http://www.eenews.net/ (subscription only) 4/22/1020 by Phil Taylor
environmental review of a 430-mile transmission line proposed for Montana and Idaho that has drawn sharp resistance from ranchers and some county commissions.
The $1 billion Mountain States Transmission Intertie project by South Dakota-based NorthWestern Energy would carry up to 1,500 megawatts of renewable wind power from central Montana to markets in the Pacific Northwest and desert Southwest. . .
The city-county council last month sent a letter to BLM and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality urging the agencies to consider routing the line over public lands rather than on private ranches, many of which already contain transmission lines. . .
A recurring theme
The project is the latest transmission proposal in the West to experience blowback over real or perceived threats to resources including property rights, scenic vistas, national security and wildlife. . .
NorthWestern Energy said it is working with state and federal agencies to identify alternative routes along public lands that will be included in the draft environmental impact statement (EIS), which is expected to be re leased in early June, having missed initial deadlines set for last fall and April 2010.
The company's priority, however, is to minimize environmental harm by following existing transmission corridors, said NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch.
"We're disappointed with the delay," she added. But "we also understand it takes time to work through all these different issues."
Alternative routes and local routing options will be evaluated in the draft EIS, as well as a "no action" alternative, BLM said. A preliminary agency-preferred alternative will be identified in the document.
"We've worked very hard to work out those issues and move the lines off private lands to public lands where we could," said Mackiewicz.
The agency and MDEQ have received more than 100 written comments on the project from state, county and tribal governments and the public, Mackiewicz said.
