The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public comment on an environmental impact statement (EIS) that will evaluate the potential impacts of constructing the Gateway South 500-kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC) transmission line project, which is proposed to cross portions of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. The project is proposed by PacifiCorp, doing business as Rocky Mountain Power. The announcement was published in the Federal Register on April 1 and initiates a 90-day public scoping period.
Rocky Mountain Power proposes construction of a high-voltage overhead transmission line that would extend about 400 miles, depending on the route selected, from south-central Wyoming to central Utah, potentially crossing northwestern Colorado. The transmission line would begin near Medicine Bow, in Carbon County, Wyo., at the planned Aeolus Substation, and would extend south and west to the planned Clover Substation, near Mona, in Juab County, Utah. The project would also include two series compensation stations, about 200 acres in size, at two separate points between the planned Aeolus and Clover Substations to improve transport capacity and efficiency of the transmission line. When complete, the project would transmit about 1,500 megawatts of electricity generated from renewable and thermal sources at planned facilities in Wyoming. Alternative routes identified so far would cross federal, state, tribal and private lands.
Authorization of this proposal may result in the amendment of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and BLM land and resource management plans.
The BLM expects to host 12 open-house meetings at various locations in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah along the proposed corridor to provide the public an opportunity to review the proposal and project information.
Staff and project proponents will be available at each open house to explain project details and gather information from interested individuals or groups. Through the scoping process, the BLM expects to gather public input on resources and issues that should be addressed in the EIS, including route alternatives that should be analyzed in detail in the EIS and sources of information that may be used in the environmental analysis.
The USFS and other cooperating agencies are expected to participate in the public meetings.
All open-house meetings will be held from 4:30-7:30 p.m. on the following schedule:
May 10: Valley Community Center, 255 W. Osborne, Baggs, Wyo.
May 11: Rock Springs High School, 1375 James Drive, Rock Springs, Wyo.
May 12: Rawlins High School, 1402 Colorado St., Rawlins, Wyo.
May 17: Holiday Inn, 300 S. Colorado Hwy. 13, Craig, Colo.
May 18: Western Rio Blanco Recreation Center, 611 S. Stanolind Ave., Rangely, Colo.
May 19: Central High School, 550 Warrior Way, Grand Junction, Colo.
May 24: Union High School, 135 N. Union, Roosevelt, Utah
May 25: Ute Indian Tribal Office, 988 South 7500 East, Fort Duchesne, Utah
May 26: Juab High School, 802 North 650 East, Nephi, Utah
May 31: Carbon High School, 740 East 400 North, Price, Utah
June 1: North Sanpete High School, 390 East 700 South, Mount Pleasant, Utah
June 2: Green River High School, 745 Pirate Ave., Green River, Utah
Comments may be made to the BLM during the open house meetings, via the project email address ([email protected]) or in writing to BLM Wyoming State Office, Energy Gateway South Transmission Project, P.O. Box 21150, 5353 Yellowstone Rd., Cheyenne, Wyo. 82003, Attention: Tamara Gertsch. Facsimile comments will not be accepted. Project information and documents will be available on the project website: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hdd/gateway_south.html. To ensure that written comments and information are fully considered during the preparation of the Draft EIS, the BLM must receive them by close of business on June 30. All comments and submissions will be considered in the environmental analysis process.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined during the business hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, at the following locations:
BLM, Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Rd., Cheyenne, Wyo.
BLM, Rawlins Field Office, 1300 N. Third St., Rawlins, Wyo.
BLM, Rock Springs Field Office, 280 Hwy. 191 N., Rock Springs, Wyo.
BLM, Little Snake Field Office, 455 Emerson St., Craig, Colo.
BLM, White River Field Office, 220 E. Market St., Meeker, Colo.
BLM, Grand Junction Field Office, 2815 H Rd., Grand Junction, Colo.
BLM, Fillmore Field Office, 35 East 500 North, Fillmore, Utah
BLM, Moab Field Office, 82 E. Dogwood, Moab, Utah
BLM, Price Field Office, 125 South 600 West, Price, Utah
BLM, Vernal Field Office,170 South 500 East, Vernal, Utah
BLM, Richfield Field Office, 150 East 900 North, Richfield, Utah
USFS (Lead Forest Office), Dixie National Forest Office, 1789 N.
Wedgewood Lane, Cedar City, Utah.
The following agencies have agreed to participate as cooperating agencies: USFS; Bureau of Indian Affairs; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Department of Defense; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the states of Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah; Mesa, Moffat, and Rio Blanco counties, Colorado; Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Grand, Juab, Sanpete, and Uintah counties, Utah; Carbon County, Wyoming; Little Snake River, Medicine Bow, Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins, and Sweetwater County conservation districts, Wyoming.
For further information or to have your name added to our mailing list, contact Tamara Gertsch, project manager; telephone (307)775-6115; email: GatewaySouth_WYMail@ blm.gov; address: BLM Wyoming State Office, Energy Gateway South Transmission Project, Box 21150, 5353 Yellowstone Rd., Cheyenne, Wyo. 82003.
BLM manages more than 245 million acres — more land than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.
