[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83883-83884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28334]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

[Docket No. RUS-20-ELECTRIC-0048]


Financial Support for Transmission and Distribution Lines To Pump 
Stations 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 in Connection With the TransCanada 
Keystone XL Pipeline

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION:  Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has prepared a Record of 
Decision. This Record of Decision (ROD) is for the construction of 
transmission and distribution lines and associated facilities to 
service five pump stations for the TransCanada XL Keystone Pipeline in 
South Dakota. By this notice, the RUS is announcing the availability of 
the Record of Decision.

DATES: The Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service signed the 
Record of Decision on November 13, 2020.

ADDRESSES: For copies of the ROD or for further information, contact: 
Dennis Rankin, email [email protected]. The ROD is available for 
review online at https: https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TransCanada Keystone XL Pipeline LP 
(Keystone) filed its original Presidential Permit application with the 
Department of State in 2008. An Environmental Impact Statement for the 
proposed pipeline project was finalized in August 2011 (2011 EIS). The 
U.S. Department of State served as the Lead Federal Agency. In April 
2012, Keystone proposed a new pipeline route in Nebraska to avoid the 
Sand Hills region of Nebraska, and in May 2012 applied for a second 
Presidential Permit. The Department of State evaluated the new proposed 
pipeline route as well as two

[[Page 83884]]

alternative routes in its 2014 Supplemental Environmental Impact 
Statement (SEIS). The proposed alternative of the 2014 SEIS encompassed 
RUS's action area. The Secretary of State issued the Presidential 
Permit in March 2017.
    In 2019, the Department of State supplemented the 2014 SEIS with 
the 2019 SEIS to evaluate impacts of the proposed Mainline Alternative 
Route in Nebraska, a route modification to the 2014 SEIS preferred 
alternative. The 2019 SEIS also updated greenhouse gas and climate 
change analysis, revised the methodology for the accidental release 
analysis, updated the market analysis, evaluated new information 
related to cultural resources, and included an impact analysis 
specifically related to electrical power infrastructure. RUS, along 
with The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Western Area Power Administration 
(WAPA), has served as a Cooperating Agency in the 2011 EIS and the 2014 
and 2019 SEISs.
    RUS has considered a proposal from Grand Electric Cooperative, Inc. 
to provide distribution and transmission lines to supply power to pump 
stations 15, 16, 17, and a proposal from West Central Electric 
Cooperative, Inc. to provide distribution and transmission lines to 
supply power to pump stations 18 and 19. Pump stations 15-19 are 
located entirely within the State of South Dakota. The substations will 
be built by the cooperatives and/or WAPA and financed by Keystone. WAPA 
will provide for the interconnections for the transmission facilities 
for Pump Stations7, 18 and 19.
    RUS has adopted the 2014 and 2019 SEISs, and the Record of Decision 
to support its financing decisions for transmission and distribution 
lines to supply pump stations in South Dakota. RUS's actions related to 
providing financing for transmission and distribution for Pump Stations 
15-19, were evaluated as connected actions related to TransCanada 
Keystone Pipeline, LP to proposal construct, operate, maintain, and 
(eventually) decommission the Keystone XL Pipeline in South Dakota. The 
Record of Decision was signed on November 13, 2020.

Chad Rupe,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service.
[FR Doc. 2020-28334 Filed 12-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P