WAPA opens public comment period on draft EIS statement on power lines near Estes Park

A notice by the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA was published in the Federal Register on April 16, regarding the intent to prepare an Environmental Impact (EIS and to conduct scoping meetings. This initiates a 90-day public scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues, opportunities and concerns that should be considered in the preparation of a draft EIS regarding the rebuild of transmission lines on the Estes to Flatiron route. The scoping period will end on July 16, or 15 days after the date of the last public scoping meeting, whichever is later. In order to ensure consideration in the draft EIS, all comments must be received prior to the close of the scoping period. WAPA will provide additional opportunities for public participation upon publication of the draft EIS. The public will be notified in advance of future opportunities for participation, as the EIS is prepared.

Western Area Power Administration currently owns and operates two 115-kilovolt transmission lines on two separate rights-of-way (ROW, located between Flatiron Reservoir (near Loveland, Colo. and the town of Estes Park, Colo. Each transmission line is approximately 16 miles long. WAPA is proposing to remove one transmission line and abandon the ROW. The remaining transmission line would be rebuilt along the existing ROW, with taller steel monopoles and would be double-circuited (i.e., six conductors per pole.

WAPA determined that an EIS is the appropriate level of national environmental policy act (NEPA review. Therefore, WAPA will prepare an EIS on its proposal to upgrade and co-locate two existing, separate transmission lines on a double-circuit transmission line on one ROW, in accordance with NEPA, the Department of Energy (DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ regulations for implementing NEPA. Portions of Western’s proposal may affect floodplains and wetlands, so the Notice of Intent also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action, in accordance with DOE floodplain and wetland environmental review requirements.

To provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposal and project information, WAPA expects to hold two public meetings: one in Estes Park one in Loveland, during the public scoping period. WAPA will announce the dates and locations of the public scoping meetings through local news media, newsletters and posting on the Western website at http://ww2.wapa.gov/sites/western/transmission/infrastruct/Pages/Estes-Flatiron.aspx, at least 15 days prior to each meeting. Attendees will be able to speak directly with Western and the Forest Service at the EIS scoping meetings about Western’s proposal. The public is encouraged to provide information and comments on issues it believes Western should address in the EIS. Comments may be broad in nature or restricted to specific areas of concern. After gathering comments on the scope of the EIS, Western will address those issues raised in the EIS. In addition, Western will use the results of the EA scoping process to help define the scope of the EIS. Comments on Western’s proposal will be accepted at any time during the EIS process, and may be directed to Western as described under ADDRESSES above. Comments received outside of the designated comment periods may be addressed in the Draft EIS, otherwise they will be addressed later in the process, such as in the Final EIS, if practicable. WAPA will consider all comments on the scope of the EIS received or postmarked by the end of scoping. The public is invited to submit comments on the proposal at any time during the EIS process.

Comments related to the proposed project may be submitted by mail to Tim Snowden, Western Area Power Administration, 5555 E. Crossroads Blvd., P.O. Box 3700, Loveland, CO 80539-3003, fax (970 461-7213 or email, RMR_estesflatironeis@wapa.gov.

For additional information on the proposed project, the EIS process, or to receive a copy of the Draft EIS when it is published, contact Tim Snowden by the methods noted above. For general information on the DOE’s NEPA review process, contact Carol M. Borgstrom, Director of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-54, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-0119, telephone (202 586-4600 or (800 472-2756, fax (202 586-7031.

The EIS process will include local EIS scoping meeting notifications, public scoping meetings; consultation and coordination with appropriate federal, state, county and local agencies and tribal governments; involvement with affected landowners; distribution of and public review and comment on the draft EIS; a formal public hearing or hearings on the draft EIS; distribution of a published final EIS; and publication of separate Records of Decision in the Federal Register by Western and the Forest Service.

Western’s proposed project area is located between Flatiron Reservoir and Estes Park, in a fairly mountainous territory and crosses open and developed areas. The area is characterized by rugged terrain, with scattered developments set against the backdrop of Rocky Mountain National Park. The EIS will review relevant environmental information and will analyze the potential impacts on the full range of potentially affected environmental resources.

Interested parties are invited to participate in the scoping process to help define the scope of the EIS, significant resources and issues to be analyzed in depth, and to eliminate from detailed study issues that are not pertinent. The EIS scoping process will involve all interested agencies (federal, state, county, and local, Native American tribes, public interest groups, businesses, affected landowners and individual members of the public.

Western Area Power Administration published the Estes Park to Flatiron Reservoir Notice of Intent to Conduct an Environmental Impact Statement in the Federal Register April 16. You can see the notice in its entirety at: https://federalregister.gov/articles/2012/04/17/2012-9179/estes-to-flatiron-substation-transmission.

Among other things, this notice identifies the duration of the public scoping period, the addresses for comments and background information into the project. All comments submitted from the earlier environmental assessment scoping period will be included in the EIS, and WAPA is primarily interested in new issues during this scoping period.For more information on the project, visit http://ww2.wapa.gov/sites/western/transmission/infrastruct/Pages/Estes-Flatiron.aspx.

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