[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61020-61021]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-24521]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLUTC00000-L51010000-ER0000-LVRWJ09J4050; UTU-83067]


Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Sigurd to Red Butte No. 2--345-Kilovolt Transmission Line 
Project; Utah

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA) as amended and the Council on Environmental Quality 
regulations, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Sigurd to Red Butte No. 
2--345-Kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (Project) and by this 
notice announces the availability of the Final EIS for public review.

DATES: The document will be available for public review for 30 days 
following the publication of a Notice of Availability (NOA) in the 
Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal, 
State, and local government agencies and to other stakeholders. Copies 
are available for public review at the following offices:

 BLM Cedar City Field Office, 176 East D.L. Sargent Drive, 
Cedar City, Utah 84721
 BLM Richfield Field Office, 150 East, 900 North, Richfield, 
Utah 84701
 BLM Fillmore Field Office, 35 East, 500 North, Fillmore, Utah 
84631
 Dixie National Forest Office, 1789 North Wedgewood Lane, Cedar 
City, Utah 84721
 Fishlake National Forest Office, 115 East 900 North, 
Richfield, Utah 84701

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact 
Tamara Gertsch, National Project Manager; telephone 307-775-6115; email 
[email protected]; address BLM Cedar City Field Office, 176 East D.L. 
Sargent Drive, Cedar City, Utah 84721. 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. 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: PacifiCorp, doing business as Rocky Mountain 
Power (Proponent), has filed applications for a right-of-way across 
lands administered by the BLM and a special use permit across lands 
administered by the United States Forest Service (USFS) and is 
proposing to construct, operate, and maintain the Project, a single-
circuit, alternating current 345-kV, overhead transmission line. If 
approved, the BLM would issue a right-of-way grant and the USFS would 
issue a special-use permit authorization for the transmission line and 
associated facilities. The transmission line would be located between 
the existing Sigurd Substation near Richfield in Sevier County, Utah, 
and the existing Red Butte Substation near the community of Central in 
Washington County, Utah, a distance of approximately 170 miles, 
depending on the route selected. The Project also includes the addition 
of new substation equipment for interconnecting the transmission line 
at the existing Sigurd Substation. When completed, the Project would 
provide about 600 megawatts of electrical capacity to respond to 
anticipated load growth in southwestern Utah. Alternative routes 
considered in the Final EIS cross Federal, State, tribal, and private 
lands. The requested right-of-way width on Federal lands for 
construction and operation of the Project is 150 feet. The Proponent 
plans to use predominantly steel-pole H-frame tower structures from 80 
to 140 feet in height with average spans between structures of 800 to 
1,200 feet (5 to 7 structures per mile). Permanent and temporary access 
roads, a minimum of 14-feet wide, would be needed for the majority of 
the Project. Temporary access roads would be needed for construction 
only. Temporary work space would be needed during construction for 
material storage, conductor tensioning sites, and to accommodate 
vehicles and equipment.
    Under Federal law, the BLM is responsible for responding to 
applications for rights-of-way on BLM-administered lands. Similarly, 
under Federal law, the USFS is responsible for responding to 
applications for special-use permits on lands they administer. In 
accordance with NEPA, the BLM prepared a Draft EIS using an 
interdisciplinary approach in order to consider a variety of resource 
issues and concerns identified during internal, interagency, and public 
scoping. An updated inventory of lands with wilderness characteristics 
was used for this project and lands with wilderness characteristics 
were analyzed in the Draft EIS and Final EIS. An NOA for the Draft EIS 
for the Project was published by the EPA in the Federal Register on 
June 3, 2011 (ER-FRL-8997-3), initiating a 45-day public comment 
period. In addition, the BLM conducted four open-house meetings in June 
2011. Comments received on the Draft EIS were incorporated, where 
appropriate, to clarify the analysis presented and are included in the 
Final EIS. The Final EIS analyzes 13 alternative routes and 2 route 
variations on Federal lands, including the Agency Preferred 
Alternative.
    BLM is the designated lead Federal agency for preparation of the 
EIS as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. Agencies with legal jurisdiction or 
special expertise participating as cooperating agencies in preparation 
of the EIS include: USFS (Dixie and Fishlake National Forests); United 
States Army Corps of Engineers; National Park Service; the State of 
Utah; Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration; 
Millard, Sevier, Beaver, Iron, and Washington Counties, Utah; and the 
cities of St. George and Enterprise, Utah.
    In response to Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 15926), a Programmatic EIS was prepared by the Department of the 
Interior and Department of Energy for energy corridors in the 11 
Western states (including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, 
California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico). An NOA of 
the Final Programmatic EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
November 28, 2008 (73 FR 72521). Records of Decision (ROD) on the 
Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, Designation of Energy 
Corridors on Federal Land in the 11 Western States (DOE/EIS-0386), 
signed January 14, 2009, designate energy corridors and

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provide guidance, best management practices, and mitigation measures to 
be used where linear facilities are proposed crossing Federal lands. 
Where the Programmatic EIS identifies new corridors for the managing 
agencies, the RODs also amend relevant BLM Resource Management Plans 
and USFS Land and Resource Management Plans to include the new 
corridors. Designation of corridors does not require their use, nor 
does such designation exempt the Federal agencies from conducting an 
environmental review on each project. The BLM has considered the use of 
the corridors in preparation of the Sigurd to Red Butte EIS and has 
incorporated best management practices and mitigation measures.
    Documents pertinent to the right-of-way application and the Final 
EIS for the Project may be viewed on the BLM's project Web site at: 
http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/fo/cedar_city/planning/sigurd_to_red_butte.html or examined at the addresses listed in this notice.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1502.19.

Juan Palma,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-24521 Filed 10-4-12; 8:45 am]
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