Electric Transmission Lines Electric Transmission Lines and Utility Corridorsand Utility Corridors

Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Land Management (BLM)(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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BLM AuthorityBLM Authority

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

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Energy Goals & NeedsEnergy Goals & Needs

Energy Policy Act of 2005• Section 211 – 10,000 MWs of non-hydro renewable energy

projects on public land by 2015President – 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 priorityIncreased transmission capacity is critical to reach these

goals

Administration Priorities Administration Priorities and Federal Agency Activitiesand 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

Utility Corridors on Federal Utility Corridors on Federal LandsLands

• 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

Electric Transmission Lines – Electric Transmission Lines – Federal Agency CoordinationFederal 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

Rapid Response Team for Rapid Response Team for Transmission (RRTT) UpdateTransmission (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

RRTT continuedRRTT 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

Permitting ChallengesPermitting 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

Transmission Permitting and Transmission Permitting and Staffing ChallengesStaffing 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.

Projects Authorized since the Projects Authorized since the MOUMOU

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

Questions?Questions?