[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 165 (Friday, August 24, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51559-51560]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20892]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUTC010000-L51010000-ER0000-LVRWJ10J4080; UTU-044897]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed Cameron to Milford--138 kV Transmission Line Project and 
Possible Amendment to the Cedar Beaver Garfield Antimony Resource 
Management Plan for the Cedar City Field Office, Cedar City, UT

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Cedar 
City Field Office, Cedar City, Utah, intends to prepare an 
Environmental Assessment (EA) and possible Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) amendment and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the 
scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EA and 
possible RMP amendment. Comments on issues may be submitted in writing 
until September 24, 2012. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local 
media, newspapers and the BLM Web site at: https://www.ut.blm.gov/enbb/index.php. In order to be included in the EA, all comments must be 
received prior to the close of the scoping period or 15 days after the 
last public meeting, whichever is later.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Cameron to Milford--
138 kV Transmission Line Project by any of the following methods:
     Web site: https://www.ut.blm.gov/enbb/index.php.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 435-865-3058.
     Mail: Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City Field Office, 
176 East DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721, ATTN: Karen McAdams-
Kunze.

    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Cedar 
City Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Karen McAdams-Kunze, 
telephone 435-865-3073; Bureau of Land Management, Cedar City Field 
Office, 176 East DL Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah; email 
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business 
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a 
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant PacifiCorp, doing business as 
Rocky Mountain Power, has requested a right-of-way (ROW) authorization 
to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 138 kV single-
circuit overhead transmission line on Federal lands. The project would 
provide an additional 27 megawatts of reliable electrical capacity by 
2014 to resolve current system constraints and respond to anticipated 
load growth in western Beaver County, Utah. The proposed project would 
begin at the existing Cameron Substation near Beaver, Utah, and 
terminate at the existing Milford Substation near the town of Milford, 
Utah. The project area would span approximately 19 miles, about 12 of 
which would be on BLM-administered lands, depending on the route 
selected. Rocky Mountain Power has identified alternative routes 
between the two substations. These routes would affect Federal, State, 
and private lands. The requested ROW width on Federal lands is 60 feet 
except for a portion of one alternative route. The requested width for 
that portion is 100 feet where it passes over steep terrain. Rocky 
Mountain Power proposes to use predominately single wood pole 
structures, approximately 55 to 90 feet in height with average spans 
between poles of 350 to 500 feet. No new permanent roads would be 
constructed. Temporary spur routes approximately 12 feet wide and 
temporary workspace would be needed during construction for material 
storage, conductor-tensioning sites, and to accommodate vehicles and 
equipment.
    Authorization of this proposal may require amending the Cedar 
Beaver Garfield Antimony RMP, approved in 1986, by changing 
approximately 594 acres of an existing 27,494-acre Visual Resource 
Management (VRM) Class II to Class III or IV. This would occur in the 
Mineral Mountains along the existing Pass Road, which is a Beaver 
County, Utah, recorded Class B Road. By this notice, the BLM is 
complying with requirements in 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of 
potential amendments to land use plans,

[[Page 51560]]

predicated on the finding of the EA. Should an RMP amendment be 
necessary, it will be based on the following preliminary planning 
criteria:
     The RMP amendment will focus only on VRM class 
designations;
     The RMP amendment will comply with NEPA, FLPMA, and other 
applicable laws, executive orders, regulations and policy;
     The RMP amendment will recognize valid existing rights;
     The BLM will use a collaborative and multi-jurisdictional 
approach, where possible to determine the desired future condition of 
the public lands;
     The BLM will consider the management prescriptions on 
adjoining lands to minimize inconsistent management; and
     Management prescriptions will focus on the relative values 
of resources and not necessarily the combination of uses that will give 
the greatest economic return or economic output.

The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues and planning criteria that will influence the scope of the 
environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the process 
for developing the EA. At present, the BLM has identified the following 
preliminary issues: cultural resources; crucial deer, elk, greater 
sage-grouse and upland game habitat, migratory bird habitat; special 
status species; surface water quality; recreation; socioeconomics; soil 
erosion; riparian areas; forestry; vegetation management; wilderness 
character; and visual resources.
    You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing 
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the 
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To 
be most helpful, comments should be submitted by the close of the 30-
day scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later.
    The BLM will use NEPA public participation requirements to assist 
the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements under 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 
470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about historic 
and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by the 
proposed project will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating 
impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 
of the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed project that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by 
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis 
as a cooperating agency.
    Before including an address, phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your comment, be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us to withhold 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Shelley J. Smith,
Acting Associate State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-20892 Filed 8-23-12; 8:45 am]
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