[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39241-39243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16622]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
Hooper Springs Project
AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) and notice of floodplain and wetlands involvement.
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SUMMARY: BPA intends to prepare an EIS in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the proposed construction,
operation, and maintenance of a 115-kilovolt (kV) transmission line and
a 138/115-kV substation (collectively referred to as the Hooper Springs
Project). The new BPA substation would be called Hooper Springs
Substation and would be located adjacent to PacifiCorp's existing 345/
138-kV Threemile Knoll Substation, located near the City of Soda
Springs in Caribou County, Idaho. The new 115-kV single-circuit BPA
transmission line would extend generally north and east from these
substations to a connection with Lower Valley Energy's (LVE's) existing
115-kV Lane Creek Substation, east of the City of Wayan, Idaho. The
proposed project would address voltage stability and reliability
concerns of two of BPA's full requirements customers, LVE and Fall
River Rural Electric Cooperative (Fall River), which purchase all or
almost all of the electric power required to serve their loads from BPA
under existing contracts. With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating
the
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public scoping process for the EIS and is requesting comments about the
proposal and its potential environmental impacts that BPA should
consider as it prepares the EIS. In accordance with DOE regulations for
compliance with floodplain and wetlands environmental review
requirements, BPA will prepare a floodplain and wetlands assessment to
avoid or minimize potential harm to or within any affected floodplains
and wetlands. The assessment will be included in the EIS.
DATES: Written scoping comments are due to the address below by August
9, 2010 to ensure their consideration in the preparation of the Draft
EIS. Comments may also be submitted at the public scoping meeting to be
held on July 29, 2010 in Soda Springs, Idaho at the address below.
Scoping comments received after the comment period will be considered
to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to inform the preparation of the Draft
EIS, and requests to be placed on the project mailing list, to Hooper
Springs Project, P.O. Box 9250, Portland, OR 97207, or by fax to (888)
315-4503. You also may call BPA's toll free comment line at (800) 622-
4519 and leave a message (please include the name of this project), or
submit comments online at http://www.bpa.gov/comment. BPA will post all
comment letters in their entirety on BPA's Web site at http://www.bpa.gov/comment.
On Thursday, July 29, 2010, an open-house style scoping meeting
will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Soda Springs High School, in
the commons area, 300 E 1st N, Soda Springs, Idaho 83276. At the
meeting, BPA will provide maps and other information about the project
and have members of the project team available to answer questions and
accept oral and written comments. You may stop by any time during the
open house.
Persons needing reasonable accommodation to attend and participate
in the public meetings should contact John Barco (see FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT) at least 10 business days prior to the meeting, to
allow sufficient time to process requests. Information regarding the
Hooper Springs Project is available in alternative formats upon
request.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John Barco, Environmental Project
Lead, Bonneville Power Administration--KEC-4, P.O. Box 3621, Portland,
Oregon 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-3713; direct telephone
503-230-3223; or e-mail [email protected]. You may also contact Erich
Orth, Project Manager, Bonneville Power Administration--TEP-TPP-3, P.O.
Box 3621, Portland, Oregon 97208-3621; toll-free telephone 1-800-282-
3713; direct telephone 360-619-6559; or e-mail [email protected].
Additional information can be found at BPA's Web site: http://www.efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/HooperSprings/.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BPA needs to respond to a request from LVE
to help improve the stability and reliability of the transmission
system in southeastern Idaho. LVE, along with Fall River, are full
requirements customers of BPA that purchase all or almost all of the
electric power required to serve their electrical loads from BPA under
existing contracts. LVE and Fall River provide electrical service to
eastern Idaho, northwestern Wyoming, and southwestern Montana.
Over the past few years, BPA has increased the voltage stability
and reliability of its existing transmission lines in the area (e.g.,
Palisades-Goshen, Swan Valley-Goshen, Swan Valley-Teton, and Goshen-
Drummond lines), which has helped improve the stability and reliability
of the Fall River transmission system and the northern portion of LVE's
transmission system. However, the voltage stability and reliability of
the southern portion of LVE's transmission system continues to be a
concern. LVE's system experiences extreme peaks in electrical load
during winter, when temperatures can drop to -50 [deg]F and electricity
is needed for heat. If a transmission line were to go out of service
during these times, voltage instability could occur and utility
customers could lose power, potentially creating life-threatening
situations. The proposed project would allow BPA to provide
transmission reinforcement to avoid loss of LVE's entire voltage load
during peak winter conditions, enhance the existing system in the
southern Idaho region, and prepare to meet ongoing and forecasted load
growth of about 3 percent per year in southeast Idaho and the Jackson
Hole valley area in Wyoming.
Background: In May 2009, BPA completed and issued a Preliminary
Environmental Assessment (EA) (DOE/EA-1567) for BPA's proposal to
construct, operate, and maintain Hooper Springs Substation and to
partially fund LVE's construction, operation, and maintenance of a new
22-mile double-circuit 115-kV Hooper Springs-Lower Valley Line. The
proposed line considered in the Preliminary EA extended from the
proposed Hooper Springs Substation generally northeast across a portion
of the U.S. Forest Service Caribou-Targhee National Forest (USFS), U.S.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, and private land, along the
Blackfoot River, connecting with LVE's existing Lanes Creek-Valley Line
at a point about 2 miles southeast of the intersection of Blackfoot
River Road and Diamond Creek.
Based on comments received on the Preliminary EA, it was discovered
that the proposed route identified in the Preliminary EA crossed four
contaminated mining sites (Conda, Ballard, Wooley Valley, and North
Maybe Phosphate Mines) that are the subject of an ongoing Superfund
Site Investigation for selenium soil contamination under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA). Each of these Superfund Site Investigation areas is currently
under review to determine the nature and extent of contamination. Given
the presence of these Superfund Sites and the routing of the line as
originally proposed, either through or near those sites, BPA has
determined that preparation of an EIS is appropriate.
BPA will be the lead agency for preparation of the EIS. The USFS
and BLM will act as cooperating agencies to assist with preparation of
the EIS, including assisting BPA in evaluating transmission line
alternatives and identifying interests that should be addressed in the
EIS. If, after completion of the environmental review in the EIS, BPA
decides to proceed with constructing, operating, and maintaining a new
line, both the USFS and BLM would be able to use the information in the
EIS to support their respective decisions to grant Special Use Permits
to BPA, as appropriate, where the line would cross their respective
lands. Additional cooperating agencies for the EIS may be identified as
the proposed project proceeds through the NEPA process.
Alternatives Proposed for Consideration: BPA has identified three
potential action alternatives that vary the transmission line by route,
connection point, length, and voltage. Two of these alternatives would
originate from the same proposed Hooper Springs Substation as was
described in the May 2009 Preliminary EA, while the third alternative
would originate from PacifiCorp's existing ThreeMile Knoll Substation.
The three potential alternatives are as follows:
Hooper Springs Substation and Northernmost Route (Proposed
Action): Under this alternative, BPA would construct, operate, and
maintain a new
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115-kV, 32-mile, single-circuit transmission line, from BPA's proposed
Hooper Springs Substation, extending generally north along Highway 34
before heading east to connect with LVE's existing 115-kV Lane Creek
Substation east of the City of Wayan, Idaho, crossing both private land
and public land (USFS and BLM lands), but remaining south of Grays Lake
National Wildlife Refuge and outside the four known contaminated mining
sites to the maximum extent practicable.
Hooper Springs Substation and Easternmost Route, with Line
Adjustments: Under this alternative, BPA would construct, operate, and
maintain a new 115-kV, 22- to 30-mile, double-circuit transmission
line, connecting PacifiCorp's existing Threemile Knoll Substation with
the proposed BPA-constructed, operated, and maintained Hooper Springs
Substation, extending generally northeast and then east before
connecting with LVE's existing Lane Creek-Valley Line at a point about
2 miles southeast of the intersection of Blackfoot River Road and
Diamond Creek Road. This alternative is similar to the action
originally proposed in the Preliminary EA, except that BPA, rather than
LVE, would retain ownership, operation, and maintenance of the line,
and would route the line around known Superfund Sites, thus also
lengthening the line.
Threemile Knoll Substation and Northernmost Route: Under
this alternative, BPA would not construct Hooper Springs Substation.
BPA would construct, operate, and maintain a new 138-kV (230-kV
construction), 32-mile, single-circuit transmission line, connecting
PacifiCorp's existing Threemile Knoll Substation with LVE's existing
138/115-kV Lane Creek Substation, using the route specified in the
Proposed Action.
In addition to these three action alternatives, BPA also will
consider a No Action Alternative. Under this alternative, BPA would not
construct the Hooper Springs Substation or a transmission line. Other
alternatives may be identified through the scoping process.
Public Participation and Identification of Environmental Resources:
With this Notice of Intent, BPA is initiating the public scoping
process for the Hooper Springs Project EIS. BPA will conduct a 30-day
scoping period during which Tribes, affected landowners, concerned
citizens, special interest groups, local, State, and Federal
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on
the scope of the Draft EIS to be prepared. The potential environmental
resources identified for analysis in most transmission line projects
include land use, recreation, transportation and aviation,
socioeconomics, cultural resources, visual resources, public health and
safety, noise, electric and magnetic field effects, sensitive plants
and animals and their habitats, soil erosion, wetlands and floodplains,
and fish and water resources. BPA is seeking any additional information
about these environmental resources, and impacts to those resources,
from the proposed alternatives, including potential mitigation measures
for each proposed alternative or different alternatives that may meet
the technical requirements of the transmission system.
While all comments are appreciated, BPA specifically seeks comment
to inform its analysis of the effects of any potential line route on
bird species, habitat, and habitat use, including flyway patterns and
other behaviors in the Grays Lake National Wildlife Refuge area and any
other flyway areas identified through this process. BPA also
particularly seeks information about the nature and extent of the four
known Superfund sites, and any other contamination in the area not
currently known to the agency.
Scoping will help BPA further assess and refine the transmission
line alternatives to be studied in the Draft EIS. Scoping will also
ensure that a full range of issues related to this proposal are
addressed in the Draft EIS, and identify significant or potentially
significant impacts that may result from the proposed project. When
completed, the Draft EIS will be circulated for review and comment, and
BPA will hold public meetings to answer questions and receive comments.
At this time, BPA expects to issue the Draft EIS in spring 2012. BPA
will consider and respond to comments received on the Draft EIS in the
Final EIS. The Final EIS is expected to be published in fall 2012.
BPA's decision will be documented in a Record of Decision that will
follow the Final EIS.
Issued in Portland, Oregon, on June 29, 2010.
Stephen J. Wright,
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010-16622 Filed 7-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P