Notice2021-11788
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project, New Mexico
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Published
June 4, 2021
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentLand Management Bureau
Abstract
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) New Mexico State Office (NMSO), Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM), intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the environmental impacts associated with SunZia's application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. Proposed amendments to SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments to the Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies will analyze in the EIS. BLM NMSO is the lead agency for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS), and other agencies serving as cooperating agencies. This Notice initiates the scoping process and opens a 30-day public comment period to solicit public comments and identify issues.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 106 (Friday, June 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30066-30068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11788]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNM930000 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWG19G0690 19XL5017AP]
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and
Resource Management Plan Amendments for the SunZia Southwest
Transmission Project, 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
(NMSO), Santa Fe, New Mexico (NM), intends to prepare an Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze the environmental impacts associated
with SunZia's application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. Proposed amendments to
SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments to the Socorro
Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District Mimbres
Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest Land
and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies will analyze in the
EIS. BLM NMSO is the lead agency for purposes of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service (FWS), U.S. Forest Service (FS), National Park Service (NPS),
and other agencies serving as
[[Page 30067]]
cooperating agencies. This Notice initiates the scoping process and
opens a 30-day public comment period to solicit public comments and
identify issues.
DATES: The BLM requests comments concerning the scope of the analysis
and identification of relevant information, studies, and analyses. All
comments must be received by July 6, 2021.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the ePlanning site:
<a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2011785/510">https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2011785/510</a>. Comments
and requests for additional information may also be sent to Adrian
Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, New Mexico State
Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508. Verbal comment may also
be submitted via a telephone hotline at 1-888-959-2510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Adrian Garcia, Project Manager, Bureau
of Land Management, New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa
Fe, New Mexico 87508, telephone: (505) 954-2199, or email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c8a9afa9baaba1a988aaa4a5e6afa7be"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="abcacccad9c8c2caebc9c7c685ccc4dd">[email protected]</span></a>. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339
to contact the above individual during normal business hours. The FRS
is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or
question. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
In compliance with NEPA, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended, the BLM NMSO intends to prepare an EIS to
analyze the environmental impacts associated with SunZia Transmission,
LLC's (SunZia) application seeking to amend its right-of-way grant for
the SunZia Southwest Transmission Project (Project). Proposed
amendments to SunZia's right-of-way grant may require plan amendments
to the Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces
District Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National
Wildlife Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola
National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan, which the agencies
will analyze in the EIS.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
The proposed Project is composed of two planned 500 kilovolt (kV)
transmission lines located across approximately 520 miles of Federal,
State, and private lands between central New Mexico and central
Arizona. The purpose of the Project is to transport up to 4,500
megawatts of primarily renewable energy from New Mexico to markets in
Arizona and California. The permitted route originates at a planned
substation in Torrance County, New Mexico, and terminates at the
existing Pinal Central Substation in Pinal County, Arizona. The Project
traverses Lincoln, Socorro, Sierra, Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, Valencia, and
Torrance counties in New Mexico and Graham, Greenlee, Cochise, Pinal,
and Pima counties in Arizona. The route has four segments:
<bullet> Segment 1: Pinal Central Substation to Willow Substation
<bullet> Segment 2: Willow Substation to SunZia South Substation
(Segment 2a in Arizona, Segment 2b in New Mexico)
<bullet> Segment 3: SunZia South Substation to New Mexico Institute of
Mining and Technology (NM Tech)
<bullet> Segment 4: NM Tech to SunZia East Substation
Prior environmental documents include a Final EIS in 2013 and a
Record of Decision and a subsequent Environmental Assessment and
Finding of No New Significant Impact in 2015 to accommodate burial of
approximately 5 miles of the transmission line in three locations in
the vicinity of White Sands Missile Range. The BLM issued a right-of-
way (ROW) grant to SunZia in 2016, authorizing use of a 400-foot-wide
corridor across 183 miles of Federal lands administered by the BLM.
Construction of the lines has not begun.
SunZia is proposing to amend the existing grant in four components:
<bullet> Component 1--Localized Route Modifications: Five route
modifications in New Mexico in Segments 2 and 3. These five
modifications involve BLM-administered land (an increase in route
length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional approximate 38.8
acres). Proposed modifications on non-BLM-administered land involve an
increase in route length of approximately 0.8 miles and an additional
approximate 38.9 acres. These modifications are being proposed to
address a range of issues, including challenges in obtaining a private
landowner ROW or easement and topography.
<bullet> Component 2--Access Roads and Temporary Work Areas Outside
the Granted ROW: Adding a ROW for about 761 miles of existing and new
access roads, of which approximately 708.8 miles would be permanent,
52.2 miles would be temporary, and approximately 739.8 acres of
temporary work areas that fall outside the permitted 400-foot-wide
corridor across both States. About 216.5 miles of access roads are on
BLM-administered land (172.3 in New Mexico; 44.2 in Arizona). About
157.7 acres of temporary work areas are located on BLM-administered
land in New Mexico and 22.6 in Arizona.
<bullet> Component 3--Segment 4 Reroute: A reroute of Segment 4 to
accommodate ongoing concerns of White Sands Missile Range, take
advantage of an opportunity to partially parallel the Western Spirit
345 kV Transmission Project, and move the eastern substation closer to
proposed wind-generation projects. The total length of the currently
permitted Segment 4 route is 91.7 miles, of which 20.2 miles are
Federal land administered by the BLM. SunZia is considering three
alternative routes. Common to all three alternatives are approximately
the first 65 miles, from the SunZia East Substation to where the
alternative routes diverge. These 65 miles would cross BLM
(approximately 0.2 mile), State, and private lands, 33 miles of which
are parallel to the proposed Western Spirit 345 kV Transmission
Project. The three alternative routes (including the initial 65 miles)
are:
[cir] Alternative Route 1: options ranging from 151.8 to 153.9
miles, would cross approximately 28.1 to 31.5 miles of BLM-administered
land and approximately 4.7 miles across the Cibola National Forest
administered by the FS.
[cir] Alternative Route 2: options ranging from 114.9 to 121.5
miles, would cross approximately 5.9 miles of BLM-administered land and
14.2 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge administered
by the FWS.
[cir] Alternative Route 3: options ranging from 118.1 to 125.9
miles, would cross 9 to 9.6 miles of BLM-administered land and
approximately 11.6 miles across the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge
administered by the FWS.
Additionally, the BLM may consider and analyze in detail additional
route alternatives through the NEPA process other than those requested
by SunZia.
<bullet> Component 4--SunZia West Substation: A substation to
convert power from DC to AC. SunZia intends for one of the two proposed
SunZia transmission lines to be AC and the other transmission line to
be either AC or DC. The DC line would require equipment at each
terminus to convert the power from AC to DC (SunZia East HVDC
converter) and from DC to AC (SunZia West HVDC converter). The SunZia
West Substation is being sited along the permitted SunZia ROW on
approximately 80.7 acres of Arizona
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State land just east of Red Rock, Arizona (no Federal ROW is needed).
SunZia states the width of the permanent ROW for the transmission
lines typically is a minimum of 400 feet on BLM-administered lands but
may be up to 1,000 feet wide in areas with terrain constraints.
Summary of Expected Impacts
Impacts from the proposed action would include ground disturbance-
associated impacts to natural and cultural resources; visual impacts;
potential impacts to threatened and endangered species at the Rio
Grande River crossing, including the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher,
Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, and the Silvery Minnow; and socioeconomic effects
from construction, operation, and maintenance. If an alternative
reroute is selected, Federal agencies may need to amend land use plans.
The disciplines to be represented and used to prepare the EIS include,
but are not limited to:
<bullet> Land use and recreation;
<bullet> Visual resources;
<bullet> Wilderness, wilderness study areas, lands with wilderness
characteristics, and FS designated roadless areas;
<bullet> Vegetation/riparian/noxious and invasive weeds/special
status plant species, including Threatened and Endangered Species and
their habitat;
<bullet> General and special-status wildlife species, including
Threatened and Endangered Species and their habitat;
<bullet> Earth resources (geology, minerals, and soils);
<bullet> Water resources;
<bullet> Air quality;
<bullet> Cultural resources;
<bullet> Social and economic conditions;
<bullet> Health and safety/hazardous materials;
<bullet> Paleontological resources;
<bullet> Special designations; and
<bullet> Wildland fire ecology and management.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
If approved, the BLM would issue a ROW Grant and Temporary Use
Permit for Federal lands. Any alternative reroute selected that would
cross the Cibola National Forest or the Sevilleta National Wildlife
Refuge would require permit approval from the FS and FWS, respectively.
Public Scoping Process
The BLM will initiate a 30-day scoping period beginning with the
publication of this Notice of Intent (NOI). The BLM will hold a series
of public scoping meetings to begin approximately 15 days after
issuance of the NOI.
The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
The BLM will continue to consult with Native American tribes on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175
and other policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust
assets and potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due
consideration.
Federal, State, and local agencies, along with Tribes and other
stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the proposed
Project that the BLM is evaluating are invited to participate in the
scoping process and, if eligible, may request, or be requested by the
BLM, to participate in the development of the environmental analysis as
a cooperating agency.
Authorization of this proposal may require amendments to the
Socorro Field Office Resource Management Plan, the Las Cruces District
Mimbres Resource Management Plan, the Sevilleta National Wildlife
Refuge Comprehensive Conservation Plan, and the Cibola National Forest
Land and Resource Management Plan. By this notice, the BLM is complying
with requirements 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify the public of potential
plan amendments. The BLM will integrate the land use planning process
with the NEPA analysis process for this project. A Forest plan
amendment may be required for this project. The 2012 Planning Rule (36
CFR part 219) requires consideration of the applicable substantive
requirements as described in 36 CFR 219.8 through 219.11 that are
directly related to the plan direction being added, modified, or
removed by the amendment (36 CFR 219.13).
Request for Identification of Potential Alternatives, Information,
Analyses, and Mitigation Measures Relevant to the Proposed Action
The BLM encourages comments concerning the proposed SunZia
Southwest Transmission Project, feasible alternatives, possible
measures to mitigate, minimize and/or avoid adverse environmental
impacts, and any other information relevant to the proposed action. You
may submit comments at any time by using one of the methods listed in
the ADDRESSES section of this Notice. Public scoping meetings will be
conducted virtually with BLM staff to explain project details and
gather information from interested individuals or groups.
Representatives from SunZia will be available to answer questions. You
should submit comments by the close of the 30-day scoping period or 10
days after the last public meeting.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so. Any persons wishing to be added to a mailing list of
interested parties can call or write to the BLM, as described in this
Notice. Additional information meetings may be conducted throughout the
process to keep the public informed of the progress of the EIS.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)
Steven R. Wells,
Acting New Mexico State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-11788 Filed 6-3-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-FB-P
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