Gateway South Transmission Project Public Meetings Continue in Utah Communities, Including Green River and Price

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Wyoming State Office is hosting public meetings this week in the Utah communities of Green River, Price, Mount Pleasant and Nephi to answer questions, provide information and accept comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 412-mile Energy Gateway South Transmission Project that would carry power from south-central Wyoming to central Utah.

Meetings will be held from 4-7 p.m. on the following dates and locations:

·         Monday, March 17: Green River High School, 745 W. Pirate Ave., Green River, Utah

·         Tuesday, March 18: Carbon County Fairgrounds, 450 S. Fairgrounds Road, Room 130, Price, Utah

·         Wednesday, March 19: North Sanpete High School, 390 East 700 South, Mount Pleasant, Utah

·         Thursday, March 20: Juab High School, 802 North 650 East, Nephi, Utah

The public has until May 22, 2014, to review and comment on the draft EIS.

PacifiCorp, doing business as Rocky Mountain Power, is proposing to construct, maintain, and operate the Energy Gateway South Transmission Project that would result in constructing approximately 412 miles of 500-kilovolt, overhead, alternating-current transmission lines extending from south-central Wyoming to central Utah. When completed, the project would transmit about 1,500 megawatts of electricity generated from facilities in Wyoming.

The BLM is the lead federal agency for the National Environmental Policy Act review process and is working with cooperating agencies in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. Members of the public, government agencies, and Tribes are encouraged to provide comment on the Draft EIS during the 90-day public comment period. The U. S. Forest Service (USFS) is a cooperating agency and will be deciding whether to issue a special use permit for the project. Comments received during this comment period will be used to determine standing for the USFS objection process (found in 36 CFR 218).

The Draft EIS is available for downloading on the BLM’s project website at: https://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/hdd/gateway_south.html. Comments may be submitted to the BLM during the public meetings, by email:GatewaySouth_WYMail@blm.gov or by mail to: Energy Gateway South Project, Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 21150, Cheyenne, WY 82003.

Following the 90-day public comment period, the BLM will analyze the comments and prepare a final EIS, targeted for release in Winter/Spring 2015.