[Federal Register: August 27, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 166)]
[Notices]
[Page 51569-51571]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27au03-56]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. PP-229]
Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement
and Public Hearings for the Proposed Tucson Electric Power Company
(TEP) Sahuarita-Nogales Transmission Line
AGENCY: Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of availability and public hearings.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) announces the availability of
the ``Tucson Electric Power Company (TEP) Sahuarita-Nogales
Transmission Line Draft Environmental Impact Statement'' (DOE/EIS-0336)
for public review and comment. DOE also announces four public hearings
on the Draft EIS. The Draft EIS was prepared pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations, 40 CFR
parts 1500-1508, and the DOE NEPA regulations, 10 CFR part 1021. The
Draft EIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the proposed action of
granting a Presidential permit for the proposed project and reasonable
alternatives, including the ``No Action'' alternative of denying the
permit. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), and the U.S. Section of the International Boundary and Water
Commission (USIBWC) are cooperating agencies in the preparation of this
Draft EIS.
DATES: DOE invites interested Members of Congress, state and local
governments, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribal
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide
comments on the Draft EIS. The public comment period started with the
publication in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection
Agency of the ``Notice of Availability'' of the Draft EIS on August 22,
2003, and will continue until October 14, 2003. Written and oral
comments will be given equal weight, and DOE will consider all comments
received or postmarked by that date in preparing the Final EIS.
Comments received or postmarked after that date will be considered to
the extent practicable.
Dates for the public hearings are:
1. September 25, 2003, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Green Valley, Arizona
2. September 25, 2003, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Green Valley, Arizona
3. September 26, 2003, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Nogales, Arizona
4. September 26, 2003, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Nogales, Arizona
Requests to speak at a specific public hearing should be received
by Dr. Jerry Pell as indicated in the ADDRESSES section below on or
before September 15, 2003. Requests to speak may also be made at the
time of registration for the hearing(s). However, persons who have
submitted advance requests to speak will be given priority if time
should be limited during the meeting.
ADDRESSES: Requests to speak at the public hearings should be addressed
to: Dr. Jerry Pell, Office of Fossil Energy (FE-27), U.S. Department of
Energy, Washington DC 20585, or transmitted by phone: 202-586-3362,
facsimile: 202-318-7761, or electronic mail at Jerry.Pell@hq.doe.gov.
Please be aware that anthrax screening delays conventional mail
delivery to DOE.
The locations of the public hearings are:
1. Both hearings on September 25, 2003, will be held at the Santa
Rita Springs Facility, Green Valley Recreation Department, 921 W. Via
Rio Fuerte, Green Valley, Arizona 85614-5711.
2. Both hearings on September 26, 2003, will be held in the County
Board Hearing Room, Santa Cruz County Office Building, 2150 N. Congress
Drive, Nogales, Arizona 85621.
Copies of the Draft EIS are available as (a) the Summary in paper
format, accompanied by a CD-ROM that includes the entire Draft EIS, (b)
the entire Draft EIS in paper format, accompanied by the CD-ROM, or (c)
the CD-ROM only; requests for any of these should be addressed to Dr.
Pell at any of the addresses above. Additionally, the Draft EIS is
available on the Internet at http://www.ttclients.com/tep.
Written comments on the Draft EIS may be addressed to Dr. Jerry
Pell as indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice or submitted
on the project Web site at http://www.ttclients.com/tep.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed
project or to receive a copy of the Draft EIS, contact Dr. Pell as
indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (EH-42), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000
[[Page 51570]]
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, Phone: 202-586-4600 or
leave a message at 800-472-2756; Facsimile: 202-586-7031.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Executive Order (E.O.) 10485, as amended by E.O. 12038, requires
that a Presidential permit be issued by DOE before electric
transmission facilities may be constructed, maintained, operated, or
connected at the U.S. international border. The E.O. provides that a
Presidential permit may be issued after a finding that the proposed
project is consistent with the public interest. In determining
consistency with the public interest, DOE considers the impacts of the
project on the reliability of the U.S. electric power system and on the
environment. The regulations implementing the E.O. have been codified
at 10 CFR 205.320-205.329. Issuance of the permit indicates that there
is no Federal objection to the project, but does not mandate that the
project be completed.
On August 17, 2000, TEP, a regulated public utility, filed an
application for a Presidential permit with the Office of Fossil Energy
of DOE and, on May 18, 2001, supplemented its application with its
March 1, 2001 application to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC)
for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility. TEP proposes to
construct two 345,000-volt (345-kV) transmission circuits on a single
set of support structures across the U.S. international border in the
vicinity of Nogales, Arizona. Both circuits would originate at TEP's
existing South Substation located approximately 15 miles south of
Tucson in the vicinity of Sahuarita, Arizona, and 1.4 miles east of
Interstate Highway 19 (I-19), south of Pima Mine Road, in Pima County,
Arizona. Near the U.S. international border, the proposed transmission
lines would interconnect with the Citizens Communications system at the
proposed Gateway Substation that would be constructed just west of
Nogales, Arizona. South of the border, TEP would extend the line
approximately 60 miles to the Santa Ana Substation, located in the City
of Santa Ana, Sonora, Mexico, and owned by the Comisi[oacute]n Federal
de Electricidad (CFE), the national electric utility of Mexico.
On July 10, 2001, DOE published in the Federal Register (66 FR
35950) a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS for the proposed
project. The NOI informed the public of the proposed scope of the EIS,
solicited public participation in the scoping process, and announced
public scoping meetings that were held on July 30, 2001, in Sahuarita,
Arizona, and on July 31, 2001, in Rio Rico, Arizona. The public scoping
period initially closed on August 9, 2001, but then was extended to
August 31, 2001 (Federal Register Notice of July 27, 2001, 66 FR
39154). Comments received during the public scoping process were used
in preparing the Draft EIS.
Action Alternatives Considered
The action alternatives developed for the proposed project focus on
alternative routes to interconnect TEP's South Substation with the
proposed Gateway Substation. TEP's evaluation of interconnection
schemes, scoping comments, and discussions with DOE resulted in three
potentially viable alternative corridors for transmission
interconnection in southern Arizona: the Western Corridor (the
applicant's Preferred Alternative), the Central Corridor, and the
Crossover Corridor. The Crossover Corridor was included for analysis in
this Draft EIS based on public and tribal input received during the
public scoping period and tribal consultations. Another alternative,
the Eastern Corridor, was originally proposed by TEP but was eliminated
from analysis as a reasonable alternative in this Draft EIS at TEP's
request for reasons of reliability, constructability, existing
encroachment into the right-of-way, and visual impacts.
NEPA requires the identification of the agency's preferred
alternative or alternatives in a Draft EIS if one or more exists or, if
one does not yet exist at the draft stage, in the Final EIS, 40 CFR
part 1502.14(e). DOE reported in the NOI (see above) that TEP's
Preferred Alternative is the Western Corridor. In light of TEP's
preference and the ACC's decision to site TEP's proposed line only
along the Western Corridor, DOE has designated the Western Corridor as
DOE's preferred alternative at this time. DOE welcomes comments on this
designation. The cooperating agencies have not designated their
respective preferred alternatives at this time but will do so after
their review of environmental information is completed. Identification
of a preferred alternative in the Draft EIS does not preclude selection
of a different or modified preferred alternative in the Final EIS. The
final selection of preferred alternatives will be based on a balanced
evaluation of the environmental consequences, public comment, and
consideration of national policies.
No Action Alternative
The Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) regulations require
that an agency ``include the alternative of no action'' as one of the
alternatives it considers, 40 CFR 1502.14(d). For DOE and the
cooperating agencies, ``no action'' means any one of the Federal
agencies declining to grant approval for their area of jurisdiction.
Each agency will make its own decision independently, so that it is
possible that one or more agencies could grant permission for the
proposal while another could deny permission.
The Draft EIS analyzes the potential environmental effects, or
impacts, of TEP constructing and operating the proposed project in one
of the three alternative transmission corridors, and also analyzes the
No Action Alternative. CEQ's regulations require that an EIS contain a
description of the environmental effects (both positive and negative)
of the proposed alternatives. The regulations also distinguish between
direct and indirect effects (40 CFR 1508.8). Direct effects are caused
by an action and occur at the same time and place as the action.
Indirect effects are reasonably foreseeable effects caused by the
action that occur later in time or farther in distance. Both direct and
indirect effects are addressed in the Draft EIS. CEQ's regulations also
require that an EIS contain a description of the cumulative impacts of
the proposed alternatives (40 CFR 1508.7). CEQ's regulations define
cumulative impacts as those that result from the incremental impact of
an action when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable
future actions, regardless of what agency or person undertakes such
other actions. Cumulative impacts are addressed in the Draft EIS.
The Draft EIS presents information on the potential environmental
effects of both the proposed transmission line construction and
subsequent operation on land use and recreation, visual resources,
biological resources, cultural resources, socioeconomics, geology and
soils, water resources, air quality, noise, human health and
environment, infrastructure, transportation, and minority and low
income populations. The Draft EIS also includes a Floodplains and
Wetlands Assessment, in accordance with E.O. 11988, Floodplain
Management, and E.O. 11990, Protection of Wetlands.
Coronado National Forest Plan Amendment
The Coronado National Forest, U.S. Forest Service, has identified
the need for amendments to its Land and
[[Page 51571]]
Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) in order to implement any of the
action alternatives identified in the Draft EIS. The amendments needed
are for segments of all (three) action alternative corridor locations
and for visual resources. The public comment period for the amendments
will coincide with DOE's comment period. Comments on Forest Plan
amendments should be sent to Mr. John M. McGee, Forest Supervisor, U.S.
Forest Service, 300 West Congress, Tucson, Arizona 85701. Any inquiries
regarding the Forest Plan or the amendments should be directed to the
U.S. Forest Service.
Availability of the Draft EIS
DOE has distributed copies of the Draft EIS to appropriate Members
of Congress, state and local government officials in Arizona, American
Indian tribal governments, and other Federal agencies, groups, and
interested parties. Copies of the document may be obtained by
contacting DOE as provided in the section of this notice entitled
ADDRESSES. Copies of the Draft EIS and supporting documents are also
available for inspection at the locations identified below:
1. U.S. Department of Energy, Freedom of Information Reading Room,
Room 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW,
Washington, DC 20585.
2. Coronado National Forest, Federal Building, 300 West Congress
Street, 5th Floor, Room 5H, Tucson, AZ 85701 (phone 520-670-4527).
3. Nogales Ranger District, 303 Old Tucson Road, Nogales, AZ 85621
(phone 520-281-2296).
4. Rio Rico Public Library, 1060 Yavapai Drive, Rio Rico, AZ 85648
(phone 520-281-8067).
5. Tubac Community Library, 50 Bridge Road, Tubac, AZ 85646 (phone
520-398-9814).
6. Conrad Joyner-Green Valley Branch Library, 601 North La
Ca[ntilde]ada Drive, Green Valley, AZ 85614 (phone 520-625-8660).
7. Nogales-Santa Cruz County Public Library, 518 North Grand Ave.,
Nogales, AZ 85621 (phone 520-287-3343).
Comments on the Draft EIS may be submitted to Dr. Jerry Pell (see
ADDRESSES, above) or provided at the public hearings (see DATES,
above). After the public comment period ends on October 14, 2003, DOE
will consider all comments received, revise the Draft EIS as
appropriate, and issue a Final EIS. DOE will consider the Final EIS,
along with other information, such as electric reliability and national
policy factors, in deciding whether or not to issue a Presidential
permit.
Issued in Washington, DC, this 20th day of August 2003.
Anthony J. Como,
Deputy Director, Electric Power Regulation, Office of Coal and Power
Import/Export, Office of Coal and Power Systems, Office of Fossil
Energy.
[FR Doc. 03-21885 Filed 8-26-03; 8:45 am]
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