[Federal Register: February 22, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 34)]
[Notices]
[Page 8580-8581]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22fe05-53]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[FE Docket No. PP-197]
Withdrawal of Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement; Public Service Company of New Mexico
AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: On February 12, 1999, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced
its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in
accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA)
for the Public Service Company of New Mexico's (PNM) request for a
Presidential permit for proposed international electric transmission
lines. The proposed Federal action in this EIS was to grant PNM a
Presidential permit for the construction, operation, maintenance, and
connection of two 345,000-volt electric transmission lines originating
at the switchyard of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station (PVNGS)
near Phoenix, Arizona, and extending approximately 160 miles to the
south, crossing the United States border with Mexico in the vicinity of
Nogales, Arizona. The EIS would have evaluated the potential
environmental impacts associated with the proposed Federal action and
reasonable alternatives.
In a letter dated November 16, 2004, PNM notified DOE that it no
longer finds the proposed project viable and withdrew its application
for a Presidential permit. Therefore, further preparation of an EIS is
not necessary. The notice of intent to prepare an EIS is withdrawn and
the NEPA process is hereby terminated.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Russell, Office of Fossil
Energy, FE-27, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC 20585. Telephone 202-586-9624; electronic mail:
ellen.russell@hq.doe.gov.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-
42), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0119, Phone: 202-586-4600 or leave a message at
800-472-2756; facsimile: 202-586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The construction, operation, maintenance and
connection of facilities at the international border of the United
States for the transmission of electric energy between the United
States and a foreign
[[Page 8581]]
country is prohibited in the absence of a Presidential permit issued
pursuant to Executive Order (EO) 10485, as amended by EO 12038.
On December 31, 1998, PNM, a regulated public utility, filed an
application with the Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of DOE for a
Presidential permit. PNM proposed to construct two high-voltage
transmission circuits within a single right-of-way. Both circuits would
have originated at the switchyard adjacent to the PVNGS located west of
Phoenix, Arizona, and extended to the U.S.-Mexico border in one of
three two-mile wide corridors preliminarily identified by PNM. From the
U.S.-Mexico border, the proposed facilities would have extended
approximately 60 miles into Mexico where they would have connected with
complementary transmission facilities of the Comision Federal de
Electricidad (CFE), the national electric utility of Mexico, at CFE's
existing Santa Ana Substation.
Parts of the proposed transmission corridor identified by PNM were
on Federal land managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau
of Land Management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's U.S. Forest
Service; both were cooperating agencies in preparation of the EIS.
Activities by those agencies with respect to the EIS are also
terminated.
Issued in Washington, DC on February 15, 2005.
Anthony J. Como,
Deputy Director, Electric Power Regulation, Office of Fossil Energy.
[FR Doc. 05-3326 Filed 2-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P