[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 234 (Wednesday, December 7, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72845-72846]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-6975]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CA-660-1430-ER-CACA-17905]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Proposed Devers-Palo 
Verde No. 2 Transmission Line Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 U.S.C. 432l et seq.), notice is 
hereby given that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), together with 
the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), intend to prepare a 
joint Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/
EIR) for the Devers-Palo Verde 500 kV No. 2 Transmission Line Project 
(DPV2), proposed by the Southern California Edison Company (SCE). The 
BLM is the lead Federal agency for the preparation of this EIS in 
compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). The CPUC is the lead State of California agency for the 
preparation of this EIR in compliance with the requirements of the 
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
    This notice initiates the public participation and scoping 
processes for the EIS/EIR and also serves as an invitation for other 
cooperating agencies to provide comments on the scope and content of 
the EIS/EIR. Potential cooperating agencies include the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, the Department of Defense, the State Historic 
Preservation Office, and the California Department of Fish and Game.

[[Page 72846]]


DATES: Scoping meetings will be held during fall 2005. Comments on 
issues and planning criteria may be submitted in writing to the address 
listed below. All public meetings will be announced at least 15 days 
prior to the event through the local news media, newspapers, and these 
two agency Web sites: http://www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings and http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/environment/info/aspen/dpv2/ dpv2.htm. In addition to 
the ongoing public participation process, formal opportunities for 
public participation will be provided upon publication of the Draft 
EIS/EIR. Written comments must be postmarked no later than 30 days from 
the date of this notice in order to be included in the Draft EIS/EIR. 
When available, the public will be provided a 60-day public review 
period on the Draft EIS/EIR. These documents will be made available at 
document repository sites listed on the previously identified agency 
Web sites. Contact the BLM if you would like to be included in the 
mailing list to receive copies of all public notices relevant to this 
project.

ADDRESSES: Comments and other correspondence should be sent to Field 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, 690 West Garnet Ave., P.O. Box 
581260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258-1260 or by fax at (760) 251-4899. 
Documents pertinent to this proposal, including comments with the names 
and addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office located at 690 W. Garnet 
Avenue, North Palm Springs, California 92258, during regular business 
hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays, and may be published as part of the Draft EIS/EIR. Individual 
respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your 
name or street address from public review or from disclosure under the 
Freedom of Information Act, you must state this prominently at the 
beginning of your written comment. Such requests will be honored to the 
extent allowed by law. BLM will not consider anonymous comments. All 
submissions from organizations and businesses, and from individuals 
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations 
or businesses, will be available for public inspection in their 
entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Claude Kirby, Bureau of 
Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 690 West Garnet 
Ave, P.O. Box 581260, North Palm Springs, California 92258-1260, (760) 
251-4850.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Southern California Edison (SCE) is 
proposing to construct a new 230-mile long, 500-kilovolt (kV) 
electrical transmission line between SCE's Devers Substation located 
near Palm Springs, California, and the Harquahala Generating Station 
switchyard, located near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station 
(PVNGS) west of Phoenix, Arizona. For the most part, this portion of 
the project would parallel SCE's existing Devers-Palo Verde No. 1 500kV 
transmission line. In addition, SCE is proposing to upgrade 48.2 miles 
of existing 230 kV transmission lines between the Devers Substation 
west to the San Bernardino and Vista Substations, located in the San 
Bernardino, California, vicinity. Together, the proposed 500 kV line 
and the 230 kV transmission facility upgrades are known as DPV2. 
Construction of DPV2 would add 1,200 megawatts (MW) of transmission 
import capacity from the southwestern United States to California, 
which would reduce energy costs throughout California and enhance the 
reliability of California's energy supply through increased 
transmission infrastructure. The BLM has identified a preliminary list 
of issues that will need to be addressed in this analysis, including 
the impacts of the proposed project on visual resources, agricultural 
lands, air quality, plant and animal species including special status 
species, cultural resources, and watersheds. Other issues identified by 
the BLM are impacts to the public in the form of noise, traffic, 
accidental release of hazardous materials, and impacts to urban, 
residential, and recreational areas. Members of the public are invited 
to identify additional issues and concerns to be addressed.

Gail Acheson,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E5-6975 Filed 12-6-05; 8:45 am]
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