[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30066-30068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11788]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNM930000 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWG19G0690 19XL5017AP]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest 
Transmission Project, New Mexico

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office 
(NMSO), Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM), intends to prepare an Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the environmental impacts associated 
with SunZia's application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for 
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. Proposed amendments to 
SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments to the Socorro 
Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District Mimbres 
Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge 
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest Land 
and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies will analyze in the 
EIS. BLM NMSO is the lead agency for purposes of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife 
Service (FWS), U.S. Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS), 
and other agencies serving as

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cooperating agencies. This Notice initiates the scoping process and 
opens a 30-day public comment period to solicit public comments and 
identify issues.

DATES: The BLM requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis 
and identification of relevant information, studies, and analyses. All 
comments must be received by July 6, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the ePlanning site: 
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2011785/510. Comments 
and requests for additional information may also be sent to Adrian 
Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State 
Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Verbal comment may also 
be submitted via a telephone hotline at 1-888-959-2510.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau 
of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa 
Fe, New Mexico 87508, telephone: (505) 954-2199, or email: 
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS 
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or 
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action

    In compliance with NEPA, and the Federal Land Policy and Management 
Act of 1976, as amended, the BLM NMSO intends to prepare an EIS to 
analyze the environmental impacts associated with SunZia Transmission, 
LLC's (SunZia) application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for 
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project (Project). Proposed 
amendments to SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments 
to the Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces 
District Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National 
Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola 
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies 
will analyze in the EIS.

Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The proposed Project is composed of two planned 500 kilovolt (kV) 
transmission lines located across approximately 520 miles of Federal, 
State, and private lands between central New Mexico and central 
Arizona. The purpose of the Project is to transport up to 4,500 
megawatts of primarily renewable energy from New Mexico to markets in 
Arizona and California. The permitted route originates at a planned 
substation in Torrance County, New Mexico, and terminates at the 
existing Pinal Central Substation in Pinal County, Arizona. The Project 
traverses Lincoln, Socorro, Sierra, Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, Valencia, and 
Torrance counties in New Mexico and Graham, Greenlee, Cochise, Pinal, 
and Pima counties in Arizona. The route has four segments:

 Segment 1: Pinal Central Substation to Willow Substation
 Segment 2: Willow Substation to SunZia South Substation 
(Segment 2a in Arizona, Segment 2b in New Mexico)
 Segment 3: SunZia South Substation to New Mexico Institute of 
Mining and Technology (NM Tech)
 Segment 4: NM Tech to SunZia East Substation

    Prior environmental documents include a Final EIS in 2013 and a 
Record of Decision and a subsequent Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No New Significant Impact in 2015 to accommodate burial of 
approximately 5 miles of the transmission line in three locations in 
the vicinity of White Sands Missile Range. The BLM issued a right-of-
way (ROW) grant to SunZia in 2016, authorizing use of a 400-foot-wide 
corridor across 183 miles of Federal lands administered by the BLM. 
Construction of the lines has not begun.
    SunZia is proposing to amend the existing grant in four components:
     Component 1--Localized Route Modifications: Five route 
modifications in New Mexico in Segments 2 and 3. These five 
modifications involve BLM-administered land (an increase in route 
length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional approximate 38.8 
acres). Proposed modifications on non-BLM-administered land involve an 
increase in route length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional 
approximate 38.9 acres. These modifications are being proposed to 
address a range of issues, including challenges in obtaining a private 
landowner ROW or easement and topography.
     Component 2--Access Roads and Temporary Work Areas Outside 
the Granted ROW: Adding a ROW for about 761 miles of existing and new 
access roads, of which approximately 708.8 miles would be permanent, 
52.2 miles would be temporary, and approximately 739.8 acres of 
temporary work areas that fall outside the permitted 400-foot-wide 
corridor across both States. About 216.5 miles of access roads are on 
BLM-administered land (172.3 in New Mexico; 44.2 in Arizona). About 
157.7 acres of temporary work areas are located on BLM-administered 
land in New Mexico and 22.6 in Arizona.
     Component 3--Segment 4 Reroute: A reroute of Segment 4 to 
accommodate ongoing concerns of White Sands Missile Range, take 
advantage of an opportunity to partially parallel the Western Spirit 
345 kV Transmission Project, and move the eastern substation closer to 
proposed wind-generation projects. The total length of the currently 
permitted Segment 4 route is 91.7 miles, of which 20.2 miles are 
Federal land administered by the BLM. SunZia is considering three 
alternative routes. Common to all three alternatives are approximately 
the first 65 miles, from the SunZia East Substation to where the 
alternative routes diverge. These 65 miles would cross BLM 
(approximately 0.2 mile), State, and private lands, 33 miles of which 
are parallel to the proposed Western Spirit 345 kV Transmission 
Project. The three alternative routes (including the initial 65 miles) 
are:
    [cir] Alternative Route 1: options ranging from 151.8 to 153.9 
miles, would cross approximately 28.1 to 31.5 miles of BLM-administered 
land and approximately 4.7 miles across the Cibola National Forest 
administered by the FS.
    [cir] Alternative Route 2: options ranging from 114.9 to 121.5 
miles, would cross approximately 5.9 miles of BLM-administered land and 
14.2 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge administered 
by the FWS.
    [cir] Alternative Route 3: options ranging from 118.1 to 125.9 
miles, would cross 9 to 9.6 miles of BLM-administered land and 
approximately 11.6 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge 
administered by the FWS.
    Additionally, the BLM may consider and analyze in detail additional 
route alternatives through the NEPA process other than those requested 
by SunZia.
     Component 4--SunZia West Substation: A substation to 
convert power from DC to AC. SunZia intends for one of the two proposed 
SunZia transmission lines to be AC and the other transmission line to 
be either AC or DC. The DC line would require equipment at each 
terminus to convert the power from AC to DC (SunZia East HVDC 
converter) and from DC to AC (SunZia West HVDC converter). The SunZia 
West Substation is being sited along the permitted SunZia ROW on 
approximately 80.7 acres of Arizona

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State land just east of Red Rock, Arizona (no Federal ROW is needed).
    SunZia states the width of the permanent ROW for the transmission 
lines typically is a minimum of 400 feet on BLM-administered lands but 
may be up to 1,000 feet wide in areas with terrain constraints.

Summary of Expected Impacts

    Impacts from the proposed action would include ground disturbance-
associated impacts to natural and cultural resources; visual impacts; 
potential impacts to threatened and endangered species at the Rio 
Grande River crossing, including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, 
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, and the Silvery Minnow; and socioeconomic effects 
from construction, operation, and maintenance. If an alternative 
reroute is selected, Federal agencies may need to amend land use plans. 
The disciplines to be represented and used to prepare the EIS include, 
but are not limited to:
     Land use and recreation;
     Visual resources;
     Wilderness, wilderness study areas, lands with wilderness 
characteristics, and FS designated roadless areas;
     Vegetation/riparian/noxious and invasive weeds/special 
status plant species, including Threatened and Endangered Species and 
their habitat;
     General and special-status wildlife species, including 
Threatened and Endangered Species and their habitat;
     Earth resources (geology, minerals, and soils);
     Water resources;
     Air quality;
     Cultural resources;
     Social and economic conditions;
     Health and safety/hazardous materials;
     Paleontological resources;
     Special designations; and
     Wildland fire ecology and management.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    If approved, the BLM would issue a ROW Grant and Temporary Use 
Permit for Federal lands. Any alternative reroute selected that would 
cross the Cibola National Forest or the Sevilleta National Wildlife 
Refuge would require permit approval from the FS and FWS, respectively.

Public Scoping Process

    The BLM will initiate a 30-day scoping period beginning with the 
publication of this Notice of Intent (NOI). The BLM will hold a series 
of public scoping meetings to begin approximately 15 days after 
issuance of the NOI.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 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.
    The BLM will continue to consult with Native American 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 
Project 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.
    Authorization of this proposal may require amendments to the 
Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District 
Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife 
Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest 
Land and Resource Management Plan. By this notice, the BLM is complying 
with requirements 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of potential 
plan amendments. The BLM will integrate the land use planning process 
with the NEPA analysis process for this project. A Forest plan 
amendment may be required for this project. The 2012 Planning Rule (36 
CFR part 219) requires consideration of the applicable substantive 
requirements as described in 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that are 
directly related to the plan direction being added, modified, or 
removed by the amendment (36 CFR 219.13).

Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information, 
Analyses, and Mitigation Measures Relevant to the Proposed Action

    The BLM encourages comments concerning the proposed SunZia 
Southwest Transmission Project, feasible alternatives, possible 
measures to mitigate, minimize and/or avoid adverse environmental 
impacts, and any other information relevant to the proposed action. You 
may submit comments at any time by using one of the methods listed in 
the ADDRESSES section of this Notice. Public scoping meetings will be 
conducted virtually with BLM staff to explain project details and 
gather information from interested individuals or groups. 
Representatives from SunZia will be available to answer questions. You 
should submit comments by the close of the 30-day scoping period or 10 
days after the last public meeting.
    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. Any persons wishing to be added to a mailing list of 
interested parties can call or write to the 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 EIS. 
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)

Steven R. Wells,
Acting New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-11788 Filed 6-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P