[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]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-M