Energia i gospodarka · 08/04/2010

Maintenance and Vegetation Management Along Existing Western Area Power Administration Transmission Line Rights of Way on National Forest System Lands, Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska (DOE/EIS-0442)

Western Area Power Administration (Western) proposes to improve the way it manages vegetation along its rights-of-way (ROW) on National Forest System lands in the states of Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska. Implementing the proposal would include modifying existing United States Forest Service (Forest Service) authorizations or issuing new authorizations to accommodate Western's vegetation management proposal and maintenance of the electrical transmission facilities. Western and the FS will be joint lead agencies in the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposal in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) NEPA Implementing Procedures, and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing NEPA. Western's need for agency action is to ensure that it can safely and reliably operate and maintain its existing electrical transmission facilities. Western must meet North American Electric Reliability Corporation's mandatory vegetation management and maintenance standards (FAC-003-1) in accordance with section 1211 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and industry standards. These industry