[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 86 (Thursday, May 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23855-23856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8995]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Office of Electricity and Energy Assurance; Port Angeles--Juan de 
Fuca High Voltage Direct Current Transmission Project

AGENCIES: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and Office of 
Electricity and Energy Assurance (OEEA), Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department of Energy's (DOE) intent 
to prepare an EIS (DOE/EIS-0378) and to conduct a public scoping 
meeting under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the 
proposed Port Angeles Juan de Fuca HVDC Transmission Project (Project). 
This Project, proposed by Olympic Converter, LP (OC), involves 
constructing a proposed electric power transmission line that would 
extend from the greater Victoria area, British Columbia, in Canada, to 
Port Angeles, Washington, in the United States. Sea Breeze Pacific Juan 
de Fuca Cable, LP (Sea Breeze Pacific) is carrying out the planning and 
permitting for the Project. The Project would be constructed as a 550-
megawatt (MW) High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line 
using underground cables, as well as submarine cables under the Strait 
of Juan de Fuca, an international waterway. Implementation of the 
Project would require that certain actions be taken by BPA and OEEA, 
which are separate organizational units within DOE. BPA's proposed 
action would be to offer a transmission interconnection agreement to 
OC, and OEEA's proposed action would be to issue a Presidential permit 
that would allow construction, operation, maintenance, and 
interconnection of the Project at the United States International 
Border.

DATES: Comments will be accepted at a public scoping meeting that will 
be held on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Written comments are 
due to the address below no later than June 6, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting on May 24, 2005, will be held at 
Peninsula College, Room J47, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles, 
Washington 98362-6698. The purpose of the public meeting is to invite 
public participation in the scoping process, and to solicit public 
comments for consideration in establishing the scope and content of the 
EIS. DOE and OC representatives will be available to discuss the 
proposed Project and respond to any questions you may have. 
Representatives from the City of Port Angeles are also expected to 
attend to answer questions about the Washington State Environmental 
Policy Act.
    Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed scope of 
the EIS, and requests to be placed on the Project mailing list, to 
Bonneville Power Administration, Communications--DM-7, P.O. Box 12999, 
Portland, Oregon, 97212; FAX them to 503-230-3285; or submit your 
comments on line at http://www.bpa.gov/comment/. Please include the 
name of this Project with your comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Yarde, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621, 
toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct phone number 503-230-3769, 
fax number 503-230-5699, e-mail [email protected]. Additional information 
can be found at BPA's Web site: http://www.transmission.bpa.gov/PlanProj/Transmission_Projects/.
    For inquiries regarding the Presidential permit process, contact 
Dr. Jerry Pell, Office of Electricity and Energy Assurance, U.S. 
Department of Energy, Washington, DC 20585, phone number 202-586-3362, 
fax number 202-318-7761, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OC has proposed to construct and own an 
international transmission line between the greater Victoria area, 
British Columbia, in Canada and Clallam County, Washington, in the 
United States. The proposed facilities would provide transmission 
interconnection between the bulk power transmission systems of Canada 
and the United States. The Project would interconnect with the Federal 
Columbia River Transmission System (FCRTS), which is owned and operated 
by BPA in the United States, and with the British Columbia transmission 
system, which is owned, operated and maintained by the British Columbia 
Transmission Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Province of 
British Columbia, Canada.
    OC proposes to connect the two transmission systems using HVDC 
submarine cables across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, an international 
waterway. The Project is proposed to be a 550-MW bidirectional 
controllable transmission system, comprised of HVDC modules 
interconnected by submarine and underground terrestrial cables. OC 
proposes to use HVDC LightTM cable, which is a polymeric insulated 
cable that is steel-wire armored, hermetically sealed, and 
approximately 10 inches in diameter for the marine crossing and 8 
inches in diameter for the buried terrestrial portion. The cable 
contains no circulating or insulating fluids. The overall length of the 
proposed transmission line would be 21.6 miles, about 19.2 miles of 
which would be buried in marine bedlands and approximately 1.2 miles 
would be underground within the City of Port Angeles. The remaining 1.2 
miles would be terrestrial in the greater Victoria area, British 
Columbia. A directional drill would be used for the marine-to-
terrestrial transition, in order to minimize disturbances to the 
shoreline and intertidal zone.
    For the connection in the United States to the FCRTS, OC proposes 
to construct a converter station in Port

[[Page 23856]]

Angeles to change between direct current and alternating current. This 
proposed converter station would be located in the vicinity of BPA's 
Port Angeles Substation in Clallam County, Washington, and would occupy 
from one to two acres. OC has proposed that the converter station be 
sited within the existing boundary of the Port Angeles Substation on 
property leased or otherwise transferred from BPA to OC.
    OC has proposed to begin construction of the HVDC transmission line 
and converter station by June 2006. Under this schedule, the HVDC 
system would be interconnected to the FCRTS in the fall of 2007, with a 
proposed operation date of December 2007. Once constructed, all 
existing land use and marine activities would be expected to continue 
to take place along the route of the transmission line, excluding the 
area encompassed by the converter station. The HVDC transmission system 
would be expected to operate continuously for at least 20 years.
    OC is in the process of applying for applicable permits from the 
City of Port Angeles, which may trigger the Washington State 
Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process for the proposed Project. OC 
also is coordinating with other Federal and State agencies regarding 
all required permits and approvals.
    On December 20, 2004, OC applied to OEEA for a Presidential permit 
to develop the proposed Project. DOE published a notice of that 
application in the Federal Register on February 18, 2005 (70 FR 8350). 
OC also has submitted a request to BPA for interconnection of the 
proposed Project to the FCRTS. BPA and OEEA are separate organizational 
units both within DOE. DOE has determined its actions for the proposed 
Project, including issuance of a Presidential permit, would constitute 
a major Federal action that may have a significant impact upon the 
environment within the meaning of NEPA.
    BPA's Proposed Action. BPA has adopted an Open Access Transmission 
Tariff for the FCRTS, consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission's (FERC) pro forma open access tariff. Under BPA's tariff, 
BPA offers transmission interconnection to the FCRTS to all eligible 
customers on a first-come, first-served basis, consistent with all BPA 
requirements, but with this offer subject to the results of an 
environmental review under NEPA. Under its tariff, BPA must respond to 
OC's request for transmission interconnection.
    BPA proposes to execute an agreement with OC to provide 
interconnection services for up to 550 MW from the proposed Project. As 
part of this agreement, BPA may agree to lease or otherwise permit 
occupancy by OC of approximately one to two acres of real property that 
is owned by BPA adjacent to the Port Angeles Substation. This property 
would be used for a new converter substation that would allow 
interconnection of the proposed Project to the FCRTS at Port Angeles 
Substation.
    OEEA's Proposed Action. OEEA's proposed action is to issue a 
Presidential permit for the proposed Project. Executive Order 10485, as 
amended, provides that a Presidential permit may be issued after a 
finding that the proposed Project is consistent with the public 
interest and after favorable recommendation by the Departments of State 
and Defense. In determining consistency with the public interest, DOE 
considers the impacts of the proposed Project on the reliability of the 
U.S. electric power system and on the environment, and any other 
factors that DOE may also consider pertinent to the public interest. 
The regulations implementing the Executive Order have been codified at 
10 CFR 205.320-205.329. Issuance of a permit for a particular project 
indicates that there is no Federal objection to that Project, but does 
not mandate that the Project be completed.
    Possible Alternatives for the Proposed Actions. For BPA, an 
alternative to its proposed action of offering interconnection contract 
terms is to not offer these terms. For OEEA, an alternative to the 
proposed issuance of a Presidential permit is to deny this permit. In 
either instance, the Project as proposed would not go forward. The EIS 
will evaluate both of these alternatives as the ``no-action'' 
alternative.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. 
Consistent with its NEPA regulations, DOE has established a minimum 30-
day scoping period during which affected landowners, Tribes, concerned 
citizens, special interest groups, local governments, State and Federal 
agencies, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help DOE to identify 
potentially significant impacts that may result from its proposed 
actions and the privately proposed transmission line, and ensure that 
all relevant environmental issues related to DOE's proposed actions are 
addressed in the EIS.
    The EIS will consider the reasonably foreseeable consequences of 
construction and operation of the proposed HVDC transmission line 
across the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the interconnection to the FCRTS. 
Based on DOE's experience, potential environmental issues for the 
proposed transmission line and interconnection facilities may include 
socioeconomic impacts created by a construction workforce; effects on 
recreation (primarily fishing); impacts on cultural resources; impacts 
to wildlife habitat and populations including migratory birds, fish, 
and marine mammals; noise created by the converter station during 
Project operation; and mitigation measures.
    When completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for a minimum 45-
day public comment period, and DOE will hold one or more public 
hearings on the Draft EIS. In the Final EIS, DOE will consider and 
respond to all comments received on the Draft EIS. DOE expects to 
publish the Final EIS in summer 2006. BPA's and OEEA's subsequent 
decisions will be documented in a Record of Decision.
    In addition to the Federal NEPA process, the City of Port Angeles 
will provide opportunity for public participation as part of its SEPA 
and permitting process. It is expected that representatives from the 
City of Port Angeles will hold public meetings for the transmission 
project during 2005. DOE will coordinate with the City of Port Angeles 
to ensure full consideration of all public and agency comments 
received.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on April 28, 2005.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-8995 Filed 5-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P