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Electric Transmission Lines and Utility Corridors

Electric Transmission Lines and Utility Corridors. Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM manages more Federal land than any other agency 245 million surface acres, 700 million subsurface acres (one eighth of the land of the United States) Most lands located in eleven western states and Alaska.

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Electric Transmission Lines and Utility Corridors

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  1. Electric Transmission Lines and Utility Corridors

  2. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) • BLM manages more Federal land than any other agency • 245 million surface acres, 700 million subsurface acres (one eighth of the land of the United States) • Most lands located in eleven western states and Alaska

  3. BLM Authority Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 - Title V for rights-of-way (ROW)

  4. Energy Goals & Needs Energy Policy Act of 2005 • Section 211 – 10,000 MWs of non-hydro renewable energy projects on public land by 2015 President – New Energy for America Initiative • Ensure 10 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2012 and 25 percent by 2025 • “By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.” (State of Union 1/25/11) Secretary of Interior – New Energy Frontier Initiative • DOI goal - 9,000 MWs by 2011 and 10,000 MWs by 2012 • Secretary Order (March 2009) - Development of renewable energy continues to be a Department priority Increased transmission capacity is critical to reach these goals

  5. Administration Priorities and Federal Agency Activities • October 2009 nine agency transmission MOU approved • BLM issues IM-2010-169 to implement the MOU • June 2011 Inter-agency Rapid Response Team established • August 2011 President’s memo to Department heads to speed infrastructure development • October 2011 President announces seven priority pilot transmission projects • February 2012 DOE publishes request for information related to permitting timeframes for transmission • March 2012 Executive Order focused on agency performance on timely infrastructure development

  6. Utility Corridors on Federal Lands • Section 368 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 (PL 109-58) directs Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Commerce, and Energy to designate corridors in 11 contiguous western states • Agencies prepared programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) BLM issued Record of Decision (ROD) in 2009 designating 5,000 miles of corridors and amending 92 land use plans • Corridor designation does not approve projects nor does it constrain projects to corridors or preclude BLM from denying projects within corridors • BLM also has thousands of miles of “locally designated” corridors established through existing authority in Section 503 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and agency land use planning guidance

  7. Electric Transmission Lines – Federal Agency Coordination October 2009 MOU approved between 9 Departments and Agencies to improve coordination and expedite permitting • DOE designates lead agency and tracks project status via single website • Facilitates early agency coordination • Single Federal contact for all Federal authorizations • Establishes timelines for agency review and coordination • Establishes single consolidated environmental review and administrative record • Emphasizes use of Service First authority for projects involving BLM and Forest Service BLM Policy Memo July 2010 • Instruction Memo 2010-169 clarifies MOU implementation • Emphasizes quick early agency coordination • Outlines process for establishing lead BLM office and organizing teams

  8. Rapid Response Team for Transmission (RRTT) Update • Agencies continue to update progress on DOE eTrans project tracking website: www.doe-etrans.us • RRTT completed site visit meetings with agency and Tribal stakeholders for: Cascade Crossing, Boardman-Hemingway, TransWest Express, Gateway West and SunZia projects • Site visit meetings being considered for Roseland-Susquehanna and Cap X projects • Internal RRTT training planned • DOE Request for Information on development timeframes for transmission comments due March 28

  9. RRTT continued Summary report with project updates and recommendations sent to Secretaries of Interior, Agriculture and Energy March 9th • RRTT identified numerous short-term and long-term recommended actions • Establish working groups for Tribal and cultural resource issues • Hire additional staff focused on transmission • Develop consistent approach to sage grouse analysis • Use third-party contractors for public engagement • Improve communication plans • Improve training, develop template documents • Capture and share best practices

  10. Permitting Challenges • Siting on public vs private lands • Grid reliability vs co-location of projects • Lack of corridors on private and state lands • Multiple land use plan amendments • Visual resource concerns • Concerns with negative effects to private land values • Habitat fragmentation (e.g Greater Sage Grouse) • Complex NEPA analysis • DoD military training routes (low level airspace) • Native American concerns with • Multiple overlapping Federal, state & local permitting requirements • Agency staffs stretched thin by numerous high priority projects

  11. Transmission Permitting and Staffing Challenges • BLM lead or co-lead agency for 32 of 33 pending projects • Projects span 6,800 miles across 58 field offices in 11 states • Focus on improving coordination with Federal, state and local agencies and Tribal governments.

  12. Projects Authorized since the MOU Results since the 2009 MOU • 33 projects completed across western states • Over 1,424 total miles authorized • 910 miles approved on BLM • Many projects utilizing corridors designated by Section 368 of Energy Policy Act of 2005

  13. Questions?

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