[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 182 (Friday, September 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56399-56401]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-22408]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[14XL LLWY9200000.L51010000.ER0000.LVRWK09K0990.241A.00; 4500069121; 
IDI-35849]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement and Possible Land Use Plan Amendments for Segments 8 and 9 of 
the Gateway West 500-kV Transmission Line Project in Idaho

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Idaho State Office 
announces its intention to prepare a supplemental environmental impact 
statement (EIS) analyzing the potential impacts of approving a right-
of-way (ROW) application for Segments 8 and 9 of the Gateway West 500-
kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project and possible land use plan 
amendments. The supplemental EIS will be prepared in accordance with 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). The 
supplemental EIS is being prepared based on new information described 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice. The BLM issued 
a Record of Decision (ROD) for the project on November 14, 2013. In 
that ROD, the BLM deferred offering a ROW grant for two of the 10 
segments--Segments 8 and 9--to allow additional time for Federal, 
State, and local permitting agencies to examine additional options 
regarding siting route segments and mitigation and enhancement measures 
for those segments.

DATES: This notice initiates a 30-day public scoping period that will 
assist in the preparation of a draft supplemental EIS. Comments may be 
submitted in writing until October 20, 2014, or 15 days after the date 
of the last public scoping meeting, whichever is later.
    To provide the public an opportunity to review the proposal and 
project information, the BLM expects to hold four public meetings in 
Idaho communities during the scoping period. The BLM will announce the 
exact dates, times, and locations for these meetings at least 15 days 
prior to each event. Announcements will be made by news release to the 
media, newsletter mailings, and posting on the project Web site listed 
below.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or resource information related to 
the project by any of the following methods:

 Web site: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/nepa_register/gateway-west.html
 Email: [email protected]
 Mail: Bureau of Land Management Idaho State Office, Gateway 
West Transmission Project, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Feeney, BLM Boise District 
Office, 3948 Development Avenue, Boise, ID 83705; phone 208-384-3325; 
or email to [email protected]. 
Contact Ms. Feeney if you wish to have your name added to the project 
mailing list. 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 Ms. Feeney 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: Documents pertinent to this proposal may be 
examined at:
     Bureau of Land Management, Idaho State Office, Public 
Room, 1387 South Vinnell Way, Boise, ID 83709, Telephone: 208-373-3863.
     Bureau of Land Management, Boise District Office, 3948 
Development Avenue, Boise, ID 83705, Telephone: 208-384-3300.
     Online: http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/nepa_register/gateway-west.html.
    PacifiCorp, dba Rocky Mountain Power, and Idaho Power (Applicants) 
have submitted a ROW application to locate 500-kilovolt (kV) electric 
transmission lines on Federal lands as part of the Gateway West 
Transmission Line Project. The initial application proposed to 
construct electric transmission lines from the Windstar Substation near 
the Dave Johnston Power Plant at Glenrock, Wyoming, to the Hemingway 
Substation near Melba, Idaho, approximately 20 miles southwest of 
Boise, Idaho. The original project comprised 10 transmission line 
segments with a total length of approximately 1,000 miles. The November 
2013 ROD authorized routes on Federal lands for Segments 1 through 7 
and Segment 10 but deferred a decision for Segments 8 and 9. The 
Applicants submitted a revised project application for Segments 8 and 
9. This notice announces that the BLM, Idaho State Office, intends to 
prepare a supplemental EIS for Segments 8 and 9 of the Gateway West 
Transmission Line Project and begins the scoping process to seek public 
input on new issues and resource information related to Segments 8 and 
9, described below. Analysis in the supplemental EIS will support a 
decision on whether to approve, approve with modifications, or deny the 
revised ROW application for Segments 8 and 9.
    In November 2013, the BLM requested the Boise District Resource 
Advisory Council (RAC) to consider issues surrounding siting Segments 8 
and 9 of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project. As proposed, these 
segments would traverse portions of the BLM Boise District in and 
around the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National 
Conservation Area (NCA), as well as on private lands. The RAC, a 
citizen-based council chartered under Section 309 of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act, advises and makes recommendations to the BLM on resource and 
public land management issues in southwestern Idaho. The RAC formed a 
subcommittee to examine options for resolving remaining issues 
associated with siting Segments 8 and 9. On June 5, 2014, the RAC 
provided the BLM with the report on alternative route options and 
resource considerations for Segments 8 and 9. On August 8, 2014, the 
Applicants formally adopted routes recommended by a majority of the 
subcommittee as their proposed routes for the supplemental EIS in a 
revised project application that modifies the Applicants' original 
proposal. These updated proposed routes, a double-circuit design 
feature (see below), and additional mitigation measures are major 
components of the new information now available for public scoping.
    The Applicants' proposed route for each of the two segments has 
been modified from the 2013 BLM Preferred Route west of approximate 
midway points, identified as ``nodes'' in reports submitted by the RAC. 
Maps that

[[Page 56400]]

accompanied the revised project application are available on the BLM 
project Web site, listed above. For Segment 8, the Applicants' new 
proposed route still begins at the existing Midpoint Substation and 
continues west past the communities of Hammett and Mountain Home to the 
north. However, just north of the town of Orchard, the new proposed 
route for Segment 8 diverges from the 2013 BLM Preferred Route to 
generally parallel the existing Summer Lake 500-kV transmission line 
250 feet to the south for 5.1 miles before turning northwest, and then 
crosses the existing line at milepost 7.1.
    The new proposed route for Segment 8 enters the NCA at milepost 99. 
The Applicants have determined that the separation distance between the 
existing and proposed transmission lines within the NCA could be 
reduced to approximately 250 feet for a 28.7-mile portion of Segment 8. 
From milepost 7.1, the new proposed route generally parallels the 
existing line 250 feet to the north for the remaining distance (30 
miles) into the Hemingway Substation, near the town of Melba. The total 
route length would be 38 miles, of which 22.9 miles would be within the 
NCA. This route would also require a partial rebuild of approximately 
3,000 feet of the existing Summer Lake line. The Applicants propose to 
use existing roads near and beneath the existing 500-kV transmission 
line to reduce the overall disturbance footprint of the new line. 
Rather than constructing a new access road network for the new proposed 
route for Segment 8, they would use short spur roads from existing 
roads to access the new towers.
    For Segment 9, the Applicants' updated proposed route still starts 
at the proposed Cedar Hill Substation and passes south of the 
communities of Twin Falls, Castleford, and Hammett, before diverging 
from the 2013 BLM Preferred Route just east of the town of Bruneau, and 
then entering the NCA at milepost 132, north of the towns of Grand 
View, Oreana, and Murphy before terminating at the Hemingway 
Substation, near the town of Melba. The Applicants' new proposed route 
generally follows the Alternative 9G route studied in detail in the 
2013 Final EIS. The total route length would be 68.5 miles, of which 
53.8 miles would be within the NCA. The updated proposed route for 
Segment 9 would involve constructing approximately 25.6 miles of new 
double-circuit 500/138-kV transmission line using steel pole H-frame 
structures.
    The NCA lies in the western portion of the Gateway West project 
area. The NCA was established under Public Law 103-64, which states: 
``The purposes for which the conservation area is established, and 
shall be managed, are to provide for the conservation, protection, and 
enhancement of raptor populations and habitats and the natural and 
environmental resources and values associated therewith, and of the 
scientific, cultural, and educational resources and values of the 
public lands in the conservation area.''
    Following publication of the Notice of Availability for the Gateway 
West Final EIS on April 26, 2013 (78 FR 24771), the Applicants 
submitted a draft Mitigation and Enhancement Portfolio (MEP) to the 
BLM. The MEP contains proposed mitigation, including compensatory 
mitigation, and other measures intended to enhance resources and values 
found in the NCA. The Applicants presented the draft MEP to the RAC 
subcommittee and updated it in response to the subcommittee's final 
report; the MEP has not yet been formally reviewed by the public. The 
most current MEP is considered part of the proponent's newly submitted 
plan of development for analysis in the supplemental EIS and is now 
being made available during the scoping process as new information for 
the supplemental EIS. The MEP will be described in detail at the public 
scoping meetings and is available on the project Web site at http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/nepa_register/gateway-west.html.
    The BLM is the lead Federal agency for the NEPA analysis process 
and preparation of the supplemental EIS. The State of Idaho, local 
government entities, and Federal agencies with specialized expertise 
and/or jurisdictional responsibilities in the area of Segments 8 and 9 
will be invited to participate as cooperating agencies.
    The purpose of public scoping is to determine relevant issues that 
will influence the scope of the environmental analysis. The BLM will 
invite and provide for full public participation and comment on issues, 
potential impacts, mitigation measures, and alternatives associated 
with granting ROWs on public lands for segments 8 and 9 that were not 
addressed in the original EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the 
following issues and concerns:
     Effects to the objects and values for which the NCA was 
designated;
     Land use conflicts and inconsistency with land use plans;
     Effects of the project on local and regional socioeconomic 
conditions;
     Effects on wildlife habitat, plants, and animals, 
including threatened, endangered, and sensitive species;
     Effects to visual resources and existing viewsheds;
     Effects to historic and cultural resources;
     Effects to Indian trust assets;
     Opportunities to apply mitigation strategies for on-site, 
regional, and compensatory mitigation; and
     Siting on private lands versus public lands.
    If authorized, this proposal may require amendment of one or more 
BLM land use plans (resource management plans (RMPs) or management 
framework plans (MFPs)). By this notice, the BLM is complying with 
requirements outlined in 43 CFR 1610.2(c) that the BLM notify the 
public of potential amendments to land use plans. If an RMP or MFP 
amendment is necessary, the BLM will integrate the land use planning 
process with the NEPA analysis process for this project.
    If the ROWs are granted, BLM land use plans that may be amended 
include the Twin Falls MFP, the Jarbidge RMP, the Morley Nelson Snake 
River Birds of Prey RMP, the Bennett Hills/Timmerman Hills MFP and the 
Kuna MFP.
    The BLM will supplement the analysis found in the Gateway West 
Transmission Line Project final environmental impact statement (FEIS) 
released April 26, 2013, by analyzing the Applicants' updated proposed 
routes for Segments 8 and 9 and no action alternatives, as well as 
other possible alternatives to the proposed power line locations and 
access routes, based on information gathered from the public during 
scoping. The BLM will use the NEPA process to identify and disclose 
impacts to the above resources not analyzed in the FEIS and any 
additional issues or resources found through the scoping process. 
Further, the BLM will identify opportunities to mitigate the impacts of 
siting and building Segments 8 and 9, if granted, by incorporating 
avoidance, minimization, and compensation measures with consideration 
of local and regional conditions and commensurate with the scope of the 
impacts. In addition, opportunities for enhancement of objects and 
values within the NCA will be evaluated, in accordance with Public Law 
103-64, the statute which established the NCA.
    Preliminary planning criteria for any RMP or MFP amendments 
include: (1) FLPMA and subsequent BLM land use plans; (2) Public Law 
103-64, which established the Snake River Birds of Prey National 
Conservation Area (officially named the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds 
of Prey National Conservation Area in Public Law 111-

[[Page 56401]]

11, the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009); (3) The 
Endangered Species Act, as amended and (4) the analysis found in the 
FEIS.
    The BLM encourages comments concerning the Applicants' new proposed 
routes for Segments 8 and 9, the routes previously analyzed in the 
FEIS, feasible alternative locations, possible mitigation and 
enhancement measures, and any other information relevant to the 
proposed action. You may submit comments in writing to the BLM at any 
public scoping meeting or at any time by using one of the methods 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. Public scoping meetings 
will be conducted in an ``open house'' format with the BLM staff and 
project Applicants available to explain project details and gather 
information from interested individuals or groups. You should submit 
comments by the close of the 30-day scoping period or 15 days after the 
last public meeting, whichever is later.
    The BLM will reach out to the consulting parties who participated 
in and/or signed the Programmatic Agreement (PA) for Segments 1-7, and 
10 to assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement 
requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The 
information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources in the context of 
both NEPA and Section 106 of the NHPA. The information received will be 
used to modify the PA to clearly capture the issues and mitigation for 
Segments 8 and 9.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by 
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis 
as a cooperating agency.
    All comment submittals must include the commenter's name and street 
address. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal 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. The minutes and list of attendees for each scoping 
meeting will be available to the public and open for 30 days after the 
meeting to any participant who wishes to clarify the views he or she 
expressed.
    Any persons wishing to be added to a mailing list of interested 
parties can call or write to BLM, as described in this notice. 
Additional information meetings may be conducted throughout the process 
to keep the public informed of the progress of the supplemental EIS.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Timothy M. Murphy,
BLM Idaho State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-22408 Filed 9-18-14; 8:45 am]
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