[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 239 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77859-77861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31310]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy Program: Wind 
(DOE/EIS-0459)

AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: DOE announces its intention to prepare a Programmatic EIS with 
the State of Hawai`i as joint lead agencies pursuant to the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 and the Hawai`i Environmental 
Policy Act. The Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy Program: Wind 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (hereinafter referred to as 
the Hawai`i Wind EIS or the EIS) will assess the foreseeable 
environmental impacts which may arise from wind energy development 
under the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy Program (HIREP). Hawai`i 
proposes to facilitate the development of wind-generated electric 
energy and the required improvements to the existing electric 
transmission infrastructure in Hawai`i. This EIS is the first phase of 
a programmatic environmental review of developing and increasing 
renewable energy technologies in Hawai`i.

DATES: The public scoping period starts with the publication of this 
Notice in the Federal Register. Comments on the scope of the EIS should 
be submitted by March 1, 2011. Comments e-mailed or postmarked after 
that date will be considered to the extent practicable. DOE and Hawai`i 
will hold public scoping meetings in the first quarter of 2011. Dates 
will be announced in the Federal Register, on the DOE NEPA Web site at 
http://www.nepa.energy.gov, on the EIS Web site at wind.com">http://www.hirep-wind.com, and in local media at least 15 days before each meeting.

ADDRESSES: DOE and Hawai`i will announce locations of scoping meetings 
as indicated in DATES. Send comments on the scope of the Hawai`i Wind 
EIS or a request to be added to the EIS distribution list:
     By e-mail to wind.com">comments@hirep-wind.com.
     By submitting electronic comments on the EIS Web page at 
wind.com">http://www.hirep-wind.com.
     By facsimile (fax) to 808-586-2536, Attention Allen G. 
Kam.
     By mail to Allen G. Kam, Esq., AICP, HIREP EIS Manager, 
State of Hawai`i, Department of Business, Economic Development and 
Tourism, Renewable Energy Branch, State Energy Office, P.O. Box 2359, 
Honolulu, HI 96804.
    Information on the HIREP: Wind Phase is available at the EIS Web 
site at wind.com">http://www.hirep-wind.com. This Notice of Intent, and the draft 
and final EIS when issued, also will be posted on the DOE NEPA Web site 
at http://www.nepa.energy.gov. These documents and additional materials 
relating to this EIS will be available at:
     Hawai`i State Library, 478 South King Street, Honolulu HI 
96813.
     L[amacr]na`i Public and School Library, 555 Fraser Ave, 
L[amacr]na`i City, HI 96763.
     Wailuku Public Library, 251 High Street, Wailuku, HI 
96793.
     Moloka`i Public Library, 15 Alamalama, Kaunakakai, HI 
96748.
     Edwin H. Mo`okini Library, University of Hawai`i-Hilo, 200 
West K[amacr]wili Street, Hilo, HI 96720-4091.
     Kailua-Kona Public Library, 75-138 Hual[amacr]lai Road, 
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740-1704.
     L[imacr]hu`e Public Library, 4344 Hardy Street, 
L[imacr]hu`e, HI 96766.
     DOE Freedom of Information Act Public Reading Room, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on DOE's proposed 
action, contact Anthony J. Como, DOE NEPA Document Manager, Office of 
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of 
Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,

[[Page 77860]]

Washington, DC 20585; or at [email protected]. For general 
information about the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol Borgstrom, 
Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-54), U.S. Department 
of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; or at 
800-472-2756 or [email protected].
    For information on the Hawai`i Interisland Renewable Energy 
Program, contact Mr. Allen G. Kam, Esq., AICP, HIREP EIS Manager, State 
of Hawai`i, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, 
Renewable Energy Branch, State Energy Office, P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, 
HI 96804; or at 808-587-9023 or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

1. Background

    Section 355 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) requires the 
Secretary of Energy to assess the economic implications of the 
dependence of the State of Hawai`i on oil as a principal source of 
energy, including the technical and economic feasibility of increasing 
the contribution of renewable energy resources for the generation of 
electricity on an island by island basis. Such an assessment is to 
include, among other factors, siting and facility configuration, the 
effects on utility system reliability, and environmental 
considerations. In furtherance of the provisions of section 355 of 
EPAct, DOE and Hawai`i executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 
January 2008 that established the Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative 
(HCEI) and a long-term partnership between DOE and Hawai`i to implement 
the initiative. HCEI has a goal of providing 70 percent of the state's 
primary energy from clean energy sources by 2030 by replacing 40 
percent of fossil fuel use with renewable energy and reducing energy 
consumption by 30 percent through energy efficiency measures. Of the 
alternative renewable energy sources available in Hawai`i--including 
wind, geothermal, solar, biomass, ocean thermal energy conversion, and 
wave--wind power has been identified as the most commercially available 
and economically viable option at the present time. The island of 
O`ahu, with 80 percent of the state's population, is the island with 
the greatest energy demand; however, the island does not contain 
sufficient renewable energy potential to meet the HCEI's goals. The 
islands of Maui, L[amacr]na`i, and Moloka`i have the most abundant and 
viable wind resources of those islands closest to O`ahu. The analysis 
provided in the O`ahu Wind Integration and Transmission Study (November 
2010) (additional information at http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/owits.html), prepared by DOE's National Renewable 
Energy Laboratory, concluded that bringing 400 megawatts (MW) of wind-
generated power to O`ahu via undersea cable (i.e., the Hawai`i 
Interisland Wind Program) is technically feasible and should be 
considered an important part in reaching the HCEI's goals. Subsequent 
environmental reviews may address non-wind renewable technologies.

2. Environmental Review Process

    The Hawai`i Wind EIS will be prepared pursuant to NEPA, as amended, 
the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) NEPA regulations (40 CFR 
parts 1500-1508), the DOE NEPA implementing procedures (10 CFR part 
1021), and the Hawai`i Environmental Policy Act (Hawai`i Revised 
Statutes (HRS) chapter 343). The EIS will assess the potential 
environmental impacts from the development of wind generation 
facilities, the transmission required to deliver the wind-generated 
energy to O`ahu, and the required improvements to the existing electric 
transmission infrastructure on O`ahu. Because the proposed actions and 
alternatives may involve activities in floodplains and wetlands, the 
draft EIS may include a floodplain and wetland assessment prepared in 
accordance with 10 CFR part 1022, Compliance with Floodplain and 
Wetland Environmental Review Requirements. The proposed actions and 
alternatives will involve undersea transmission cables that will 
transect federal Outer Continental Shelf waters, where the Department 
of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and 
Enforcement (BOEMRE) has exclusive authority over right-of-way grants 
for undersea renewable energy transmission cables.
    DOE and Hawai`i invite agencies, Native Hawaiian and other 
organizations, and members of the public to participate in developing 
the scope of the EIS--that is, the proposed actions, the range of 
reasonable alternatives and environmental impacts and other issues to 
be considered--by submitting written comments and by participating in 
public scoping meetings that DOE and Hawai`i will conduct jointly. DOE 
and Hawai`i also invite those agencies with jurisdiction by law or 
special expertise to be cooperating agencies in EIS preparation.

3. DOE Purpose and Need for Agency Action and Proposed Action

    DOE's purpose and need for agency action is to meet its obligations 
under section 355 of EPAct and the 2008 MOU with Hawai`i to transform 
the way in which renewable energy and efficiency resources are planned 
and used in the State. DOE's proposed action is to work with and 
support Hawai`i in the implementation of the HCEI.

4. Hawai`i's Purpose and Need for State Action and Proposed Action

    Hawai`i's purpose and need for action is to determine how to use 
its wind energy resources to meet the 2030 goals set forth in the HCEI. 
Hawai`i's proposed action is to facilitate renewable energy development 
that will be required for the State of Hawai`i to meet the HCEI 
renewable energy goals, including the development of wind resources on 
the islands of Maui, L[amacr]na`i, and/or Moloka`i and the required 
improvements to the existing electric transmission infrastructure, 
including undersea cables to transmit renewable energy generation to 
O`ahu.

5. Alternatives

    Alternatives to be analyzed in this EIS include the proposed 
action, which would provide for the implementation of an oversight 
program to develop up to 400 MW of wind energy on the Maui County 
islands of Maui, L[amacr]na`i, and/or Moloka`i and transmission of that 
energy to O`ahu. A range of wind development projects could be pursued 
under the proposed action, and include varying power capacities and 
configurations among the islands, undersea cable corridors and routes, 
and locational criteria for landing sites (see www.hirep-wind.com for 
additional information including conceptual maps). The EIS will address 
scenarios under the proposed action that consider a programmatic 
approach to all wind energy deriving from a single island in Maui 
County (i.e., Maui, L[amacr]na`i, or Moloka`i) and all wind energy 
deriving from a combination of generation on two or more islands in 
Maui County, along with associated programmatic approaches to cable 
corridors and routes and landing site locations. The EIS will also 
analyze a no-action alternative.

6. Preliminary Identification of Environmental Issues

    The EIS will evaluate the full range of potential environmental, 
social, cultural, and economic impacts associated with a proposed wind 
energy program encompassing the islands of Maui, L[amacr]na`i and 
Moloka`i and use areas on O`ahu. The EIS also will include a

[[Page 77861]]

cultural impact assessment prepared in accordance with Hawai`i law, 
specifically Act 50, SLH 2000.
    Impacts will be analyzed across a number of resource areas, 
including:
     Air quality (including climate change and greenhouse gas 
emissions).
     Water resources and drainage.
     Coastal zone resources.
     Geography, geology, and soils.
     Land and submerged land use.
     Threatened and endangered species, special status species, 
and related sensitive resources such as the Hawaiian Islands Humpback 
Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
     Land transportation.
     Marine transportation and commerce.
     Airspace utilization.
     Public health and safety.
     Noise.
     Natural hazards.
     Hazardous materials.
     Accidents and intentional destructive acts.
     Cultural and historical resources.
     Recreational resources.
     Visual resources.
     Socioeconomic impacts, community services and 
infrastructure.
     Environmental justice considerations (disproportionately 
high and adverse impacts to minority and low income populations).
     Cumulative impacts (past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions).
     Irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources.
    The programmatic analysis will identify best management practices, 
outline regulatory procedures, address mitigation of environmental 
impacts and support the development of general guidance for major 
components of an interisland undersea cable energy grid for the 
transmission of wind energy.

7. Public Participation: Scoping, EIS Distribution, Schedule

    As indicated in the DATES section, public scoping meetings will be 
conducted in early 2011. Each scoping meeting will be structured in two 
parts: first an informal ``workshop'' discussion period that will not 
be recorded, then a formal commenting session, which will be 
transcribed by a court stenographer. The meetings will provide 
interested parties the opportunity to view exhibits on the HIREP: Wind, 
ask questions, and submit comments orally or in writing. 
Representatives from DOE, Hawai`i, and any cooperating agencies will be 
available to answer questions and provide additional information to 
participants. Individuals who submit comments during the scoping 
process will receive paper or electronic copies of the draft EIS, 
according to their preference. Persons who do not wish to submit 
comments or suggestions at this time, but would like to receive a copy 
of the draft EIS when it is issued should submit a request as provided 
in the ADDRESSES section and include their preference for a paper or 
electronic copy.
    In preparing the draft EIS, DOE and Hawai`i will consider comments 
received during the scoping period. The agencies plan to issue the 
draft EIS by October 2011. After the agencies issue the draft EIS, the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will publish a notice of 
availability of the draft EIS in the Federal Register, which will begin 
a minimum 45-day public comment period. In addition to and concurrent 
with this NOI publication in the Federal Register, the State of Hawai`i 
is preparing a state-level environmental review notice. That notice 
along with this NOI will be published in the State of Hawai`i 
Environmental Notice consistent with all state requirements.
    The agencies will announce how to comment on the draft EIS and will 
hold public hearings during the public comment period, but no sooner 
than 15 days after the notice of availability is published. In 
preparing the final EIS, the agencies will respond to comments received 
on the draft EIS. The agencies plan to issue the final EIS by April 
2012. No sooner than 60 days after the Environmental Protection Agency 
publishes a Notice of Availability of the final EIS, DOE and Hawai`i 
will each issue its Record of Decision regarding their actions 
considered in the EIS.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2010.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2010-31310 Filed 12-13-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P