Fast Track Bills Introduced – Contact your legislator

http://weagreenolng.org/2011/01/18/fast-track-bills-introduced-contact-your-legislator/

The LNG fast-track bill has re-emerged in the Oregon legislature for the 2011 session. In the past two sessions, the LNG industry has pushed fast-track legislation that would allow private LNG speculators to seek and obtain permits on private lands without the landowners’ permission. We’ve defeated this bill twice, thanks to strong opposition from property rights advocates and LNG opponents.

If passed, the bill will:

• Allow companies to apply for permits on your land without your knowledge or consent
• Fast-track the permitting process for LNG-related pipelines in Oregon
• Harm landowners and devalue property rights in our state

There are two versions of the bill:

In one version (HB 2589 in the House and SB 265 in the Senate), the bill would delete the definition of “applicant” for obtaining wetland removal/fill permits on private land. In essence, this version of the bill would allow any private company to obtain wetland removal/fill permits on private farm and forest lands without the landowner’s permission or knowledge.

In the second version of the fast-track bill (HB 2206 and SB 261), the legislation would “expand” the definition of an applicant to allow private companies proposing “linear projects” to apply for and receive permits on private lands without the landowner’s permission. This version of the bill contains provisions for landowner notification and appeals, but it also makes it easier for LNG companies to obtain permits for unneeded pipelines.

In essence, both versions of the bill are a give-away to the LNG industry. The bills could easily be amended to exempt LNG-related pipelines. As written, the bills would facilitate continued LNG speculation by Oregon LNG, Williams & PG&E (Pacific Connector Pipeline), and NW Natural gas.

Make Your Voice Heard Today! In southern Oregon join the Rally against the legislation and pipeline (learn more here). Learn how to contact your representative, and what to say, by reading more.

To obtain contact information for your state Senator and Representative, go to:
http://www.leg.state.or.us/findlegsltr/

Tell Your Elected Leader:

• You oppose SB 265 & HB 2589.
• You also oppose SB 261 & HB 2206.

These bills undercut private property rights, allowing private companies to push unneeded projects at the expense of Oregon families and businesses.

These bills make it easier for LNG companies to continue to push forward speculative pipeline projects. These bills disrupt farms, forestry operations, and nurseries – all bedrock economic drivers of Oregon’s rural economy. The bills were originally proposed in 2008 by Bradwood LNG, a now bankrupt company that owed public agencies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Oregon does not need LNG, and our legislature should not make it easier for unneeded LNG projects to disrupt the lives and businesses of hard-working Oregonians.
We will keep you posted when we find out if these bills are assigned to Committees.

For now, be sure to get on the record with your legislators that you oppose these controversial re-treads of bad, LNG & pipeline-friendly, legislation.

You can download a pdf of the bill here: http://amywheelerharwood.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/sb0265-intro.pdf
Contact us for more information:
In northern Oregon: Dan Serres – (503) 890-2441
In southern Oregon: Monica Vaughan (541) 521-1832

John Kitzhaber praises Oregon's farmers, announces Katy Coba will keep her job

Good news for the farmers out there. . .

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/01/kitzhaber_praises_oregons_farm.html

Governor-elect John Kitzhaber said Katy Coba will retain her job as director of the state Department of Agriculture when he takes office, prompting a burst of applause from farmers and industry representatives gathered for a meeting Friday.

Kitzhaber made the impromptu announcement during a talk at an annual agriculture and natural resource conference put on by the Portland law firm Dunn Carney. The governor-elect, who will be sworn in Monday, said in response to an audience question that he is "pretty comfortable" with the leadership of the state's natural resource departments.

Coba, who was among the panelists at the conference, said she was surprised and pleased by the announcement. Coba grew up on a Pendleton wheat ranch and was appointed agriculture department director by Gov. Ted Kulongoski in 2003.

In his prepared remarks, Kitzhaber said the economic impact of Oregon's nearly $5 billion annual agricultural production is often overlooked. Agricultural products -- ranging from Christmas trees and grass seed to wheat and blueberries -- are the state's second-leading traded sector after high-tech products. But 85 percent of the state's production is eaten or used elsewhere, and a majority of Oregonians have lost touch with farming, he said.

The state's "well-earned" reputation for producing safe, wholesome, high-quality farm products is an advantage Oregon can capitalize on in the national and international marketplace, Kitzhaber said. "There are few places like Oregon left on the planet," he said.

On other topics, Kitzhaber acknowledged that water quality and quantity, land-use pressure, environmental regulations and livestock damage from wolves, cougars and coyotes are all issues facing farmers. He and said he's open to discussion on those topics.

Topics at the conference, attended by about 120 people, included food safety, proposed water quality regulations and using alternative energy projects to generate income and cut farm costs.

$2B in transmission lines planned in Oregon

http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/12/28/2b-in-transmission-lines-planned-in-oregon/

More than $2 billion worth of transmission lines are planned throughout Oregon in the next decade, according to the state’s major utilities - PacifiCorp, Portland General Electric and Idaho Power. They say their systems cannot handle increased demand and new wind, geothermal and biomass projects coming online.

After Oregon’s hydropower dams were constructed in the 1930s, aluminum smelters looked to tap into cheap power along the Columbia River. That led to construction of the transmission network the state uses today, according to Mike Mikolaitis, director of transmission projects for Portland General Electric. Today, however, those lines are increasingly congested.

“Transmission lines are like the freeway of our electrical system,” Mikolaitis said. “At rush hour, there’s a limit to what can go on the freeway without causing a backup. Our electrical transmission system in Oregon is congested and inadequate to deliver most of the renewable energy being built in the eastern part of the state.”

PGE’s proposed solution is Cascade Crossing, a 500-kilovolt, 187-mile-long transmission line that would cut across a national forest, tribal lands and private parcels between Boardman and Salem. The $823 million project is the largest of its kind to be proposed in the last 30 years, according to Deb Schallert, head of permitting for Cascade Crossing.

“In my lifetime, I’ve never permitted a major transmission line like this,” Schallert said. “Public-land stakeholders want to know what habitat impacts are at stake. Private landowners want to know why we need to use land they own. The Warm Springs Tribe is a sovereign nation and has its own process to comment on the route. The challenge we’ve faced consistently is educating people about why we need new transmission.”

PGE predicts a 45 percent increase in electricity demand over the next 20 years, according to its Integrated Resource Plan. PacifiCorp says transmission line development over the next 20 to 25 years is essential for grid reliability to be maintained. Since 2007, PacifiCorp has planned its own major transmission project, Energy Gateway, a $6 billion, 2,000-mile-long transmission line project that will snake through Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.

John Cupparo, PacifiCorp’s vice president of transmission, said for the last three years he has stayed up late at night thinking about how to implement such a gigantic project. Energy Gateway will pass through federal lands, requiring years of studies of cultural and environmental issues along the proposed route. The timing of those federal processes, Cupparo said, will determine whether the project is delivered on time and within the budget.

“There are so many different stakeholders and differing perspectives on what the right answer is,” Cupparo said. “These are not cheap projects; we just brought in the first segment of Energy Gateway for $830 million. As the Bureau of Land Management and others work through all of the environmental, cultural and other issues, it takes time. And we need certainty that we can get the capacity installed on time.”

The Bonneville Power Administration has approximately $900 million of transmission line projects in environmental review, according to company spokesman Doug Johnson, mostly because of transmission service requests for wind projects in Oregon and Washington. The BPA, a federal entity, can condemn property or use eminent domain, but the agency has been trying to avoid doing so, Johnson said.

“We only use eminent domain as a last resort,” Johnson said. “You want to meet electrical needs, but you also need to respond to concerns from communities along the way. That’s why public process is so important.”

Mikolaitis added that not building transmission lines is not an option. As more entities connect to Oregon’s grid, the possibility of popping circuits becomes more likely.

“We’ve already seen reliability issues with our transmission during wind and ice storms,” Mikolaitis said. “You have to remember: The entire western U.S. shares a grid. If there’s a problem on the transmission level in Oregon, it could result in a blackout over a number of states. There’s a reason utilities are doing this collectively, not just individually.”

Oregon EQC Approves Boardman 2020 Plan

http://www.energyprospects.com/cgi-bin/package_display.pl?packageID=3406

The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission on Dec. 9 unanimously approved Portland General Electric's plan to retrofit the Boardman coal-fired power plant with new emissions controls and stop burning coal by 2020.

Earlier this month, staff of the Department of Environmental Quality recommended approving the plan.

The ruling repeals the 2009 BART rules for Boardman, and implements new control requirements that are consistent with the regional haze rules (see "Oregon DEQ Staff Recommends Boardman 2020 Plan," Dec. 7, 2010).

PGE will now proceed with acquisition and installation of the necessary controls, beginning with low-NOx burners and mercury controls in July 2011.

The new controls are expected to reduce NOx emissions by about 50 percent and permitted levels of SO2 emissions by 75 percent. A separate set of rules also requires the addition of controls to reduce the plant's mercury emissions by 90 percent. All coal-related emissions from the Boardman facility will be reduced to zero with the end of coal-fired operations in 2020.

The combined capital cost of the required controls is currently estimated at about $60 million.

PGE owns 65 percent of the Boardman plant. Co-owners include Bank of America Leasing LLC, with 15 percent; Idaho Power, with 10 percent; and Power Resources Cooperative, with 10 percent.

Salazar, Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies Announce Completion of Sage-Grouse Habitat Map in the West

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Salazar-Western-Association-of-Fish-and-Wildlife-Agencies-Announce-Completion-of-Sage-Grouse-Habitat-Map-in-the-West.cfm

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the completion of a breeding bird density map for the greater sage-grouse by the Bureau of Land Management in coordination with the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The map identifies important range-wide focal areas having high density occurrences of greater sage-grouse, a ground-dwelling bird that inhabits much of the West. These focal areas were determined by estimating the male’s attendance on leks, the communal breeding grounds of the bird. The BLM will work with the state fish and wildlife agencies to further refine the map by incorporating more specific state-level data.

“This map and initiative will help advance our collaborative efforts with states and stakeholders to develop smart policy to enhance the sustainability of our sage-grouse populations,” Salazar said. “The final map will give Interior a strong foundation to identify land uses that do not compromise areas that are so critical to the greater sage-grouse.”

“As the federal land manager of more sage-grouse habitat than any other entity, the BLM takes very seriously our commitment to working with others to manage America’s natural resources,” said BLM Director Bob Abbey. “This mapping effort will help other federal and state agencies and the BLM as it carries out its multiple-use mandate. We are confident that all activities can be managed to be compatible with conservation of the sage-grouse and its habitat.”

Abbey provided an overview of the mapping effort last March, when Secretary Salazar announced the Fish and Wildlife Service’s finding that the greater sage-grouse warranted protection under the Endangered Species Act, but that listing the species at this time is precluded by the need to address higher priority species first.

The Fish and Wildlife Service provided technical expertise in the development of the map. The NRCS will utilize the map in implementing their Sage-Grouse Initiative. WAFWA agencies are also ready to begin using the valuable management tool.

“We are pleased with this collaborative, state/federal effort, and look forward to continuing the important work of conserving this iconic species of the American West,” said Ken Mayer, Director of the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the WAFWA lead for sage-grouse conservation.

"USDA is honored to collaborate with state and federal partners in targeting NRCS's new Sage-Grouse Initiative to deliver the right conservation practices in the right places," said NRCS Chief Dave White. "New breeding density maps are critical to SGI's targeted approach to ensure the largest biological return on our conservation investment."

“The greater sage-grouse has historically inhabited millions of acres in the West, making it imperative that we work across political and administrative boundaries at a landscape scale to protect and restore sagebrush habitat,” said Acting Service Director Rowan Gould. “This map provides vital information that will enable us to work together to prevent further habitat fragmentation and undertake other conservation work to ensure the species’ long term survival.”

Greater sage-grouse are found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, eastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. They currently occupy approximately 56 percent of their historical range.

View the sage-grouse breeding bird density map at http://blm.gov/kb5c

The Great Transmission Heist

The Wall Street Journal (subscription needed to read the entire article)

The latest scheme to subsidize solar and wind power to the detriment of rate payers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304772804575558400606672006.html

How would you like to pay higher utility bills to finance expensive electricity from solar and wind power, which you would never use? That's the issue now before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and it deserves more public and political scrutiny before it becomes a reality.

FERC has a draft rule that could effectively socialize the costs of paying for multi-billion dollar transmission lines to connect remote wind and solar projects to the nation's electric power grid. If FERC rules in favor of Big Wind and Big Solar, the new policy would add billions of dollars onto the utility . . .

Idaho Power seeks permission from property owners to survey land

http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Idaho-Power-seeks-permission-from-property-owners-to-survey-land

By JAYSON JACOBY Baker City Herald

Idaho Power Company is mailing letters to more than 300 people who own land along the proposed route for a major tranmission line, asking for permission to enter their property to do surveys.

The first batch of letters, including 64 to Baker County property owners, went out earlier this month.

All letters should be mailed by Nov. 1, said Keith Georgeson, manager for Idaho Power’s Boardman-to-Hemingway project.

Idaho Power wants to build a 500-kilovolt line between Boardman, Ore., and Hemingway, Idaho, possibly starting in 2013.

The Boise company’s preferred route would bisect Baker County, running near Huntington and Durkee and passing about one mile east of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

That route, and in particular its proximity to the Interpretive Center, has angered some local residents.

Idaho Power would prefer to put the line about a mile farther east, but that might not be possible due to the need to protect sage grouse breeding areas, said Michael Ybarguen, a community relations specialist for the company.

The letters mailed this month ask property owners to sign a form allowing Idaho Power employees or contractors to enter the owner’s property.

The company’s goal is to design the best route for the transmission line.

The proposed corridor is about 4,000 feet wide — three-quarters of a mile.

But the easement Idaho Power needs to accommodate the line will be just 250 feet wide.

By surveying the entire corridor, the company hopes to learn about possible conflicts — a center-pivot irrigation system, for instance — that can be avoided when the final 250-foot easement is plotted, Georgeson said.

He emphasized that landowners who allow Idaho Power workers to enter their property are not as a result committed to selling the company a permanent easement for the transmission line.

The easement process is separate.

Also, the line, if built, will not cross every parcel for which the company mailed a letter, Georgeson said.

Some landowners who receive a letter don’t own property within the proposed corridor; rather, Idaho Power would need an easement across their property to access the corridor for construction and maintenance, he said.

Georgeson said Idaho Power officials understand that not every landowner who receives a letter will sign the consent form.

The company needs a sufficiently large sample size, though, to satisfy the requirements of the BLM, Forest Service and Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council.

Georgeson said one landowner who received a letter replied, in essence, that he wouldn’t sign the consent form because he didn’t intend to negotiate with the company for a permanent easement.

Nonetheless, Ybarguen contends that cooperation between landowners and the company benefits both parties.

He said Idaho Power officials want to know early in the process what sorts of obstacles it faces.

And because the company actually needs just 250 feet of the 4,000-foot study corridor, it has considerable flexibility in deciding where the towers (which would range in height from 110 feet to 190 feet) and the lines are built, he said.

“We would much rather work with people now than have a fight later,” Ybarguen said.

Idaho Power does have the legal authority to use eminent domain, also known as condemnation, to force landowners to sell easements to the company.

However, Ybarguen said Idaho Power hasn’t exercised its eminent domain authority for at least 20 years.

That is an “option of last resort,” said Lynette Berriochoa, an information specialist for the Boardman-to-Hemingway project.

Brogan residents petition court over power line

By Larry Meyer Thursday, September 30, 2010

http://argusobserver.com/articles/2010/09/30/news/doc4ca4bdc30b446649703937.txt

VALE — While not opposed to the proposed Idaho Power 500-kilovolt transmission line, some residents in the Brogan area are seeking support to have the route of the line moved a little farther away from the community, and a spokesman for those residents appeared before the Malheur County Court, Wednesday, to request its support.

Rick Simmons, Brogan, told the court he represented property owners in Brogan and others around the community who would like to see the transmission line routed about two miles farther west so it, and the towers supporting it, would be in the background. As proposed, Simmons estimated the line would come within about a mile of Brogan and residents would like it at least three miles away. A petition has been drawn up, and Simmons is still obtaining signatures, he said.

The petition says residents did not think one mile was far enough away and were concerned about wind noise through the high tension lines and girders, a “greatly increased security risk” for the small community and because the view from Brogan would be overpowered by the tall towers situated so close.

“Our proposed solution is for Idaho Power to agree to give the Brogan community a three-mile exclusion zone for high tension power lines now and in the future. Build the power line three miles out from Brogan in all directions,” the petition said.

“We understand the need (for the line),” Simmons said, adding residents understand the decision to move the route out their way. “The towers are much too close to where they live. We’re asking for a visual impact study.”

Because the proposed routing near their community did not come about until earlier this year, Simmons said the community was coming late into the siting process but did get their comments into the Oregon Energy Facility Citing Council and the Bureau of Land Management before Monday’s deadline. Simmons, though, said he wanted the court’s backing of the request. The Energy Facility Citing Council is handling the state review and public comment process on Idaho Power’s proposal, and the BLM is conducting the environmental review process for the portions of the route on public land.

Jon Beal, county planner, noted the route of the transmission line between Boardman and southwest Idaho has not been finalized, and there will be additional opportunities for public comment. The court did not make a decision.

California’s Quest for Renewable Energy and What It Could Mean for the Northwest

http://www.nwcouncil.org/blog/?p=22

Three Pacific Northwest states have adopted renewable portfolio standards, but it may be that our neighbor to the south, California, will end up having the biggest impact on the region. California’s renewable energy policies are some of the most aggressive in the nation, and the state has worked for many years to develop its own renewable resources. It’s now reached the point where California utilities have to look outside the state to satisfy their renewable portfolio goals.

Renewable energy credits (RECs) enable utilities to purchase the environmental benefits of renewable energy wherever it’s generated. Most of California’s utilities would like to use RECs as much as possible because it expands their market and could also eliminate some of the transmission costs to deliver the power from outside the state.

“We’re already seeing ‘the California effect,’” says Jeff King, senior resource analyst at the Council. “Roughly 50 percent of the wind power that was developed in 2008 and 2009 in the Northwest was either owned by California utilities or is contracted to them, and credits in excess of Northwest needs are being sold to California utilities from projects owned by, or contracted to, Northwest utilities.”

It’s a trend that’s expected to continue into the future, says King, where we’ll see California taking an increasing proportion of the Northwest’s renewable resource generation to meet it’s own RPS targets. But what happens to the electricity if it doesn’t go with the REC? There’s concern that it could end up in the Northwest power market, depressing power prices.

“In almost every one of these issues,” says King, “there’s a positive side and a negative side.” Low power prices help Northwest utilities that need to purchase energy, but the same low prices reduces revenue for utilities with a good supply of resources to sell.

An increase in renewable energy development in the region is a good thing from the perspective of renewable resource developers, and for landowners who lease their land to wind power developers. It also benefits counties, usually in rural areas where a lot of wind farms are sited, by expanding their property tax base and increasing their property tax revenue.

On the other hand, notes King, we’re already seeing controversies arise from the aesthetic and environmental impacts from expanded resource and transmission development in the region.

For the consumer, a lot will depend on the business practices and philosophy of the consumer’s utility. Northwest utilities that are fairly aggressive in developing renewables on their own and selling RECs to California are able to generate revenue that may reduce electricity costs. It also puts them in a good position when it comes time to meet their own targets. For utilities that wait until they have to purchase renewable energy, they may find themselves in a situation where competition from California for those resources has driven up prices. . .

For the complete 12-page pdf report: http://www.nwcouncil.org/library/cq/2010spring.pdf

Idaho Power Files IRP With PUC

http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.6380

Monday 16 August 2010

Idaho Power Co. has filed its integrated resource plan (IRP) with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC). The company plans to add about 3,000 MW of capacity over the next 20 years to meet anticipated load growth, according to the IRP.

The plan also spells out how the company plans to reduce summer peak load by 323 MW by 2012, due largely to demand-reduction programs aimed at commercial, industrial and irrigation customers. Energy efficiency programs are forecast to reduce load by 127 average MW by 2029, a 53% increase over measures included in Idaho Power's 2006 IRP.

Idaho Power's southern Idaho and eastern Oregon territory serves about 486,000 customers, but those numbers are expected to increase to 680,000 at the end of the 20-year plan in 2029. Idaho Power anticipates that summertime peak-load hours will increase by 53 MW over the next 20 years and average load will increase by 13 MW during the same time frame.

To accommodate the load growth over the next 10 years, Idaho Power continues to rely on expanding its demand-reduction programs. It also plans to add 540 MW of new generation, including the 300 MW Langley Gulch natural-gas plant, which is now under construction near New Plymouth.

The company also plans to add 150 MW of wind generation and 40 MW of geothermal generation. Completion of a proposed major 500-kv transmission line from the Boardman Substation near Boardman, Ore., to the Hemingway Substation near Melba will make available another 425 MW of capacity to Idaho Power's customers. An upgrade of the Shoshone Falls hydroelectric facility will make another 20 MW available by 2015.

Looking beyond 10 years, the company plans another 1,400 MW of generation from natural gas plants and 500 MW from wind. The additional wind assumes that the Gateway West Transmission Project, a joint transmission project proposed by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power that would pass through southern Wyoming and southern Idaho, will be completed.

SOURCE: Idaho Public Utilities Commission

Idaho Power begins new B2H process

Transmission line would stretch nearly 300 miles

By Larry Meyer, August 11, 2010

http://argusobserver.com/articles/2010/08/11/news/doc4c62d907cf7b6170538819.txt

ONTARIO — Oregon Department of Energy and Bureau of Land Management officials have restarted their decision-making processes regarding Idaho Power’s proposed 500 kilo-volt transmission line which, if approved-will cross five eastern Oregon counties, including Malheur, and into Owyhee County in Idaho, holding the sixth public meeting in Ontario Tuesday at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.

The proposed transmission would stretch 299.8 miles from a sub station near Boardman to the newly constructed Hemingway substation south of the Snake River, near Melba. Idaho Power says the new line is needed to increase its capacity. Two more joint scoping meetings will follow in Boardman today and Burns on Thursday.

An earlier process was halted after Idaho Power withdrew its initial proposed routing of the line, facing stiff opposition from residents in Idaho and Oregon because it would have taken the line through an abundance of farmland.

Working with project advisory teams, Idaho Power came up with a new route and because it is a new proposal, a new process leading to a decision was required by both agencies. The new route in Idaho and Malheur County skirts most of the farmland, staying mainly on public land.

In Malheur County, the line would cross about 23 miles of private land and about 46 miles of BLM land, crossing a total of about 70 miles through the county.

According to Sue Oliver, energy facility analyst for DOE, Idaho Power will be applying for site certification with the review process conducted by Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council. . .

While the analysis for EIS will include the private land, as well as public land, the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) and decision will only be on public land, John Styduhar, federal project manager, said. In their review following the scoping, federal agencies will develop a range of alternatives for analysis, Styduhar said. Those alternatives could include structure design or some mitigation of impacts which can’t be avoided. . .

The deadline for sending comments to both agencies is Sept. 27 and can be made via the comment sites on the project Web page, e-mail, regular mail or fax.

http://boardmantohemingway.com/

BLM, USFS and ODOE Scoping Meetings

Remember that scoping (informational and comment) meetings for the BLM, US Forest Service and the Oregon Department of Energy are ongoing.

Marsing's scoping meeting will be held at the American Legion Hall from 3:30 - 8: p.m. on Monday, August 9th.

Ontario's scoping meeting will be held at the Four Rivers Cultural Center from 3:30 - 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 10th.

Make sure you leave comments at these meetings or online. For more information, maps, comment links, brochure and flowcharts, go to http://www.boardmantohemingway.com/scoping2010.aspx

BLM announces schedule change for release of D-EIS on Gateway West Transmission Line

July 28 2010 http://www.littlechicagoreview.com/pages/full_story/full_story?content_instance_id=8916902

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today that the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Gateway West Transmission Line Project will be released during the last quarter of this year.

The draftEISwas originally scheduled to be released in the summer of 2010.BLMdelayed release of the document in order to address comments received during the internal administrative review process as well as to clarify management objectives related to sage grouse, visual and other public resources.

Walt George, BLMProject Manager, stated “We continue to work to ensure that the draftEISaddresses the key issues throughout the project area and want to ensure adequate time to prepare this important document.” George continued, “Once the draftEISis released, theBLMwill host a 90-day comment period and public hearings to formally gather comments. The BLM encourages the public’s continued participation in this project.”

The BLM is the lead federal agency for the National Environmental Policy Act process for this project, and is working with cooperating agencies including theUSDAForest Service; National Park Service; US Fish and Wildlife Service; US Army Corps of Engineers; Bureau of Indian Affairs; States of Idaho and Wyoming; Cassia, Power, and Twin Falls counties in Idaho; Carbon, Lincoln, and Sweetwater counties in Wyoming; the Saratoga, Encampment, Riverside and Medicine Bow Conservation Districts in Wyoming; and the City of Kuna, Idaho.

This project is jointly proposed by Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power, and would result in construction of nearly 1,150 miles of high voltage transmission lines across southern Wyoming and southern Idaho. The project proponents have applied to theBLMandUSFSfor right of way grants to construct, operate and maintain transmission lines from the proposed Windstar substation near Glenrock, Wyoming to the proposed Hemingway substation near Melba, Idaho, approximately 20 miles southwest of Boise.

To view the proposed and alternate routes that are being analyzed in the draftEIS, visit the interactive map on the BLM’s website detailing these routes: www.wy.blm. gov/nepa/cfodocs/gateway_west.

BLM, USFS and ODOE Joint Scoping and Public Information Meetings

ODOE, BLM and USFS have reopened the public comment period for the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project. These agencies will host additional public scoping and information meetings on Idaho Power’s new routes and related documents in August 2010.

08/02/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Blue Mountain Conference Center 404 Twelfth St. La Grande, OR map location
08/03/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Best Western Sunridge Inn and Conference Center 1 Sunridge Ln, Baker City, OR map location
08/04/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Pendleton Convention Center 1601 Westgate Pendleton, OR map location
08/05/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Mt. Vernon Community Hall 640 Ingle St. Mt. Vernon, OR map location
08/09/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	American Legion Hall 126 N. Bruneau Hwy. Marsing, ID map location
08/10/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Four Rivers Cultural Center 676 S.W. 5th Ave. Ontario, OR map location
08/11/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Port of Morrow Convention Center 2 Marine Dr. Boardman, OR map location
08/12/10	3:30 - 8 p.m.	Harney County Community Services Center 17 S. Alder Ave Burns, OR map location

During each meeting the state and federal agencies will give presentations about their respective review processes. In addition, Idaho Power has been invited to give a brief presentation about the project. Following the presentations, the agencies will hold a question-and-answer session.

The open house meetings will provide the opportunity for attendees to learn more about the project, review maps, provide written comments and discuss the project with agency staff and consultants, as well as Idaho Power representatives.

For more meeting information, go to http://boardmantohemingway.com/scoping2010.aspx

Final B2H Route Community Advisory Meetings

Click picture for larger image

Last week, Idaho Power submitted its proposed route in its revised SF-299 application to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The submission of this application will restart the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. Idaho Power anticipates the BLM will begin holding scoping meetings later this summer. The Oregon Department of Energy-Energy Facility Siting Council will also take public input and conduct a review process for the state of Oregon.

In two weeks, Idaho Power will host a series of Community Advisory Process public meetings throughout the project area. (Note: these meetings are NOT the planned scoping meetings for the BLM-NEPA process, which will be held in Aug-Sept.)

We hope you will take the time to attend one of these open houses to review the proposed route that has been submitted for federal review, and learn more about how and why this route was chosen. Idaho Power representatives will be available at the open houses to discuss the project and answer questions. The Community Advisory Process public open houses will be held:

July 13, 2010
Brogan, Oregon
4 – 7 p.m.
Brogan Community Event Center
5621 Clark St.
Brogan, OR 97903

July 14, 2010
La Grande, Oregon
4 – 7 p.m.
Blue Mountain Conference Center
404 Twelfth St.
La Grande, OR 97850

July 15, 2010
Marsing, Idaho
4 – 7 p.m.
American Legion Hall
126 N. Bruneau Hwy.
Marsing, ID 83639

July 20, 2010
Baker City, Oregon
4 – 7 p.m.
Baker Community Event Center
2600 East St.
Baker City, OR 97814

July 21, 2010
Pilot Rock, Oregon
4 – 7 p.m.
Pilot Rock Community Center
285 NW Cedar Pl.
Pilot Rock, OR 97868

July 22, 2010
Boardman, Oregon
4 – 7 p.m.
Port of Morrow Convention Center
2 Marine Dr.
Boardman, OR 97818

Throughout the NEPA process there will be multiple opportunities for you to continue to give input. Idaho Power is committed to working with the communities throughout the NEPA process and will continue to communicate with you and inform you of ways to stay involved.