[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 57 (Thursday, March 24, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-6757]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: March 24, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior, Susanville District
Office, California, [CA-020-5101-10-B039; CACA-31406, NVN-57250].
ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: This Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement is published in accordance with the regulations under Title
40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1501.7. The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), Susanville District will, together with the
California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) direct the preparation of
a joint Environmental Impact Statement and Environmental Impact Report
(EIS/EIR) for a proposed 345 kilovolt electric power transmission line.
The joint EIS/EIR is to be prepared by a third party contractor. The
BLM will be the lead Federal agency, and with the CPUC as the lead
California State agency will produce this joint EIS/EIR to satisfy the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), respectively. The
following Federal agencies have indicated that they will participate as
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS/EIR. U.S. Forest
Service (Modoc and Toiyabe National Forests); Department of Defense
(Sierra Army Depot); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Bureau of Indian
Affairs (Sacramento Area Office); Bonneville Power Administration.
The EIS/EIR will assess the environmental impacts of the approval,
construction, operation and maintenance of a 345,000 volt (345KV)
electric power transmission line approximately 160 miles long, running
from the vicinity of Alturas, California through Modoc, Lassen, and
Sierra Counties, California, through Washoe County, Nevada to the
vicinity of Reno, Nevada. The project has been proposed by the Sierra
Pacific Power Company of Reno, Nevada, and is referred to as the
Alturas Intertie. The project would affect Federal, State and private
lands. Possible alternatives to the project include: (1) Project and
route alternatives presented in the proponent's application; (2) no
action or project denial(s) alternative; (3) approval of one or more of
the proposed alternative projects; (4) any reasonable project and route
alternatives identified as a result of the scoping; and (5)
combinations of any of the above.
The National Environmental Policy Act requires the BLM to take into
account the environmental impacts that could result from a major
Federal action. The CPUC is required to consider the same potential
impacts of a proposed action within the State of California under the
California Environmental Quality Act. The EIS/EIR we are preparing will
give the BLM and the CPUC the information needed to make a decision
based on understanding of environmental consequences and take actions
that protect, restore and enhance the environment. NEPA (and CEQA) also
requires us to discover and address concerns the public and other
governmental agencies may have about a proposed project. This process
is called ``scoping''. The main goal of the scoping process is to focus
the analysis in the EIS/EIR on the important environmental issues, and
to separate those issues that are not significant and do not require
detailed study. the EIS/EIR will also evaluate possible alternatives to
the project, or portions of the project, and make recommendations on
how to avoid or lessen environmental impacts of the project.
The purpose of this notice is to invite members of the public,
affected Federal, State, and local agencies, any affected Indian
tribes, the proponent of the action, and other interested persons to
participate in the scoping process for this project by providing
written and verbal comments or recommendations concerning the issues to
be analyzed in the EIS/EIR.
DATES: Written comments will be accepted until May 6, 1994. Public and
governmental agency scoping sessions will be held in Reno, NV,
Susanville, CA and Alturas, CA at locations and dates that will be
announced soon.
ADDRESSES: Because this is a combined Federal EIS and State EIR, the
Bureau of Land Management and the California Public Utilities
Commission have agreed that all written comments will be collected at
one location. Written comments on the combined Federal EIS and State
EIR must therefore be sent to the California Public Utilities
Commission (Attn: Julie Halligan, Project Manager); Commission Advisory
and Compliance Division, Environmental and Energy Advisory Branch; 505
Van Ness Ave., Room 3207; San Francisco, CA 94102. Written comments
should reference BLM case number CACA-31406, and the ``Alturas Intertie
Project''.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
This Federal Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS is issued by the
District Manager, Bureau of Land Management, 705 Hall Street,
Susanville, California 96130. Any Federal agencies or Indian tribes
wishing to participate as a Federal Cooperating Agency should send a
letter prior to May 1, 1994 to the BLM Susanville District Manager at
this address, describing only the extent to which they want to be
involved. (Scoping comments must be sent separately to the CPUC address
given above.) The letter must reference case number CACA-31406. For
further information on the Federal action, write to the District
Manager or call Peter Humm, BLM Project Manager, at (916) 257-5381 or
257-0456.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau of Land Management Susanville
District Manager will be responsible for issuing the Record of Decision
for public (BLM) land, and the Forest Supervisors for the Modoc
National Forest and the Toiyabe National Forest will be responsible for
issuing Records of Decision for National Forest System lands.
Sierra Pacific Power Company (SPPCo) of Reno, Nevada, has submitted
right-of-way applications to the Bureau of Land Management and the
United States Forest Service for the purpose of constructing, operating
and maintaining a 345KV electric power transmission line from Alturas
to Reno. Permits would also be needed from the California Public
Utilities Commission and the Public Service Commission of Nevada. SPPCo
proposes to buld this line to provide increased reliability and
electric power capability to the Reno/Lake Tahoe area. The line would
tap into a Bonneville Power Administration electric transmission line
north of Alturas, CA, and run approximately 160 miles south to tie into
the existing SPPCo electric power grid near Reno, NV. The proposed
route generally parallels U.S. Highway 395 from Alturas to the vicinity
of Wendel, CA, then runs east of Honey Lake and Herlong, CA, then south
in the vicinity of Highway 395 again to the Reno area. This proposed
route parallels the proposed Tuscarora gas pipeline route for much of
the distance between Alturas and Herlong. The proposal includes the
construction of two new electrical substations, one northwest of
Alturas and one near Bordertown, Nevada. The existing SPPCo North
Valley Road substation, near McCarran Blvd. in Reno, would be improved
to allow a tie-in by the new 345KV line. SPPCo proposes to build the
powerline using tubular steel H-Frame structures, made of a steel which
will weather to a dark brown color. The structures would support six
non-reflective (``non-specular'') stranded aluminum/steel conducting
wires (one inch in diameter), arranged in three pairs of two wires,
plus two steel ``shield'' wires which protect the line from lightning
strikes. The shield wires would be \3/8\'' diameter stranded steel
wires with fiberoptic cables inside the wires for SPPCo transmission
operational communications.
The proposed line route would follow existing dirt and paved roads
to the extent possible. New road construction would be limited as much
as possible, and there are likely to be areas where the structures
would be installed using helicopters.
Dated: March 15, 1994.
Herrick E. Hanks,
District Manager.
[FR Doc. 94-6757 Filed 3-23-94; 8:45 am]
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