[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 3 (Friday, January 4, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 756-757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31609]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLORW00000 L51010000.ER0000.WBSLVRWH09570; HAG-12-0154]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Vantage-Pomona Heights 230kV Transmission 
Line Project in Yakima, Grant, Benton, and Kittitas Counties, WA

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, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Vantage-
Pomona Heights 230kV Transmission Line Project and by this notice is 
announcing the opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft EIS within 45 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or hearings 
and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days in advance 
through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Vantage-Pomona 
Heights 230kV Transmission Line Project by any of the following 
methods:
     Email: [email protected] (please reference Vantage 
to Pomona Heights EIS in the subject line).
     Mail/hand-deliver to: BLM Wenatchee Field Office, Attn: 
Vantage to Pomona Heights EIS, 915 Walla Walla Avenue, Wenatchee, 
Washington 98801-1521.
     Fax: 509-665-2121: Attention Vantage to Pomona Heights EIS 
Project Lead.

Copies of the Draft EIS are available at the BLM Wenatchee Field Office 
at the address listed above and electronically at the following Web 
site: http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/spokane/plans/vph230.php.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Schurger, Realty Specialist, 
at 509-655-2100; or 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

[[Page 757]]

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 project proponent, Pacific Power, has 
filed applications for rights-of-way with the BLM, the U.S. Department 
of Defense Joint Base Lewis McChord-Yakima Training Center (Yakima 
Training Center), and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) for 
construction, operation, and maintenance of a 230-kilovolt (kV) 
transmission line from Pacific Power's Pomona Heights substation 
located east of Selah, Washington, in Yakima County to the Bonneville 
Power Administration Vantage substation located just east of the 
Wanapum Dam in Grant County, Washington. The BLM is the Federal lead 
agency for the NEPA analysis process and preparation of the EIS. 
Cooperating agencies include: The Yakima Training Center; Reclamation; 
Bonneville Power Administration; Grant County and Yakima County, 
Washington; and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
    The proponent's interest in the new line is to enhance overall 
operating flexibility and security of the regional transmission grid 
and to improve system reliability in the Yakima Valley.
    As suggested by Pacific Power, under all alternatives, most of the 
proposed transmission line would be constructed on H-Frame wood pole 
structures between 65- and 90-feet tall and spaced approximately 650 to 
1,000 feet apart depending on terrain. In developed or agricultural 
areas, single wood or steel monopole structures would be used. The 
single pole structures would be between 80- and 110-feet tall and 
spaced approximately 400 to 700 feet apart. The right-of-way width for 
the H-Frame structure type would be between 125 to 150 feet and for the 
single pole structure type between 75 to 100 feet. For the Columbia 
River crossing either near the Midway substation or below the Wanapum 
Dam, steel lattice structures approximately 200-feet tall would be used 
to safely span the up to 2,800-foot crossing.
    The eight alternative routes considered in the Draft EIS range from 
61 to 67 miles in length. In addition to the proposed action, the Draft 
EIS considers the No Action alternative and identifies a preferred 
alternative. The preferred alternative would be 66.3 miles in length. 
This route would cross 5.4 miles of Federal lands managed by the BLM, 
5.4 miles of Federal lands managed by Reclamation, 12.5 miles of 
Federal land managed by the Yakima Training Center, 1 mile of State 
land, 0.4 miles of water, and 41.6 miles of privately owned lands. 
Starting at the endpoint, the preferred route would run generally east 
from the Pomona Heights Substation near Selah, Washington, continuing 
eastward, south of the Yakima Training Center through Yakima County. 
The preferred route would then travel a short distance into Benton 
County before turning northward, where it would cross the Columbia 
River into Grant County. From there the route would run northward, 
partially along the N Road and then across the Saddle Mountains to the 
Vantage Substation, east of Wanapum Dam. Other system alternatives and 
route variations were considered but eliminated from detailed study.
    The Draft EIS identifies measures to mitigate adverse impacts for 
the alternatives. Major issues brought forward during the public 
scoping process and addressed in the Draft EIS include:
    (1) Land use conflicts and effects on agricultural operations and 
property values;
    (2) Effects on wildlife habitat, plants, and animals including 
threatened, endangered, and sensitive species (especially sage-grouse);
    (3) Effects to visual resources and existing view sheds;
    (4) Effects to cultural resources;
    (5) Effects to soils and water from surface-disturbing activities;
    (6) Social and economic effects;
    (7) Management and control of invasive plant species; and
    (8) Public health and safety.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS for the Vantage-Pomona Heights 
230kV Transmission Line Project was published in the Federal Register 
on January 5, 2009 (75 FR 31240). Public participation was solicited 
through the media, mailings, and the BLM Web site. Public meetings were 
held in Selah and Mattawa, Washington.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that 
your entire comment--including your personal identifying information--
may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in 
your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from 
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10.

Daniel C. Picard,
BLM Spokane District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2012-31609 Filed 1-3-13; 8:45 am]
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