Wyoming State Office
| Contacts: | Beverly Gorny | |||
| 307-775-6158 |
BLM Announces Fall 2011 Release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
for the Proposed Gateway West Transmission Line Project
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 in the fall of 2011.
Originally, the draft EIS was set to be released in the summer of 2010. BLM delayed that release to winter 2010. The present release date will provide BLM additional time to:
- address inconsistencies of proposed and alternative routes with BLM land use plan objectives,
- incorporate into the draft EIS requested modifications to alternative routes developed by local government cooperating agencies, and
- improve the environmental analysis related to sage-grouse, visual resources and conduct inventories for lands with wilderness characteristics.
Walt George, BLM project manager, stated “We want to give the public as comprehensive an environmental analysis as can reasonably be completed. Adequately addressing key issues associated with this large and complex project will help the public understand project siting and construction considerations and associated environmental effects.” George continued, "Once the draft EIS is released, the BLM will host a 90-day comment period and public meetings to 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 the U.S. Forest Service; National Park Service; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. 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 of the companies constructing nearly 1,150 miles of high voltage transmission lines across southern Wyoming and southern Idaho. The project proponents have applied to the BLM and U.S. Forest Service for right of way grants to construct, operate and maintain transmission lines from the proposed Windstar substation near Glenrock, Wyo., to the proposed Hemingway substation near Melba, Idaho, approximately 20 miles southwest of Boise.
To view the proposed and alternative routes that are being analyzed in the draft EIS, visit the interactive map on the BLM’s website detailing these routes: www.wy.blm.gov/nepa/cfodocs/gateway_west.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
Wyoming State Office 5353 Yellowstone Cheyenne, WY 82009