[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 27 (Friday, February 8, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9358-9359]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-02805]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service


Dairyland Power Cooperative: CapX 2020 Hampton-Rochester-La 
Crosse 345-kV Transmission Line Proposal

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has issued a Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) related to 
providing financial assistance to the Dairyland Power Cooperative 
(Dairyland) for its share in the construction of a proposed 345-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line and associated infrastructure between 
Hampton, Minnesota and the La Crosse area in Wisconsin (Proposal). The 
Administrator of RUS has signed the ROD, which was effective upon 
signing. The EIS was prepared pursuant to the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) and in accordance with the 
Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) and RUS' 
Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR part 1794).

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the ROD or for further information, 
contact: Stephanie Strength, Environmental Protection Specialist, USDA, 
Rural Utilities Service, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Room 2244, Stop 
1571, Washington, DC 20250-1571, or email 
[email protected]. The ROD is also available at RUS' Web 
site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UWP-CapX2020-Hampton-Rochester-LaCrosse.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As the lead federal agency, and as part of 
its broad environmental review process, RUS must take into account the 
effect of the Proposal on historic properties in accordance with 
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) 
and its implementing regulation ``Protection of Historic Properties'' 
(36 CFR part 800). Pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3), RUS used its 
procedures for public involvement under NEPA, in part, to meet its 
responsibilities to solicit and consider the views of the public and 
other interested parties during the Section 106 review process. 
Accordingly, comments submitted in the EIS process also informed RUS's 
decision making in the Section 106 review process.
    Dairyland is participating in the proposal with a number of other 
utilities. The other participants include Xcel Energy [comprised of 
Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation (NSPM), and 
Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin Corporation (NSPW)], 
Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (SMMPA), Rochester Public 
Utilities (RPU), and WPPI Energy, Inc. (WPPI)]. The purpose of the 
proposal is to: (1) Improve community reliability of the transmission 
system in Rochester, Winona, La Crosse, and the surrounding areas, 
which include areas Dairyland currently provides electrical service; 
(2) improve the regional reliability of the transmission system; and 
(3) increase generation outlet capacity.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service (USFWS) participated in the EIS as cooperating 
agencies, with RUS as the lead federal agency. The USACE and the USFWS 
will each issue its own ROD as necessary. The proposal includes 
construction and operation of a 345-kV transmission line and associated 
infrastructure, two 161-kV transmission lines in the vicinity of 
Rochester, Minnesota, and two new and three expanded substations, with 
a total transmission line length of approximately 171 miles. Counties 
through which the proposal will pass include Dakota, Goodhue, Wabasha, 
and Olmsted in Minnesota, and La Crosse, Trempealeau, and Buffalo in 
Wisconsin.
    The decision documented in RUS' ROD is that RUS agrees to consider, 
subject to loan approval, financing Dairyland's share in the proposal. 
Details regarding RUS' regulatory authority, rationale for the 
decision, and compliance with applicable regulations are included in 
the ROD.
    RUS published its Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft EIS in 
the Federal Register on December 16, 2011 (76 FR 78235-78236), and in 
newspapers of general circulation within the proposal's area of 
environmental impact. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) 
published its notice of receipt of the Draft EIS in the Federal 
Register on December 16, 2011 (76 FR 78235-78236). The comment period 
for the Draft EIS was extended from 45 to 60 days and ended on February 
13, 2012. Public hearings to receive comments on the Draft EIS were 
held from January 9 to 13, 2012, in Alma and Galesville, Wisconsin; 
Wanamingo, Cannon Falls, and Plainview, Minnesota. All comments 
received on the Draft EIS were addressed in the Final EIS. RUS 
published its NOA of the Final EIS in the Federal Register on July 13, 
2012 (77 FR 41369-41370), and in newspapers of general circulation 
within the Proposal's area of environmental impact. USEPA published its 
notice of receipt of the Final EIS in the Federal Register on July 20, 
2012 (77 FR 42727-42728). The 30-day comment period ended on August 20, 
2012. Comments received on the Final EIS were addressed in the ROD. 
After considering alternatives to meet the purpose and need of the 
proposal, Dairyland identified participation in construction of the 
proposal as its best course of action. A number of alternatives to meet 
the purpose and need were considered, but not studied in detail, 
including demand side management, use of existing generation and 
transmission, new generation, decentralized generation systems, 
undergrounding of the transmission line, and a number of route 
alternatives.
    Among the alternatives addressed in detail in the EIS is the No 
Action alternative, under which the proposal

[[Page 9359]]

would not be undertaken, and a number of route alternatives identified 
and considered in the EISs prepared for the proposal by the States of 
Minnesota and Wisconsin.
    Based on an evaluation of the information and impact analyses 
presented in the EIS, RUS finds that the evaluation of reasonable 
alternatives is consistent with NEPA and RUS Environmental Policies and 
Procedures. Details regarding RUS' regulatory authority, rationale for 
the decision, and compliance with applicable regulations are included 
in the ROD. Because the proposal may involve action in floodplains or 
wetlands, this Notice also serves as a final notice of action in 
floodplains and wetlands (in accordance with Executive Orders 11988 and 
11990).
    This ROD is not a decision on Dairyland's loan application and 
therefore not an approval of the expenditure of federal funds. This 
notice of the ROD concludes RUS' environmental review process in 
accordance with NEPA and RUS' Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 
CFR 1794). The ultimate decision as to loan approval depends upon the 
conclusion of this environmental review process plus financial and 
engineering analyses. Issuance of the ROD will allow these reviews to 
proceed.

    Dated: January 11, 2013.
John Charles Padalino,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2013-02805 Filed 2-7-13; 8:45 am]
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