Public Comment on the Draft EIS 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Western Area Power 

Administration (Western) received a total of 435 individual comments 

on the TransWest Express Transmission Project Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) and Draft Land Use Plan Amendments 

between July and September, 2013. 

During the 90-day Draft EIS public comment period, the BLM and 

Western hosted a series of 13 public meetings/hearings throughout the 

areas crossed by the proposed Project and alternative routes to provide 

information on the Project and the Draft EIS. The public meetings 

were held between August 14 and September 6, 2013. 

The BLM and Western also received 109 comments that contained 

all or portions of one of the four form letters that were submitted for 

the Project. Following the close of the Draft EIS public comment 

period, comments were categorized and analyzed to identify issues 

and concerns. Within each comment submittal, individual comments 

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comment analysis process resulted in 1,963 substantive comments 

requiring responses. 

The BLM and Western incorporated public comments in the upcoming 

Final EIS. The Final EIS will contain a Response to Comment 

appendix, which will provide a response to each unique substantive 

comment received and allow commenters to see how their comments 

have been addressed in the analysis. 

BLM

TransWest Express Transmission Project 

Newsletter 

November 2014 Issue 5 

Western 

Development of the Joint Agency 

Preferred Alternative 

In response to public comments on the Draft 

EIS and the environmental analysis, the BLM 

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Preferred Alternative to be presented in the 

Final EIS. 

The Agency Preferred Alternative in 

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from the Preferred Alternative analyzed in 

the Draft EIS. In Colorado and Nevada, the 

Agency Preferred Alternative is unchanged 

from the Draft EIS. 

About the Proposed Project 

The TransWest Express Transmission Project 

would provide transmission infrastructure 

and capacity to deliver approximately 3,000 

megawatts (MW) of electric power from 

renewable and other energy resources in southcentral Wyoming to a substation hub in southern 

Nevada. The proposed Project would consist 

of an approximately 725-mile-long, 600-kilovolt 

(kV), DC transmission line, a northern terminal 

located near Sinclair, Wyoming, and a southern 

terminal approximately near Las Vegas, 

Nevada. The proposed transmission line would 

cross lands owned or administered by the 

BLM, USFS, National Park Service, Bureau 

of Reclamation, Utah Reclamation Mitigation 

and Conservation Commission, various state 

agencies, Native American tribes, municipalities, 

and private parties. 

The BLM and Western are joint-lead agencies 

for preparing the EIS. The BLM and Western 

have included affected government entities as 

cooperating agencies in this EIS process. 
EIS (NEPA) Process 

Publish Notice of Intent Next Steps in the NEPA Process 

The EIS (NEPA) process chart shows the completed and 

Public Involvement upcoming stages of the NEPA process. The Final EIS is Opportunities 

targeted for release in April 2015. 

The BLM will respond to comments received on the Final 

EIS as part of the Record of Decision. 

The BLM and USFS will also provide objection/protest 

periods related to associated land use plan amendments 

during this time. The BLM, Western and the USFS will 

issue Records of Decision after objections or protests are 

resolved. 

For Additional Project Information 

Please visit the joint lead agency project websites:

BLM’s project website: http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/

info/NEPA/documents/hdd/transwest.html 

Western’s project website: http://ww2.wapa.gov/

sites/western/transmission/infrastruct/Pages/

TransWestExpress.aspx

Final EIS Availability/ 

Land Use Plan Amendment 

Objection/Protest Periods 

Scoping 

90-Day Comment Period 

We are 

here 

Prepare Draft EIS 

Publish Draft EIS 

Prepare Final EIS 

Publish Final EIS 

April 2015 

Publish Record of Decision 

Issue ROW Grant 

TransWest Express Project Newsletter 5 

PRSRT STD

US POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT 2883

DENVER CO

Bureau of Land Management 

PO Box 20678 

Cheyenne, WY 82003