[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 113 (Friday, June 12, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33510-33511]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14335]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-400]


Notice of Availability (NOA) for the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and Announcement of Public Hearings for the Proposed 
New England Clean Power Link (NECPL) Transmission Line

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability 
of the ``Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the New England Clean 
Power Link Transmission Line Project'' (DOE/EIS-0503) for public review 
and comment. DOE is also announcing two public hearings to receive 
comments on the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS evaluates the environmental 
impacts of DOE's proposed Federal action of issuing a Presidential 
permit to the Applicant: Champlain VT, LLC, doing business as TDI New 
England (``TDI-NE''), to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a 
new electric transmission line across the U.S./Canada border in 
northern Vermont.

DATES: DOE invites interested Members of Congress, state and local 
governments, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribal 
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide 
comments on the Draft EIS during the 60-day public comment period. The 
public comment period starts on June 12, 2015, with the publication in 
the Federal Register by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of its 
Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS, and will continue until August 
11, 2015. Written and oral comments will be given equal weight and all 
comments received or postmarked by that date will be considered by DOE 
in preparing the Final EIS. Comments received or postmarked after that 
date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    Locations, dates, and start time for the public hearings are listed 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this NOA.

ADDRESSES: Requests to provide oral comments at the public hearings may 
be made at the time of the hearing(s).
    Written comments on the Draft EIS may be provided on the NECPL EIS 
Web site at http://necplinkeis.com/ (preferred) or addressed to Mr. 
Brian Mills, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-
20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,

[[Page 33511]]

Washington, DC 20585; by electronic mail to [email protected]; or 
by facsimile to 202-318-7761.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brian Mills at the addresses 
above, or at 202-586-8267.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The public hearings will consist of the 
formal taking of comments with transcription by a court stenographer. 
The hearings will provide interested parties the opportunity to make 
comments for consideration in the preparation of the Final EIS.
    The locations, dates, and starting times of the public hearings are 
listed in the table below:

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            Location                 Date and time          Address
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Sheraton, Burlington, Vermont...  July 15, 2015,      870 Williston
                                   6:00 p.m.           Road, South
                                                       Burlington,
                                                       Vermont 05403.
Holiday Inn, Rutland, Vermont...  July 16, 2015,      476 Holiday Drive,
                                   6:00 p.m.           Rutland, Vermont
                                                       05701.
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Availability of the Draft EIS

    Copies of the Draft EIS have been distributed to appropriate 
members of Congress, state and local government officials, American 
Indian tribal governments, and other Federal agencies, groups, and 
interested parties. Printed copies of the document may be obtained by 
contacting Mr. Mills at the above address. Copies of the Draft EIS and 
supporting documents are also available for inspection at the following 
locations:
 South Hero Free Library--76 South Street, South Hero, Vermont
 Fletcher Free Library--235 College Street, Burlington, Vermont
 Winooski Public Library--32 Malletts Bay Avenue, Winooski, 
Vermont
 Middlebury Library--75 Main Street, Middlebury, Vermont
 Rutland Free Library--10 Court Street, Rutland, Vermont
 West Rutland Library--595 Main Street, West Rutland, Vermont
 Shrewsbury Library--98 Town Hill Road, Cuttingsville, Vermont
 Gilbert Hart Library--14 S. Main Street, Wallingford, Vermont
 Fair Haven Public Library--107 North Main Street, Fair Haven, 
Vermont
 Mount Holly Town Library--26 Maple Hill Road, Belmont, Vermont
 Bailey Memorial Library--111 Moulton Avenue, North Clarendon, 
Vermont

    The Draft EIS is also available on the EIS Web site at http://necplinkeis.com/ and on the DOE NEPA Web site at http://nepa.energy.gov/.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on June 4, 2015.
Patricia A. Hoffman,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy 
Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-14335 Filed 6-11-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P