[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31624-31626]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14734]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Bonneville Power Administration; Maiden Wind Farm 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: BPA intends to prepare an EIS on the proposed Maiden Wind Farm 
(Project), located northeast of the town of Sunnyside in Benton and 
Yakima Counties, Washington. Washington Winds, Incorporated (Washington 
Winds) proposes to construct and operate the 150- to 494-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.

[[Page 31625]]

Benton and Yakima Counties, Washington, will be cooperating agencies 
because of their need to comply with the State Environmental Protection 
Act.

DATES: An EIS scoping meeting will be held at the location below on 
June 26, 2001. Written comments are due to the address below no later 
than July 13, 2001.

ADDRESSES: 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 scoping meeting will be held on June 26, 2001, from 4:00 p.m. 
to 7:00 p.m., at the Prosser Senior Citizen Center, 1231 Dudley Avenue, 
in Prosser, Washington. At this informal meeting, Washington Winds will 
provide information, including maps, about the Project. Written 
information will be available, and BPA staff will answer questions and 
accept oral and written comments on the proposed scope of the Draft 
EIS.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sarah T. Branum, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621, 
phone number 503-230-5115, fax number 503-230-5699, email 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background. Currently, there is a shortage 
of electricity in the Northwest; this Project would help to alleviate 
this shortage. In addition, there is an increased demand in the 
electric utility industry to diversify energy portfolios and include 
energy produced by new renewable resources. 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. BPA has committed to increasing 
its supply of conservation and renewable resources to help meet load.
    Purpose and Need. BPA is facing an era of growing electrical loads, 
increasing constraints on the existing energy resource base, and 
heightened customer demand for renewable resources. BPA needs to 
acquire additional renewable resources that will contribute to the 
diversification of its energy portfolio and be available promptly to 
help remedy BPA's power supply issues. The purposes BPA would fulfill 
by addressing this need include:
     Protecting BPA and its utility customers against risk;
     Assuring consistency with BPA's responsibility under the 
Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation 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 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 the full electrical 
output of Washington Winds' proposed Maiden Wind Farm. This 150-to 494-
MW wind generation facility would be located primarily in Benton 
County, Washington, 15 miles north of Prosser, and, to a lesser extent, 
in Yakima County, Washington, 10 miles northeast of Sunnyside. The 
proposed site is located on the southwestern slopes of the Rattlesnake 
Hills, which includes: portions of Sections 7, 8, 9, 10 14, 15, 16, 17, 
18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36, T11N, R24E, Benton County; portions of 
Sections 28, 30, 31, 33, T11N, R25E, Benton County; and portions of 
Sections 3, 10, 11, 12, 13, T11N, R23E, Yakima County; State of 
Washington, Department of Natural Resources public lands include 
portions of Sections 16 and 36, T11N, R24, Benton County; road access 
involves portions of Sections 14, 19, 20, 29, 30, T11N, R24E, Benton 
County and portions of Sections 23, 24, 25, 26, 35, 36, T11N, R23E, 
Yakima County. None of the Project would be located on land owned by 
the United States. Land uses within the Project site consist of non-
irrigated agriculture--primarily cattle grazing and dryland wheat 
farming.
    Approximately 167 to 549 wind turbines would be arranged in several 
``strings,'' with approximately 250 to 450 feet between turbines in 
each string, depending upon the turbine size and topographical 
features. Washington Winds is considering using turbines ranging from 
900-kilowatt (kW) to 2,000-kW output each. The proposed turbine type 
would be an upwind, fixed-speed turbine (i.e., the rotor always faces 
upwind and turns at a constant speed), mounted on tubular steel towers 
installed on a reinforced concrete foundation. The typical operating 
range of wind speeds for these turbine types is approximately 9 to 65 
miles per hour (mph). At speeds greater than approximately 65 mph, the 
wind turbines automatically cease operating and remain stationary until 
the wind speeds become slower. The height of the turbines will range 
from approximately 246 feet to 380 feet, depending upon the turbine 
size. Foundations would be either caisson or pad style, ranging from 
approximately 15 to 50 feet in width (depending upon turbine size) and 
extending 20 to 50 feet underground (depending upon turbine size) and/
or anchored into bedrock. Agricultural activities can continue to take 
place directly adjacent to the turbine pads.
    Power from all turbines in the Project would be collected by an 
underground and overhead cable system and then fed to one or two 
proposed substations to be located on the Project site. The fenced 
substation site(s) would occupy approximately two to four acres each. 
From the substation site(s), power from the Project would be 
interconnected to BPA's existing Hanford-John Day 500-kilovolts (kV), 
Midway-Big Eddy 230-kV, or the Midway-Grandview 115-kV transmission 
lines that transect the Project site. Other facilities required as part 
of the Project are small pad-mounted transformers located at the base 
of each wind turbine tower, access roads, and two or three operation 
and maintenance buildings. The Project is scheduled to begin 
construction as early as March 2002, followed by commercial operation 
as early as November 2002, and would operate year-round for at least 20 
years.
    Process to Date. An application for a conditional use permit for 
Benton County has been submitted, plus a conditional use permit 
application for Yakima County is in progress. Surveys for sensitive 
plant and wildlife species (including birds) were initiated in the 
spring of 2001. 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 
Washington Winds for 150 to 400 MW of electrical energy from the 
proposed Maiden Wind Farm and authorizing transmission over

[[Page 31626]]

BPA power lines), and the No Action alternative.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. 
For other wind projects, noise, visual, and cultural resources effects, 
and effects on sensitive plant and animal species including migratory 
birds, have been identified as potential environmental issues. BPA has 
established a 30-day scoping period during which affected tribes, 
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the EIS. Scoping will help BPA identify the range of 
environmental issues that should be addressed in the EIS. When 
completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and 
BPA will hold at least one public comment meeting for the Draft EIS. 
BPA will consider and respond in the Final EIS to comments received on 
the Draft EIS. The Final EIS is expected to be published in early 2002. 
BPA's subsequent decision will be documented in a Record of Decision. 
The EIS will satisfy the requirements of the National Environmental 
Policy Act.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on June 5, 2001.
Steven G. Hickok,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 01-14734 Filed 6-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-U