[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 196 (Tuesday, October 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52482-52483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-24469]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Bonneville Power Administration


I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project

AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy 
(DOE).

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands involvement.

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SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the construction, operation, and 
maintenance of a proposed 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and 
associated substations. The project would be located in Cowlitz and 
Clark counties, Washington, and Multnomah County, Oregon. The new BPA 
transmission line would extend generally southeast from a new 
substation proposed near Castle Rock in Cowlitz County, Washington 
(referred to as Castle Rock Substation), to a new substation proposed 
near BPA's existing Troutdale Substation near the city of Troutdale in 
Multnomah County, Oregon. Multiple preliminary transmission line route 
segments have been identified that, when combined, result in various 
transmission line routing alternatives approximately 70 miles long. The 
proposed transmission line and substations are needed to help ease 
transmission system congestion in the southwest Washington and 
northwest Oregon area, allowing BPA to fulfill existing and new 
transmission service requests for existing and new generation; improve 
system reliability; and meet continued electric load growth.
    With this NOI, BPA is initiating the public scoping process for the 
EIS. BPA is requesting comments about potential environmental impacts 
that it should consider as it prepares the EIS for the proposed 
project, as well as comments on preliminary transmission line route 
segments and the proposed substations that have been identified.
    In accordance with DOE regulations for compliance with floodplain 
and wetlands environmental review requirements, BPA will prepare a 
floodplain and wetlands assessment to avoid or minimize potential harm 
to or within any affected floodplains and wetlands. The assessment will 
be included in the EIS.

DATES: Oral and written scoping comments are due to BPA no later than 
November 23, 2009. Comments may also be made at the EIS scoping 
meetings to be held between October 27 and November 7, 2009 at the 
addresses below.

ADDRESSES: Send letters with comments on the proposed scope of the EIS 
to I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project, P.O. Box 9250, Portland, OR, 
97207, or by fax to (888) 315-4503. You may also call BPA's comment and 
information line at (800) 230-6593 and leave a comment, or submit 
comments online at http://www.bpa.gov/go/i5. BPA will post all comments 
on BPA's Web site at http://www.bpa.gov/i5. Submit requests to be 
placed on the project mailing list, for information, and questions to 
the same address and numbers above.
    On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, an open-house style scoping meeting 
will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Amboy Middle School, 22115 NE 
Chelatchie Road, Amboy, Washington 98601. On Wednesday, October 28, 
2009, a scoping meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Clark 
College, Gaiser Student Hall, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, 
Washington 98663. On Thursday, October 29, 2009, a scoping meeting will 
be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Mark Morris High School, 1602 Mark 
Morris Court, Longview, Washington 98632. On Tuesday, November 3, 2009, 
a scoping meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Liberty Middle 
School, 1612 NE Garfield Street, Camas, Washington 98607. On Thursday, 
November 5, 2009, a scoping meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
at Gresham Holiday Inn, 2752 NE Hogan Drive, Gresham, Oregon 97030. On 
Saturday, November 7, 2009, a scoping meeting will be held from 1 p.m. 
to 4 p.m. at Hazel Dell Grange, 7509 NE Hazel Dell Avenue, Vancouver, 
Washington 98665. The Hazel Dell Grange is not wheelchair accessible.
    At these informal meetings we will provide maps and other 
information about the project and have members of the project team 
available to answer questions and accept oral and written comments. You 
may stop by any time during these open houses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Wittpenn, Environmental Project 
Lead, Bonneville Power Administration KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, 
Oregon 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct telephone 
503-230-

[[Page 52483]]

3297; or e-mail [email protected]. You may also contact Mark Korsness, 
Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration TNP-3, PO Box 3621, 
Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; 
direct telephone 360-619-6326; or e-mail [email protected]. Additional 
information can be found at BPA's Web site: http://www.bpa.gov/go/i5.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Southwest Washington and northwest Oregon, 
including Vancouver, Longview, Portland, and surrounding suburban 
cities and towns, have a high concentration of industrial, commercial 
and residential electric load. The power plants that serve this area 
include hydroelectric dams; gas, coal and nuclear plants; and more 
recently, wind farms. These power facilities use the electrical 
transmission system to get the power they produce to the people and 
industries that use it.
    The transmission system in this area has become increasingly 
congested and is approaching its capacity as power production, 
particularly from wind, and electrical use have increased. In addition, 
BPA continues to receive requests for more transmission service. BPA's 
annual Network Open Season process allows utilities, power generators, 
and other power marketers to make long-term transmission service 
requests on BPA's transmission system. Existing and new requests 
received through BPA's 2008 Network Open Season process further 
increases the likelihood that the transmission system will exceed its 
capacity. BPA must respond to these requests for transmission service 
under its Open Access Transmission Tariff. This tariff, which is 
generally consistent with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's 
pro forma open access tariff, has procedures that provide access to 
BPA's transmission system for all eligible customers, consistent with 
all BPA requirements (including the availability or development of 
sufficient transmission capacity) and subject to an environmental 
review under NEPA. If an additional line is not built, continued 
congestion will jeopardize transmission system reliability and, 
possibly, lead to power interruptions or blackouts in the area.
    The proposed I-5 Corridor Reinforcement Project would help respond 
to these existing and new requests for transmission service, help 
accommodate load growth, and address reliability concerns. BPA, 
therefore, will prepare an EIS under NEPA to assist the agency as it 
decides whether to build the proposed project, and if a decision is 
made to build a line, which transmission line alternative should be 
constructed.
    BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. In 
furtherance of existing cooperative agreements between BPA and the 
States of Washington and Oregon, the Washington Energy Facility Site 
Evaluation Council (Washington EFSEC) and the Oregon Energy Facility 
Siting Council (Oregon EFSC) will be cooperating agencies in the NEPA 
process. Among other things, these state agencies will assist BPA in 
evaluating transmission line alternatives, identifying State interests 
that should be addressed in the EIS, and participating in preparation 
of the EIS. Additional cooperating agencies for the EIS may be 
identified as the proposed project proceeds through the NEPA process.
    Preliminary Route Segments for Developing Alternatives. BPA's 
proposed 500-kV transmission line would extend from a new substation 
near Castle Rock, Washington, to a new substation near Troutdale, 
Oregon. BPA has identified many preliminary transmission line route 
segments that can be combined in various ways to form different 
potential routes for the proposed transmission line. All potential 
transmission line routes generally extend southeast from Castle Rock 
through Cowlitz County, Washington, and then generally south through 
Clark County, Washington, to a proposed crossing of the Columbia River 
near the city of Camas, Washington. Just south of this river crossing, 
all potential line routes would end at the proposed new substation 
directly north of the city of Troutdale in Oregon.
    The route segments vary in length and are composed of either 
existing or new rights-of-way, or parallel existing rights-of-way. 
Route segments cross privately and publicly owned urban and rural 
lands. Depending on the combination of these route segments, potential 
routes for the proposed transmission line vary in length but are 
approximately 70 miles long.
    While many preliminary route segments have already been identified, 
other route segments may be identified and existing route segments may 
be modified or eliminated as a result of the scoping process. BPA will 
use comments received during the scoping period, continuing discussions 
with various interested parties, and further transmission line design 
work to develop route segments into transmission line alternatives to 
be studied in the draft EIS. BPA will also consider the No Action 
Alternative, that is, not building the transmission line and 
substations, in the draft EIS.
    Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Issues. 
The potential environmental issues identified for most transmission 
line projects involve land use, recreation, transportation and 
aviation, socioeconomics, cultural resources, visual resources, public 
health and safety, noise, electric and magnetic field effects, 
sensitive plants and animals and their habitats, soil erosion, 
wetlands, floodplains, and fish and water resources. BPA will conduct a 
45-day scoping period during which tribes; affected landowners; 
concerned citizens; special interest groups; local, State, and Federal 
governments; and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the EIS, including the route segments under consideration 
and the environmental impacts to be evaluated. Scoping will help BPA 
add, modify, or eliminate route segments and ultimately help BPA 
develop transmission line alternatives to be studied in the EIS. 
Scoping will also ensure that a full range of issues related to this 
proposal is addressed in the EIS, and also will identify significant or 
potentially significant impacts that may result from the proposed 
project. When completed, the draft EIS will be circulated for review 
and comment, and BPA will hold public meetings to answer questions and 
receive comments. BPA will consider and respond to comments received on 
the draft EIS in the final EIS. The final EIS is expected to be 
published in spring 2012. BPA's decision will be documented in a Record 
of Decision that will follow the final EIS.

    Issued in Portland, Oregon, on October 2, 2009.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. E9-24469 Filed 10-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P