Golden Valley 230 Kv Transmission Line Project July 2020
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2755 Mission Boulevard, Kingman, Arizona 86401 Arizona Kingman, Boulevard, Mission 2755 - United States Department of the Interior FIELD OFFICEKINGMAN Bureau of Land Management Golden Valley 230 kV Transmission Line Project Environmental Assessment DOI-BLM-AZ-C030-2018-0012-EA July 2020 Mission Statement(s) The Mission of the U.S. Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitments to island communities. The Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for the balanced management of the public lands and resources and their various values so that they are considered in a combination that will best serve the needs of the American people. Management is based upon the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, a combination of uses that take into account the long-term needs of future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources. These resources include recreation; range; timber; mineral; watershed; fish and wildlife; wilderness; and natural scenic, scientific, and cultural values. The mission of the Bureau of Land Management is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Compliance for Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act The contents of this document when accessed electronically may not be fully Section 508 Compliant with all software applications and readers. Please contact the Kingman Field Office: 928-718-3700 UNS Electric—Golden Valley 230 kV Transmission Line Project Environmental Assessment page i TABLE OF CONTENTS Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Project Location ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.3 Purpose and Need ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.4 Statutory and Regulatory Authority .............................................................................................. 1 1.5 Scoping and Issue Identification ................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER 2: PROPOSED ACTION ALTERNATIVES ........................................................................... 3 2.1 Design Features Common to the Proposed Action Alternatives ................................................... 3 2.2 Proposed Action Alternatives ....................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated ..................................................................................... 12 2.4 Resource Protection Measures .................................................................................................... 12 CHAPTER 3: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................................ 1 3.1 Land Use ....................................................................................................................................... 1 3.2 Socioeconomics ............................................................................................................................ 6 3.3 Biological Resources .................................................................................................................. 10 3.4 Cultural Resources ...................................................................................................................... 11 3.5 Visual Resources ......................................................................................................................... 12 3.6 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................. 13 3.7 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 13 3.8 Soils............................................................................................................................................. 13 3.9 Noise ........................................................................................................................................... 14 3.10 Environmental Justice ................................................................................................................. 15 3.11 Health and Safety ........................................................................................................................ 15 CHAPTER 4: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES.......................................................................... 17 4.1 Land Use ..................................................................................................................................... 17 4.2 Socioeconomics .......................................................................................................................... 22 4.3 Biological Resources .................................................................................................................. 23 4.4 Cultural Resources ...................................................................................................................... 26 4.5 Visual Resources ......................................................................................................................... 26 4.6 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................. 27 4.7 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 28 4.8 Soils............................................................................................................................................. 28 4.9 Noise ........................................................................................................................................... 29 4.10 Environmental Justice ................................................................................................................. 30 4.11 Health and Safety ........................................................................................................................ 31 4.12 Cumulative Impacts .................................................................................................................... 32 4.13 Mitigation Measures and Residual Impacts ................................................................................ 34 CHAPTER 5: LIST OF PREPARERS ....................................................................................................... 35 5.1 Transcon Specialists .................................................................................................................... 35 5.2 BLM Specialists .......................................................................................................................... 35 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 36 UNS Electric—Golden Valley 230 kV Transmission Line Project Environmental Assessment page ii LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A Maps, Tables, and Figures Appendix B Scoping Summary Report Appendix C Resource Protection Measures Appendix D Property Value Effects from High Voltage Overhead Transmission Line Appendix E Biological Evaluation Appendix F Visual Resources Contrast Rating Worksheets and Visual Simulations Appendix G Summary of UNSE’s Safety Program UNS Electric—Golden Valley 230 kV Transmission Line Project Environmental Assessment page iii ACRONYMS ACC Arizona Corporation Commission ADOT Arizona Department of Transportation ASLD Arizona State Land Department BE Biological Evaluation BLM Bureau of Land Management BNSF Burlington Northern Santa Fe CEC Certificate of Environmental Compatibility CFRA Cerbat Foothills Recreations Area dBA A-weighted decibel EA Environmental Assessment EHC-ELF Environmental Health Criteria on Extremely Low Frequency Fields EMF Electric and magnetic fields EO Executive Order EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ESA Endangered Species Act FCC Federal Communications Commission FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act HVOTL High-voltage overhead transmission line KOP Key observation point kV kilovolt Ldn Average day-night noise intensity Leq Average noise intensity over a given time period MHz megahertz NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NRHP National Register of Historic Places OPGW Optical ground wire RMP Resource Management Plan ROW Right-of-way RPM Resource protection measures SR State Route UNSE UNS Electric USDOT U.S. Department of Transportation VRM Visual resource management WAPA Western Area Power Administration µT Microteslas UNS Electric—Golden Valley 230 kV Transmission Line Project Environmental Assessment page iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background