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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific 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 


emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES