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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Land Management Bureau

NOTICE: NOTICES

ACTION: Environmental statements; availability, etc.:

DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of Energy Corridors in Eleven Western States and Notice of Public Hearings.

SUBJECT CATEGORY: Bureau of Land Management

DATES: The 90-day public comment period begins with the publication of the Notice of Availability of the Draft PEIS in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency and continues until February 14, 2008. See Supplementary Information section for meeting dates.

DOCUMENT SUMMARY: DOE and BLM of the DOI as co-lead agencies, and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of the DOI as cooperating Federal Agencies (the Agencies) announce the availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of Energy Corridors in the 11 Western States (Draft PEIS) (DOE/EIS0386) and the dates and locations for the public hearings to receive comments on the Draft PEIS.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the State of Wyoming, and the Lincoln, Sweetwater, and Uinta counties and conservation districts in Wyoming are also cooperating agencies. The Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) are consulting agencies.

The Agencies prepared the Draft PEIS pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq., the Council on Environmental Quality NEPA regulations, 40 CFR Parts 15001508, the DOE NEPA regulations, 10 CFR part 1021, and 10 CFR part 1022, Compliance with Floodplain and Wetland Environmental Review Requirements, the BLM planning regulations, 43 CFR part 1600, and applicable FS planning regulations.

Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005), Public Law 10958, directs the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with FERC, States, tribal [[Page 64592]]
or local units of governments, as appropriate, affected utility industries, and other interested persons, to designate, under their respective authorities, corridors for oil, gas, and hydrogen pipelines and electricity transmission and distribution facilities on Federal land in the 11 contiguous Western States (as defined in section 103(o) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702(o)), perform any environmental reviews that may be required to complete the designation of such corridors, and incorporate the designated corridors into relevant agency land use and resource management plans or equivalent plans.

The 11 Western States are Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

SUMMARY: Western States designated as energy corridors; public hearings,

DOCUMENT BODY 2:
Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Designation of Energy Corridors in Eleven Western States and Notice of Public Hearings

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

The Agencies invite interested Members of Congress, state and local governments, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribal governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide comments on the Draft PEIS. Written and oral comments will be given equal weight, and the agencies will consider all comments received or postmarked by February 14, 2008 in preparing the Final PEIS. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
Public Meetings

Public meeting dates and addresses are:

1. January 8, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Portland, OR: Doubletree Portland Lloyd Center, 1000 North West Multnomah and Sacramento, CA: California Energy Commission, 1516 Ninth Street.

2. January 10, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Seattle, WA: Renaissance Hotel Seattle, 515 Madison Street and Ontario, CA: Ayres Hotel and Suites, Ontario Airport/Convention Center, 1945 East Holt Boulevard.

3. January 15, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Phoenix, AZ: BLM Training Center, 9828 North 31st Avenue and Grand Junction, CO: Marriott Courtyard, 765 Horizon Drive.

4. January 17, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Las Vegas, NV: The Atomic Testing Museum, 1755 E. Flamingo Road and Salt Lake City, UT: Airport Hilton Hotel, 5151 Wiley Post Way.

5. January 23, 2008, 2 to 5 p.m., Window Rock, AZ: Navajo Education Center, Morgan Boulevard.

6. January 24, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Albuquerque, NM: Holiday Inn and Suites, 5050 Jefferson Street.

7. January 29, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Helena, MT: Best Western Helena Great Northern Hotel, 835 Great Northern Boulevard and Cheyenne, WY: Best Western Hitching Post Inn and Conference Center, 1700 West Lincoln Way.

8. January 31, 2008, 2 to 5 and 6 to 8 p.m., Boise, ID: Best Western Vista Inn and Conference Center, 2645 Airport Way and Denver,

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT For information on the proposed project contact Ms. LaVerne Kyriss as indicated in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

For general information on the DOE NEPA process, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585; phone: 2025864600 or leave a message at 8004722756; facsimile: 2025867031.

For general information on the BLM's NEPA process, contact: Ron Montagna, (202) 4527782, or KateWinthrop, (202) 4525051, at: BLM, WO 350, MS 1000 LS, 1849 C Street, NW., Washington, DC 20240.