[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59165-59166]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23471]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Joint Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Tehachapi 
Renewable Transmission Project

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service, together with the California Public 
Utilities Commission (CPUC), will prepare a joint Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) to assess the effects of Federal Aviation 
Administration (FAA) recommendations on National Forest System lands 
for the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project (TRTP). The CPUC 
granted Southern California Edison (SCE) approval to build TRTP in 
Decision 09-12-044 on non-federal lands, and the Forest Service 
approved SCE to implement the TRTP on National Forest System lands in a 
2010 Record of Decision (ROD). The decision required SCE to consult 
with the FAA for aviation safety. The FAA recommended installing marker 
balls on certain transmission line spans and aviation lighting on 
certain transmission structures. These recommendations will be analyzed 
in the joint Supplemental EIS/EIR.
    Following the public review period for the Draft Supplemental EIS/
EIR the Forest Service and CPUC will issue a Final Supplemental EIS/
EIR. The Forest Service will issue a ROD to document the decision to 
either approve or deny the changes to SCE's project. As the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Lead Agency for the project, the Forest 
Service will conduct a detailed review of the effects of the FAA 
recommendations on National Forest

[[Page 59166]]

System lands. Within the Angeles National Forest it is estimated that 
approximately 649 marker balls on 119 spans and 4 structures with 
aviation lights would impact Segments 6 and 11 to implement the FAA's 
recommendations. Two of the 4 structures recommended for aviation 
lights are on private lands within the Angeles National Forest, and are 
not subject to Forest Service jurisdiction or control.
    The Forest Service is providing notice of this analysis so that 
interested and affected individuals are aware of how they may 
participate and contribute towards the final decision on the TRTP by 
the Forest Service. Note: Segment 8A undergrounding options are not the 
subject of this Notice of Intent.

DATES: The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR is expected to be published in 
January 2013. A 45-day comment period will occur following publication 
of the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: To request a copy of the Draft Supplemental EIS/SEIR or 
Final Supplemental EIS/EIR when it is available, or to obtain further 
information about the project, please write to the Angeles National 
Forest, c/o Aspen Environmental Group, 5020 Chesebro Road, Suite 200, 
Agoura Hills, CA 91301. Alternately, electronic comments may be sent to 
[email protected]. Electronic comments must be submitted as 
part of the actual email message, or as an attachment in plain text 
(.txt), Microsoft Word (.doc), rich text format(.rtf), or portable 
document format (.pdf). Information about the Supplemental EIS/EIR and 
the environmental review process will be posted on the Internet at: 
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/angeles/projects/. This site will be used to 
post links to all public documents during the Supplemental EIS/EIR 
process.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorraine Gerchas, Special Uses 
Coordinator, Forest Service, Angeles National Forest, 701 N. Santa 
Anita Ave., Arcadia, CA 91006, phone: (626) 574-5281. For additional 
information related to the project on non-National Forest System lands, 
contact Mary Jo Borak, California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), 
505 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102; phone: (415) 703-1333. 
All project-related documents are available on the Project Web site: 
ftp://ftp.cpuc.ca.gov/gopher-data/environ/tehachapi_renewables/TRTP.htm.
    Responsible Official: The responsible official is Thomas Contreras, 
Forest Supervisor, Angeles National Forest, 701 North Santa Anita 
Avenue, Arcadia, California 91006.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Lead Agencies: The Forest Service is the 
Federal Lead Agency in accordance with 40 CFR 1501(b), and is 
responsible for the preparation of the Supplemental Draft EIS/EIR and 
Supplemental Final EIS/EIR.
    Comments: Under NEPA regulations scoping is not required for 
supplements. As such, no NEPA scoping effort will occur as part of the 
Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR preparation process. No public scoping 
meetings will be held.
    The Forest Service is not accepting public comment at this time, 
but the agency may be contacted with any questions, or requests for 
documents. The Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR will be made available for 
public comment. The comment period on the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR is 
45-days from the date the US Environmental Protection Agency publishes 
the Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.
    In the Final Supplemental EIS/EIR the Forest Service is required to 
respond to substantive comments received during the comment period for 
the Draft Supplemental EIS/EIR. The Forest Service is the NEPA Lead 
Agency and the responsible official is the Forest Supervisor, Angeles 
National Forest. The responsible official will decide whether and how 
to issue Special Use authorization for the modifications to the project 
or alternatives. The responsible official will also decide how to 
mitigate impacts of these actions and will determine when and how 
monitoring of effects will take place.
    The TRTP Supplemental EIS/EIR decision and the reasons for the 
decision will be documented in the ROD. That decision will be subject 
to Forest Service Appeal Regulations (35 CFR part 215).

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7 and 1508.22; Forest Service Handbook 
1909.15, Section 22.

    Dated: September 18, 2012.
Thomas A. Contreras,
Forest Supervisor.
[FR Doc. 2012-23471 Filed 9-25-12; 8:45 am]
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