50592 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 167 / Wednesday, August 27, 2008 / Notices 

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of 

August, 2008. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E8–19864 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Southern Maryland Electric 

Cooperative; Notice of Intent To Hold 

a Public Scoping Meeting and Prepare 

an Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to hold a public 

scoping meeting and prepare an 

Environmental Assessment. 

SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service 

(RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Rural 

Development Utilities Programs, 

hereinafter referred to as Rural 

Development and/or Agency, intends to 

hold a public scoping meeting and 

prepare an Environmental Assessment 

(EA) in connection with potential 

impacts related to a proposal by 

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative 

(SMECO), with headquarters in 

Hughesville, Maryland. The proposal 

consists of the construction of 

approximately 30 miles of 230 kilovolt 

(kV) transmission line, a new 230/69 kV 

switching station, a 230/69 kV 

switching station expansion, and a river 

crossing located in Calvert and St. 

Mary’s Counties in Maryland. 

DATES: USDA Rural Development will 

conduct a scoping meeting in an open 

house format, seeking the input of the 

public and other interested parties. The 

meeting will be held from 5 p.m. until 

8 p.m., on September 11, 2008. 

ADDRESSES: The September 11, 2008 

meeting will be held at the SMECO 

office located at 901 Dares Beach Road 

in Prince Frederick, Maryland. The 

SMECO phone number is 888–440–

3311. 

An Electric Alternatives Evaluation 

and Macro Corridor Study Report will 

be available at the public scoping 

meeting, at USDA Rural Development’s 

address provided in this notice, at their 

Web site: http://www.usda.gov/rus/ 

water/ees/ea.htm, and at SMECO, 15035 

Burnt Store Road, Hughesville, 

Maryland 20637. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Stephanie A. Strength, Environmental 

Protection Specialist, USDA Rural 

Development, Utilities Programs, 

Engineering and Environmental Staff, 

1400 Independence Ave., SW., Stop 

1571, Washington, DC 20250, or e-mail 

stephanie.strength@wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Southern 

Maryland Electric Cooperative proposes 

to construct a 230 kV transmission line 

between the existing Holland Cliff 

Switching Station in Calvert County to 

the existing Hewitt Road Switching 

Station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. 

The proposal comprises five segments 

and includes (1) The installation of 

approximately 20 miles of new 230 kV 

single pole, double-circuit transmission 

line from the Holland Cliff switching 

station to a new switching station 

located in Southern Calvert; (2) the 

installation of the new Southern Calvert 

230/69 kV switching station; (3) the 

installation of approximately 10 miles of 

new 230 kV single pole, double-circuit 

transmission line from the new 

Southern Calvert switching station to 

the existing Hewitt Road switching 

station; (4) the installation of 

approximately 2 miles of 230 kV 

underground transmission cable circuit 

across the lower Patuxent River; and (5) 

the expansion of the existing 230 kV 

ring bus at Hewitt Road switching 

station to accommodate the new 230 kV 

transmission line from Southern 

Calvert. Throughout the right-of-way, 

the existing 69 kV poles will be 

removed and the existing 69 kV 

conductors will be installed on the new 

230 kV poles along with the new 230 kV 

conductors. This configuration will 

allow the use of the existing 69 kV 

transmission line right-of-way and 

preclude the need for additional rightof-way land acquisition. 

The proposed location of the new 

switching station will be in southern 

Calvert County, possibly near Lusby, 

Maryland, along the existing 69 kV 

transmission line right-of-way. The site 

is anticipated to be approximately 25 

acres to accommodate the switching 

station equipment and a buffer. 

Switching station sites will be further 

assessed in the Environmental 

Assessment. 

The Patuxent River crossing will be 

approximately two miles, in the vicinity 

of the existing 69 kV underground 

transmission line, near the Thomas 

Johnson Bridge. Alternative crossing 

locations as well as construction 

alternatives were considered in order to 

improve maintenance capabilities, 

mitigate environmental impact, and 

reduce proposal costs. Alternatives 

include (1) installation of a submarine 

cable jetted into the bottom of the 

Patuxent River, and (2) attaching the 

230 kV underground cable circuit to the 

existing bridge or a future bridge 

planned near the existing Thomas 

Johnson Bridge. Construction of the 

proposal is anticipated for completion 

in 2015. 

Government agencies, private 

organizations, and the public are invited 

to participate in the planning and 

analysis of the proposed project. 

Representatives from USDA Rural 

Development and Southern Maryland 

Electric Cooperative will be available at 

the scoping meeting to discuss the 

environmental review process, describe 

the proposal, answer questions, and 

receive comments. Comments regarding 

the proposed action may be submitted 

(orally or in writing) at the public 

scoping meeting or in writing by 

October 11, 2008 at the USDA Rural 

Development address provided in this 

notice. 

From information provided in the 

Electric Alternatives Evaluation and 

Macro Corridor Study Report, from 

government agencies, private 

organizations, and the public, Southern 

Maryland Electric Cooperative will 

prepare an environmental analysis to be 

submitted to USDA Rural Development 

for review. USDA Rural Development 

will review the environmental analysis 

and determine the significance of the 

impacts of the proposal. If accepted, the 

document will be adopted as the 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

proposal. USDA Rural Development’s 

EA would be available for review and 

comment for 30 days. Should the USDA 

Rural Development determine, based on 

the EA for the proposal, that impacts 

associated with the construction and 

operation of the proposal would not 

have a significant environmental 

impact, it will prepare a finding of no 

significant impact (FONSI). Public 

notification of a FONSI would be 

published in the Federal Register and in 

newspapers with circulation in the 

proposal area. 

Any final action by USDA Rural 

Development related to the proposal 

would be subject to, and contingent 

upon, compliance with environmental 

review requirements as prescribed by 

the USDA Rural Development’ s 

environmental policies and procedures 

(7 CFR 1794). 

Dated: August 22, 2008. 

Mark S. Plank, 

Director, Engineering and Environmental 

Staff, USDA/Rural Development/Utilities 

Programs. 

[FR Doc. E8–19792 Filed 8–26–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P 


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