[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 150 (Monday, August 4, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45218-45220]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17840]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-334]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment and To 
Conduct Public Scoping Meetings; Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) 
and To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) will prepare an EA and hold 
public scoping meetings on the proposed Federal action of granting a 
Presidential permit to Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC (Baja Wind) to 
construct a new electric transmission line at the U.S.-Mexico border in 
San Diego County, California, near the community of Jacumba. The 
proposed international transmission line would originate at a wind 
generation facility to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico, 
cross the U.S.-Mexico international border, and extend one mile into 
the U.S. where it would terminate at a substation to be constructed by 
San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) adjacent to the existing 
Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) 500-kV transmission line, located in San 
Diego County, California. Baja Wind has applied to DOE's Office of 
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) for a Presidential 
permit to construct either a double-circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) or a 
single-circuit 500-kV electric transmission line across the U.S. border 
with Mexico.
    The EA, entitled Baja Wind U.S. Transmission Environmental 
Assessment (DOE/EA-399) will address potential environmental impacts 
from the proposed action and the range of reasonable alternatives. The 
EA will be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and applicable regulations, including Council 
on Environmental Quality NEPA Implementing Regulations (40 CFR parts 
1500-1508) and DOE NEPA implementing regulations at 10 CFR Part 1021. 
It will help DOE determinie whether to prepare an EIS. Given that the 
proposed transmission line is short, and that the imports into the U.S. 
appear to be small, DOE believes an EA is appropriate.
    DOE invites the public to participate in determining the scope of 
the EA by suggesting alternatives and pointing out potential 
environmental impacts. If at any time during preparation of the EA DOE 
determines that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is needed, DOE 
will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in the Federal 
Register. In that case, this scoping process will serve as the scoping 
process that normally would follow a Notice of Intent to prepare an 
EIS. Accordingly, DOE will consider any comments on the scope of the EA 
received during this scoping process in preparing such an EIS.

DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, Native American 
tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to 
assist in identifying any potentially significant environmental issues 
and in determining the scope of the EA. The public scoping period 
starts with the publication of this Notice in the Federal Register and 
will continue until September 3, 2008. DOE will consider all comments 
received or postmarked by September 3, 2008 in defining the scope of 
the EA. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be 
considered to the extent practicable.
    Public scoping meetings will be held on August 26, 2008, from 1 
p.m. to 3 p.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Jacumba 
Highland Center, 44681 Old Highway 80, Jacumba, California.

ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the EA 
should be addressed to: Mrs. Ellen Russell, Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of Energy, 
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0350; phone 202-
586-9624, facsimile at 202-586-8008, or electronic mail at 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information on the proposed 
project, on the Presidential permit process, or to receive a copy of 
the pre-approval EA when it is issued for state and public review, 
contact Ellen Russell at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of 
this notice. The Baja Wind Presidential permit application, including 
associated maps and drawings, can be downloaded in its entirety from 
the OE program Web site http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits.htm.
    For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact: 
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-
20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20585-0103; phone 202-586-4600, leave a message at 800-
472-2756, or facsimile to 202-586-7031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order (EO) 10485, as amended by EO 
12038, requires that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE before 
electric transmission facilities may be constructed, operated, 
maintained, or connected at the U.S. international border. The EO 
provides that a Presidential permit may be issued after a finding that 
the proposed project is consistent with the public interest and after 
favorable recommendations from the U.S. Departments of State and 
Defense. In determining consistency with the public interest, DOE 
considers the environmental impacts of the proposed project under NEPA, 
determines the project's impact on electric reliability (including 
whether the proposed project would adversely affect the operation of 
the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and contingency 
conditions), and considers any other factors that DOE may find relevant 
to the public interest. The regulations implementing the EO have been 
codified at 10 CFR 205.320-205.329. DOE's issuance of a Presidential 
permit indicates that there is no Federal objection to the project, but 
does not mandate that the project be undertaken.

[[Page 45219]]

Agency Purpose and Need, Proposed Action, and Alternatives

    The purpose and need for DOE's action is to decide whether to grant 
Baja Wind's application for a Presidential permit for the proposed 
international electric transmission line. DOE's proposed action is to 
issue a Presidential permit for the construction, operation, 
maintenance, and connection of the proposed international electric 
transmission line. If granted, the Presidential permit would authorize 
only the one-mile portion of the applicant's proposal that would be 
constructed and operated wholly within the United States.
    Both of Baja Wind's alternatives would cross the U.S.-Mexican 
border at the same location. However, the alternative identified as A1 
in the Presidential permit application would be constructed at 500-kV 
and would be the eastern alternative; the alternative identified as A2 
would be constructed at 230-kV and be located to the west of the A1 
alternative. Both alternatives would be located wholly within private 
property in eastern San Diego County near the unincorporated community 
of Jacumba. In addition to the alternatives proposed by Baja Wind, DOE 
will consider reasonable alternatives that are identified during 
scoping. The EA will also consider the environmental impacts of a ``No 
Action'' alternative.
    Baja Wind's proposed transmission line would connect wind turbines 
(the La Rumorosa Project) to be located in the vicinity of La Rumorosa, 
Baja California, Mexico, to San Diego Gas & Electric's existing 
Southwest Powerlink transmission line. The proposed transmission line 
would consist of either a double-circuit 230-kV or a single-circuit 
500-kV transmission line installed on either lattice towers or steel 
monopoles. The La Rumorosa Project and the two-mile portion of 
transmission facilities located in Mexico would be constructed, owned, 
operated, and maintained by a subsidiary of Sempra Energy Mexico and 
would be subject to the permitting requirements of the Mexican 
Government. The proposed one-mile long transmission line within the 
United States would be on private land and constructed, owned, 
operated, and maintained by Baja Wind. The entire electrical output of 
the La Rumorosa Project (1250 megawatts, approximately 260 to 300 
turbines) would be dedicated to the U.S. market and delivered using the 
proposed international transmission line. The EA will only consider 
impacts that occur inside the United States.
    Baja Wind's proposed transmission line would connect to a new 
substation to be constructed by SDG&E in response to requests by power 
suppliers to connect to the SWPL. The proposed substation would be 
located just south of the SWPL right-of-way and would contain equipment 
for accepting interconnections at both the 230-kV and the 500-kV level. 
The 230-kV connection equipment would be located just to the west of 
the 500-kV connection equipment, both within the confines of the 
substation boundary. Accordingly, Baja Wind has identified two routing/
voltage alternatives to coincide with interconnection at 230-kV or the 
500kV level.

Identification of Environmental Issues

    In the EA, DOE will examine public health and safety effects and 
environmental impacts in the United States from the proposed 
transmission facilities and from the wind farm to the extent that any 
impacts from it occur within the United States. DOE invites Tribal 
governments, Federal, State and local agencies, and those entities with 
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to environmental 
issues to be cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EA, as 
defined at 40 CFR 1501.6.
    This notice is to inform the public of the proposed project and to 
solicit comments and suggestions for consideration in the preparation 
of the EA. To help the public frame its comments, this notice contains 
a preliminary list of potential environmental issues that DOE has 
tentatively identified for analysis. These issues include:
    1. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive 
species of animals or plants, or their critical habitats, e.g., the 
quino checkerspot butterfly and migratory birds;
    2. Impacts on cultural or historic resources;
    3. Impacts on human health and safety;
    4. Impacts on air, soil, and water;
    5. Visual impacts;
    6. Socioeconomic impacts;
    7. Disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low-
income populations;
    8. Impacts that would accrue to the U.S. as a result of related 
activities occurring inside Mexico (e.g., dust from the construction 
process inside Mexico or location of wind generators within view of the 
U.S.); and
    9. Cumulative impacts.
    On February 22, 2008, DOE published a notice in the Federal 
Register (73 FR 9782) announcing receipt of the Baja Wind Presidential 
permit application and soliciting public comments. Comments received on 
that notice identified potential environmental impacts that may be 
associated with this proposed project, for example, impacts on 
threatened or endangered species, critical habitat, and migratory 
birds.
    Several commenters in this proceeding have asked DOE to evaluate 
the impacts associated with activities that will occur inside Mexico 
(e.g., from the construction and operation in Mexico of the wind 
generators). NEPA does not require an analysis of environmental impacts 
that occur within another sovereign nation that result from approved 
actions by that sovereign nation. The EA will evaluate all relevant 
environmental impacts within the U.S. related to the proposed action.

Scoping Process

    Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping 
process both to refine the environmental issues to be analyzed and to 
identify the reasonable range of alternatives. Both oral and written 
comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE.
    Public scoping meetings will be held at the location, date, and 
times indicated above under the DATES section. The scoping meetings 
will provide interested parties the opportunity to view proposed 
project exhibits, ask questions, and comment on the EA scope. The DOE 
presiding officer will establish only those procedures needed to ensure 
that everyone who wishes to speak has a chance to do so and that DOE 
understands all issues and comments. Speakers will be allocated 
approximately 10 minutes for their oral statements. Persons who have 
not submitted a request to speak in advance may register to speak at 
the scoping meetings, but advance requests are encouraged. Should any 
speaker desire to provide further information that cannot be presented 
within the designated time, such additional information may be 
submitted in writing by the date listed in the DATES section. Both oral 
and written comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE.
    The pre-approval EA is planned to be issued for state and public 
review by the spring of 2009. Persons submitting comments during the 
scoping process will receive a copy. Persons who do not wish to submit 
comments or suggestions at this time but who would like to receive a 
copy of the document for review when it is issued should notify Ellen 
Russell at the address provided above.


[[Page 45220]]


    Issued in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2008.
Kevin M. Kolevar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. E8-17840 Filed 8-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P