[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 10, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24501-24502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-9241]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Georgia Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent to hold scoping meeting and prepare an 
Environmental Assessment.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), 
an agency delivering the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Rural 
Development Utilities Programs, proposes to prepare an Environmental 
Assessment related to possible financing assistance to Georgia 
Transmission Corporation for the construction of approximately 40 miles 
of 500 kilovolt transmission line. The proposed 500-kilovolt 
transmission line project would be located in McDuffie, Warren, 
Hancock, Glascock and Washington Counties, Georgia.
    Meeting Information: RUS will conduct a Scoping Meeting in an open 
house format from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, 2005, at the 
Warthen Community Center, Warthen, Georgia 31094. Phone: (770) 270-
7741. The Community Center is on Bethlehem Baptist Church Road, located 
on State Route 102 approximately .25 miles north of the intersection of 
State Route 15. A second Scoping Meeting will be held from 5 p.m. until 
7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, 2005. The meeting will be held at Thomson 
High School, located at 1160 White Oak Road in Thomson, Georgia 30824. 
Phone: (706) 595-9393. The purpose of these two meetings are provide 
information and solicit comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Strength, Engineering and 
Environmental Staff, Rural Utilities Service, Stop 1571, 1400 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-1571. Telephone: (202) 
720-0468. Mrs. Strength's e-mail address is 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Georgia Transmission Corporation proposes to 
construct a 500 kilovolt transmission line between the Thomson 
Substation (located on Hampton-Davis Road, 4 miles east of Thomson, 
Georgia, and 2 miles northeast of Boneville, Georgia) to the Warthen 
Switching Station (located 8 miles northwest of Warthen, Georgia and 
1.5 miles southwest of State Highway 15 on Mill Lindsey School Road). 
It is near the Scherer-Warthen 500 kV Transmission Line and adjacent to 
the Duke Energy North America's Sandersville Facility, a combustion 
turbine generation plant. Lattice steel towers ranging in height from 
80- to 150-feet would support the conductors and would require a right-
of-way of 180 feet. The approximate length of the transmission line is 
40 miles. It is anticipated that this transmission line would be in 
service in the spring of 2010.
    Alternatives considered by RUS and Georgia Transmission Corporation 
include: (a) No action, (b) alternative transmission improvements, and 
(c) alternative transmission line corridors. An Electric Alternative 
Evaluation and Macro Corridor Study Report, prepared by Georgia 
Transmission Corporation, will be presented at the public scoping 
meeting. The Report is available for public review at RUS at the 
address provided in this notice, at Georgia Transmission Corporation, 
2100 East Exchange Place, Tucker, Georgia 30084 and at: Glascock County 
Public Library, 738 Railroad Avenue, Gibson, GA 30810, Phone: 706-598-
9837. Harlem Library, 375 North Louisville Street, Harlem, GA 30814, 
Phone: 706-556-9795. Hancock County Library, 403 East Broad Street, 
Sparta, GA 31087, Phone: 706-444-5389. Rosa M Tarbutton Memorial 
Library, 314 South Harris Street, Sandersville, GA 31082, Phone: 478-
552-6324. Thomson McDufffie County Library, 338 Main Street, Thomson, 
GA 30824, Phone: 706-595-1341. Warren County Library, 101 Warren 
Street, Warrenton, GA 30828, Phone: 706-465-2656.
    Government agencies, private organizations, and the public are 
invited to participate in the planning and analysis of the proposed 
project. Representatives from RUS and Georgia Transmission Corporation 
will be available at the scoping meetings to discuss RUS' environmental 
review process, describe the project, the need for the project, and 
macro corridors under consideration, and discuss the scope of 
environmental issues to be considered, answer questions, and accept 
oral and written comments. Written comments will be accepted for 30 
days after the public scoping meeting. Written comments should be sent 
to RUS at the address provided in this notice.
    From information provided in the alternative evaluation and site 
selection study, input that may be provided by government agencies, 
private organizations, and the public, Georgia Transmission Corporation 
will prepare an environmental analysis to be submitted to RUS for 
review. RUS will use the environmental analysis to determine the 
significance of the impacts of the project and may adopt it as its 
environmental assessment of the project. RUS' environmental assessment 
of the project would be available for review and comment for 30 days.
    Should RUS determine, based on the Environmental Assessment of the 
project, that the impacts of the construction and operation of the 
plant would not have a significant environmental impact, it will 
prepare a finding of no significant impact. Public notification of a 
finding of no significant impact would be published in the Federal 
Register and in newspapers with a circulation in the project area.
    Any final action by RUS related to the proposed project will be 
subject to, and contingent upon, compliance with environmental review 
requirements as prescribed by the Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) and RUS' environmental policies and procedures.


[[Page 24502]]


    Dated: May 4, 2005.
Glendon D. Deal,
Director, Engineering and Environmental Staff, Water and Environmental 
Programs, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 05-9241 Filed 5-9-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P