[Federal Register: August 4, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 150)]
[Notices]
[Page 45218-45220]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04au08-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[OE Docket No. PP-334]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment and To
Conduct Public Scoping Meetings; Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC
AGENCY: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA)
and To Conduct Public Scoping Meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) will prepare an EA and hold
public scoping meetings on the proposed Federal action of granting a
Presidential permit to Baja Wind U.S. Transmission, LLC (Baja Wind) to
construct a new electric transmission line at the U.S.-Mexico border in
San Diego County, California, near the community of Jacumba. The
proposed international transmission line would originate at a wind
generation facility to be located in northern Baja California, Mexico,
cross the U.S.-Mexico international border, and extend one mile into
the U.S. where it would terminate at a substation to be constructed by
San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) adjacent to the existing
Southwest Powerlink (SWPL) 500-kV transmission line, located in San
Diego County, California. Baja Wind has applied to DOE's Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) for a Presidential
permit to construct either a double-circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) or a
single-circuit 500-kV electric transmission line across the U.S. border
with Mexico.
The EA, entitled Baja Wind U.S. Transmission Environmental
Assessment (DOE/EA-399) will address potential environmental impacts
from the proposed action and the range of reasonable alternatives. The
EA will be prepared in compliance with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and applicable regulations, including Council
on Environmental Quality NEPA Implementing Regulations (40 CFR parts
1500-1508) and DOE NEPA implementing regulations at 10 CFR Part 1021.
It will help DOE determinie whether to prepare an EIS. Given that the
proposed transmission line is short, and that the imports into the U.S.
appear to be small, DOE believes an EA is appropriate.
DOE invites the public to participate in determining the scope of
the EA by suggesting alternatives and pointing out potential
environmental impacts. If at any time during preparation of the EA DOE
determines that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is needed, DOE
will issue a Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in the Federal
Register. In that case, this scoping process will serve as the scoping
process that normally would follow a Notice of Intent to prepare an
EIS. Accordingly, DOE will consider any comments on the scope of the EA
received during this scoping process in preparing such an EIS.
DATES: DOE invites interested agencies, organizations, Native American
tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to
assist in identifying any potentially significant environmental issues
and in determining the scope of the EA. The public scoping period
starts with the publication of this Notice in the Federal Register and
will continue until September 3, 2008. DOE will consider all comments
received or postmarked by September 3, 2008 in defining the scope of
the EA. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Public scoping meetings will be held on August 26, 2008, from 1
p.m. to 3 p.m., and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the Jacumba
Highland Center, 44681 Old Highway 80, Jacumba, California.
ADDRESSES: Written comments or suggestions on the scope of the EA
should be addressed to: Mrs. Ellen Russell, Office of Electricity
Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-20), U.S. Department of Energy,
1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585-0350; phone 202-
586-9624, facsimile at 202-586-8008, or electronic mail at
Ellen.Russell@hq.doe.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information on the proposed
project, on the Presidential permit process, or to receive a copy of
the pre-approval EA when it is issued for state and public review,
contact Ellen Russell at the address listed in the ADDRESSES section of
this notice. The Baja Wind Presidential permit application, including
associated maps and drawings, can be downloaded in its entirety from
the OE program Web site http://www.oe.energy.gov/permits.htm.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact:
Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-
20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, DC 20585-0103; phone 202-586-4600, leave a message at 800-
472-2756, or facsimile to 202-586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Executive Order (EO) 10485, as amended by EO
12038, requires that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE before
electric transmission facilities may be constructed, operated,
maintained, or connected at the U.S. international border. The EO
provides that a Presidential permit may be issued after a finding that
the proposed project is consistent with the public interest and after
favorable recommendations from the U.S. Departments of State and
Defense. In determining consistency with the public interest, DOE
considers the environmental impacts of the proposed project under NEPA,
determines the project's impact on electric reliability (including
whether the proposed project would adversely affect the operation of
the U.S. electric power supply system under normal and contingency
conditions), and considers any other factors that DOE may find relevant
to the public interest. The regulations implementing the EO have been
codified at 10 CFR 205.320-205.329. DOE's issuance of a Presidential
permit indicates that there is no Federal objection to the project, but
does not mandate that the project be undertaken.
[[Page 45219]]
Agency Purpose and Need, Proposed Action, and Alternatives
The purpose and need for DOE's action is to decide whether to grant
Baja Wind's application for a Presidential permit for the proposed
international electric transmission line. DOE's proposed action is to
issue a Presidential permit for the construction, operation,
maintenance, and connection of the proposed international electric
transmission line. If granted, the Presidential permit would authorize
only the one-mile portion of the applicant's proposal that would be
constructed and operated wholly within the United States.
Both of Baja Wind's alternatives would cross the U.S.-Mexican
border at the same location. However, the alternative identified as A1
in the Presidential permit application would be constructed at 500-kV
and would be the eastern alternative; the alternative identified as A2
would be constructed at 230-kV and be located to the west of the A1
alternative. Both alternatives would be located wholly within private
property in eastern San Diego County near the unincorporated community
of Jacumba. In addition to the alternatives proposed by Baja Wind, DOE
will consider reasonable alternatives that are identified during
scoping. The EA will also consider the environmental impacts of a ``No
Action'' alternative.
Baja Wind's proposed transmission line would connect wind turbines
(the La Rumorosa Project) to be located in the vicinity of La Rumorosa,
Baja California, Mexico, to San Diego Gas & Electric's existing
Southwest Powerlink transmission line. The proposed transmission line
would consist of either a double-circuit 230-kV or a single-circuit
500-kV transmission line installed on either lattice towers or steel
monopoles. The La Rumorosa Project and the two-mile portion of
transmission facilities located in Mexico would be constructed, owned,
operated, and maintained by a subsidiary of Sempra Energy Mexico and
would be subject to the permitting requirements of the Mexican
Government. The proposed one-mile long transmission line within the
United States would be on private land and constructed, owned,
operated, and maintained by Baja Wind. The entire electrical output of
the La Rumorosa Project (1250 megawatts, approximately 260 to 300
turbines) would be dedicated to the U.S. market and delivered using the
proposed international transmission line. The EA will only consider
impacts that occur inside the United States.
Baja Wind's proposed transmission line would connect to a new
substation to be constructed by SDG&E in response to requests by power
suppliers to connect to the SWPL. The proposed substation would be
located just south of the SWPL right-of-way and would contain equipment
for accepting interconnections at both the 230-kV and the 500-kV level.
The 230-kV connection equipment would be located just to the west of
the 500-kV connection equipment, both within the confines of the
substation boundary. Accordingly, Baja Wind has identified two routing/
voltage alternatives to coincide with interconnection at 230-kV or the
500kV level.
Identification of Environmental Issues
In the EA, DOE will examine public health and safety effects and
environmental impacts in the United States from the proposed
transmission facilities and from the wind farm to the extent that any
impacts from it occur within the United States. DOE invites Tribal
governments, Federal, State and local agencies, and those entities with
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to environmental
issues to be cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EA, as
defined at 40 CFR 1501.6.
This notice is to inform the public of the proposed project and to
solicit comments and suggestions for consideration in the preparation
of the EA. To help the public frame its comments, this notice contains
a preliminary list of potential environmental issues that DOE has
tentatively identified for analysis. These issues include:
1. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive
species of animals or plants, or their critical habitats, e.g., the
quino checkerspot butterfly and migratory birds;
2. Impacts on cultural or historic resources;
3. Impacts on human health and safety;
4. Impacts on air, soil, and water;
5. Visual impacts;
6. Socioeconomic impacts;
7. Disproportionately high and adverse impacts on minority and low-
income populations;
8. Impacts that would accrue to the U.S. as a result of related
activities occurring inside Mexico (e.g., dust from the construction
process inside Mexico or location of wind generators within view of the
U.S.); and
9. Cumulative impacts.
On February 22, 2008, DOE published a notice in the Federal
Register (73 FR 9782) announcing receipt of the Baja Wind Presidential
permit application and soliciting public comments. Comments received on
that notice identified potential environmental impacts that may be
associated with this proposed project, for example, impacts on
threatened or endangered species, critical habitat, and migratory
birds.
Several commenters in this proceeding have asked DOE to evaluate
the impacts associated with activities that will occur inside Mexico
(e.g., from the construction and operation in Mexico of the wind
generators). NEPA does not require an analysis of environmental impacts
that occur within another sovereign nation that result from approved
actions by that sovereign nation. The EA will evaluate all relevant
environmental impacts within the U.S. related to the proposed action.
Scoping Process
Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping
process both to refine the environmental issues to be analyzed and to
identify the reasonable range of alternatives. Both oral and written
comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE.
Public scoping meetings will be held at the location, date, and
times indicated above under the DATES section. The scoping meetings
will provide interested parties the opportunity to view proposed
project exhibits, ask questions, and comment on the EA scope. The DOE
presiding officer will establish only those procedures needed to ensure
that everyone who wishes to speak has a chance to do so and that DOE
understands all issues and comments. Speakers will be allocated
approximately 10 minutes for their oral statements. Persons who have
not submitted a request to speak in advance may register to speak at
the scoping meetings, but advance requests are encouraged. Should any
speaker desire to provide further information that cannot be presented
within the designated time, such additional information may be
submitted in writing by the date listed in the DATES section. Both oral
and written comments will be considered and given equal weight by DOE.
The pre-approval EA is planned to be issued for state and public
review by the spring of 2009. Persons submitting comments during the
scoping process will receive a copy. Persons who do not wish to submit
comments or suggestions at this time but who would like to receive a
copy of the document for review when it is issued should notify Ellen
Russell at the address provided above.
[[Page 45220]]
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 30, 2008.
Kevin M. Kolevar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability.
[FR Doc. E8-17840 Filed 8-1-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P