### 65615 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 206 / Tuesday, October 26, 2010 / Notices

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Environmental Management Site Specific Advisory Board, Portsmouth** 

**AGENCY :**  Department of Energy (DOE).

**ACTION :**  Notice of Open Meeting.

**SUMMARY :**  This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Portsmouth. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–463, 86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be announced in the Federal Register

. **DATES :**  Thursday, November 4, 2010, 6 p.m.–8 p.m.

**ADDRESSES :**  Ohio State University, Endeavor Center, 1862 Shyville Road, Piketon, Ohio 45661.

**FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  Joel Bradburne, Deputy Designated Federal Officer, Department of Energy Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, Post Office Box 700, Piketon, Ohio 45661, (740) 897–3822, Joel.Bradburne@lex.doe.gov.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :** 

Purpose of the Board: The purpose of the Board is to make recommendations to DOE–EM and site management in the areas of environmental restoration, waste management and related activities. Tentative Agenda

• Call to Order, Introductions, Review of Agenda

• Approval of September Minutes

• Deputy Designated Federal Officer’s Comments

• Federal Coordinator’s Comments

• Liaisons’ Comments

• Ohio University Update

• Administrative Issues:

Æ Subcommittee Updates

Æ Recommendation on Public Tour

Æ Motions

• Second reading of amendment to the Operating Procedures

• Public Comments

• Final Comments

• Adjourn

Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public. The EM SSAB, Portsmouth, welcomes the attendance of the public at its advisory committee meetings and will make every effort to accommodate persons with physical disabilities or special needs. If you require special accommodations due to a disability, please contact Joel Bradburne in advance of the meeting at the phone number listed above. The Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of business. Issued at Washington, DC, on October 14,
2010. Rachel Samuel, Deputy Committee Management Officer.
[FR Doc. 2010–26444 Filed 10–25–10; 8:45 am]

**BILLING CODE 6450–01–P**

**DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Conditional Commitment for a Federal Loan Guarantee for Project Financing**  **for Southwest Intertie Project—South**

**AGENCY :**  U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office.

**ACTION :**  Record of decision.

**SUMMARY :**  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has decided to offer Great Basin Transmission, LLC (Great Basin), a conditional commitment for a Federal loan guarantee for partial financing of the 235-mile southern portion of the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP), a proposed 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line that would extend from southern Nevada to southern Idaho. This Record of Decision (ROD) is based on the analysis in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Project Financing for Southwest Intertie Project—South (SWIP South) (DOE/EIS–0443, January 2010) (DOE FEIS). The DOE FEIS consists of a cover sheet for the January 2010 adoption of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 1993 Southwest Intertie Project Environmental Impact Statement and Proposed Plan Amendment (SWIP EIS) and the BLM 2008 Environmental Assessment for the Southwest Intertie Project Southern Portion NV–040–07–048 (SWIP South EA). This ROD also reflects minor modifications to the Great Basin proposal and new information developed since DOE issued its FEIS.

DOE’s offer of a conditional commitment for a loan guarantee for SWIP South is authorized under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as amended by Section 406 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). This conditional commitment to provide a Federal loan guarantee is contingent upon Great Basin satisfying all precedent funding obligations, and all other contractual, statutory, regulatory, environmental compliance, and other requirements specified by DOE. DOE has prepared this ROD in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500– 1508) for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and DOE’s NEPA Implementing Procedures (10 CFR Part 1021). **FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT :**  For further information about DOE’s decision, contact Carol Hammel-Smith, NEPA Document Manager, Environmental Compliance Division, Loan Programs Office at carol.hammelsmith@hq.doe.gov. Ms. Hammel-Smith can be reached by mail at the U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., LP–10, Washington, DC 20585. For information on the DOE NEPA process, contact Carol Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, at (202) 586– 4600 or (800) 472–2756, or by facsimile at (202) 586–7031. Ms. Borgstrom can be reached by mail at the U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., GC–54, Washington, DC 20585.

**SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION :**  Project Background

SWIP South would begin at the existing Harry Allen Substation, located in Dry Lake, Nevada, approximately 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, and would run north to the proposed Thirtymile Substation, located approximately 18 miles northwest of Ely, Nevada, where it would interconnect with Sierra Pacific Power Company’s existing Falcon-Gonder 345– kV transmission line. The SWIP South would traverse approximately 235 miles through parts of White Pine, Nye, Lincoln, and Clark counties in Nevada, and would consist of self-supporting and guyed structures placed approximately 1,200 to 1,500 feet apart. Because of its location SWIP South could be a vital link for distributing power from renewable energy sources to adjacent states that have adopted specific renewable energy standards. The SWIP South would have the potential to provide up to 600 megawatts of renewable energy-derived electricity to fulfill renewable energy standards.

The proposed project seeking a DOE loan guarantee also includes two elements related to the Falcon-Gonder transmission line: The Falcon Substation Upgrades and a Backup Communications System. Falcon Substation is an existing 345–kV switchyard owned by NV Energy (NVE) and located in Boulder Valley approximately 40 miles northeast of Battle Mountain, Nevada. SWIP South would connect to the Falcon-Gonder transmission line at the proposed Thirtymile Substation. The addition of the SWIP South line necessitates upgrades to NVE’s Falcon Substation to improve the existing grid system’s stability. The equipment included in the upgrade would consist of a 345–kV