[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 86 (Thursday, May 5, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23856-23857]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8996]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


Rebuild of the Libby (FEC) to Troy Section of BPA's Libby to 
Bonners Ferry 115-kilovolt Transmission Line

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 rebuilding, 
operation, and maintenance of a 17-mile-long portion of BPA's Libby to 
Bonners Ferry 115-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line in Lincoln County, 
Montana. The portion to be rebuilt would start at Flathead Electric 
Cooperative's (FEC) Libby

[[Page 23857]]

Substation, in the town of Libby, Montana, and proceed west along an 
existing right-of-way for about 17 miles, terminating at BPA's Troy 
Substation just east of the town of Troy, Montana. The line would be 
rebuilt mostly on existing right-of-way, and would replace an existing 
115-kV wood pole line. The EIS is being prepared for the proposed 
project in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
and in accordance with DOE regulations.

DATES: Written comments on the NEPA scoping process are due to the 
address below no later than June 6, 2005. Comments may also be made at 
two EIS scoping meetings to be held on May 19, 2005, at the address 
below.

ADDRESSES: Send letters with comments and suggestions on the proposed 
scope of the Draft EIS to Bonneville Power Administration, 
Communications--DM-7, P.O. Box 14428, Portland, Oregon 97293-4428; FAX 
them to 503-230-3285; or submit your comments on-line at: http://www.bpa.gov/comment/. To be placed on the project mail list, call 1-
888-276-7790.
    Comments may also be made at EIS scoping meetings to be held on 
Thursday, May 19, 2005, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and from 6 p.m. to 8 
p.m., in conference rooms A, B, & C at the Kootenai National Forest 
Supervisor's Office, 1101 Highway 2 West, Libby, Montana. At these 
informal open-house meetings, we will provide a brief introduction of 
the proposed project during the first 15 minutes. We will then provide 
maps and information about the project, have several members of the 
project team available to answer questions, and accept oral and written 
comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kirk Robinson, Project Manager, 
Bonneville Power Administration--TNP-TPP-3, P.O. Box 61409, Vancouver, 
Washington 98666-1409; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct 
telephone 360-619-6301; or e-mail [email protected]. You may also 
contact Tish Eaton, Environmental Coordinator, Bonneville Power 
Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621; 
telephone 503-230-3469; fax 503-230-5699; or e-mail [email protected]. 
Information about the project can also be found at http://www.efw.bpa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BPA is proposing to rebuild a 17-mile-long 
section of BPA's Libby to Bonners Ferry 115-kV transmission line. This 
rebuild would replace an existing 115-kV wood pole transmission line 
that runs west from FEC's Libby Substation in the town of Libby, to 
BPA's Troy Substation, east of Troy, Montana. The proposed rebuild 
would be located primarily in BPA's existing right-of-way corridor with 
two potential re-routings--one to avoid immediately adjacent residences 
in the town of Libby, and the other at a river crossing prior to a 
washout at China Creek, approximately one-half mile east of the present 
crossing of the Kootenai River. The project is needed to continue to 
provide safe and reliable service to the local communities, and in 
anticipation of the future growth of the area.
    The Libby (FEC) to Troy section of the Libby to Bonners Ferry 
transmission line was originally built by Pacific Power & Light Company 
(PP&L) in the 1950's. The condition of the Libby (FEC) to Troy section 
of the line has been deteriorating over the years to the point where a 
major rebuilding of the H-frame wood pole line is needed to continue 
serving customer loads safely and reliably. Field reconnaissance 
surveys of the line during the summer of 2004 showed that many of the 
wooden poles and cross-arms have passed their ability to withstand 
required structural loads, including stresses caused by snow and ice 
build-up during winter. Also, serious problems with the conductor have 
been discovered. In the last two years, BPA transmission line 
maintenance crews have provided ``fixes'' for critical situations to 
prevent the line from failing completely, but these fixes are meant to 
be only temporary, and they do not provide a complete long-term 
solution to the existing structural and conductor problems with the 
line.
    This proposed project was originally considered by BPA in 1993-
1994, as part of the Northwest Montana/North Idaho Support Project. The 
proposal at that time was to build a 230-kV double-circuit transmission 
line from BPA's substation at Bonners Ferry to Libby Substation, owned 
at the time by PP&L. The project was scoped with the public, comments 
were incorporated into the proposal, and environmental analysis was 
done. A preliminary draft EIS was in preparation when the project was 
cancelled for fiscal reasons.
    Alternatives Proposed for Consideration. Based on information 
gathered during the previous environmental evaluation, and from current 
and potential load growth studies for the area, BPA currently is 
considering four alternatives for evaluation in the EIS: (1) Rebuilding 
the line in-kind, as a single-circuit 115-kV wood pole H-frame line 
with some wood-pole equivalent steel poles; (2) rebuilding the line as 
a double-circuit 115-kV tubular steel pole line; (3) rebuilding the 
line as a double-circuit 230-kV tubular steel pole line; and (4) the 
alternative of not rebuilding the line (an alternative BPA always 
considers). Other alternatives may be identified through the scoping 
process.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. 
BPA has established a 30-day scoping period during which affected 
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the proposed EIS. Scoping will help BPA ensure that a full 
range of environmental issues related to this proposal is addressed in 
the EIS, and also will help identify significant or potentially 
significant impacts that may result from the proposed project.
    The potential environmental issues identified for most transmission 
projects include: land use, cultural resources, visual resources, 
sensitive plants and animals, recreation use, erosion concerns, and 
fish and water resources. The Draft EIS for the proposed project will 
address these issues, as well as other environmental issues raised 
during the public scoping process. When completed, the Draft EIS will 
be circulated for review and comment, and BPA will hold public meetings 
to receive comments on the Draft EIS. BPA will consider and respond in 
the Final EIS to comments received on the Draft EIS. BPA's decision 
will be documented in a Record of Decision. The EIS will satisfy the 
requirements of NEPA.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on April 28, 2005.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 05-8996 Filed 5-4-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P