[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 222 (Monday, November 17, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67860-67865]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-27187]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. PP-305]
Record of Decision; Montana Alberta Tie Ltd.
AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE),
Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Record of Decision (ROD).
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SUMMARY: DOE announces its decision to issue a Presidential permit to
Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a
new single-circuit 230,000-volt (230-kV) electric transmission line
across the U.S.-Canada border near Cut Bank, Montana, along the
preferred alternative identified in the EIS, with the environmental
mitigation measures and electric reliability conditions noted below.
The environmental impacts that would be associated with the line were
analyzed in the Environmental Impact Statement for the Montana Alberta
Tie Ltd. (MATL) 230-kV Transmission Line (DOE/EIS-0399, MATL EIS). The
transmission line, known as the MATL Project, would originate at an
existing NorthWestern Energy (NWE) 230-kV Switchyard at Great Falls,
Montana, and extend north to a new substation to be constructed
northeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. Approximately 130 miles of
the 203-mile long transmission line would be constructed in the United
States.
In reaching this decision, DOE considered the low environmental
impacts in the United States from constructing, operating, maintaining,
and connecting the proposed international transmission line, the
absence of adverse impacts to the reliability of the U.S. electric
power supply system, the absence of major issues of concern to the
public, and the favorable recommendations of the Departments of State
and Defense.
DOE has prepared this ROD in accordance with the regulations of the
Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) for
implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and DOE's
NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021).
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS is available on the DOE NEPA Web site at
http://www.gc.energy.gov/NEPA/. This ROD also will be available on the
same DOE NEPA Web site and on the OE Web site at http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits_pending.htm. In addition, this ROD may be
requested by contacting Mrs. Ellen Russell, Senior Project Manager,
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department
of Energy, OE-20, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585,
by telephone at 202-586-9624, by facsimile at 202-586-8008, or at
[email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information about the MATL
EIS, contact Ellen Russell as indicated in the ADDRESSES section above.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Ms. Carol
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-20, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, by telephone at 202-
586-4600, or leave a message at 800-472-2756.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE and the State of Montana Department of
Environmental Quality (DEQ) are the lead agencies in the preparation of
the State of Montana Final EIS and DOE Federal Final EIS, entitled
Environmental Impact Statement for the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. (MATL)
230-kV Transmission Line (DOE/EIS-0399, MATL EIS). The Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), U.S. Department of the Interior, is a cooperating
agency.
Background
Executive Order (E.O.) 10485 (September 9, 1953), as amended by
E.O. 12038 (February 7, 1978), 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.\1\ DOE may issue or amend a permit if it
determines that the permit is in the public interest and after
obtaining favorable recommendations from the U.S. Departments of State
and Defense. In determining whether issuance of a permit for a proposed
action is in the public interest, DOE considers the environmental
impacts of the proposed project pursuant to NEPA, determines the
project's impact on electric reliability by ascertaining 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 believes are relevant to the
public interest.
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\1\ The authority to administer the International Electricity
Regulatory Program through the regulation of electricity exports and
the issuance of Presidential permits has been delegated to the
Assistant Secretary for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability
in Redelegation Order No. 00-002.10C issued on May 29, 2008.
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MATL, a private Canadian corporation owned by Tonbridge Power, is
proposing to construct and operate an international 230-kV, alternating
current merchant (i.e., private) transmission line that would originate
at the existing NWE 230-kV Switchyard at Great Falls, Montana, and
extend north to a new substation to be constructed northeast of
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. The line would cross the U.S.-Canada
international border north of Cut Bank, Montana. Approximately 130
miles of the 203-mile long transmission line are proposed to be
constructed in the United States. The proposed line would be
constructed and owned by MATL. It would be part of the Western
Interconnection (western grid) \2\. A
[[Page 67861]]
phase shifting transformer would be installed at the substation near
Lethbridge to control the direction of power flows on the line.
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\2\ There are three distinct power grids or ``interconnections''
within the United States: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western
Interconnection, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The
three interconnections are electrically independent from each other
except for a few low capacity direct current transmission lines that
loosely link them. Within each interconnection, electricity is
produced the instant it is used, and flows over virtually all
transmission lines from generators to customer loads.
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Before constructing and operating the proposed transmission line,
MATL must obtain a Presidential permit from DOE (10 CFR 205.320, et
seq.) and a Certificate of Compliance (certificate) from DEQ under the
Montana Major Facility Siting Act (MFSA)(75-20-101, et seq., Montana
Code Annotated). In October 2005, MATL applied to DOE for a
Presidential permit and to DEQ for a certificate.
NEPA Review
Because of the similarities in NEPA and the Montana Environmental
Policy Act (MEPA) requirements, DOE and DEQ (the ``agencies'')
cooperated in the preparation of a single environmental review document
that would satisfy both Federal and State requirements. Initially, DOE
considered an environmental assessment (EA) to be the appropriate level
of review under NEPA while DEQ considered the appropriate level of
review under MEPA to be an EIS. DOE issued a Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment and to Conduct Public Scoping
Meetings and Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement in the
Federal Register on November 18, 2005 (70 FR 69962). Three scoping
meetings were held in December 2005, and in March 2007 the agencies
published a document titled Draft Environmental Impact Statement for
the Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. (MATL) 230-kV Transmission Line that
served as a Draft EIS for DEQ and an EA for DOE. Comments received on
that document during the 55-day public comment period indicated that
additional analysis was required to address land use and potential
effects on farming caused by the MATL line and also to account for
changes to State tax law that took place in Montana's April 2007
special legislative session. Based on this new information, DOE
determined that an EIS was now required to properly assess the
environmental impacts.
On June 7, 2007, DOE published a Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS
and to Conduct Scoping in the Federal Register (72 FR 31569) and
invited additional comments for a 30-day period. On July 27, 2007, MATL
submitted to BLM an Application for Transportation and Utility Systems
and Facilities on Federal Land. On September 6, 2007, DOE invited BLM
to participate as a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS in
order to address BLM's authority to consider whether to approve MATL's
request for a right-of-way grant to cross Federal lands managed by BLM
and the proposed project's relationship to relevant BLM land use plans.
On October 12, 2007, BLM agreed to be a cooperating agency.
On February 15, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) published a Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS in the
Federal Register (73 FR 8869), which began a 45-day public comment
period that ended on March 31, 2008. During the comment period, the
agencies hosted three public hearings during which the public was
invited to submit both oral and written comments. The agencies also
accepted written comments from the public throughout the comment
period.
All comments received on the Draft EIS were considered in the
preparation of the Final EIS. The agencies issued the Final EIS for the
MATL 230-kV transmission line in September 2008. A notice of
availability of the Final EIS was published by EPA in the Federal
Register on October 3, 2008 (73 FR 57619).
Alternatives Considered
The EIS evaluated the international transmission line as proposed
by MATL, the No Action alternative, and two additional action
alternatives, plus several Local Routing Options and minor variations
to the Local Routing Options.
The No Action alternative was designated Alternative 1. Under this
alternative DOE would not grant a Presidential permit and DEQ would not
grant a certificate and, therefore, the proposed MATL international
transmission line would not be constructed. This alternative reflects
the status quo and serves as a benchmark against which MATL's proposal
and other action alternatives are evaluated. Since under the No Action
alternative MATL's proposed transmission line would not be built,
implementation of the No Action alternative would not cause impacts to
the environment that the construction and operation of the proposed
transmission line would. Therefore, the No Action alternative is the
environmentally preferable alternative.
The transmission line project as proposed by the applicant was
designated Alternative 2. Under this alternative MATL would construct
and operate a 230-kV transmission line in a 129.9-mile-long corridor
between Great Falls, Montana, and the U.S.-Canada border, connecting
across that border to the portion of the line to be constructed in
Alberta, Canada. The interconnection of the line north of Great Falls
would require NWE to enlarge its existing 230-kV Great Falls Switchyard
to accommodate the new line and other potential future lines. The MATL
line would extend from the expanded Great Falls Switchyard to a new
substation that MATL would construct on agricultural land approximately
10 miles south of Cut Bank, Montana. From that point the line would
continue north to the U.S.-Canada border at the western edge of the Red
Creek Oil Field. The proposed line would occupy a 105-foot-wide right-
of-way within a 500-foot-wide area that was analyzed in the EIS. The
typical span between support structures would be about 800 feet, but
could range from 500 feet to 1,600 feet depending upon the topography.
Metal monopole support structures would be used on about 56 miles of
the line where it would cross cropland and Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP) land diagonally. On the remaining 74 miles wooden H-frame
structures would be used.
Alternative 3 was developed by MATL in response to a siting
criterion under MFSA that gives consideration to paralleling existing
utility corridors. Under this alternative a 121.6-mile-long
transmission line would be built in a corridor that would generally
parallel an existing 115-kV transmission line along the entire route
from the 230-kV Great Falls Switchyard to a new substation near Cut
Bank. From this substation Alternative 3 would continue north, crossing
the border approximately 4 miles west of the border crossing for
Alternative 2. Alternative 3 would be similar in most other respects to
Alternative 2, but it would use only H-frame structures for the entire
length of the line.
Alternative 4 was developed by the agencies to address public
concerns raised during the EIS process. It was designed to reduce
transmission line interference with farming activities and reduce the
proximity to residences. This alternative would be the longest of the
three action alternatives at 139.6 miles. The alignment would use
portions of the Alternative 2 alignment from north of Conrad to the
Montana-Alberta border, but in other areas it would maximize the use of
range and pasture land in order to avoid cultivated land. Where
cultivated land would be crossed, the line would generally be located
along field or strip boundaries. Alternative 4 would be similar in most
other respects to Alternative 2, except that monopole structures would
be used on all 88.9 miles where the line would
[[Page 67862]]
cross cropland and CRP land, not just where such lands would be crossed
on the diagonal as in Alternative 2.
Several Local Routing Options and minor variations, which could be
applied to Alternative 2 and in some instances to Alternative 4, were
developed by the agencies to address landowner concerns related to
costs, impacts to farming, impacts to other land uses, and proximity to
residences. The Local Routing Options and minor variations were also
analyzed in the EIS.
The preferred alternative identified by the agencies in the Final
EIS consists of portions of Alternatives 2 and 4 and some Local Routing
Options as described in detail in Section 2.7 of the EIS. It begins at
the Great Falls Switchyard and follows Alternative 4 for 27.3 miles.
From that point to Milepost 103.1, the preferred alternative primarily
follows Alternative 2, but includes the Diamond Valley South, Teton
River, Southeast of Conrad, Northwest of Conrad, Belgian Hill, Bullhead
Coulee South, Bullhead Coulee North, and South of Cut Bank Local
Routing Options. The preferred alternative crosses Federal land managed
by BLM between Milepost 93.4 and Milepost 94.0. North of Milepost 103.1
the preferred alternative coincides with Alternatives 2 and 4 to join
with the border crossing approved by Canada. The total length of the
preferred alternative is 133.5 miles and would contain about 83.6 miles
of monopoles and 49.9 miles of H-frame structures.
Analysis of Environmental Impacts
The EIS analysis found that no natural resources would experience a
significant impact from implementation of any action alternative.
Potential impacts in the 500-foot wide analysis area and cumulative
impacts would be similar for all three action alternatives.
The No Action alternative would not change any of the resource
conditions in the region, but it would forgo the expected socioeconomic
benefits of the proposed transmission line, as there would be no
additional employment from construction and operation of the
transmission line, and no increase in county or State tax revenue.
There would be no additional impacts or compensation to farmers for use
of their land. There would be no additional transmission capacity
available for integrating new or existing power generators.
All of the action alternatives would result in some loss of and
interference with crop production. Alternative 3 would have the most
impacts to crop production because it would include the most diagonal
crossing of crop lands and because H-frame structures would be used on
all cropland crossings. Alternative 3 would add to impacts associated
with farming around transmission support structures because this
alternative would closely parallel an existing 115-kV transmission line
between Great Falls and Cut Bank. Alternative 4 would have less impact
on crop production than the other action alternatives because it would
include the least diagonal crossing of cropland and CRP land and would
use monopoles wherever it would cross such land.
Under all action alternatives, the proposed line would comply with
the requirements of the National Electric Safety Code. On cultivated
and CRP lands expected heights of the tallest farming equipment (i.e.,
20 feet), including antenna heights, would be used to determine the
minimum ground clearance of 27.2 feet for the safe operation of such
equipment under the line.
Construction activities under all of the action alternatives could
result in increased soil erosion and release of sediment to streams,
lakes, and wetlands, although best management practices would reduce or
avoid potential impacts. Alternative 4 was found to have the highest
potential for soil erosion and sediment discharge to surface waters
because the 500-foot-wide analysis corridor associated with this
alternative would intersect the largest area of potentially unstable
soils and the most streams. The analysis corridor associated with
Alternative 2 would intersect the smallest area of unstable soils and
the fewest wetlands, while the analysis area for Alternative 3 would
intersect the fewest streams but the largest area of wetlands and the
largest number of lakes. Other than the placement of one structure in
Black Horse Lake under Alternative 2, transmission line structures
would not be placed in wetlands. However, the agencies' preferred
alternative avoids this impact by routing the transmission line away
from Black Horse Lake.
All action alternatives would produce some localized short-term
emissions of particulate matter during construction. In addition, all
action alternatives would emit very small amounts of greenhouse gases,
principally from vehicle and equipment operations during construction.
These construction-related greenhouse gas emissions were estimated and
found to be negligible.
Under all action alternatives, some bird mortality could result
from collisions with transmission lines even after mitigating measures
are applied; potential impacts would be somewhat less under Alternative
4 than the other alternatives because Alternative 4 would not be
located as close to the Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Under all
action alternatives portions of the transmission line would cross some
potential habitat for special status species. Although no adverse
effects to special status species are expected from any of the action
alternatives, Alternative 2 would cross more potential habitat for
special status species than Alternatives 3 and 4. No designated
critical habitat would be crossed by any of the alternatives. In
compliance with section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), DOE
conducted a Biological Assessment and consulted with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS). On September 16, 2006, the FWS concurred with
DOE's determination that the proposed line may affect, but will not
adversely affect, any species listed as threatened or endangered under
the ESA.
Under any of the action alternatives, transmission line
construction could disturb archaeological or historical resources. To
avoid or reduce impacts to such resources, MATL would be required to
implement project-specific cultural resource protection measures (e.g.,
using monitors when working in the vicinity of archeological sites,
placing poles so as to avoid impacts to cultural resource sites,
prohibiting development of access roads through cultural resource
sites). Impacts to Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs) would be
minimized by avoiding disturbance to TCPs and potential locations
identified by knowledgeable Tribal members.
Short-term, localized construction noise would occur under any of
the action alternatives. In general, operation of the transmission line
would not add substantially to existing background noise levels, but
noise from rain or wind on the transmission line could cause noise
levels to exceed a State of Montana standard in one subdivided area
near a short segment (0.16 mile) of the Alternative 4 alignment.
However, the agencies' preferred alternative does not include this
portion of Alternative 4.
All action alternatives would provide socioeconomic benefits in the
short term due to construction-related employment. In the long term
there would be increased opportunities to import or export electric
power, and the presence of the transmission line could help make it
possible to build new generation facilities. State and local
governments would receive additional tax revenue from the line. Under
all action alternatives, farmers would incur additional costs due to
the need to farm
[[Page 67863]]
around transmission line structures placed on their properties. MATL
would compensate landowners with one-time easement payments for the
right-of-way, annual per-pole payments, and annual flat fees for the
additional costs of farming caused by the transmission line. Some
agricultural landowners would also receive a State property tax
exemption for property affected by the transmission line.
Under all action alternatives, nearby residents and motorists using
travel corridors would be exposed to views of a transmission line.
Alternative 3 would expose the largest number of nearby residences and
the longest length of travel corridors to near-field views within \1/2\
mile of the proposed line. Alternative 4 would have the lowest overall
visibility to nearby residences and travel corridors, but Alternatives
2 and 4 would be similar with respect to the number of residences
within \1/4\ mile.
The Notice of Intent that initiated the DOE NEPA review process (70
FR 69962; November 18, 2005) also initiated a floodplain and wetlands
assessment in accordance with DOE regulations in 10 CFR Part 1022. The
notice stated that DOE would issue a floodplain statement of findings
at the conclusion of that assessment. The EIS considered potential
impacts to floodplains and found that there would be no floodplain
involvement under any of the action alternatives. Under all action
alternatives, the line would cross floodplains of the Teton, Dry Fork
Marias, and Marias river crossings, but there would be no placement of
transmission line structures or other construction in any 100-year
floodplain. Because no part of the action would be located in a
floodplain, a floodplain statement of findings is not required.
Cumulative Impacts
Past and present facilities and activities that are potential
sources of cumulative environmental impacts in the project vicinity
include at least 17 pipelines and 8 transmission lines that transect
the area; farming (irrigated and non-irrigated), grazing, weed
management, hunting, and general recreation; growth of cities and
towns, residential areas, and industrial and commercial areas; and
development of Federal and State highways and county roads, railroads
and railroad rights-of-way, communication facilities, military
installations, conservation easements, airports, and national trails.
Reasonably foreseeable future actions that could occur in the
Project study area (i.e., an area that includes alternatives and areas
where roads may be built or improved) include the development of wind
farms, reconstruction and relocation of an existing electricity
transmission line, two fossil-fueled power plants (250-megawatt (MW)
coal-fired and 275-MW gas-fired) proposed to be built near Great Falls,
additional irrigation systems on area farmland, and the potential for
MATL to upgrade the capacity of the proposed line from 300 MW to 400 MW
in each direction. Transmission rights on the proposed line have been
sold to companies that are prospective developers of wind farms, but
the transmission capacity could be sold and used for electricity
generated by other means. For the purpose of assessing potential
cumulative impacts in the EIS, it was conservatively estimated that the
proposed transmission line would provide sufficient transmission
capacity for 400 to 533 new wind turbines.
Construction activities associated with reasonably foreseeable
future actions, including new or expanded wind farms, would depend on
the type, location, and design of development. Potential effects of
this construction on soils, surface waters, air quality, wetlands,
vegetation, wildlife, and cultural resources would be similar in kind
to the potential impacts of building the proposed transmission line,
but could differ in magnitude depending on the action. Operation of
proposed coal- and gas-fired power plants would increase the emission
of air pollutants, but ambient air pollutant concentrations resulting
from these and other ongoing and reasonably foreseeable activities
would continue to be well below applicable State and Federal ambient
air quality standards. Generation of electricity by potential wind
farms could contribute to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by
avoiding the need to generate equal amounts of electricity from fossil
fuels, while the proposed coal- and gas-fired power plants near Great
Falls could contribute greenhouse gases with global warming potential
equivalent to more than 4 million tons/year of carbon dioxide, equal to
about 10 percent of Montana's total emissions of greenhouse gases in
2005. Wind turbines, meteorological towers and associated guy wires,
and overhead distribution lines would be a potential collision hazard
to birds and bats. Operation of wind turbines potentially built by
developers with contracted capacity on the proposed MATL transmission
line is estimated to result in approximately 720 to 960 bird fatalities
and 30 to 7,100 bat fatalities per year. Operation of wind turbines
would result in noise; noise levels would depend on the observer's
location. Wind farms would be highly visible in the landscape because
turbines would be introduced into rural landscapes with few other
comparable structures.
Comments Received on the Final EIS
After publication of the Final EIS, DOE received a telephone
comment from a member of the public and a written comment from the U.S.
EPA. The telephone commenter expressed the belief that his prior
comments had been censored and offered three assertions in support of
his claim: (1) An attachment to a written comment he submitted on the
Draft EIS had been excluded from the Final EIS; (2) a written document
submitted by the commenter during a hearing on the Draft EIS had also
been excluded from the Final EIS; and (3) he had been prevented from
speaking at a hearing held in March 2007 to receive comments on the
State Draft EIS and the Federal EA.
With respect to the first claim, the attachment to the commenter's
written comment was a letter sent to the commenter from a law firm
representing MATL and discussed the acquisition of an easement across
the commenter's property. DOE included the attachment in the
administrative record but not in the comment response section of the
Final EIS because the attachment contained no information or comments
related to the Draft EIS. With regard to the second assertion, the
document submitted by the commenter during the hearing on the Draft EIS
in March 2008 contained a list of talking points circulated by a group
that encouraged its members to present oral comments in support of the
MATL project. Each of the talking points contained in the document
submitted by the telephone commenter was in fact discussed by numerous
individuals during the hearings on the Draft EIS. These talking points
and comments were contained in the transcripts of the hearings and
included in the comment response section of the Final EIS along with
the agencies' responses.
Concerning the third assertion, DOE generally does not conduct
public hearings on an EA before it is approved, although DOE provides
it to the State, and often to the public, before approval. Therefore,
DOE did not participate in the hearings held by DEQ in March 2007 on
the State Draft EIS and the Federal EA. Nonetheless, in light of the
commenter's claim, DOE reviewed the audio transcripts of those hearings
and determined that the commenter presented uncensored oral comments at
the hearing held in Conrad on March 27,
[[Page 67864]]
2007, and attended the hearing in Cut Bank on March 28, 2007. Based on
the review of the record, DOE has found no evidence of censorship on
the part of the presiding officer and no attempt to prevent the
commenter or anyone else from making a statement or presenting a
comment at any of the public hearings held in this proceeding.
The EPA Region 8 submitted written comments dated October 21, 2008,
on the Final EIS acknowledging the agencies' responses to EPA's
comments on the Draft EIS. In addition EPA stated its appreciation for
information added to the Final EIS, including bird migration corridor
maps and evaluation of potential avian impacts from the proposed
transmission line. EPA did not oppose implementation of the MATL
project and noted that the EIS ``* * * shows that complex
considerations were involved in evaluation of alternative routing
options, and significant effort was put into evaluating and comparing
the many project trade-offs, and that many mitigation measures for
environmental protection are included.''
Decision
DOE has decided to issue Presidential Permit PP-305 authorizing
MATL to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a 230-kV electric
transmission line across the U.S.-Canada border along the preferred
alternative identified and analyzed in the EIS, with the environmental
mitigation measures and electric reliability conditions noted below.
Mitigation
Avoidance of potential environmental impacts was a consideration in
identification and selection of the preferred alternative. The routing
of this alternative avoids some wildlife habitat areas potentially
affected by Alternative 2, and the routing and design of the
alternative are intended to minimize adverse impacts to cultivated
agricultural land uses. DOE's Presidential permit will contain a
condition that requires MATL to implement all project-specific
environmental protection measures it proposed in its MFSA application,
as described in the EIS, and also the environmental specifications
incorporated by reference in the Certificate of Compliance issued by
DEQ on October 22, 2008. The permit condition will specify that, where
there is a conflict between the MATL-proposed measures and the
environmental specifications developed by DEQ, the more environmentally
protective provision will apply. With the implementation of the
preferred alternative and the inclusion of the mitigation measures that
will be made a condition of the Presidential permit, DOE has employed
all practicable means to avoid or minimize environmental harm. The DEQ
Certificate of Compliance, the MATL-proposed protection measures, and
the DEQ-developed environmental specifications can be found on the DEQ
Web site at http://deq.mt.gov/MFS/MATL.asp.
Basis for Decision
In reaching this decision, DOE considered the low environmental
impacts in the United States from constructing, operating, maintaining,
and connecting the proposed international transmission line, the
absence of adverse impacts to the reliability of the U.S. electric
power supply system, the absence of major issues of concern to the
public, and the favorable recommendations of the Departments of State
and Defense.
DOE has determined that the potential environmental impacts from
the DOE preferred alternative, with implementation of the stipulated
mitigation measures, are expected to be small, as discussed above, and
overall less than the expected impacts from any of the other action
alternatives. DOE's decision is also consistent with the Certificate of
Compliance issued by DEQ on October 22, 2008, which authorized
construction of the MATL project along the route identified as the
preferred alternative and analyzed in the EIS, and represents a balance
between avoidance of impacts to farmland, cost to farmers, avoidance of
residences, public acceptance, and the use of public lands.
DOE did not select the No Action alternative because it would forgo
the expected benefits of the proposed transmission line to the economy
of Montana and because it would not be consistent with the finding of
the Montana DEQ that there is a need for the transmission capacity that
would be provided by the MATL project.
DOE has determined that granting a Presidential permit to MATL for
construction of an international transmission line along the route
identified as the preferred alternative in the EIS is consistent with
the public interest based on the consideration of environmental
impacts, the lack of adverse impacts on the reliability of the U.S.
electric power supply system, the absence of major issues of concern to
the public, and the favorable recommendations of the Departments of
State and Defense. In reaching the finding on electric system
reliability, DOE considered the information contained in the System
Impact Study commissioned by NWE, dated September 26, 2006, and the
Phase 2 Study Report accepted by the Project Review Group of the
Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) \3\, dated July 24,
2007, both of which were submitted to DOE by MATL in support of its
application for a Presidential permit.
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\3\ The Western Electricity Coordinating Council is one of 8
regional electric reliability councils within the United States. It
is responsible for coordinating and promoting electric reliability
in all or part of the 14 western states, the Canadian Provinces of
British Columbia and Alberta, and the northern portion of Baja
California, Mexico.
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The results of the System Impact Study indicate that the proposed
international transmission line can be interconnected to the NWE system
at the Great Falls substation and operated without violating industry-
established reliability criteria provided that MATL mitigates potential
overloads on two autotransformers identified in the contingency
analysis and operates its shunt capacitor facilities in such a way as
to avoid high voltages during all electric system operating conditions.
The Presidential permit to be issued to MATL will contain a condition
requiring it to comply with these interconnection requirements.
The results of the WECC Phase 2 Study Report indicate that the
proposed MATL line can be installed and operated without having an
adverse impact on the reliability of the U.S. electric power system
provided that MATL implements the mitigation plan described in that
report. MATL has committed to implementing this mitigation plan which
includes development and implementation of a remedial action scheme and
related operating procedures and nomograms.\4\ The Presidential permit
to be issued to MATL will contain a condition requiring MATL to develop
and implement the mitigation and adhere to all other operating
requirements that may be prescribed by WECC and/or NWE.
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\4\ Remedial action schemes and nomograms are operating
procedures that establish limits on the amount of electric power
that may be transmitted over a particular transmission line or
produced by a generating station under varying electric system
conditions of load and equipment availability. These operating
procedures establish a means of avoiding or mitigating any
reliability problems that are expected to exist under various system
contingencies.
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For the foregoing reasons, DOE has decided to issue Presidential
Permit PP-305 to MATL authorizing the construction, operation,
maintenance, and connection of a 230-kV transmission line across the
U.S.-
[[Page 67865]]
Canada border along the preferred alternative identified and analyzed
in the EIS, with the environmental mitigation measures and electric
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reliability conditions noted above.
Dated: November 12, 2008.
Kevin M. Kolevar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability.
[FR Doc. E8-27187 Filed 11-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P