[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 145 (Friday, July 28, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42875-42876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-12112]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

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


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Southern 
California Edison Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 Transmission Line Project, 
California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended (Pub. L. 91-190, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), and 
40 CFR parts 1500-1508, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), together 
with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), hereby gives 
notice that the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental 
Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Southern California Edison Company 
(SCE) Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 Transmission Line Project is available 
for public review and comment. The BLM is the lead Federal agency for 
the preparation of this EIS in compliance with the requirements of 
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 serves as an 
invitation for the public and other cooperating agencies to provide 
comments on the scope and content of the Draft EIS/EIR.

DATES: To assure that they will be considered, BLM must receive 
comments on the Draft EIS/EIR within 60 days following the date of 
publication of a Notice of Availability of this document, in the 
Federal Register, by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA 
published its Notice of Availability on May 19, 2006, at 71 FR 29148, 
with a stated end of the comment period to be July 5, 2006. The BLM is 
extending this comment period until the close of business on August 11, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
of several methods. You may mail comments to: Gail Acheson, Field 
Manager; Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Field 
Office, P.O. Box 581260, North Palm Springs, CA 92258. You may also 
comment via the Internet to [email protected]. Please include in the 
subject line: ``Draft EIS/EIR, DPV2 Transmission Line Project'' and 
your name and return address in

[[Page 42876]]

your Internet message. If you do not receive a confirmation that we 
have received your Internet message, contact Greg Hill at (760) 251-
4840. You may also hand-deliver comments to: Bureau of Land Management, 
Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm 
Springs, CA 92258. Oral comments were accepted at the three public 
meetings held in Tonopah, Arizona; Beaumont, California; and Palm 
Desert, California, in June 2006. Notices published in the local media 
were provided at least 15 days prior to the scheduled public meetings. 
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name and/or street address from public review or 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your comment. Such requests will be 
honored to the extent allowed by law. We will make all submissions from 
organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying 
themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or 
businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Hill at (760) 251-4840 or e-mail: 
[email protected]. A copy of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/
Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Southern California 
Edison Proposed Devers-Palo Verde No. 2 Transmission Line Project is 
available for review via the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/ca/palmsprings. Electronic (on CD-ROM) or paper copies may also be 
obtained by contacting Greg Hill at the aforementioned addresses and 
phone number.

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 west 
of Phoenix, Arizona. For the most part, this portion of the project 
would parallel SCE's existing Devers-Palo Verde No. 1 500 kV 
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 identified a list of issues that are 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. The CPUC and 
BLM, pursuant to CEQA and NEPA, released the EIS/EIR on May 4, 2006. 
Joint CPUC and BLM public workshops were held in Tonopah, Arizona; 
Beaumont, California; and Palm Desert, California, on June 6, 7, and 8, 
2006, respectively. Meeting notices were published in Arizona and 
California newspapers in early May 2006 and were mailed to an extensive 
public interest list.

Gail Acheson,
Field Manager.
 [FR Doc. E6-12112 Filed 7-27-06; 8:45 am]
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