[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15556-15557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-06626]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLAZ920000 16X L51010000.ER0000 LVRWA16A3240]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Ten West Link 500-Kilovolt Transmission Line Project and 
Potential Amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan 
in Maricopa and La Paz Counties, AZ, and Riverside County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Arizona State 
Office, Phoenix, Arizona, with the possibility of Western Area Power 
Administration serving as a co-lead agency, intends to prepare an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Ten West Link 
500-kilovolt (kV) Transmission Line Project (Project) and potential 
amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan pursuant to 
the BLM's land use planning regulations. By this notice, the BLM is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues on the proposed transmission line and 
potential plan amendment.

DATES: Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until May 9, 
2016. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping meetings will be 
announced at least 15 days in advance through local media, newspapers, 
and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html. In order to 
be included in the Draft EIS, all comments must be received prior to 
the close of the scoping period or 15 days after the last public 
meeting, whichever is later. The BLM will provide additional 
opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft 
EIS.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Project by any of the 
following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 602-417-9452,
     Mail: BLM, Arizona State Office, Attention: Eddie Arreola/
Ten West Link Project, One North Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 
85004.

[[Page 15557]]

    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the Arizona 
State Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eddie Arreola, Project Manager, at 
telephone 602-417-9505; address: BLM, Arizona State Office, One North 
Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 85004; email: [email protected]. 
People who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 800-877-8339 during 
normal business hours to contact the BLM Project Manager listed above. 
The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message 
or question for the above individual. You will receive a reply during 
normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, DCR Transmission, LLC, has 
submitted an application to the BLM for a right-of-way (ROW) to 
construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a single-circuit 500-kV 
transmission line. Authorization of the proposed transmission line may 
require an amendment to the Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan 
(January 2010) to change visual resource management classifications and 
to possibly change or reclassify designated utility corridors. The 
proposed transmission line may require other land use plan amendments 
for the Project, including the Lower Sonoran, Bradshaw-Harquahala, Lake 
Havasu Resource Management Plans and the California Desert Conservation 
Area Plan, depending on newly proposed alternatives during scoping and 
during the analysis. The Project would provide a connection between the 
Arizona Public Service Company's Delaney Substation in Tonopah, 
Arizona, and the Southern California Edison Company's (SCE) Colorado 
River Substation in Blythe, California. The project purpose is to 
strengthen the electrical grid and improve reliability. The Project 
area involves approximately 83 miles of public lands along a route 
spanning roughly 114 miles. Approximately 97 miles is in Arizona and 17 
miles is in California. The Project would largely follow the existing 
SCE Devers-Palo Verde 500-kV No.1 (DPV1) transmission line in an 
established utility corridor. The transmission line may be supported by 
a combination of self-supporting H-frame structures and steel lattice 
structures. Any final decision on a specific type of structure will be 
based on topography, structural requirements, economics, the 
environment, and other applicable considerations. The structures are 
anticipated to be constructed of guyed galvanized steel with a height 
ranging from 100 to 190 feet, and a width of approximately 100 feet. 
The distance between each structure would depend on site-specific 
characteristics, but is expected to be 400 to 2,200 feet with an 
average span length of approximately 1,600 feet.
    The Project would involve additional facilities, including the 
construction of a series compensation substation parallel to the 
existing compensation substation located in Vicksburg, Arizona. To the 
extent possible, existing access roads for the DPV1 transmission line 
would be used for construction and maintenance. For a 2.8-mile segment 
of the proposed route, DCR Transmission would need an agreement with 
SCE to use the vacant circuit positions on SCE's existing double-
circuit towers in the Copper Bottom Pass area. The requested ROW width 
on public lands is 200 feet.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to identify relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including potential alternatives, and guide the process for developing 
the EIS. At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary 
issues: Visual resource management classifications that would not allow 
a 500kV transmission line, possible route changes outside the 
designated corridors, potential interference with the U.S. Army's Yuma 
Proving Ground; cultural resources; Native American cultural concerns; 
social and economic effects; potential public health and safety; 
wildlife (including migratory birds); special status species; and 
recreation. The analysis will also consider mitigation at a regional 
scale for those resources that warrant mitigation offsite.
    The BLM will use the NEPA public participation requirements to 
assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement requirements 
under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) (54 
U.S.C. 306108) pursuant to 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). The information about 
historic and cultural resources within the area potentially affected by 
the Project will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating impacts 
to such resources in the context of both the NEPA and Section 106 of 
the NHPA.
    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.
    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.
    Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes and other 
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the Project are 
invited to participate in the scoping process. If eligible, they may 
request or be requested by the BLM to participate in the development of 
the environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7.

Raymond Suazo,
Arizona State Director.
[FR Doc. 2016-06626 Filed 3-22-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4310-32-P