project (Project) in California. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and the City of Roseville (Roseville) will participate in a joint SEIS and Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to address the proposed construction and operation of about 38 miles of 230-kilovolt (kV), new double- circuit transmission line in the Sacramento, California, area. Western prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the SVS in November 2002 and a final EIS in September 2003. A Record of Decision (ROD) was signed on January 12, 2004. In the ROD, Western made commitments to conduct air, biological, and cultural surveys after funding was secured. SMUD and Roseville have since committed to share in conducting more detailed Project studies and are negotiating funding a voltage support project. Additional alternatives will be analyzed in this SVS SEIS and EIR.