[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 61 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15391-15392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8375]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Bonneville Power Administration
Bonneville Power Administration South Oregon Coast Reinforcement
Project
AGENCY: Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Department of Energy
(DOE).
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement
(EIS).
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SUMMARY: Bonneville Power Administration proposes to build a 500-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line and new substation to reinforce
electrical service to the southern coast of the state of Oregon. Nucor
Steel, a division of Nucor Corporation, may build a new steel mill in
the Coos Bay/North Bend, Oregon, area. This plant would require a peak
load of 150 megawatts (MW) and an instantaneous peak of 225 MW. The
existing transmission system to the area does not have the capacity to
serve this potential load and other anticipated load growth on the
south coast of Oregon. This project will look at providing a
transmission path to serve this load. The power supplier for this load
is subject to state utility regulations.
The State of Oregon has agreed to provide BPA funding to
investigate solutions to reinforce the transmission system to the South
Oregon Coast area and to support industrial development. If Nucor Steel
decides not to build the steel mill, BPA will stop pre-proposal
activities and inform the public and agencies that the environmental
process has been suspended.
Potential Federal cooperating agencies include the U.S. Department
of Interior, U.S. Bureau of Land Management; the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In accordance with National Environmental Policy Act requirements, BPA
and the cooperating agencies will prepare an EIS to inform
decisionmakers about potential environmental effects of the proposal.
The environmental analysis will cover the proposed transmission line, a
new BPA substation, and related actions including: construction of the
Nucor Steel plant; a 230-kV transmission line that would connect the
new BPA substation to PacifiCorp's Isthmus Substation south of Coos
Bay; and two new 230-kV transmission lines connecting the new BPA
substation to a new substation at the plant site.
DATES: Interested and affected members of the public such as
landowners, special interest groups, tribes, state and local
governments, utilities, and community groups are invited to help BPA
and the cooperating agencies identify alternatives, environmental
resources, and issues to be addressed in the draft EIS. Information to
explain the proposal, the environmental process, and how to participate
will be sent to interested or potentially affected members of the
public at the beginning of the scoping period. Three BPA-sponsored
scoping meetings will be held: Tuesday, April 14, at the Creswell
Community Center, 99 South First, Creswell, Oregon; Wednesday, April
15, at the Masonic Lodge Hall, 247 First Street, in Elkton, Oregon; and
Thursday, April 16, at the North Bend Community Center, 2222 Broadway,
North Bend, Oregon. Meetings will be held from 4-8 p.m. Meetings will
have an open-house format, with project material available for public
review. BPA, the cooperating agencies, the State of Oregon, Nucor
Steel, and PacifiCorp staff will answer questions. BPA will accept
verbal and written comments. The time and place of scoping meetings
will be announced in information being sent to interested members of
the public and local newspapers. Written comments before, during, or
after scoping meetings should be sent to the Communications Office at
the address below. The close of the comment period will be announced in
the pre-meeting information and at the public meetings.
BPA, in conjunction with the cooperating agencies, plans to file
and distribute a draft EIS for public review in August 1998. BPA, the
cooperating agencies, and the State of Oregon will hold public meetings
in local communities to give the public an opportunity to review and
comment on the draft EIS.
ADDRESSES: BPA invites participation, comments, and suggestions on the
proposed scope of the draft EIS. Send comment letters, requests to be
placed on the project mail list, and requests for more information to
the Communications Office, Bonneville Power Administration--ACS, P.O.
Box 12999, Portland, Oregon, 97212, or call 503-230-3478, toll-free 1-
800-622-4519, or fax 503-230-3984. Comments may also be sent to the BPA
Internet address: comment@bpa.gov. Documents can be requested by
calling toll-free 1-800-622-4520.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurens Driessen, Project Manager,
Bonneville Power Administration--TNF-3, P.O. Box 3621, Portland,
Oregon, 97208-3621. E-mail requests or questions should be sent to
lcdriessen@bpa.gov, or call toll-free 1-800-662-6963. You may also
contact Ken Barnhart, Environmental Project Manager, Bonneville Power
Administration--EC, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621. E-mail
requests or questions should be sent to kabarnhart@bpa.gov, or call
toll-free 1-800-662-6963.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The southern Oregon coast (from south of
Newport, Oregon, to the California-Oregon border and west of Eugene and
Roseburg, Oregon) is served from a 115-kV and a 230-kV transmission
line out of Lane Substation (near Eugene, Oregon), a 230-kV
transmission line from Santiam Substation (south of Salem, Oregon), and
a 230-kV transmission line from Dixonville (near Roseburg, Oregon). The
critical operating period for the Oregon coast is winter. Normal winter
load forecasts for the southern Oregon coast in the year 2000 show
about 720 MW of flow to the coast on these transmission lines to
support the area's winter load. With all lines in service, the existing
transmission system can support about 835 MW of flow on these lines. If
the Dixonville 230-kV transmission line is lost for any reason, the
system capacity is about 765 MW. Assuming 1.5 percent annual load
growth for this area (without the added load of the steel mill), a
transmission project may be required in the year 2004 to support the
southern Oregon coast for the loss of the Dixonville-Reston 230-kV
transmission line. According to existing BPA planning criteria, all
load must be served for the loss of a single
[[Page 15392]]
transmission line or transformer for all load conditions to maintain
reliable service.
The proposed Nucor Steel mill would require an instantaneous peak
load of 225 MW for its arc furnace. The expected annual load growth
with the new mill is about 3 percent. The existing transmission system
cannot serve the new plant and the expected load growth. Furthermore,
the existing system is not capable of suppressing voltage changes
induced by the arc furnace.
Alternatives Proposed for Consideration
BPA has been studying ways to reinforce the transmission system.
Several options for adding new 230-kV transmission lines and series
compensation were studied. These options cannot provide the system
reliability requirements needed, and the costs for adding three 230-kV
transmission lines and series compensation are comparable to a new 500-
kV transmission line. A new 500-kV line is needed to eliminate flickers
induced by the arc furnace.
Potential routes for a 500-kV transmission line have been developed
in cooperation with PacifiCorp and Federal, state and local agencies.
Three routes that parallel existing transmission lines are being
studied. The first route would follow an existing BPA transmission line
that begins at BPA's Alvey Substation near Goshen, Oregon, west to near
Florence, Oregon, then would follow an existing BPA transmission line
south through Reedsport to a proposed new substation site in the hills
above Glasgow, Oregon. The second route would follow an existing BPA
transmission line from BPA's Alvey Substation south to near Roseburg,
Oregon, then west next to an existing BPA transmission line through
Fairview, and then north to the proposed substation site. A third route
would begin at PacifiCorp's Dixonville Substation and follow
PacifiCorp's transmission line west to BPA's Reston Substation, then
west following BPA's transmission line through Fairview, then north to
the proposed substation site.
Two additional routes would parallel existing lines for part of the
route, but would then require new right-of-way. The first route would
follow an existing BPA transmission line from BPA's Alvey Substation
southwest to near Drain, Oregon. From near Drain, new right-of-way
would head southwest, cross the Umpqua River, then turn west and travel
to the proposed substation site above Glasgow, Oregon. The second route
also starts at BPA's Alvey Substation and again follows the existing
BPA transmission line to just south of Creswell, Oregon, then turns
southwest on new right-of-way. This corridor heads west to near Elkton,
crosses the Umpqua River, and ends at the same substation site.
The routes cross land in Lane, Douglas, and Coos counties, Oregon.
A new 500-kV transmission line would be about 120 kilometers (75 miles)
long and would require approximately 46 meters (150 feet) of new right-
of-way width. A new substation would need to be constructed and would
require about 2 hectares (5 acres). At this time, BPA believes the
routes using some new right-of-way may be the preferred routes to
study. BPA is also considering taking no action.
BPA is mandated by the Northwest Power Act to recover its costs.
Each alternative will be evaluated to determine if the revenues
generated cover the costs of the alternative, and if the alternative is
consistent with sound business principles.
Identification of Environmental Issues
Potential issues presently identified for this proposal include:
(1) Effects on fish, wildlife, and vegetation, including threatened and
endangered species; (2) effects of economic development and
socioeconomic effects of building a line and substation; (3) effects of
construction and placement of electrical facilities in floodplains and
wetlands; (4) concern over visual effects, noise, and other
interference produced by electrical facilities in rural and populated
areas; (5) impacts on range, forest, and agricultural resources due to
construction and placement of electrical facilities; (6) concern over
human exposure to electric and magnetic fields created by electrical
facilities; (7) impacts to cultural resources; (8) impacts to
recreational resources; (9) conflicting land use; (10) impact to
property values; and (11) potential impacts to soils (erosion) and
water quality. Additional issues identified through the scoping process
may also be examined in the draft EIS.
Issued in Portland, Oregon, on March 23, 1998.
Steven G. Hickok,
Acting Administrator and Chief Executive Officer.
[FR Doc. 98-8375 Filed 3-30-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
