Western Area Power Administration December 18, 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Western Area Power Administration (Western) and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) are jointly proposing the new 500- kilovolt (kV) Colusa-Sutter (CoSu) Transmission Line Project (Project) to be located within Colusa and Sutter Counties, California. The Project would interconnect the California-Oregon Transmission Project (COTP) transmission system, near either Arbuckle or Maxwell, California, to the Central Valley Project (CVP) transmission system near Yuba City, California. This notice announces Western's decision to jointly prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in conjunction with SMUD's preparation of a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) environmental impact report (EIR). The joint EIS/EIR will examine the potential environmental effects of the CoSu Project. The joint EIS/EIR will address Western's proposed action of constructing the CoSu Project as well as making any necessary modifications to Western facilities to accommodate the new line; and SMUD's proposed action of whether or not to fund the proposed Project. This notice starts a 60-day public scoping period that will assist in the preparation of a Draft EIS/EIR. During the public scoping period, Western and SMUD are seeking public comments including issues, concerns, and opportunities that should be considered in the analysis of the proposed Project.