Western Area Power Administration April 17, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Western Area Power Administration currently owns and operates two 115-kilovolt transmission lines on two separate rights-of-way (ROW) located between Flatiron Reservoir (near Loveland, Colorado) and the town of Estes Park, Colorado. Each transmission line is approximately 16 miles long. Western is proposing to remove one transmission line and abandon the ROW. The remaining transmission line would be rebuilt along the existing ROW with taller steel monopoles and would be double- circuited (i.e., six conductors per pole). Western determined that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is the appropriate level of NEPA review. Therefore, Western will prepare an EIS on its proposal to upgrade and co-locate two existing separate transmission lines on a double-circuit transmission line on one ROW in accordance with NEPA, the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures, and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA. Portions of Western's proposal may affect floodplains and wetlands, so this Notice of Intent (NOI) also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action in accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements.