[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56875-56877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-24119]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[FE Docket No. PP-229]


Application for Presidential Permit; Tucson Electric Power 
Company

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Application.

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SUMMARY: Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) has applied for a 
Presidential permit to construct, connect, operate and maintain a 
double-circuit, 345,000-volt (345-kV) alternating current electric 
transmission line across the U.S. border with Mexico.

DATES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene must be submitted 
on or before October 20, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Comments, protests, or requests to intervene should be 
addressed as follows: Office of Coal & Power Import and Export (FE-27), 
Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0350.

[[Page 56876]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Russell (Program Office) 202-
586-9624 or Michael T. Skinker (Program Attorney) 202-586-6667.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, connection, operation, and 
maintenance of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as 
amended by EO 12038.
    On August 17, 2000, TEP, a regulated public utility, filed an 
application with the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of 
Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit. TEP proposes to construct two 
345-kV transmission circuits on a single set of support structures 
within a 150 to 200 foot right-of-way. Both circuits would originate at 
TEP's existing South Substation located approximately 15 miles south of 
Tucson in the vicinity of Sahuarita, Arizona, and 1.4 miles east of 
Interstate 19, south of Pima Mine Road in Pima County, Arizona. TEP 
proposes to use these two circuits to interconnect with the Citizens' 
Utilities system in the vicinity of Nogales, Arizona, by constructing a 
new substation on the west side of Nogales and ``stepping-down'' the 
voltage of the circuits from 345-kV to 115-kV. From the new substation, 
the proposed 345-kV circuits would continue across the U.S.-Mexican 
border for approximately 60 miles and interconnect with the Comision 
Federal de Electricidad (CFE; the national electric utility of Mexico) 
at CFE's Santa Ana Substation. TEP proposes December 2003 as an in-
service date for both its transmission interconnection with Citizens 
Utilities and the interconnection with CFE.
    TEP has identified three, 5-mile wide corridors (2\1/2\ miles 
either side of a center line) as possible route alternatives. These 
corridors are currently identified by TEP as the ``Central Study 
Corridor,'' the ``Easterly Study Corridor,'' and the ``Westerly Study 
Corridor.''
    The following description of possible routing alternatives have 
been provided by TEP. The map submitted as an exhibit in the TEP 
Presidential permit application does not contain this level of detail; 
however, maps will be prepared by TEP and distributed to the general 
public before the environmental process associated with this 
application begins. The distances identified in the descriptions that 
follow represent distances along the arbitrary centerline of the 5-mile 
wide study corridors.
    The Central Study Corridor leaves South Substation to the south 
adjacent to an existing 345-kV transmission line and heads west for 
approximately 1 mile. Continuing to parallel existing transmission, the 
line then turns south for 1.5 miles before turning west again where it 
crosses Interstate 19 (I-19), approximately 1 mile north of Sahuarita 
Road. The study corridor continues west for approximately 2.3 miles 
where it turns south for 2 miles continuing to parallel existing 
transmission. At Camino del Toro and Avenue Cinco (west of the 
community of Sahuarita) the existing 345-kV transmission line and the 
proposed study corridor turn west for 4.0 miles to a point where the 
existing transmission line intersects an existing natural gas pipeline. 
At the pipeline, the study corridor turns south and parallels the 
natural gas pipeline, for 45.3 miles, extending through the Coronado 
National Forest, to the west side of Nogales, Arizona, and across the 
International Border. In this alternative, I-19 is within the 5-mile 
wide study corridor from approximately one mile south of Arivaca Road 
to approximately two miles south of the community of Tumacacori. 
However, the center line of the study corridor remains west of I-19.
    The Easterly Study Corridor leaves South substation to the east for 
approximately 6.0 miles, where it turns south along the Wilmot Road 
alignment and parallels the existing Citizens Utilities 115-kV 
transmission line alignment (east of the community of Sahuarita and 
west of the community of Corona de Tucson), and continues south for 
another 6.5 miles before reaching the turning point of Citizens 
Utilities existing 115-kV transmission line alignment. At this point, 
the proposed corridor continues to parallel the Citizens Utilities 115-
kV line southwesterly for approximately 18.4 miles to the vicinity of 
Amado-Montosa Road. Leaving the 115-kV transmission line alignment, 
this corridor turns southwesterly for 2.9 miles and crosses I-19 (east 
to west). At this point the easterly study corridor joins the central 
study corridor, approximately 1 mile south of Arivaca Road, turns 
south, and continues along the existing natural gas pipeline corridor 
through the Coronado National Forest to Nogales and the border.
    The Westerly Study Corridor follows the central study corridor from 
the South Substation to the natural gas pipeline corridor. This 
corridor then turns south and continues 8.3 miles along the natural gas 
pipeline corridor to the vicinity of the TEP Cyprus Sierrita 
Substation, west of Green Valley. At this point, the westerly study 
corridor turns to the southwest for 4.2 miles, where it then turns due 
south onto land under the control of the Coronado National Forest for a 
distance of approximately 19.7 miles paralleling the Pima and Santa 
Cruz County lines. The County lines are within the study corridor, west 
of the center line. At this point, within the Forest, the study 
corridor will traverse a gentle arc, with turning points to be 
determined by terrain and access to the southeast, until it intersects 
the existing gas pipeline alignment and the original central study 
corridor alignment. This is approximately 12.5 miles northwest of the 
terminus in Nogales and the international border.
    Prior to commencing electricity exports to Mexico using these 
proposed facilities, TEP, or any other electricity exporters, must 
obtain, from the Department of Energy, an electricity export 
authorization required by section 202(e) of the Federal Power Act.
    Since the restructuring of the electric power industry began, 
resulting in the introduction of different types of competitive 
entities into the marketplace, DOE has consistently expressed its 
policy that cross-border trade in electric energy should be subject to 
the same principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination 
that apply to transmission in interstate commerce. DOE has stated that 
policy in export authorizations granted to entities requesting 
authority to export over international transmission facilities. 
Specifically, DOE expects transmitting utilities owning border 
facilities constructed pursuant to Presidential permits to provide 
access across the border in accordance with the principles of 
comparable open access and non-discrimination contained in the FPA and 
articulated in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order No. 888, as 
amended (Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open Access Non-
Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities). In 
furtherance of this policy, DOE intends to condition any Presidential 
permit issued in this proceeding on compliance with these open access 
principles.

Procedural Matters

    Any person desiring to become a party to this proceeding or to be 
heard by filing comments or protests to this application should file a 
petition to intervene, comment or protest at the address provided above 
in accordance with Secs. 385.211 or 385.214 of the FERC's Rules of 
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.211, 385.214). Fifteen copies of 
each petition and protest

[[Page 56877]]

should be filed with the DOE on or before the date listed above.
    Additional copies of such petitions to intervene or protests also 
should be filed directly with: Ed Beck, Supervisor, Transmission 
Planning, Tucson Electric Power Company, P. O. Box 711, Tucson, Arizona 
85702.
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, the DOE must 
determine that the proposed action will not adversely impact on the 
reliability of the U.S. electric power supply system. In addition, DOE 
must consider the environmental impacts of the proposed action (i.e., 
granting the Presidential permit, with any conditions and limitations, 
or denying the permit) pursuant to NEPA. DOE also must obtain the 
concurrence of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential permit application.
    The NEPA compliance process is a cooperative, non-adversarial 
process involving members of the public, state governments and the 
Federal government. The process affords all persons interested in or 
potentially affected by the environmental consequences of a proposed 
action an opportunity to present their views, which will be considered 
in the preparation of the environmental documentation for the proposed 
action. Intervening and becoming a party to this proceeding will not 
create any special status for the petitioner with regard to the NEPA 
process. Notice of upcoming NEPA activities and information on how the 
public can participate in those activities will appear in the Federal 
Register. Additional announcements will appear in local newspapers in 
the vicinity of the proposed transmission line. To apply for the NEPA 
mailing list now, contact Mrs. Ellen Russell at the address above.
    Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, 
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above. In 
addition, the application may be reviewed or downloaded from the Fossil 
Energy Home Page at: http://www.fe.doe.gov. Upon reaching the Fossil 
Energy Home page, select ``Electricity'' and then ``Pending 
Proceedings'' from the options menu.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on September 13, 2000.
Anthony J. Como,
Deputy Director, Electric Power, Regulation, Office of Coal & Power Im/
Ex, Office of Coal & Power Systems, Office of Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 00-24119 Filed 9-19-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P