Western Area Power Administration June 4, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Western Area Power Administration (Western) issued a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on August 2, 2006, for the Eastern Plains Transmission Project (EPTP or Transmission Project). This notice announces an additional public meeting to provide the public opportunity to review and comment on additional and revised transmission line routes and the scope of the EIS. A summary of comments previously received during the scoping meetings held in August and September 2006, and meetings held in February 2007, is available upon request or at https://www.wapa.gov/transmission/eptp.htm. Western is proposing to participate with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Incorporated (Tri-State) in the construction of the EPTP. Western's participation would be in exchange for 275 megawatts (MW) of capacity rights on the proposed transmission lines. The EIS will address the construction, operation, and maintenance of approximately 1,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines and ancillary facilities, which include substations, fiber optic installations, access roads, and construction staging areas. The EIS will discuss alternatives such as Western's system alternatives and the no action alternative (no Federal action). The EIS will analyze and present environmental impacts compared to the existing baseline condition in which no Transmission Project facilities exist. The EIS also will include analyses of the environmental impacts of Tri-State's proposed generation and other past, present and reasonably foreseeable projects in the EPTP area. The EIS will be prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures.