[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 132 (Tuesday, July 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35950-35952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17224]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[Docket No. PP-229]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
to Conduct Public Scoping Meetings and Notice of Floodplain and 
Wetlands Involvement; Tucson Electric Power Company

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and to conduct public scoping meetings.

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SUMMARY: Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) has applied to DOE for a 
Presidential permit to construct a double-circuit 345,000-volt (345-kV) 
transmission line originating at TEP's South Substation in Sahuarita, 
Arizona, and extending approximately 60 miles to the south along one of 
three alternative routes, where it would cross the United States border 
with Mexico in the vicinity of Nogales, Arizona. South of the border, 
the line would extend approximately 60 miles into Mexico and terminate 
at an existing substation located in the City of Santa Ana, in the 
Mexican State of Sonora. DOE has determined that the issuance of the 
Presidential permit would constitute a major Federal action that may 
have a significant impact upon the environment within the meaning of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). For this reason, 
DOE intends to prepare an EIS to address reasonably foreseeable impacts 
from the proposed action and alternatives.
    The purpose of this Notice of Intent is to inform the public about 
the proposed action, announce plans for three public scoping meetings 
in the vicinity of the proposed transmission lines, invite public 
participation in the scoping process, and solicit public comments for 
consideration in establishing the scope and content of the EIS. Because 
the proposed project may involve an action in a floodplain or wetland, 
the EIS will include a floodplain and wetlands assessment and 
floodplain statement of findings in accordance with DOE regulations for 
compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review 
requirements (10 CFR part 1022).

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, and members of 
the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying 
significant environmental issues and in determining the appropriate 
scope of the EIS. The public scoping period starts with the publication 
of this Notice in the Federal Register and will continue until August 
9, 2001. Written and oral comments will be given equal weight, and DOE 
will consider all comments received or postmarked by August 9, 2001 in 
defining the scope of this EIS. Comments received or postmarked after 
that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    Dates for the public scoping meetings are:
    1. July 30, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sahuarita, Arizona
    2. July 31, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Rio Rico, Arizona
    Requests to speak at a public scoping meeting(s) should be received 
by Mrs. Ellen Russell at the address indicated below on or before July 
26, 2001. Requests to speak may also be made at the time of 
registration for the scoping meeting(s). However, persons who submitted 
advance requests to speak will be given priority if time should be 
limited during the meeting.

[[Page 35951]]


ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the EIS and 
requests to speak at the scoping meeting(s) should be addressed to: 
Mrs. Ellen Russell, Office of Fossil Energy (FE-27), U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington DC 20585-0350; phone 
202-586-9624, facsimile: 202-287-5736, or electronic mail at 
[email protected].
    The locations of the scoping meetings are:
    1. Rancho Resort, 1300 W. Sahuarita Road, Sahuarita, Arizona.
    2. Rio Rico Resort, 1069 Camino Caralampi, Rio Rico, Arizona.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed 
project or to receive a copy of the Draft EIS when it is issued, 
contact Mrs. Russell at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. The TEP application, including associated maps and 
drawings, can be downloaded in its entirety from the Fossil Energy web 
site (www.FE.DOE.GOV; choose ``Electricity Regulation,'' then Pending 
Procedures).
    For general information on the DOE NEPA review process, contact: 
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-
42), U.S. Department of Energy 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0119; Phone: 202-586-4600 or leave a message at 
800-472-2756; Facsimile: 202-586-7031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Need for Agency Action

    Executive Order 10485, as amended by Executive Order 12038, 
requires that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE before electric 
transmission facilities may be constructed, maintained, operated, or 
connected at the U.S. international border. The Executive Order 
provides that a Presidential permit may be issued after a finding that 
the proposed project is consistent with the public interest. In 
determining consistency with the public interest, DOE considers the 
impacts of the project on the reliability of the U.S. electric power 
system and on the environment. The regulations implementing the 
Executive Order have been codified at 10 CFR 205.320-205.329. Issuance 
of the permit indicates that there is no Federal objection to the 
project, but does not mandate that the project be completed.
    On August 17, 2000, TEP, a regulated public utility, filed an 
application for a Presidential permit with the Office of Fossil Energy 
of DOE, and on May 18, 2001, supplemented its application with its 
March 1, 2001, application to the Arizona Corporation Commission for a 
Certificate of Environmental Compatibility. TEP proposes to construct 
two 345-kV transmission circuits on a single set of support structures. 
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 Highway 19 (I-19), 
south of Pima Mine Road, in Pima County, Arizona. South of the border, 
TEP would extend the line approximately 60 miles to the Santa Ana 
Substation, located in the City of Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico, and owned 
by the Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE), the national electric 
utility of Mexico.
    The TEP application, including associated maps and drawings, can be 
downloaded in its entirety from the Fossil Energy web site 
(www.FE.DOE.GOV; choose ``Electricity Regulation,'' then Pending 
Procedures).
    TEP states that there are no firm contracts in place for the sale 
of power to Mexico using the proposed transmission lines. Prior to 
commencing electricity exports to Mexico using the proposed lines, TEP, 
or any other electricity exporter, must obtain an electricity export 
authorization from DOE pursuant to section 202(e) of the Federal Power 
Act.
    TEP proposes three alternative corridors, each beginning at its 
South Substation. About one-half of each alternative corridor would be 
on privately-owned land, with the other half on Federally-owned land. 
The study corridors are about two miles wide, but, when constructed, 
the transmission line would actually use a right-of-way about 125 to 
250 feet wide. One alternative corridor, the ``Westerly Route'' 
identified by TEP as its preferred route, would extend about 62 miles 
within the U.S. to the U.S.-Mexico border, primarily on the west side 
of I-19. The proposed route would exit the South Substation to the 
west, intersect the existing natural gas pipeline corridor owned by El 
Paso Natural Gas Company and located approximately six miles west of I-
19, turn south, and parallel the natural gas pipeline for about seven 
miles. Southwest of Green Valley, the Westerly Route would turn 
southwest for three miles, and then continue south across private lands 
before crossing the Coronado National Forest on land not currently a 
Forest Service-designated utility corridor.
    The second alternative corridor, the ``Central Route'' (identified 
by TEP as its preferred route if the Westerly Route could not be 
constructed), would extend about 56 miles within the U.S. to the U.S.-
Mexico border. The Central Route would also be located primarily on the 
west side of I-19. The proposed Central Route would begin in the same 
way as the Westerly Route, but southwest of Green Valley it would 
continue parallel to the existing natural gas pipeline to a point in 
the vicinity of Tubac, where it would make a slight southwest turn. 
Then, for about three miles, this proposed route would be one mile west 
of the natural gas pipeline. The route then would turn southeast, 
rejoin the natural gas pipeline corridor and parallel it through the 
Coronado National Forest in a Forest Service-designated utility 
corridor that currently contains only the natural gas pipeline.
    The third alternative corridor, identified by TEP as the ``Easterly 
Route,'' would extend about 60 miles within the U.S. to the U.S.-Mexico 
border, and for about half this distance would run parallel to the 
existing 115-kV transmission line owned by Citizens Communications 
Company, located east of I-19. In the vicinity of Amado, the Easterly 
Route would cross to the west side of I-19, intersect the existing 
natural gas pipeline corridor south of Amado on private land, turn 
south paralleling the natural gas pipeline, and continue, paralleling 
the natural gas pipeline through the Coronado National Forest in the 
Forest Service-designated utility corridor.
    Each of the three proposed alternative study corridors would cross 
100-year floodplains and may cross wetlands. The Westerly Route would 
cross approximately 1,500 feet of 100-year floodplain; the Central 
Route, 2,100 feet; the Easterly Route, 6,600 feet. Project activities 
would include clearing rights-of-way and access roads, digging tower 
footings, setting transmission towers, hanging transmission wires, 
constructing a new substation on the west side of Nogales, Arizona, 
near Mariposa Road, and modifying TEP's existing South Substation.
    In a separate but related proceeding, Public Service Company of New 
Mexico (PNM) has also applied for a Presidential permit to construct an 
electric transmission line across the U.S. border in the vicinity of 
Nogales, Arizona. A separate EIS is being prepared in that proceeding. 
The study corridor identified by TEP as the Central Route is very 
similar to the study corridor identified by PNM as its ``Pipeline 
Corridor.'' TEP's Easterly Route and PNM's ``East Valley Corridor'' 
study corridors are similar in that a segment of each parallels the 
Citizens Communications Company's existing

[[Page 35952]]

115-kV transmission line. To assist the reader, maps available from the 
DOE web site (referenced above) reflect the applicants proposal and 
also the proposed corridors of the other applicant. Each of the EISs 
being prepared will consider the potential impacts of the other 
company's proposed transmission line as part of its cumulative impacts 
analysis.

Identification of Environmental Issues

    A purpose of this notice is to solicit comments and suggestions for 
consideration in the preparation of the EIS. As background for public 
comment, this notice contains a list of potential environmental issues 
that DOE has tentatively identified for analysis. This list is not 
intended to be all-inclusive or to imply any predetermination of 
impacts. Following is a preliminary list of issues that may be analyzed 
in the EIS:
    (1) Socioeconomic impacts of development of the land tracts and 
their subsequent uses;
    (2) Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive 
species of animals or plants, or their critical habitats;
    (3) Impacts on floodplains and wetlands;
    (4) Impacts on cultural or historic resources;
    (5) Impacts on human health and safety;
    (6) Impacts on air, soil, and water;
    (7) Visual impacts; and
    (8) Disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and 
low-income populations.
    The EIS will also consider alternatives to the proposed 
transmission lines, including, to the extent practicable:
    (1) No Action Alternative: The EIS will analyze the impacts 
associated with ``no action.'' Since the proposed action is the 
issuance of a Presidential permit for the construction of the proposed 
transmission lines, ``no action'' means that the permit would not be 
issued. However, not issuing the permit would not necessarily imply 
maintenance of the status quo. It is possible that the applicant and/or 
the Mexican government may take other actions if the proposed 
transmission lines are not built. The No Action Alternative will 
address the environmental impacts that are reasonably foreseeable to 
occur if the Presidential permit is not issued.
    (2) Construction of a powerplant in the U.S. closer to the U.S.-
Mexico border with a shorter transmission line extending to the border, 
an alternative concept for supplying electric power to the target 
region.

Scoping Process

    Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping 
process both to refine the preliminary alternatives and environmental 
issues to be analyzed in depth, and to eliminate from detailed study 
those alternatives and environmental issues that are not feasible or 
pertinent. The scoping process is intended to involve all interested 
agencies (Federal, state, county, and local), public interest groups, 
Native American tribes, businesses, and members of the public. 
Potential Federal cooperating agencies include the U.S. Department of 
the Interior (including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Park Service, and the Fish and Wildlife Service), the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the International Boundary 
and Water Commission, and the Tohono O'odham Nation.
    Public scoping meetings will be held at the locations, dates, and 
times indicated above under the DATES and ADDRESSES sections. These 
scoping meetings will be informal. The DOE presiding officer will 
establish only those procedures needed to ensure that everyone who 
wishes to speak has a chance to do so and that DOE understands all 
issues and comments. Speakers will be allocated approximately 5 minutes 
for their oral statements. Depending upon the number of persons wishing 
to speak, DOE may allow longer times for representatives of 
organizations. Consequently, persons wishing to speak on behalf of an 
organization should identify that organization in their request to 
speak. Persons who have not submitted a request to speak in advance may 
register to speak at the scoping meeting(s), but advance requests are 
encouraged. Should any speaker desire to provide for the record further 
information that cannot be presented within the designated time, such 
additional information may be submitted in writing by the date listed 
in the DATES section. Both oral and written comments will be considered 
and given equal weight by DOE. Meetings will begin at the times 
specified and will continue until all those present who wish to 
participate have had an opportunity to do so.

Draft EIS Schedule and Availability

    The Draft EIS is scheduled to be issued in December 2001, at which 
time its availability will be announced in the Federal Register and 
local media and public comments again will be solicited.
    People who do not wish to submit comments or suggestions at this 
time but who would like to receive a copy of the Draft EIS for review 
and comment when it is issued should notify Mrs. Russell at the address 
above.
    The Draft EIS will be made available for public inspection at 
several public libraries and reading rooms in Arizona. A notice of 
these locations will be provided in the Federal Register and local 
media at a later date.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 5, 2001.
Steven V. Cary,
 Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Environment, Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 01-17224 Filed 7-9-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P