[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27587-27588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11108]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-398]


Application for Presidential Permit; Great Northern Transmission 
Line

AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: Minnesota Power, an operating division of ALLETE, Inc., has 
applied for a Presidential permit to construct, operate, maintain, and 
connect an electric transmission line across the United States border 
with Canada.

DATES: Comments or motions to intervene must be submitted on or before 
June 13, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Comments or motions to intervene should be addressed as 
follows: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), 
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 
20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Lawrence (Program Office) 
at 202-586-5260 or via electronic mail at 
[email protected], Katherine Konieczny (Program Attorney) 
at 202-586-0503.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance, 
and connection of facilities at the international border of the United 
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United 
States and a foreign country is prohibited in the absence of a 
Presidential permit issued pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as 
amended by EO 12038.
    On April 15, 2014, Minnesota Power filed an application with the 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability of the Department 
of Energy (DOE) for a Presidential permit. Minnesota Power has its 
principal place of business in Duluth, Minnesota. Minnesota Power is an 
investor-owned utility and provides retail electric service to 144,000 
customers and wholesale electric service to 16 municipalities and 
several industrial customers.
    Minnesota Power proposes to construct and operate the Great 
Northern Transmission Line (GNTL), a 500 kilovolt (kV) overhead 
alternating current (AC) electric transmission line that would 
originate at the Dorsey Substation northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba, 
Canada, and terminate at the existing Blackberry Substation east of 
Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The proposed GNTL facilities would be capable 
of transmitting up to 750 megawatts (MW) of power.
    The Minnesota portion of the proposed Great Northern Transmission 
Line (GNTL) would cross the U.S.-Canada border northwest of the town of 
Roseau, Minnesota, and would run 220 miles before terminating at the 
Blackberry Substation.
    As proposed, GNTL is a high voltage alternating current (HVAC) 
electric transmission line with an expected power transfer rating of at 
least 750 MW. The northern terminal would be at the Dorsey Substation 
located 10 miles northwest of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The southern 
terminal would be at the existing Blackberry 230/115 kV Substation near 
Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The Blackberry Substation would be expanded to 
include the 500 kV Substation to accommodate the 500 kV GNTL, 500/230 
kV transformation, existing 230 kV lines and all associated equipment.
    In its application, Minnesota Power identified two routing options, 
the Orange Route and the Blue Route, for the GNTL. In addition, 
Minnesota Power also presented several segment options. Each route 
option would run for approximately 220 miles within the United States. 
Minnesota Power has entered into a 250 MW Power Purchase Agreement 
(PPA) as well as an additional 133 MW Renewable Optimization Agreement 
with Manitoba Hydro.
    Since the restructuring of the electric industry began, resulting 
in the introduction of different types of competitive entities into the 
marketplace, DOE has consistently expressed its policy that cross-
border trade in electric energy should be subject to the same 
principles of comparable open access and non-discrimination that apply 
to transmission in interstate commerce. DOE has stated that policy in 
export authorizations granted to entities requesting authority to 
export over international transmission facilities. Specifically, DOE 
expects transmitting utilities owning border facilities to provide 
access across the border in accordance with the principles of 
comparable open access and non-discrimination contained in the Federal 
Power Act and articulated in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC) Order No. 888 (Promoting Wholesale Competition Through Open 
Access Non-Discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities; 
FERC Stats. & Regs. ]31,036 (1996)), as amended. In furtherance of this 
policy, DOE invites comments on whether it would be appropriate to 
condition any

[[Page 27588]]

Presidential permit issued in this proceeding on compliance with these 
open access principles.
    Procedural Matters: Any person may comment on this application by 
filing such comment at the address provided above. Any person seeking 
to become a party to this proceeding must file a motion to intervene at 
the address provided above in accordance with Rule 214 of FERC's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214). Two copies of each comment 
or motion to intervene should be filed with DOE on or before the date 
listed above.
    Additional copies of such motions to intervene also should be filed 
directly with: David Moeller, Senior Attorney, Minnesota Power, 30 West 
Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802, [email protected] AND Mike Donahue, 
Project Manager, Minnesota Power, 30 West Superior St., Duluth, MN 
55802, [email protected] AND Jim Atkinson, Environmental Manager, 
Minnesota Power, 30 West Superior St., Duluth, MN 55802, 
[email protected].
    Before a Presidential permit may be issued or amended, DOE must 
determine that the proposed action is in the public interest. In making 
that determination, DOE considers the environmental impacts of the 
proposed project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, determines the project's impact on electric reliability by 
ascertaining whether the proposed project would adversely affect the 
operation of the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and 
contingency conditions, and any other factors that DOE may also 
consider relevant to the public interest. Also, DOE must obtain the 
concurrences of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense 
before taking final action on a Presidential permit application.
    Copies of this application will be made available, upon request, 
for public inspection and copying at the address provided above, by 
accessing the program Web site at http://energy.gov/oe/services/electricity-policy-coordination-and-implementation/international-electricity-regulatio-2.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on May 8, 2014.
Christopher A. Lawrence,
Electricity Policy Analyst, National Electricity Delivery Division, 
Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2014-11108 Filed 5-13-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P