Public Comments
The BLM announces an expanded study area for the SunZia project and extends an additional comment period through November 27, 2009.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is initiating the development of an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed SunZia Southwest Transmission Project. The BLM is the lead federal agency for the process, which is being conducted pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, Federal Land Management and Policy Act, and associated regulations. Cooperating agencies will be invited and may include the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New Mexico State Land Office, and the Arizona State Land Department. Other state and local governments will be invited to participate in the process, and consultation will occur with local, state, and tribal governments.
You may participate in this project in a variety of ways:
- Visit this Web site for project information relating to the NEPA process
- Sign up for the BLM’s mailing list at NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov
- Submit a question regarding the project to BLM staff
- Participate in the scoping formal comment period, scheduled for spring 2009, and the draft environmental impact statement formal comment period, scheduled for summer 2010.
- Contact Adrian Garcia, BLM Project Manager, NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov, 505.438.7424
- Submit the mailable Comment Form
This project is proposed by SunZia Transmission, LLC. The company plans to construct and operate up to two 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines originating at a new substation in either Socorro County or Lincoln County in the vicinity of Bingham or Ancho, New Mexico, and terminating at the Pinal Central Substation in Pinal County near Coolidge, Arizona.
The purpose of the proposed project is to transport electricity generated by power generation resources, including primarily renewable resources, to western power markets and load centers. The SunZia project would enable the development of renewable energy resources including wind, solar, and geothermal generation by creating access to the interstate power grid in the Southwest.
The proposed transmission line route would be approximately 460 miles in length. The proposed route and alternatives would cross approximately 45 miles of BLM lands in Arizona and 170 miles in New Mexico, along with state and private lands.
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