[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 10, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45701-45702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-17326]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Southern Intertie Project; Notice of Availability of a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a final environmental impact 
statement.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) 
has released for public review the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(FEIS) for the Southern Intertie Project. The project, being proposed 
by the Intertie Participants Group (IPG), is the construction of a 138 
kilovolt (kV) transmission line between the Kenai Peninsula and 
Anchorage, Alaska. The RUS is the lead Federal agency in the 
environmental review process. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 
(USFWS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are serving as 
cooperating agencies.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence R. Wolfe, Senior 
Environmental Protection Specialist, Engineering and Environmental 
Staff, USDA Rural Utilities Service, Stop 1571, 1400 Independence 
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone (202) 720-1784, fax 
(202) 720-0820. The E-mail address is: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The IPG has proposed a new 138 kV 
transmission line in order to improve the overall Railbelt electrical 
system reliability and energy transfer capabilities between the Kenai 
Peninsula and Anchorage. The IPG proposed alternative, the Enstar 
Route, would connect the Soldotna Substation on the Kenai Peninsula 
with the International Substation in Anchorage. This alternative would 
parallel the Enstar Pipeline through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge 
(KNWR). The environmentally preferred alternative, the Tesoro Route, 
would connect the Bernice Lake Substation on the Kenai Peninsula with 
the Pt. Woronzof Substation in Anchorage. This alternative would 
parallel the Tesoro Pipeline from the Captain Cook State Recreational 
Area to Pt. Possession. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) 
analyzed the potential impacts of constructing and operating a 138 kV 
transmission line along both the Enstar and Tesoro Routes. The DEIS 
also evaluated a number of routing alternatives and related system 
improvements between the proposed substation connections, in addition 
to alternative technologies and the no-action alternative.
    Notices of availability of the DEIS were published in the Federal 
Register on October 3, 2001 (66 FR 50396) by RUS and on October 5, 2001 
(66 FR 51036) by EPA. The 60-day comment period on the DEIS ended on 
December 5, 2001.
    As required by Title XI of Alaska National Interest Lands 
Conservation Act, public hearings were held on the DEIS in the District 
of Colombia on October 30, 2001, and within the State of Alaska, in 
Anchorage, on November 13, 2001, and in Soldotna, on November 14, 2001.
    Public testimony at the three hearings was received from 12 
persons. During the 60-day comment period, a total of 102 different 
comment letters were received from Federal, State, and municipal 
agencies, businesses, native corporations, non-profit organizations, 
and individuals. Two of the letters were e-mail form letters signed by 
158 and 907 individuals, respectively, and one letter was in petition 
format with 12 signatures. The actual number of commentors was 1,174.
    The FEIS incorporates information received on the DEIS and consists 
of two volumes. Volume I consists of an expanded Project Summary, 
responses to comments, including copies of the original correspondence, 
supplemental information, and corrections to the DEIS. The USFWS 
Compatibility Determination and the USACE Draft Evaluation of the 
Section 404(b)(1) Permit Application are appended to this volume. 
Volume II consists of the mitigation plan that was developed to either 
eliminate or minimize impacts associated with the construction and 
operation the proposed project utilizing either the Enstar or Tesoro 
Routes.
    Copies of the FEIS have been sent to agencies, organizations, and 
individuals that received the DEIS. Additional copies of the FEIS are 
available for public review at the following public libraries in 
Anchorage: Z.J. Loussac Public Library; Chugiak-Eagle Public Library; 
Gerrish (Girdwood) Branch Library; Mountain View Branch Library; 
Muldoon Branch Library; and the Samson-Dimond Public Library. Copies 
will also be available for review at the following libraries on the 
Kenai Peninsula: Hope Community Library; Cooper Landing Community 
Library; Soldotna Public Library; and Kenai Community Library. In 
Washington, DC, copies are available for review at RUS offices. The 
FEIS is available online at http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/eis.htm.

[[Page 45702]]

    The FEIS is an informational document only. The purpose of the FEIS 
is to provide the public and decision makers' information on the 
potential environmental effects of the alternatives under 
consideration. The RUS, along with the USFWS and USACE, will consider 
information contained in the FEIS in rendering their respective 
decisions, which will be published in each agency's respective Record 
of Decision (ROD). A copy of the RUS ROD will be available online at 
the previously identified web site. A notice of availability of the ROD 
will be published in the Federal Register and in local Alaska 
newspapers.

    Dated: July 1, 2002.
Blaine D. Stockton,
Assistant Administrator, Electric Program, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 02-17326 Filed 7-9-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P