[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19744-19745]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8062]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Forest Service
Final Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line Project
Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument Management Plan Amendment
AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA; Bureau of Land Management, USDI and
National Park Service, USDI.
ACTION: Notice of availability
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended, the Forest Service (FS), with the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS) as cooperating
agencies, has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
for the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line Project and a Proposed
Management Plan Amendment (PMPA) for the Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument, and by this notice is announcing its availability.
DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's PMPA/
FEIS. A person who meets the conditions and files a protest must file
the protest within 30 days of the date that the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes this Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line
Project FEIS/PMPA for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
have been sent to affected Federal, State, and local government
agencies and to other stakeholders. Copies of the FEIS/PMPA are
available for public inspection at the following BLM offices: Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument Headquarters, 190 E. Center
Street, Kanab, UT; Kanab Field Office, 318 N 100 E, Kanab, UT; Utah
State Office, 440 W 200 S, Salt Lake City, UT. Interested persons may
also download and/or review the FEIS/PMPA on the Internet at http://fs.usda.gov/goto/dixie/projects.
All protests related to the Grand Staircase Escalante National
Monument PMPA must be in writing and mailed to one of the following
addresses:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regular mail Overnight mail
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda BLM Director (210), Attention:
Williams, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, Brenda Williams, 20 M Street,
DC 20035. SE, Room 2134LM, Washington,
DC 20036.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Susan Baughman, Dixie National
Forest, USDA Forest Service, Tropic to Hatch 138kV Transmission Line
Project EIS Project Leader, 1789 N. Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah
84720 or; Matthew Betenson, Assistant Grand Staircase-Escalante
National Monument Manager--Planning and Support Services, 190 E Center,
Kanab, Utah 84741/phone (435) 644-4309.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FEIS/PMPA evaluates the environmental
effects of the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Tropic
to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line proposed by Garkane Energy
Cooperative in Garfield County, Utah, on lands currently managed by the
U.S. Forest Service, Dixie National Forest; U.S. Bureau of Land
Management, Kanab Field Office, Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument; State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands
Administration; and potentially the National Park Service, Bryce Canyon
National Park. The transmission line would be approximately 30 miles
long, beginning in Tropic, Utah and extending west to Hatch, Utah.
Associated Federal actions include Dixie National Forest issuance of a
special use easement, Bureau of Land Management issuance of a right-of-
way, proposed amendment to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument Management Plan and issuance of a right-of-way, potential
Bryce Canyon National Park issuance of a special park permit for a
right-of-way, and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands
Administration issuance of a right-of-way for construction and
operation of the project. The Preferred Alternative in the FEIS/PMPA
would amend the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Management
Plan (2000) by: (a) Designating a 300-foot wide Passage Zone along an
approximate three and three-quarter mile path through an area currently
designated as Primitive Zone in the Monument Management Plan, and (b)
changing the existing VRM Class designation from Class II to Class III
within this linear area. The plan amendment decisions would be
necessary to accommodate the potential new transmission line.
Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS Plan Amendment were received
from the public and from internal interagency governmental review.
These comments were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the
FEIS/PMPA. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text,
but did not significantly change the FEIS/PMPA. This final document is
expected to be used in conjunction with the Draft EIS published in
December 2009. The two documents, together, make up the FEIS/PMPA for
the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the FEIS/PMPA may be found in the ``Dear Reader Letter'' of
the Tropic to Hatch 138 kV Transmission Line FEIS and at 43 CFR 1610.5-
2. E-mail and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests
unless the protesting party also provides the original letter by either
regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest
period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-mail or
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests
[[Page 19745]]
to the attention of the BLM protest coordinator at (202) 912-7212, and
e-mails to [email protected].
All protests, including the follow-up letter to e-mails or faxes,
must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth
in the ADDRESSES section above. Before including your phone number, e-
mail address, or other personal identifying information in your
protest, you should be aware that your entire protest--including your
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your protest to withhold your personal
identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, 40 CFR 1500-1508, 43 CFR 1610.2,
43 CFR 1610.5, and 36 CFR 220.
Dated: March 24, 2011.
Robert G. MacWhorter,
Forest Supervisor--Dixie National Forest.
[FR Doc. 2011-8062 Filed 4-7-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P