[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19744-19745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8062]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Final Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line Project 
Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument Management Plan Amendment

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA; Bureau of Land Management, USDI and 
National Park Service, USDI.

ACTION: Notice of availability

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Forest Service (FS), with the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS) as cooperating 
agencies, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) 
for the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line Project and a Proposed 
Management Plan Amendment (PMPA) for the Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument, and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's PMPA/
FEIS. A person who meets the conditions and files a protest must file 
the protest within 30 days of the date that the Environmental 
Protection Agency publishes this Notice of Availability in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line 
Project FEIS/PMPA for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument 
have been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government 
agencies and to other stakeholders. Copies of the FEIS/PMPA are 
available for public inspection at the following BLM offices: Grand 
Staircase-Escalante National Monument Headquarters, 190 E. Center 
Street, Kanab, UT; Kanab Field Office, 318 N 100 E, Kanab, UT; Utah 
State Office, 440 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT. Interested persons may 
also download and/or review the FEIS/PMPA on the Internet at http://fs.usda.gov/goto/dixie/projects.
    All protests related to the Grand Staircase Escalante National 
Monument PMPA must be in writing and mailed to one of the following 
addresses:

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              Regular mail                        Overnight mail
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BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda    BLM Director (210), Attention:
 Williams, P.O. Box 71383, Washington,    Brenda Williams, 20 M Street,
 DC 20035.                                SE, Room 2134LM, Washington,
                                          DC 20036.
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Susan Baughman, Dixie National 
Forest, USDA Forest Service, Tropic to Hatch 138kV Transmission Line 
Project EIS Project Leader, 1789 N. Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah 
84720 or; Matthew Betenson, Assistant Grand Staircase-Escalante 
National Monument Manager--Planning and Support Services, 190 E Center, 
Kanab, Utah 84741/phone (435) 644-4309.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS/PMPA evaluates the environmental 
effects of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Tropic 
to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line proposed by Garkane Energy 
Cooperative in Garfield County, Utah, on lands currently managed by the 
U.S. Forest Service, Dixie National Forest; U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management, Kanab Field Office, Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
Monument; State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands 
Administration; and potentially the National Park Service, Bryce Canyon 
National Park. The transmission line would be approximately 30 miles 
long, beginning in Tropic, Utah and extending west to Hatch, Utah. 
Associated Federal actions include Dixie National Forest issuance of a 
special use easement, Bureau of Land Management issuance of a right-of-
way, proposed amendment to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National 
Monument Management Plan and issuance of a right-of-way, potential 
Bryce Canyon National Park issuance of a special park permit for a 
right-of-way, and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands 
Administration issuance of a right-of-way for construction and 
operation of the project. The Preferred Alternative in the FEIS/PMPA 
would amend the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management 
Plan (2000) by: (a) Designating a 300-foot wide Passage Zone along an 
approximate three and three-quarter mile path through an area currently 
designated as Primitive Zone in the Monument Management Plan, and (b) 
changing the existing VRM Class designation from Class II to Class III 
within this linear area. The plan amendment decisions would be 
necessary to accommodate the potential new transmission line.
    Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS Plan Amendment were received 
from the public and from internal interagency governmental review. 
These comments were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the 
FEIS/PMPA. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, 
but did not significantly change the FEIS/PMPA. This final document is 
expected to be used in conjunction with the Draft EIS published in 
December 2009. The two documents, together, make up the FEIS/PMPA for 
the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the FEIS/PMPA may be found in the ``Dear Reader Letter'' of 
the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line FEIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-
2. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests 
unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either 
regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest 
period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-mail or 
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct faxed protests

[[Page 19745]]

to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator at (202) 912-7212, and 
e-mails to [email protected].
    All protests, including the follow-up letter to e-mails or faxes, 
must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth 
in the ADDRESSES section above. Before including your phone number, e-
mail address, or other personal identifying information in your 
protest, you should be aware that your entire protest--including your 
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any 
time. While you can ask us in your protest to withhold your personal 
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we 
will be able to do so.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, 40 CFR 1500-1508, 43 CFR 1610.2, 
43 CFR 1610.5, and 36 CFR 220.

    Dated: March 24, 2011.
Robert G. MacWhorter,
Forest Supervisor--Dixie National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-8062 Filed 4-7-11; 8:45 am]
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