Bonneville Power Administration South Oregon Coast Reinforcement Project

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: [email protected]. 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

[email protected], 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 [email protected], 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