Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Electric Power Marketing Draft Environmental Impact Statement

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Western Area Power Administration

Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects Electric Power Marketing

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of availability and notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: In 1980, the Western Area Power Administration (Western) began

examining its marketing criteria for long-term capacity and energy

sales from the Salt Lake City Area Integrated Projects (SLCA/IP) due to

the impending expiration of existing long-term contracts in 1989.

Western proceeded to develop the Post-1989 General Power Marketing

Criteria and Allocation Criteria for the Salt Lake City Area, and

completed an environmental assessment (EA) in late 1985. In response to

controversy over the potential environmental effects of the proposed

marketing criteria, Western announced in the Federal Register on April

4, 1990, its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS)

on its power marketing and allocation criteria (55 FR 12550). Following

extensive public involvement and analysis, Western's SLCA/IP Electric

Power Marketing Draft EIS has been prepared and is now available for

public review and comment.

Five public hearings will be held to discuss the alternatives

presented in the draft SLCA/IP Electric Power Marketing EIS, and allow

the public to ask questions and provide formal comments for the record.

A 90-day comment period will extend until June 29, 1994.

During the public hearings, written and oral statements will be

accepted. A court reporter will record the proceedings. Persons,

organizations, or agencies wishing to make oral statements will be

asked to register at the door prior to the beginning of the hearing.

Western will respond to comments in the final EIS. There will be an

informal public information session before each hearing where the

public can discuss aspects of the draft EIS with Western

representatives at several information stations.

DATES AND ADDRESSES: The dates and locations of the hearings are listed

below. All public information sessions begin at 6 p.m. All public

hearings will begin an hour later at 7 p.m.

April 11: Denver West Marriott, 1717 Denver West Marriott Blvd.,

Denver, Colorado

April 12: Albuquerque Convention Center, 401 2nd Street NW.,

Albuquerque, New Mexico

April 18: Quality Inn City Center, 154 West 600 South, Salt Lake City,

Utah

April 26: Best Western Woodland Plaza, 1175 West Route 66, Flagstaff,

Arizona

April 27: YWCA of the USA, 9440 North 25th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona

Copies of the draft EIS have been distributed to interested parties

on the EIS mailing lists and to various reading rooms. Copies of the

draft EIS, supporting documents, and referenced material are available

for public review at the locations listed below:

Arizona

Flagstaff Public Library, Reference Desk, 300 West Aspen, Flagstaff, AZ

86001

Phoenix Public Library, Business/Science Department, 12 East McDowell,

Phoenix, AZ 85004

Page Public Library, Reference Desk, 697 Vista, Page, AZ 86040

Colorado

Denver Public Library, Government Publications, 1357 Broadway, Denver,

CO 80203

Montrose Public Library, Reference Desk, 343 South 1st Street,

Montrose, CO 81401

New Mexico

University of New Mexico, Government Publications, Albuquerque, NM

87131-1466.

Utah

Salt Lake City Public Library, Reference Desk, 209 East 500 South, Salt

Lake City, UT 84111

Uintah County Library, Reference Desk, 155 East Main Street, Vernal, UT

84078

In addition to Western's Salt Lake City Area Office, copies of the

draft EIS and supporting documents are also available for public review

at:

Western Area Power Administration, Loveland Area Office, 5555 East

Crossroads Boulevard, Loveland, CO 80538-8986

Western Area Power Administration, Headquarters Office, 1627 Cole

Boulevard, Building 19, Room 175, Golden, CO 80401

Western Area Power Administration, Phoenix Area Office, 615 South 43rd

Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85009-5313

U.S. Department of Energy, Forrestal Building, Reading Room 1E-190,

1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585

Copies of the draft EIS and supporting documents are available upon

request from the address listed below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Western maintains a mailing list of

parties and persons interested in the SLCA/IP Electric Power Marketing

EIS. If you are interested in being included on the mailing list, seek

further information, wish to submit written comments, or want to

request a copy of the draft EIS, please call or write: Mr. David Sabo,

Manager, Environmental and Public Affairs, Salt Lake City Area Office,

Western Area Power Administration, P.O. Box 11606, Salt Lake City, UT

84147-0606, (801) 524-5493.

For general information on DOE's NEPA review procedures or status

of a NEPA review, contact: Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA

Oversight, EH-25, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue

SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In 1980, Western began examining its

marketing criteria for long-term capacity and energy sales from the

SLCA/IP. Existing long-term contracts were due to expire in 1989, and

sufficient time was needed for customers to make other contractual

arrangements based on their final allocations of SLCA/IP power. Western

proceeded to develop the Post-1989 General Power Marketing Criteria and

Allocation Criteria for the Salt Lake City Area, and completed an EA in

late 1985. DOE approved a finding of no significant impact on January

8, 1986. In response to controversy over the potential environmental

effects of the proposed marketing criteria, Western announced its

intent to prepare an EIS on its power marketing and allocation criteria

in the April 4, 1990, Federal Register (FR) (55 FR 12550).

Western's Salt Lake City Area Office markets electricity produced

at hydroelectric facilities operated by the Bureau of Reclamation

largely on the Upper Colorado River. The facilities are known

collectively as the SLCA/IP and include dams equipped for power

generation on the Green, Gunnison, Rio Grande, and Colorado Rivers.

These facilities are located in the States of Arizona, Colorado, New

Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Of these facilities, only the Glen Canyon

Unit, the Flaming Gorge Unit, and the Aspinall Unit (which includes

Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal Dams) are currently influenced by

Western power marketing and transmission decisions. The operation of

these facilities and their potential environmental impacts are analyzed

in the draft EIS. Up to nine hydropower operational scenarios were

developed for each generation facility to assess the range of possible

operational impacts.

Western developed seven EIS alternatives, called commitment level

alternatives, which reflect the range of combinations of capacity and

energy which would feasibly and reasonably fulfill Western's firm power

marketing responsibilities, needs, and statutory obligations.

Operational scenarios at each facility were combined to form various

SLCA/IP supply options, which were in turn paired with the commitment

level alternatives in order to conduct air quality, economic, and

financial analyses. The draft EIS evaluates the potential impacts of

these alternatives, including no action, no socioeconomics, air

resources, water resources, ecological resources, cultural resources,

land use, recreation, and visual resources.

Western is actively seeking public input on the draft EIS in order

to make a decision on a preferred alternatives. No preferred

alternative is identified in the draft EIS for this reason. A decision

on a preferred alternative will be made after considering comments on

the draft EIS, and that alternative will be identified in the final

EIS.

Issued at Washington, DC, March 23, 1994.

Joel K. Bladow,

Assistant Administrator for Washington Liaison.

[FR Doc. 94-7266 Filed 3-24-94; 11:13 am]

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