[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 60 (Friday, March 28, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17567-17569]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06945]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[14X L1109AF LLWO300000 L14300000 PN0000]


Request for Information: West-Wide Energy Corridor Review

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior; Forest Service, USDA; 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM); U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service 
(FS); and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability, are seeking the information described 
in this notice related to the West-wide Energy Corridor Review.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by May 27, 2014.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments electronically to 
[email protected]. Entire comments, including any personal 
identifying information, may be made publicly available upon request. 
While respondents may request that personal identifying information be 
withheld from the public, the BLM, FS, and DOE (Agencies) cannot 
guarantee that they will be able to do so.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen Fusilier, BLM, at 202-912-7426 
or by email at [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 
800-877-8339 to contact Mr. Fusilier during normal business hours. The 
FIRS is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. You will receive a 
reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On August 8, 2005, the President signed into 
law the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) (42 U.S.C. 15801 et seq.). In 
Section 368 of the EPAct (42 U.S.C. 15926), Congress directed the 
Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, and the Interior 
(the Secretaries) to designate corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen 
pipelines and electrical transmission and distribution facilities on 
Federal lands in the 11 contiguous Western states (Section 368 
Corridors). The Secretaries were also directed to perform any 
environmental reviews required to complete the designation of Section 
368 Corridors, incorporate the Section 368 Corridors into land use 
plans, and establish a process for identifying new Section 368 
Corridors.
    On January 14, 2009, the DOI approved a record of decision (ROD) 
that amended 92 BLM land use plans and designated approximately 5,000 
miles of Section 368 Corridors on BLM-administered lands. The affected 
States are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 
Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The FS issued a ROD on 
January 14, 2009, which amended 38 FS land use plans and designated 
approximately 990 miles of Section 368 Corridors on National Forest 
System lands in 10 states. Both RODs adopted mandatory interagency 
operating procedures (IOP) for projects sited within the Section 368 
Corridors.
    On July 7, 2009, several nonprofit organizations filed a complaint 
in the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
California, Wilderness Society v. United States Department of the 
Interior, No. 3:09-cv-03048-JW, challenging the DOI and FS RODs 
pursuant to the EPAct, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered 
Species Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
    On July 11, 2012, the court approved a settlement agreement 
(Settlement) and dismissed the case. The Settlement set forth five 
provisions with the objective of ensuring that future Section 368 
Corridor revisions, deletions, and additions consider the following 
principles: Location of Section 368 Corridors in favorable landscapes; 
facilitation of renewable energy projects where feasible; avoidance of 
environmentally sensitive areas to the maximum extent practicable; 
diminution of the proliferation of dispersed rights-of-way crossing the 
landscape; and improvement of the long-term benefits of reliable and 
safe transmission. The Settlement also provides that public input and 
an open and transparent process with engagement by tribes, States, 
local governments, and other interested parties occur as part of the 
process for making potential revisions, deletions, or additions to 
Section 368 Corridors.
    Two of the Settlement provisions are relevant to this RFI: (1) 
Preparation of regional periodic reviews of designated Section 368 
Corridors (Regional Periodic Reviews) and reviews of IOPs; and (2) 
Development of a corridor study to assess the overall usefulness of the 
Section 368 Corridors (Section 368 Corridor Study). Information 
referenced in this RFI can be found at http://corridoreis.anl.gov.

Purpose of the RFI

    The purpose of this RFI is to solicit information that will assist 
the Agencies in the development of the Section 368 Corridor Study and 
provide the foundation for the initial Regional Periodic Review. In 
particular, the Agencies seek responses to the questions posed in the 
sections below. All work described in the Work Plan and Memorandum of 
Understanding (MOU) is contingent upon the availability of appropriated 
funds.

Section 368 Corridor Study

    On July 7, 2013, the Agencies finalized a Corridor Study Work Plan 
for the Section 368 Corridors (Work Plan). The Work Plan identifies how 
information will be gathered and analyzed and establishes a schedule 
for completion of the Section 368 Corridor Study. Under the Section 368 
Corridor Study, the Agencies will study Section 368 Corridors to assess 
their overall usefulness with regard to various factors, including 
their effectiveness in reducing the proliferation of dispersed rights-
of-way across Federal lands. The Agencies will also assess the 
efficiency and effectiveness of the Section 368 Corridors and record 
lessons learned in the siting process. The Section 368 Corridor Study 
will also:

[[Page 17568]]

     Identify where corridors are being over- or underutilized 
and evaluate use of the IOPs;
     Focus on information relating to the use of Section 368 
Corridors that is publicly available at the time the Agencies initiate 
the Section 368 Corridor Study;
     Help to inform the Regional Periodic Reviews and review of 
the IOPs; and
     Be made public upon completion.
    (1) Updates to Spatial Data. A geographic information system (GIS) 
was used to support the mapping and location-specific analyses in the 
Final West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS). GIS databases contain spatial data including imagery, 
map graphics, and associated tabular data, and GIS software allows for 
storing, processing, analyzing, modeling, and visualizing the spatial 
data. Lists of the GIS data that were used for the analyses and maps in 
the Programmatic EIS as well as the sources, quality, and scale of the 
data are posted at http://corridoreis.anl.gov (Appendix I of the 
Programmatic EIS and Appendix A of the Work Plan). Under the Section 
368 Corridor Study, the Agencies will update the Programmatic EIS data 
using compatible, publicly available data. The Agencies are interested 
in suggestions of new or updated compatible, publicly available data 
that may be utilized to inform the Section 368 Corridor Study. Are 
there any new or updated data that is publicly available?
    (2) Types of Authorized Projects to Consider. The Agencies propose 
to focus on 100 kilovolt (kV) or higher electric transmission lines and 
oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines, 10 inches or more in diameter that 
have been authorized on Federal lands (both inside and outside of 
Section 368 Corridors) since approval of the DOI and FS RODs. The 
purposes of assessing the use of Section 368 Corridors is to evaluate 
their effectiveness in improving reliability, relieving congestion, and 
enhancing the capability of the national grid to deliver electricity 
across Federal lands and to evaluate IOPs for the Section 368 Corridor 
Study. Are there any other types of projects that the Agencies should 
consider to assess use of Section 368 Corridors?
    (3) Methods for Assessing Effectiveness of IOPs. The Agencies will 
compile information relating to the use of IOPs for projects authorized 
since approval of the RODs, potentially by project type, based on 
consideration of projects identified in response to question 2 that are 
located entirely or partially within a Section 368 Corridor. Are there 
methods the Agencies should consider using to evaluate the 
effectiveness of the IOPs?

Regional Periodic Review

    On July 7, 2013, the Agencies entered into an MOU describing the 
process for conducting Regional Periodic Reviews, including concurrent 
review of IOPs. The Agencies will identify and prioritize regions for 
periodic review.
    (1) New Relevant Information. In accordance with the MOU, as a part 
of the Regional Periodic Reviews (including review of IOPs), the 
Agencies will consider new, relevant information. In general, the 
Agencies will consider significant regional energy development and 
corridor and transmission plans or studies, which are supplemented by 
project-specific studies that were completed after January 2009 or that 
are substantially underway. Examples of new information the Agencies 
will consider include the following:
     Results of: (1) Joint studies of electric transmission 
needs and renewable energy potential being conducted by the Western 
Electricity Coordinating Council and the Western Governors' Association 
(WGA) and funded by the DOE; and (2) The DOE's Transmission Corridor 
Assessment Report for Western States (DOE Corridor Study). These 
studies address the need for upgraded and new electrical transmission 
and distribution facilities to improve reliability, relieve congestion, 
and facilitate renewable energy development. The DOE Corridor Study is 
addressed in the June 7, 2013, Presidential Memorandum, ``Transforming 
our Nation's Electric Grid Through Improved Siting, Permitting, and 
Review,'' available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/07/presidential-memorandum-transforming-our-nations-electric-grid-through-i.
     Results of the BLM's Rapid Ecoregional Assessments that 
characterize ecological values across regional landscapes;
     Once completed, the results of the Section 368 Corridor 
Study and review of the IOPs;
     Results of other ongoing resource studies, such as the WGA 
wildlife corridor study, the BLM's and FS's National Sage-Grouse 
Habitat Conservation Strategy, and the State of Wyoming's sage grouse 
strategy;
     Other factors, such as States' renewable portfolio 
standards, that address potential energy demand, sources, and loads, 
with particular regard to renewable energy;
     The BLM's Approved Resource Management Plan Amendments/ROD 
for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States based on the 
joint BLM and DOE 2012 Solar Energy Development Programmatic EIS that 
assessed the environmental, social, and economic impacts associated 
with solar energy development on BLM-managed lands in Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. The ROD amends 89 
BLM land use plans incorporating land use allocations and programmatic 
Solar Energy Zone-specific design features; updates and revises 
policies and procedures for solar energy development; and implements a 
comprehensive solar energy program for administering the development of 
utility-scale solar energy resources in 6 southwestern states;
     The BLM Arizona Restoration Design Energy Project Final 
EIS and ROD issued in January 2013;
     Information from the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation 
Plan Draft EIS/Environmental Impact Report scheduled for release in 
2014;
     The BLM/FS Greater Sage-Grouse Sub-Regional Planning Areas 
that overlie Section 368 Corridors;
     Draft and Final EISs, land use plan amendments, and 
related studies for pipelines 10 inches or more in diameter and 100 kV 
or higher electric transmission lines that utilize Section 368 
Corridors;
     The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Renewable 
Energy Futures Study Report (2012); and
     New IOPs submitted by the Plaintiffs who are a party to 
the Settlement.
    Is there any other publicly available information that the Agencies 
should consider as part of the initial Regional Periodic Review, 
including review of the IOPs, and if so, where or how can it be found, 
and what parts of it are relevant to this RFI?
    (2) Identification of New Requirements. Are there any laws, 
regulations, or other requirements that have been implemented since 
issuance of the DOI and FS RODs in January 2009 that the Agencies 
should consider when reviewing Section 368 Corridors?
    (3) Identification of Regional Stakeholder Fora. The Agencies have 
identified an initial list of existing regional stakeholder fora as 
possible options for stakeholder engagement during Regional Periodic 
Reviews (e.g., BLM and FS Resource Advisory Councils, the Western 
Electricity Coordinating Council, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives, 
Western Governors' Association, and the Indian Country Energy and 
Infrastructure Working Group, which was established to work 
collaboratively with the DOE).

[[Page 17569]]

Are there any additional regional stakeholder fora that the Agencies 
should consider for stakeholder engagement during Regional Periodic 
Reviews?
    (4) Changes to IOPs. Are there any additions, deletions, or 
revisions the Agencies should consider making to the IOPs that were 
adopted in the DOI and FS RODs, and what is the rationale for those 
changes?
    (5) Comments on New IOPs. The Agencies have committed to 
consideration of new IOPs submitted by the Plaintiffs who are parties 
to the Settlement. The new IOPs are available at http://corridoreis.anl.gov Are there any comments on these new IOPs?

Michael D. Nedd,
Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management, Bureau of 
Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Tony L. Tooke,
Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest System, U.S. Forest Service, 
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Matt Rosenbaum,
Acting Director National Electricity Delivery, Office of Electricity 
Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2014-06945 Filed 3-27-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P