[Federal Register: May 29, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 102)]
[Notices]
[Page 25764-25765]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29my09-89]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[NM-114438; AZA-35058; L51010000 ER0000 LVRWG09G0690]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Possible Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest
Transmission Project in Arizona and New Mexico
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), New Mexico State Office,
announces its intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS), and by this notice is announcing the beginning of the scoping
process and soliciting input on identification of issues and proposed
planning criteria in response to a right-of-way application filed by
SunZia Transmission, LLC (SunZia).
DATES: Comments should be submitted no later than 45 days after
publication of this Notice in the Federal Register. The BLM will
announce public scoping meetings to identify relevant issues through
local news media, newsletters, and the BLM Web site (see below) at
least 15 days prior to each meeting. We will provide additional
opportunities for public participation upon publication of the Draft
EIS, including a 90-day public comment period.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments or resource information by any of
the following methods:
Web site: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/more/lands_realty.html.
E-Mail: NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov.
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, SunZia
Southwest Transmission Project, P.O. Box 27115, Santa Fe, NM 87502-
0115.
Courier/Hand Delivery: Bureau of Land Management, SunZia Southwest
Transmission Project, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505.
Documents pertinent to the right-of-way application may be examined
at: Bureau of Land Management New Mexico State Office, Public Room,
1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505, Telephone (505) 438-7471.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further information and/or to have your
name added to the mailing list, contact Adrian Garcia, SunZia Southwest
Transmission BLM Project Manager, at the New Mexico State Office, P.O.
Box 27115, Santa Fe, NM 87502-0115, or by e-mail at
NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SunZia has submitted a right-of-way
application to construct, operate, and maintain two new single-circuit
overhead 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines originating at a new
substation in either Socorro County or Lincoln County in the vicinity
of Bingham or Ancho, New Mexico, and terminating at the Pinal Central
Substation in Pinal County near Coolidge, Arizona. The overall
transmission line route would be approximately 460 miles in length, a
substantial part of this length on BLM lands, and two separate
transmission lines would be located on BLM, State, and private lands.
SunZia's proposal is to transport electricity generated by power
generation resources, including primarily renewable resources, to
western power markets and load centers. The SunZia project would enable
the development of renewable energy resources, including wind, solar,
and geothermal generation, by creating access to the interState power
grid in the Southwest and providing increased transfer capacity. The
proposed project would also increase power reliability across the
southwestern United States, allow communities in southern Arizona and
southern New Mexico to economically access energy generated from
renewable sources, provide power
[[Page 25765]]
to help meet growing demand in the western United States, and enhance
domestic energy security.
The Southwest Area Transmission Group--a regional transmission
planning organization--identified a need for the project. Its
importance is demonstrated by the abundance of proposed projects that
have submitted interconnection requests to transmission owners within
the proposed project area, and the potential for renewable energy sites
within the SunZia project area. Additional transmission would be
required to support development of potential renewable energy projects
in Arizona and New Mexico. In addition, the requirement of each State
to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) and national interests in
energy, demonstrate the need for the proposed project.
The proposed transmission line route and alternatives developed
through the NEPA process would cross BLM lands in Arizona and New
Mexico, as well as State and private lands. To the extent feasible, the
proposed route would use existing transmission line corridors and
designated utility corridors located on Federal land. One of the 500 kV
transmission lines would be constructed and operated as an alternating
current (AC) facility. SunZia may construct and operate the other
proposed transmission lines as either AC or direct current (DC). The
SunZia transmission lines would interconnect with planned substations
along the route. Equipment additions and modifications would be
required at each of the interconnecting substations. Engineering
studies would determine those requirements as part of the project. A
right-of-way of up to 1,000 feet in width and a lease-term of 50 years
would be required to construct, operate, and maintain the transmission
lines, structures and appurtenances. If constructed, the project would
be in operation year-round, transporting electrical power to major
substation hubs in Arizona and New Mexico. The project would have a bi-
directional transmission capacity of approximately 3,000 megawatts or
greater of electrical power.
The proposed project would take approximately three years to
construct and would likely be constructed in phased segments with an
in-service date of 2013. Specific acreages of access roads and
temporary work areas would be determined through the NEPA process and
project design.
In Arizona, approximately 43 miles of the proposed route would
cross public land administered by the Safford and Tucson BLM Field
Offices. In New Mexico, approximately 128 miles of the proposed route
would cross public land administered by the BLM Las Cruces District
Office and BLM Socorro Field Office. The proposed route would pass in
the general vicinity of the following locations:
Arizona: Coolidge, San Manuel, Safford, Willcox, Bowie, and San Simon;
and
New Mexico: Lordsburg, Deming, Hatch, Derry, Arrey, Truth or
Consequences, San Antonio, Bingham, Ancho, and Carrizozo.
The BLM is the lead Federal agency for the NEPA analysis process and
preparation of the EIS. Cooperating agencies identified at this time
could include: The Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, the New Mexico State Land Office, and the Arizona State Land
Department. Other State and local governments will be invited to
participate in the process, and consultation will occur with local,
State, and tribal governments.
The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis,
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the EIS.
At present, the BLM has identified the following preliminary issues:
The potential effects of the proposed action on wildlife habitat,
plants, and animals including threatened, endangered, and sensitive
species, visual resources, National Historic Trails and related
viewsheds; Native American traditional cultural properties and sacred
places; soils/water from surface disturbing activities; local and
regional socioeconomic conditions; consistency with local government
land use plans; and future reclamation/mitigation from transmission
line construction or location. The BLM encourages the public to send
comments concerning the project as proposed, other feasible alternative
locations, possible mitigation measures, and any other information
relevant to the proposed action.
Authorization of this proposal may require amendments to one or
more RMPs. By this notice, the BLM is complying with requirements in 43
CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of potential RMP amendments,
predicated on the findings of the EIS. If RMP amendments are necessary,
the BLM will integrate the RMP process with the NEPA process for this
project.
Your input is important and will be considered in the public
scoping process. All comment submittals must include the commenter's
name and street address. Comments including the names and addresses of
the commenter will be available for public inspection at the above
offices during business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. Before including your address, phone
number, e-mail address, or any other personal identifying information
in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your
personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold from public
review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
William Merhege,
Acting Deputy State Director, Lands and Resources.
[FR Doc. E9-12512 Filed 5-28-09; 8:45 am]
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