[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 177 (Thursday, September 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52813-52814]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-21178]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc.: Notice of Extension of Public 
Comment Period for Public Scoping in Preparation of an Environmental 
Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Intent To Extend Public Comment Period for Public 
Scoping for Preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the 
U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Programs, 
hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or the Agency, is 
extending the public comment period for the public scoping in 
preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 
action by Minnkota Power Cooperative (Minnkota Power), Otter Tail Power 
Company, and Minnesota Power to construct a 230 kV electric 
transmission line from Bemidji to Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
    Rural Development and the State of Minnesota Office of Energy 
Security (OES) are jointly preparing an EIS to evaluate the potential 
impacts of the proposed transmission line pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) in 
accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations 
for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), 
36 CFR 800.2(a); section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
16 U.S.C. 470f and its implementing regulations, ``Protection of 
Historic Properties'' (36 CFR Part 800); the Minnesota Environmental 
Policy Act (MEPA), Minnesota Statute, Chapter 116D.04; the Minnesota 
Power Plant Siting Act (MPPSA); Minnesota Statute, Chapter 216 E.03 and 
Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4400. The U.S. Forest Service-Chippewa 
National Forest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe are participating as 
Cooperating Agencies in development of the EIS.
    Two public scoping documents, an Alternatives Evaluation Study 
(AES) and a Macrocorridor Study (MCS), were prepared to provide public 
information on the proposed project. Using information from the AES and 
the MCS and considering input provided by government agencies, private 
organizations, and the public, Rural Development and OES, in 
consultation

[[Page 52814]]

with the Cooperating Agencies, will determine the scope of the EIS.
    The MCS Study included maps of only three of the four transmission 
line corridor alternatives. This report has been updated to include the 
map of four transmission line macrocorridor options that are currently 
part of the study area. Notices distributed in local areas to notify 
the public of the proposed project included only one macrocorridor 
option with two route alternatives the applicants proposed in the State 
of Minnesota Route Permit Application. To ensure that interested 
parties located within the any of the four transmission line 
macrocorridor alternatives are provided adequate opportunity for 
comment, notices are being reissued and the public comment period is 
being extended for one month.

DATES: A Notice of Intent To Hold Public Scoping Meetings and Prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed project was 
published in the Federal Register on July 18, 2008. The public comment 
period has been extended and written comments relating to the proposed 
project will be accepted until 5 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 
2008.

ADDRESSES: To send comments or for further information, contact Barbara 
Britton, Environmental Protection Specialist, USDA Rural Development 
Utilities Programs, at 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Stop 1571, 
Washington, DC 20250-1571, telephone (202) 720-1414, fax: (202) 690-
0629, e-mail [email protected] or Suzanne Steinhauer, 
Project Manager, Minnesota Department of Commerce, Office of Energy 
Security, at 85 Seventh Place, Suite 500, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55010, 
telephone (651) 296-2888, e-mail [email protected]. A copy 
of the AES and MCS can be obtained from the Agency Web site at http://www.usda.gov/rus/water/ees/eis.htm, by contacting Bob Lindholm of 
Minnesota Power at (888) 373-4113, [email protected], and at the 
public libraries listed below:

Bemidji Public Library, 509 America Avenue, NW., Bemidji, MN 56601.
Cass Lake Community Library, 223 Cedar Avenue, NW., P.O. Box 836, Cass 
Lake, MN 56633.
Grand Rapids Area Library, 140 NE. 2nd Street, Grand Rapids, MN 55744.
Blackduck Community Library, 72 First Street, SE., P.O. Box 326, 
Blackduck, MN 56630.
Margaret Welch Memorial Library, P.O. Box 106, 5051 State 84, 
Longville, MN 56655.
Walker Public Library, 207 4th Street, P.O. Box 550, Walker, MN 56484.
Bovey Public Library, Village Hall, 402 2nd Street, P.O. Box 130, 
Bovey, MN 55709-0130.
Coleraine Public Library, Independent Building, 203 Cole Avenue, P.O. 
Box 225, Coleraine, MN 55722-0225.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Minnkota Power, Otter Tail Power, and 
Minnesota Power propose to construct a new transmission line from 
Bemidji to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The proposal is designed to correct 
a local load serving inadequacy for the Bemidji area and the northern 
Red River Valley in West Central Minnesota. The line would originate 
from Minnkota's 230 kV Wilton Substation located just west of Bemidji, 
Minnesota, to Minnesota Power's 230 kV Boswell Substation in Cohasset, 
Minnesota, northwest of Grand Rapids, Minnesota. It is part of the 
CapX2020 long-range planning effort that has identified a comprehensive 
framework for new transmission infrastructure that will be needed to 
maintain reliability of the transmission system throughout Minnesota 
and the surrounding region. Minnkota Power, Otter Tail Power, and 
Minnesota Power are partners in this investment, and Minnkota Power is 
seeking financing from Rural Development Utilities Programs for its 
portion of the investment.
    The proposed project may require permits from the United States 
Department of the Army Corps of Engineers (COE) under section 10 of the 
Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33 U.S.C. 403, for the project's 
overhead wires to cross the Mississippi River, and under section 404 of 
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1344, to place transmission line 
structures and associated backfill into waters of the United States. 
The proposed project may require a Special Use Permit to cross the 
Chippewa National Forest from the United States Forest Service under 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act pursuant to 36 CFR 251.58, 
if it traverses the Chippewa National Forest. The proposed project may 
require a permit to cross Federal Aid Highways under the Department of 
Transportation Act 23 CFR 1.23 and 1.27; 23 U.S.C. 116, 123, and 315; 
23 CFR 645; and 23 CFR 771. The proposed project may require a 
certification from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under 
section 401 of the Clean Water Act if it traverses tribal lands. The 
proposed project must be considered by the United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service for compliance with the Endangered Species Act 16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq., the Migratory Bird Act U.S.C. 703-712, 50 CFR Ch 
1, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1972 16 U.S.C. 668. 
The proposed project may require a right of way permit from the United 
States Bureau for Indian Affairs to cross American Indian trust lands 
pursuant to 25 CFR 169. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe may be a 
signatory to any agreement prepared under section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act addressing resolution of adverse effects of 
the proposed project, if identified, pursuant to 36 CFR 800 6, 
particularly if the proposed project traverses the Leech Lake Band 
Reservation.

    Dated: September 5, 2008.
Mark S. Plank,
Director, Engineering and Environmental Staff, USDA/Rural Development/
Utilities Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-21178 Filed 9-10-08; 8:45 am]
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