[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 5, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41450-41451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-16929]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Condon Wind Project

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

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

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SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS on a proposed Condon Wind 
Project, located northwest of the town of Condon in Gilliam County, 
Oregon. SeaWest WindPower, Inc. (SeaWest) proposes to construct and 
operate the 24.3 to 24.75 megawatt (MW) wind generation facility. BPA 
proposes to purchase the electrical output from the project and to 
provide transmission services. The EIS will be site-specific as to the 
potential environmental impacts of the construction and operation of 
the wind project itself, as well as all related transmission 
facilities. In addition, the EIS will take a broad programmatic look at 
the balance of the project study area. This action may involve wetlands 
located in Gilliam County, Oregon. In accordance with DOE regulations 
for compliance with wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA 
will prepare a wetlands assessment and will perform this proposed 
action in a manner so as to avoid or minimize potential harm to or 
within the affected wetlands. The assessment will be included in the 
EIS being prepared for the proposed project in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

DATES: BPA has established a 30-day scoping period during which 
affected landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that a full 
range of issues related to this proposal is addressed in the EIS, and 
also will identify significant or potentially significant impacts that 
may result from the proposed project. Written comments are due to the 
address below no later than August 7, 2000. Comments may also be made 
at the EIS scoping meetings to be held on July 19 and 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: BPA invites comments and suggestions on the proposed scope 
of the Draft EIS. Send comment letters and requests to be placed on the 
project mailing list to Communications, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KC-7, P.O. Box 12999, Portland, Oregon, 97212. The 
phone number of the Communications office is 503-230-3478 in Portland; 
toll-free 1-800-622-4519 outside of Portland. Comments may also be sent 
to the BPA Internet address: [email protected].
    The EIS scoping meetings will be held at the City of Arlington 
Municipal Building, Council Chambers, Locust and First Streets, 
Arlington, Oregon, on July 19, 2000, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and at the 
Gilliam County Courthouse, Circuit Court Room, 221 S. Oregon Street, 
Condon, Oregon, on July 20, 2000, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. At these 
informal meetings, SeaWest will provide information, including maps, 
about the wind project. Written information will be available, and BPA 
staff will answer questions and accept oral and written comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tiffany B. B. Branum, KECP-4, 
Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-
3621, phone number 503-230-5115, fax number 503-230-5699.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Restructuring in the electric utility industry has resulted in 
increased demand for energy produced by new renewable resources. Part 
of this demand is due to the increased ability consumers have to choose 
their power provider. Some of these consumers want to encourage the 
development of renewable energy resources, and want their power 
provider to give them options for doing this. Some Northwest states 
(such as Oregon) have passed laws that require utilities to offer their 
customers a power rate that includes significant new renewable energy 
resources. In other cases, individual utilities have chosen to dedicate 
a portion of their wholesale power purchases to new renewable resources 
and are relying on BPA to supply them. In addition, the Northwest Power 
Planning Council's Fourth Conservation and Electric Power Plan 
recommends that Northwest utilities offer green power purchase 
opportunities as a way to help the region integrate renewable resources 
into the power system in the future.

Purpose and Need

    In the face of regional growth in electrical loads and increasing 
constraints on the existing energy resource base, BPA needs to acquire 
resources that will contribute to diversification of the long-term 
power supply prospects in the region. The purposes of acquiring a 
diverse resource portfolio include:
     Protecting BPA and its customers against risk;
     Assuring consistency with BPA's responsibility under the 
Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act 
(Northwest Power Act) to encourage the development of renewable energy 
resources;
     Meeting customer demand for energy from renewable energy 
resources, thereby assuring consistency with BPA's Business Plan EIS 
(DOE/ EIS-0183, June 1995) and Business Plan Record of Decision (ROD);
     Assuring consistency with the resource acquisition 
strategy of BPA's

[[Page 41451]]

Resource Programs EIS (DOE/EIS-0162, February 1993) and ROD; and
     Meeting the objective in the January 2000 Strategic Plan 
of BPA's Power Business Line to acquire at least 150 average MW of new 
renewable resources by the end of fiscal year 2006 in order to meet 
customer demand for new renewable resources.

Proposed Action

    BPA proposes to execute one or more power purchase and transmission 
services agreements to acquire and transmit up to the full electrical 
output of SeaWest's proposed Condon Wind Project. SeaWest proposes to 
construct and operate this 24.3 to 24.75 MW wind generation facility, 
located in southern Gilliam County, Oregon, northwest of the town of 
Condon. The proposed project site consists of relatively flat plateaus 
located in an area of rolling, arid hills bisected by canyons. Land 
uses within the project site consist of non-irrigated agriculture--
winter wheat and cattle grazing. The project will be located entirely 
on private farmland, and no project facilities will be constructed upon 
lands owned by the State of Oregon or by the United States.
    The approximately 26 to 41 turbines will be arranged in several 
``strings,'' with generally between 250 to 425 feet between turbines in 
each string. SeaWest is considering using either 600-kilowatt (kW) 
turbines similar to those used at the existing Foote Creek Rim Wind 
Project in Wyoming, or larger, up to 950-kW turbines. If the 600-kW 
turbines are used, the turbines will be about 165 to 197 feet tall at 
the turbine hub, and about 236 to 276 feet tall including the turbine 
blades. The diameter of the ``swept area'' covered by the rotors will 
be about 144 to 158 feet. Each turbine will be mounted on a tubular 
steel tower installed on a reinforced concrete foundation. Foundations 
will be either tubular or pad foundations, ranging from approximately 
15 to 20 feet in width and extending up to 25 to 30 feet underground. 
If the 750-kW, 900-kW, or 950-kW turbines are used, or an alternative 
foundation design is utilized, these dimensions may be slightly 
greater. Agricultural activities generally can continue to take place 
directly adjacent to the turbine pads.
    Power from all turbines in the project will be collected by an 
underground and overhead cable loop and then fed underground to a 
proposed substation to be located at the project site. The fenced 
substation site will occupy approximately one to two acres. From the 
substation site, power from the project will be transmitted by 
approximately two to five miles of new above-ground lines (likely 
single-pole wood structures) to interconnect with the existing BPA De 
Moss-Condon 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line. Other facilities 
required as part of the project are access roads, an operation and 
maintenance (O&M) building, and onsite storage. Most of the access 
roads will consist of improved, graveled, existing farm roads, with 
some construction of new graveled roads in areas where usable farm 
roads do not exist. The O&M building will be on or near the project 
site. SeaWest proposes to begin construction in mid to late 2001. The 
Condon Wind Project is scheduled to begin commercial operation late in 
2001, and would operate for at least 20 years.

Process to Date

    Some environmental analyses have already been conducted by SeaWest. 
Surveys for sensitive plant and wildlife species were initiated in the 
spring of 2000. Scoping will help identify what additional studies will 
be required.

Alternatives Proposed for Consideration

    The alternatives include the proposed action (executing a power 
purchase agreement with SeaWest for up to 24.75 MW of electrical energy 
from the proposed Condon Wind Project and authorizing transmission over 
BPA power lines) and the No Action alternative. In addition, at least 
two transmission alternatives will be examined in the EIS.

Identification of Environmental Issues

    For other wind projects, noise, visual impact, influence on 
cultural resources, and effects on sensitive plant and animal species 
have been identified as potential environmental issues. The scoping 
process will help identify the range of environmental issues that 
should be addressed in this EIS. Maps and further information are 
available from BPA at the address above. When completed, the Draft EIS 
will be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold public 
comment meetings for the Draft EIS. BPA will consider and respond to 
comments received on the Draft EIS in the Final EIS, expected to be 
published in mid to late 2001. BPA's subsequent decision will be 
documented in a Record of Decision. The EIS will satisfy the 
requirements of NEPA.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on June 27, 2000.
Judith A. Johansen,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 00-16929 Filed 7-3-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P