[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15391-15392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8375]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Bonneville Power Administration South Oregon Coast Reinforcement 
Project

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

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS).

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SUMMARY: Bonneville Power Administration proposes to build a 500-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line and new substation to reinforce 
electrical service to the southern coast of the state of Oregon. Nucor 
Steel, a division of Nucor Corporation, may build a new steel mill in 
the Coos Bay/North Bend, Oregon, area. This plant would require a peak 
load of 150 megawatts (MW) and an instantaneous peak of 225 MW. The 
existing transmission system to the area does not have the capacity to 
serve this potential load and other anticipated load growth on the 
south coast of Oregon. This project will look at providing a 
transmission path to serve this load. The power supplier for this load 
is subject to state utility regulations.
    The State of Oregon has agreed to provide BPA funding to 
investigate solutions to reinforce the transmission system to the South 
Oregon Coast area and to support industrial development. If Nucor Steel 
decides not to build the steel mill, BPA will stop pre-proposal 
activities and inform the public and agencies that the environmental 
process has been suspended.
    Potential Federal cooperating agencies include the U.S. Department 
of Interior, U.S. Bureau of Land Management; the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 
In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements, BPA 
and the cooperating agencies will prepare an EIS to inform 
decisionmakers about potential environmental effects of the proposal. 
The environmental analysis will cover the proposed transmission line, a 
new BPA substation, and related actions including: construction of the 
Nucor Steel plant; a 230-kV transmission line that would connect the 
new BPA substation to PacifiCorp's Isthmus Substation south of Coos 
Bay; and two new 230-kV transmission lines connecting the new BPA 
substation to a new substation at the plant site.

DATES: Interested and affected members of the public such as 
landowners, special interest groups, tribes, state and local 
governments, utilities, and community groups are invited to help BPA 
and the cooperating agencies identify alternatives, environmental 
resources, and issues to be addressed in the draft EIS. Information to 
explain the proposal, the environmental process, and how to participate 
will be sent to interested or potentially affected members of the 
public at the beginning of the scoping period. Three BPA-sponsored 
scoping meetings will be held: Tuesday, April 14, at the Creswell 
Community Center, 99 South First, Creswell, Oregon; Wednesday, April 
15, at the Masonic Lodge Hall, 247 First Street, in Elkton, Oregon; and 
Thursday, April 16, at the North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway, 
North Bend, Oregon. Meetings will be held from 4-8 p.m. Meetings will 
have an open-house format, with project material available for public 
review. BPA, the cooperating agencies, the State of Oregon, Nucor 
Steel, and PacifiCorp staff will answer questions. BPA will accept 
verbal and written comments. The time and place of scoping meetings 
will be announced in information being sent to interested members of 
the public and local newspapers. Written comments before, during, or 
after scoping meetings should be sent to the Communications Office at 
the address below. The close of the comment period will be announced in 
the pre-meeting information and at the public meetings.
    BPA, in conjunction with the cooperating agencies, plans to file 
and distribute a draft EIS for public review in August 1998. BPA, the 
cooperating agencies, and the State of Oregon will hold public meetings 
in local communities to give the public an opportunity to review and 
comment on the draft EIS.

ADDRESSES: BPA invites participation, comments, and suggestions on the 
proposed scope of the draft EIS. Send comment letters, requests to be 
placed on the project mail list, and requests for more information to 
the Communications Office, Bonneville Power Administration--ACS, P.O. 
Box 12999, Portland, Oregon, 97212, or call 503-230-3478, toll-free 1-
800-622-4519, or fax 503-230-3984. Comments may also be sent to the BPA 
Internet address: [email protected]. Documents can be requested by 
calling toll-free 1-800-622-4520.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurens Driessen, Project Manager, 
Bonneville Power Administration--TNF-3, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, 
Oregon, 97208-3621. E-mail requests or questions should be sent to 
[email protected], or call toll-free 1-800-662-6963. You may also 
contact Ken Barnhart, Environmental Project Manager, Bonneville Power 
Administration--EC, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621. E-mail 
requests or questions should be sent to [email protected], or call 
toll-free 1-800-662-6963.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The southern Oregon coast (from south of 
Newport, Oregon, to the California-Oregon border and west of Eugene and 
Roseburg, Oregon) is served from a 115-kV and a 230-kV transmission 
line out of Lane Substation (near Eugene, Oregon), a 230-kV 
transmission line from Santiam Substation (south of Salem, Oregon), and 
a 230-kV transmission line from Dixonville (near Roseburg, Oregon). The 
critical operating period for the Oregon coast is winter. Normal winter 
load forecasts for the southern Oregon coast in the year 2000 show 
about 720 MW of flow to the coast on these transmission lines to 
support the area's winter load. With all lines in service, the existing 
transmission system can support about 835 MW of flow on these lines. If 
the Dixonville 230-kV transmission line is lost for any reason, the 
system capacity is about 765 MW. Assuming 1.5 percent annual load 
growth for this area (without the added load of the steel mill), a 
transmission project may be required in the year 2004 to support the 
southern Oregon coast for the loss of the Dixonville-Reston 230-kV 
transmission line. According to existing BPA planning criteria, all 
load must be served for the loss of a single

[[Page 15392]]

transmission line or transformer for all load conditions to maintain 
reliable service.
    The proposed Nucor Steel mill would require an instantaneous peak 
load of 225 MW for its arc furnace. The expected annual load growth 
with the new mill is about 3 percent. The existing transmission system 
cannot serve the new plant and the expected load growth. Furthermore, 
the existing system is not capable of suppressing voltage changes 
induced by the arc furnace.

Alternatives Proposed for Consideration

    BPA has been studying ways to reinforce the transmission system. 
Several options for adding new 230-kV transmission lines and series 
compensation were studied. These options cannot provide the system 
reliability requirements needed, and the costs for adding three 230-kV 
transmission lines and series compensation are comparable to a new 500-
kV transmission line. A new 500-kV line is needed to eliminate flickers 
induced by the arc furnace.
    Potential routes for a 500-kV transmission line have been developed 
in cooperation with PacifiCorp and Federal, state and local agencies. 
Three routes that parallel existing transmission lines are being 
studied. The first route would follow an existing BPA transmission line 
that begins at BPA's Alvey Substation near Goshen, Oregon, west to near 
Florence, Oregon, then would follow an existing BPA transmission line 
south through Reedsport to a proposed new substation site in the hills 
above Glasgow, Oregon. The second route would follow an existing BPA 
transmission line from BPA's Alvey Substation south to near Roseburg, 
Oregon, then west next to an existing BPA transmission line through 
Fairview, and then north to the proposed substation site. A third route 
would begin at PacifiCorp's Dixonville Substation and follow 
PacifiCorp's transmission line west to BPA's Reston Substation, then 
west following BPA's transmission line through Fairview, then north to 
the proposed substation site.
    Two additional routes would parallel existing lines for part of the 
route, but would then require new right-of-way. The first route would 
follow an existing BPA transmission line from BPA's Alvey Substation 
southwest to near Drain, Oregon. From near Drain, new right-of-way 
would head southwest, cross the Umpqua River, then turn west and travel 
to the proposed substation site above Glasgow, Oregon. The second route 
also starts at BPA's Alvey Substation and again follows the existing 
BPA transmission line to just south of Creswell, Oregon, then turns 
southwest on new right-of-way. This corridor heads west to near Elkton, 
crosses the Umpqua River, and ends at the same substation site.
    The routes cross land in Lane, Douglas, and Coos counties, Oregon. 
A new 500-kV transmission line would be about 120 kilometers (75 miles) 
long and would require approximately 46 meters (150 feet) of new right-
of-way width. A new substation would need to be constructed and would 
require about 2 hectares (5 acres). At this time, BPA believes the 
routes using some new right-of-way may be the preferred routes to 
study. BPA is also considering taking no action.
    BPA is mandated by the Northwest Power Act to recover its costs. 
Each alternative will be evaluated to determine if the revenues 
generated cover the costs of the alternative, and if the alternative is 
consistent with sound business principles.

Identification of Environmental Issues

    Potential issues presently identified for this proposal include: 
(1) Effects on fish, wildlife, and vegetation, including threatened and 
endangered species; (2) effects of economic development and 
socioeconomic effects of building a line and substation; (3) effects of 
construction and placement of electrical facilities in floodplains and 
wetlands; (4) concern over visual effects, noise, and other 
interference produced by electrical facilities in rural and populated 
areas; (5) impacts on range, forest, and agricultural resources due to 
construction and placement of electrical facilities; (6) concern over 
human exposure to electric and magnetic fields created by electrical 
facilities; (7) impacts to cultural resources; (8) impacts to 
recreational resources; (9) conflicting land use; (10) impact to 
property values; and (11) potential impacts to soils (erosion) and 
water quality. Additional issues identified through the scoping process 
may also be examined in the draft EIS.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on March 23, 1998.
Steven G. Hickok,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-8375 Filed 3-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P