[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 21, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72269-72271]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27554]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCON05000.L16100000.DU0000; COC 72907]


Notice of Intent To Prepare a Resource Management Plan Amendment 
and Associated Environmental Assessment for an Alternate Route for the 
Gateway South Transmission Line at the Colorado/Utah Border

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of

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1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) White River Field 
Office, Meeker, Colorado, intends to prepare a Resource Management Plan 
(RMP) amendment with an associated Environmental Assessment (EA) for an 
Alternate Route for the Gateway South Transmission Line at the 
Colorado/Utah Border. This notice announces the beginning of the 
scoping process to solicit public comments on the scope of the 
analysis, including issues and alternatives, and to provide comments on 
the planning criteria.

DATES: Comments on the planning criteria must be received by January 
20, 2022. Information about the project, including issues, 
alternatives, and the planning criteria, is available on ePlanning at: 
https://go.usa.gov/xHM8U.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the issues, alternatives, or 
planning criteria by either of the following methods:
     Online via ePlanning: https://go.usa.gov/xHM8U.
     Mail: ATTN: Heather Sauls, BLM White River Field Office, 
220 E Market St., Meeker, CO 81641.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Heather Sauls, Planning & 
Environmental Coordinator; telephone: 970-878-3855; address: 220 E 
Market St., Meeker, CO 81641; email: [email protected].
    Individuals who use a telecommunication device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact 
Ms. Sauls 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 Action

    The purpose of this Federal action is to respond to a right-of-way 
(ROW) application for construction, operation, maintenance, and 
termination of a proposed transmission line re-route and associated 
facilities on Federal land. The Applicant is PacifiCorp, doing business 
as Rocky Mountain Power.

Background

    In December 2016, the BLM issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to 
approve the Energy Gateway South Transmission Line Project (GWS), which 
includes a 416-mile, single circuit 500-kilovolt (kV) alternating 
current transmission line that traverses Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. 
In January 2017, the BLM issued a 30-year renewable ROW grant to the 
Applicant for this project and a 10-year ROW grant for temporary 
construction sites.
    The route alignment approved in the ROD follows the Agency 
Preferred Alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS). The ROD also authorized relocating an approximate 2-mile portion 
of an existing power line to eliminate multiple line crossings in a 
short distance and avoid the Raven Ridge Area of Critical Environmental 
Concern (ACEC). Specifically, the ROD approved relocating the Bears 
Ears to Bonanza 345 kV transmission line (operated by the Western Area 
Power Administration (WAPA)) to the north side of the approved GWS ROW.
    During public review of the Draft EIS in 2014, WAPA submitted 
comments related to safety and reliability ``since it appears likely 
that the proposed 500 kV transmission line will intersect and cross 
[WAPA] facilities and/or share a right-of-way corridor.'' Comments 
focused on the proposed GWS project's potential for interaction with 
existing WAPA lines, including maintaining electrical safety clearances 
during construction, structural review of any new structures that would 
be placed within 100 feet of a WAPA tower foundation, and ensuring 
uninterrupted access to WAPA structures during construction of the GWS 
line. The BLM provided a copy of WAPA's comments to the Applicant (GWS 
Final EIS, Appendix P, page P1-58 to P1-66) and assumed that these 
issues were resolved.
    However, after the BLM issued the ROW grant for the GWS line, the 
Applicant began detailed engineering designs in preparation for 
construction of the power line. It became clear that the complexities 
of moving or crossing the Bears Ears line may have been underestimated, 
especially when compared to amending the White River RMP to allow for 
the GWS line to span the Raven Ridge ACEC (from tower locations placed 
outside of the ACEC).
    The Raven Ridge ACEC was designated to provide additional 
management for special status plant species, remnant vegetation 
associations, paleontological resources, and fragile soils.

Proposed Action

    In March 2021, the Applicant submitted a proposal to the BLM for an 
alternate route for the GWS line at the Colorado-Utah border. Under 
this scenario, there would be no change to the location of the existing 
Bears-Ears line. Rather, approximately 3 miles of the approved GWS line 
would be re-routed to the south of the Bears-Ears line and span the 
Raven Ridge ACEC (a shift in the approved ROW alignment to the south).

Possible Alternatives

    The analysis in this EA is focused on potential alignments of an 
approximately 3-mile section of the GWS transmission line at the 
Colorado-Utah border. The GWS transmission line has not yet been 
constructed.
    Alternative A is the No Action Alternative and would implement the 
BLM's decision from the ROD for the Energy Gateway South Transmission 
Project (2016). Under Alternative A, the GWS 500 kV transmission line 
would be routed around the Raven Ridge ACEC (northwest), and the Bears 
Ears 345 kV transmission line would be relocated outside of the Raven 
Ride ACEC to the north of the approved location of the GWS line.
    Alternative B is the Applicant's Preferred Alternative. Like 
Alternative C, there would be no change to the location of the existing 
Bears-Ears line. Under Alternative B, the GWS line would parallel the 
Bears-Ears line (to the south) and span the Raven Ridge ACEC. 
Alternative B would require an amendment to the ROW grant as well as an 
amendment to the White River RMP since the Raven Ridge ACEC is managed 
as a ROW exclusion area. The RMP amendment would be to change the 
management within the ACEC along the proposed GWS ROW corridor from a 
ROW exclusion area to a ROW avoidance area to allow for the GWS power 
line to span the Raven Ridge ACEC from tower locations outside of the 
ACEC. There would be no change to the Raven Ridge ACEC boundary (43 CFR 
1610.4-2).
    Alternative C would have the GWS line follow an almost identical 
alignment to what was approved in the ROD, but without moving the 
Bears-Ears line out of the Raven Ridge ACEC. Thus, Alternative C would 
require the GWS line to cross the Bears-Ears line at two locations 
within approximately 1.5 miles, which would result in additional 
surface disturbance and may require an amendment to the temporary 
construction ROW.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The BLM is the lead Federal agency for the EA. The BLM has invited 
the following agencies to participate as Cooperating Agencies: U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, Western Area Power Administration, National 
Park Service, State of Colorado, State of Utah, Rio Blanco County 
(Colorado), and Uintah County (Utah). The National Park

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Service and the State of Colorado declined cooperating agency status 
due to relatively limited potential impacts to resources of interest.

Responsible Officials

    The project area includes the BLM's White River Field Office in Rio 
Blanco County, Colorado and the Vernal Field Office in Uintah County, 
Utah.
    Since only the White River RMP would require an amendment, the BLM 
Colorado State Director is the responsible official who will decide 
whether to amend the 1997 White River RMP to allow the power line to 
span the Raven Ridge ACEC. After a decision is made concerning the ROW 
exclusion area, the BLM Wyoming State Director is the responsible 
official who will decide whether to amend the existing right-of-way 
grants for the GWS power line (since this is the responsible official 
who issued the original GWS ROW grants in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah).

Nature of Decision To Be Made

    The BLM will use the analysis in this EA to inform the following: 
Identification of any significant environmental impacts associated with 
the proposed action that may warrant further analysis in a Supplemental 
EIS; the decision on whether to approve or deny the proposed amendment 
to the White River RMP to allow the GWS power line to span the Raven 
Ridge ACEC; and the decision on whether to approve or deny the proposed 
GWS ROW grant amendment.

Preliminary Issues

    The BLM has identified the following primary issues to consider in 
the EA:
     Would moving or crossing the existing Bears Ears to 
Bonanza 345 kV power line result in service interruptions?
     How would surface-disturbing activities associated with 
power line construction affect vegetation and noxious/invasive weeds?
     Would power-line construction activities affect habitat 
for special status plant species?
     How would surface-disturbing activities associated with 
power-line construction affect scientifically important paleontological 
resources?
     Would the various power-line alignments affect the 
resources managed for in the Raven Ridge ACEC?

Permits or Licenses Required

    Alternatives B and C would require an amendment to the approved 
Gateway South ROW grant.

Scoping Process

    This Notice of Intent initiates the scoping process, which guides 
the development of the EA. The BLM is also seeking substantive comments 
on the planning criteria. It is important that reviewers provide their 
comments at such times and in such manner that they are useful to the 
agency's environmental analysis of the proposed re-route of the power 
line. Therefore, comments should be provided prior to the close of the 
comment period and should clearly articulate the reviewer's concerns 
and contentions.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personal identifiable information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifiable 
information, may be made publicly available at any time, and we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to withhold this information from public 
view.

(Authority: 43 CFR 1610.2(c)).

Jamie E. Connell,
BLM Colorado State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-27554 Filed 12-20-21; 8:45 am]
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