Mcnary-John Day Transmission Line Project
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McNary-John Day Transmission Line Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement Bonneville Power Administration February 2002 McNary-John Day Transmission Line Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0332) Responsible Agency: Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Department of Interior: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs. Department of Army: Corps of Engineers. States Involved: Oregon and Washington Abstract: Bonneville is proposing to construct, operate, and maintain a 79-mile-long 500-kilovolt- transmission line in Benton and Klickitat Counties, Washington, and Umatilla and Sherman counties, Oregon. The new line would start at Bonneville’s McNary Substation in Oregon and would cross the Columbia River just north of the substation into Washington. The line would then proceed west for about 70 miles along the Columbia River. At the John Day Dam, the line would again cross the Columbia River into Oregon and terminate at Bonneville’s John Day Substation. The new line would parallel existing transmission lines for the entire length; mostly within existing available right-of-way. Presently, the existing transmission lines in the area are operating at capacity. These lines help move power from the east side of the Cascades to the west side, where there is a high need for electricity (cities along the I-5 corridor). Because the Northwest has only recently recovered from a shortfall in electric energy supply and a volatile wholesale power market in which prices reached record highs, there are many new proposals for facilities to generate new power. Some of these facilities are in the vicinity of the McNary- John Day project; the proposed line would help insure that existing and newly generated power could move through the system. Bonneville is also considering the No Action Alternative and several short-line routing alternatives. The short routing alternatives include three half-mile-long routes for getting from the McNary Substation to the Columbia River crossing; three two-mile-long routes where the Hanford- John Day transmission line joins the existing corridor; two 1,000-foot-long routes at corridor mile 32; and two 500-foot-long routes at corridor mile 35. Public comments are being accepted through April 23, 2002. For additional information: Please mail comments to: Stacy Mason Bonneville Power Administration Bonneville Power Administration Communications Office-KC-7 P.O. Box 3621-KEC P.O. Box 12999 Portland OR 97208-3621 Portland OR 97212 (503) 230-5455 [email protected] [email protected] To receive additional copies of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or Summary, call Bonneville’s document request line at 1-800-622-4520. You may access the Draft EIS on our web site at http://www.bpa.gov, look for environmental analysis, Active Projects. For information on DOE National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities, please contact: Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, EH-42, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington D.C. 20585, 1-800-472-2756; or visit the DOE NEPA Web at www.eh.doe.gov/nepa Table of Contents Table of Contents SUMMARY ................................................................................................................. S-1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ S-1 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR ACTION ............................................................................ S-1 Purposes ......................................................................................................... S-2 Alternatives...................................................................................................... S-5 Alternatives Considered but Eliminated from Detailed Study ........................... S-7 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, AND MITIGATION .................... S-8 Land Use and Recreation ................................................................................ S-8 Geology, Soils, and Seismicity....................................................................... S-10 Streams, Rivers, and Fish.............................................................................. S-11 Wetlands and Groundwater ........................................................................... S-14 Vegetation ..................................................................................................... S-17 Wildlife........................................................................................................... S-19 Cultural Resources ........................................................................................ S-23 Visual Resources........................................................................................... S-25 Socioeconomics, Public Services, and Utilities .............................................. S-27 Transportation ............................................................................................... S-29 Air Quality...................................................................................................... S-30 Noise ............................................................................................................. S-32 Public Health and Safety................................................................................ S-33 CHAPTER 1 PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR ACTION ..............................................1-1 NEED FOR ACTION ...................................................................................................1-1 DECISIONS TO BE SUPPORTED BY THE EIS ................................................................1-3 PURPOSES ..............................................................................................................1-3 COOPERATING AGENCIES .........................................................................................1-4 SCOPING AND MAJOR ISSUES ...................................................................................1-4 OTHER PROJECTS OR DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THIS PROJECT .................................1-5 HOW THIS EIS IS ORGANIZED ...................................................................................1-7 CHAPTER 2 PROPOSED ACTION AND ALTERNATIVES.........................................2-1 PROPOSED ACTION ..................................................................................................2-1 Location............................................................................................................2-1 Existing Corridor ...............................................................................................2-1 New Easements ...............................................................................................2-4 Towers..............................................................................................................2-4 Tower Footings.................................................................................................2-4 Conductors .......................................................................................................2-5 Tree Clearing....................................................................................................2-6 Access Roads...................................................................................................2-7 Staging Areas...................................................................................................2-8 Substation Work ...............................................................................................2-8 Line Planning and Construction ........................................................................2-9 Construction Schedule and Work Crews.........................................................2-10 BPA McNary-John Day Transmission Project i Draft EIS February 2002 Maintenance...................................................................................................2-10 Estimated Project Cost ...................................................................................2-11 SHORT-LINE ROUTING ALTERNATIVES .....................................................................2-11 McNary Substation Alternatives......................................................................2-11 Hanford-John Day Junction Alternatives .........................................................2-12 Corridor Miles 32 and 35 Alternatives .............................................................2-13 NO ACTION ALTERNATIVE .......................................................................................2-14 COMPARISON OF THE ALTERNATIVES AND SUMMARY OF IMPACTS .............................2-14 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT ELIMINATED FROM DETAILED STUDY......................2-16 Oregon Route Alternative ...............................................................................2-17 McNary Substation Southeast Alternative.......................................................2-17 Increased Capacity Line Alternative................................................................2-17 Underground Transmission Line Alternative ...................................................2-18 Double Circuit Alternative ...............................................................................2-18 CHAPTER 3 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES, AND MITIGATION..................................................................3-1