[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 63 (Monday, April 1, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14298-14300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7858]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Oliver Delivery Project

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), U.S. Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS), and notice of floodplain and wetland involvement.

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SUMMARY: To meet the obligation of the Columbia River Treaty (Treaty) 
between Canada and the United States of America (U.S.), BPA on behalf 
of the U.S. Entity proposes to construct a single-circuit 500-kilovolt 
(kV) transmission line from either the Grand Coulee Switchyard or Chief 
Joseph Substation to a point on the U.S.-Canada border near Oliver, 
British Columbia (B.C.). According to the Treaty and subsequent 
agreements, all power to which Canada is entitled under the Treaty is 
due to be delivered by April 1, 2003.

[[Page 14299]]

    Potential Federal cooperating agencies with expertise and/or 
jurisdiction within the north central Washington study area include the 
U.S. Department of Interior--Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of 
Reclamation (BOR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and National Park 
Service (NPS); U.S. Department of Agriculture--Forest Service, Okanogan 
National Forest (ONF); and the Department of Defense--U.S. Army Corps 
of Engineers (COE).
    BPA and those Federal agencies wishing to participate as 
cooperating agencies will prepare an EIS on this action to fulfill 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. As the lead 
agency, BPA will consult with the Colville Confederated Tribes, the 
State of Washington, Okanogan County, Douglas County, other local 
governments, interested individuals and groups, and affected landowners 
to identify feasible routing alternatives and to analyze and select a 
suitable route. The State of Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation 
Council will review the EIS to assure that the analysis contains 
sufficient information to determine consistency with pertinent state 
and local environmental standards and guidelines.
    To ensure that the full range of issues, concerns, and 
opportunities relating to this proposal are addressed, BPA is 
establishing a 4-month public scoping period to identify suitable 
transmission line routes and to define the environmental issues and 
studies that will be addressed in the EIS. BPA has not identified 
specific proposed or alternative routes at this time. Public workshops 
will be held in early spring of 1996 to gather information needed for 
locating suitable transmission line routes through the Okanogan County 
and Douglas County, Washington, study area. Interested and affected 
citizens, interest groups, local governments, and civic organizations 
are encouraged to participate in identifying alternatives and issues to 
be evaluated in the EIS. People are particularly encouraged to identify 
areas that may or may not be suitable for transmission line 
development; sensitive resources that the EIS preparers may be unaware 
of; and any other issues that will assist in identifying and evaluating 
viable transmission line routes. Once alternative routes for the 
proposed transmission line have been identified, a second series of 
public workshops will be held, possibly in early to mid-summer. These 
meetings will focus on more detailed issues, including the scope of 
environmental studies and site-specific issues and concerns that should 
be addressed in the EIS.

DATES: Because planning and consultation with other Federal agencies, 
Okanogan County, Douglas County, and Colville Tribal officials has only 
recently been initiated, the number, location, and dates of public 
involvement activities including meetings or workshops has not been 
determined. All future public meeting times and locations, however, 
will be publicized by advertisements, by news releases in local media, 
and by written notice to all known interested parties. All comments, 
whether oral or written, will be given equal consideration. Comment 
deadlines will be announced during initial meetings and through project 
fact sheets.

ADDRESSES: To receive a copy of any current or future project 
documents, such as the System Operation Review (SOR) EIS, Canadian 
Entitlement EIS, the Oliver Delivery Project scoping report, or the 
draft EIS, when they become available, call toll free 1-800-622-4520, 
or 230-3478 (Portland). To have your name placed on the mailing list 
for this project, call 1-800-622-4519; to submit comment letters, write 
to the Public Involvement Manager, Bonneville Power Administration--
CKP, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, OR 97212. Comments may also be sent to 
the BPA Internet address: [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Mike Johns, Project Manager, at 1-
800-662-6963; or write him at Bonneville Power Administration--TE, P.O. 
Box 3621, Portland, OR 97208-3621.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 17, 1961, the United States 
signed a Treaty with Canada (which was ratified in 1964) regarding 
international cooperation in the water resource development of the 
Columbia River Basin. The Treaty provided for Canada to construct three 
storage dams on the Columbia River in Canada, and gave the United 
States the option of constructing Libby Dam in Montana (which backs up 
into Canada). The dams help control floods in both countries and enable 
dams downstream in the United States to produce additional power, 
defined as the ``downstream power benefits,'' which Canada and the 
United States share equally under the Treaty. Canada sold its half of 
the downstream power benefits (the ``Canadian Entitlement'') to a 
consortium of U.S. utilities for a 30-year period. The 30-year sales 
will begin to expire in 1998. In 1992, an Interim Agreement was signed 
that provides for the Canadian Entitlement to be delivered to Canada 
over existing facilities during the period from April 1, 1998, to March 
31, 2003. After this interim agreement expires, the Treaty requires 
that the Entitlement shall be delivered ``to Canada at a point on the 
Canada-United States of America boundary near Oliver, British Columbia, 
or at such other place as the entities may agree upon'' (Article V(2)).
    The U.S. Entity's Delivery of the Canadian Entitlement Final EIS 
(January 1996) analyzed the effects in Canada and the United States of 
various options to deliver the Canadian Entitlement to British 
Columbia. After several years of negotiations, the U.S. and Canadian 
Entities were unable to mutually agree on an alternative to the Treaty-
specified delivery at Oliver. Because no agreement was reached, BPA 
must begin the environmental and engineering studies necessary to meet 
the U.S. Treaty obligation to deliver the full Entitlement (between 
1200 to 1500 megawatts (MW) of capacity and 550 to 600 average 
megawatts (aMW of energy) by April 1, 2003. The purpose of the proposed 
transmission line is to:
     Fulfill the U.S. obligation under the Treaty;
     Limit the adverse environmental effects of locating, 
operating, and maintaining a new single-circuit 500-kV line; and
     Minimize the costs for construction, operation, and 
maintenance of a new single-circuit 500-kV line.
    Proposed Action. BPA proposes to construct a single-circuit 500-kV 
transmission line from Grand Coulee Switchyard or Chief Joseph 
Substation in north central Washington to the U.S.-Canada border near 
Oliver, B.C. The project would consist of:
     135 to 155 kilometers (85 to 95 miles) of transmission 
line;
     New and expanded right-of-way up to 38 to 49 meters (125 
to 160 feet) wide;
     New and upgraded access roads at a ratio of one to two 
kilometers of roads for each kilometer of line (one to two miles of 
roads for each mile of line); and
     Improvement or expansion of existing substations.
    Upon completion, the line would be capable of carrying between 1200 
to 1500 MW of capacity and 550 to 600 aMW of energy as required to meet 
the U.S. obligation of delivering the full Entitlement to Canada. Any 
construction north of the border would be the responsibility of the 
Canadian Entity.
    Related Actions. Two other decision making processes in which BPA 
is engaged are related to Oliver Delivery decisions: the SOR and the 
BPA Business Plan.
    The SOR Final EIS (November 1995) evaluated the environmental 
impacts of a variety of river operations and

[[Page 14300]]
constraints for all uses of the system including Treaty obligations. 
The SOR process also considered new allocation agreements that specify 
how the Canadian Entitlement costs will be allocated to each of the 11 
Federal and non-Federal projects of Treaty storage following expiration 
of existing agreements.
    BPA's Business Plan (September 1995) defined the basic business 
direction BPA intends to pursue as it responds to the challenges of the 
dynamic electric utility industry. The Business Plan Final EIS (June 
1995) provides the information on current electric utility market 
conditions, loads, resources, and costs used for development, 
evaluation, and potential amendment of alternatives for the Delivery of 
the Canadian Entitlement Final EIS (January 1996).
    Alternatives. Alternatives other than the physical return of the 
downstream benefits at the Canadian border near Oliver, B.C., will not 
be addressed in the site-specific Oliver Delivery Project EIS because 
they were previously analyzed in the U.S. Entity's Delivery of The 
Canadian Entitlement Final EIS (January 1996). The alternative to the 
proposed action identified for possible evaluation in the Oliver 
Delivery Project EIS includes the No-Action Alternative (not to build a 
500-kV transmission line). As various transmission line routing options 
between either Grand Coulee Switchyard or Chief Joseph Substation to 
the U.S.-Canada border near Oliver, B.C., are developed, one route will 
become the agency's preferred alternative. Because the Oliver Delivery 
Project EIS is tiered directly to the Delivery of the Canadian 
Entitlement Final EIS and Record of Decision (March 1996), any future 
negotiated alternatives to delivery at Oliver would necessarily require 
the U.S. Entity to revisit the programmatic EIS to determine whether it 
adequately covers the environmental inputs of that alternative, or 
whether a supplement to the programmatic EIS needs to be prepared. 
Copies of any of the above-referenced documents may be obtained by 
calling BPA's toll-free document request line at 1-800-622-4520.
    Identification of Environmental Issues. Significant issues 
presently identified relating to this proposal include: (1) potential 
impacts to land uses, including agricultural lands, residential areas, 
and recreational resources; (2) potential impacts to endangered 
species, wildlife, and vegetation; (3) visual impacts from the addition 
of a new 500-kV transmission line to the landscape; (4) potential 
impacts to soils (erosion), aquatic habitats, wetlands, and 
floodplains; (5) potential impacts on cultural resources and Native 
American sacred sites; (6) socioeconomic effects including property 
value impacts arising from the construction of the new line; (7) 
potential public concern with health and safety effects associated with 
electric and magnetic fields, fire, or hazardous materials; (8) 
concerns with requirements for new road and transmission line rights-
of-way and potential acquisition of land for associated facilities; and 
(9) consistency with Tribal reserved rights, and Tribal, State, and 
local environmental and land-use plans, policies, and regulations. 
These issues, together with any additional significant issues 
identified through the public scoping process, will be examined in 
detail and documented in the EIS.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on March 25, 1996.
Randall W. Hardy,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 96-7858 Filed 3-29-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P