Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed North Plains Connector Project, Colstrip, Montana to Center/St. Anthony, North Dakota

Federal RegisterOct 25, 2024

89 Fed. Reg. 85182 (Oct. 25, 2024)

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Department of Energy

AGENCY:

Grid Deployment Office, Department of Energy.

ACTION:

Notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended, and the Federal Power Act (FPA), as amended, the Grid Deployment Office (GDO), Department of Energy (DOE), in coordination with Federal cooperating agencies—the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Miles City Field Office, Miles City, MT; the United States Forest Service (USFS), an agency of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Bismarck, ND; and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory, Miles City, MT—intends to prepare jointly, with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (Montana DEQ), an environmental impact statement (EIS; DOE/EIS-0568) to analyze the potential environmental impacts of granting authorizations to North Plains Connector LLC for siting, constructing, operating, and maintaining the North Plains Connector Project (“the proposed Project”), an up to 525-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) electrical transmission line connecting the Eastern and Western Interconnections (also referred to as the eastern and western grids). By this notice, GDO is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues, impacts, and possible need for mitigation.

DATES:

This notice initiates the public-scoping process for the EIS. GDO requests that the public submit comments concerning the scope of the analysis, potential alternatives and impacts, and identification of relevant information, analyses, and studies by December 9, 2024. GDO will hold five scoping meetings on the following dates at the following locations:

Date	Time	Location/format
Wednesday, November 6, 2024	4-7 p.m. CT	Venue Twenty5, 3796 ND Hwy. 25, Mandan, ND 58554.
Thursday, November 7, 2024	6-9 p.m. MT	Astoria Event Center, 363 15 St. W, Dickinson, ND 58601.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024	4-7 p.m. MT	Custer County Event Center, 42 Garryowen Road RC, Miles City, MT 59301.
Wednesday, November 13, 2024	6-9 p.m. MT	Colstrip City Hall, 12 Cherry Street, Colstrip, MT 59323.
Tuesday, November 19, 2024	12-3 p.m. MT	VIRTUAL via Webex, register here: https://bit.ly/NorthPlainsVirtual.

Agency	Permit/authorization
Bureau of Land Management	Right-of-way grant, short-term right-of-way grant, and mineral materials sales contract.
Forest Service	Special Use Permit.
Agricultural Research Service	Easement.
Federal Highway Administration	Permits to cross Federal Aid Highway.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers	General easement, Section 10 permit, and Section 404 permit.
Montana Department of Environmental Quality	Certificate of Compliance under the Major Facility Siting Act.
North Dakota Public Service Commission	Certificate of Corridor Compatibility and Transmission Facility Route Permit.
North Dakota County Governments (Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Morton, Oliver, and Slope Counties)	Conditional Use Permits.