25764 Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Notices 

opportunity to request assistance under 

the Rural Water Program. No form is 

required to be filled out in order to 

submit a statement of interest. The 

statement of interest will include 

information regarding the eligibility of 

the project sponsor to participate in the 

program, whether the proposed project 

meets the program eligibility 

requirements, and the extent to which 

the proposed project meets the 

prioritization criteria. 

(3) Assistance to Conduct a Feasibility 

Study. To request technical or financial 

assistance to conduct a feasibility study, 

the project sponsor must have already 

completed an appraisal investigation. 

Since a statement of interest will have 

already been submitted, project 

sponsors seeking to conduct a feasibility 

study may simply complete a full 

proposal without having to complete 

another statement of interest. No form is 

required to be filled out in order to 

submit a full proposal. The full proposal 

will be used by Reclamation to 

determine whether the project sponsor 

is eligible to participate in the program, 

whether the proposed project meets the 

program eligibility requirements, the 

extent to which the proposed project 

meets the prioritization criteria, and to 

evaluate the proposal in general to 

determine whether it is reasonable and 

can be successful. The content of a full 

proposal will be described in detail in 

the program announcement and will 

typically include a detailed scope of 

work for the proposed study. 

Frequency: Once annually, in 

response to the program announcement. 

Respondents: States, tribes, 

municipalities, water districts, and 

other entities created under State law 

with water management authority. 

Estimated Annual Total Number of 

Potential Respondents: 185. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1.0. 

Estimated Total Number of Annual 

Responses: 56.0. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 2,100 hours. 

Comments 

We invite your comments on: 

(a) Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of our functions, including 

whether the information will have 

practical use; 

(b) The accuracy of our burden 

estimate for the proposed collection of 

information; 

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, 

usefulness, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and 

(d) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the information collection on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. A 60-day comment 

period soliciting comments on this 

collection of information was published 

in the Federal Register (73 FR 67778, 

Nov. 17, 2008) in an interim final rule. 

No public comments were received. 

Before including your address, 

telephone number, e-mail address, or 

other personal identifying information 

in your comment, you should be aware 

that your entire comment (including 

your personal identifying information) 

may be made publicly available at any 

time. While you can ask us in your 

comment to withhold your personal 

identifying information from public 

review, we cannot guarantee that we 

will be able to do so. 

Roseann Gonzales, 

Director, Policy and Program Services, Bureau 

of Reclamation. 

[FR Doc. E9–12525 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–MN–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[NM–114438; AZA–35058; L51010000 

ER0000 LVRWG09G0690] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Possible Resource Management Plan 

Amendments for the SunZia Southwest 

Transmission Project in Arizona and 

New Mexico 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), New Mexico State 

Office, announces its intent to prepare 

an Environmental Impact Statement 

(EIS), and by this notice is announcing 

the beginning of the scoping process 

and soliciting input on identification of 

issues and proposed planning criteria in 

response to a right-of-way application 

filed by SunZia Transmission, LLC 

(SunZia). 

DATES: Comments should be submitted 

no later than 45 days after publication 

of this Notice in the Federal Register. 

The BLM will announce public scoping 

meetings to identify relevant issues 

through local news media, newsletters, 

and the BLM Web site (see below) at 

least 15 days prior to each meeting. We 

will provide additional opportunities 

for public participation upon 

publication of the Draft EIS, including a 

90-day public comment period. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

or resource information by any of the 

following methods: 

Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/ 

prog/more/lands_realty.html. 

E-Mail: NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov. 

Mail: Bureau of Land Management, New 

Mexico State Office, SunZia 

Southwest Transmission Project, P.O. 

Box 27115, Santa Fe, NM 87502– 

0115. 

Courier/Hand Delivery: Bureau of Land 

Management, SunZia Southwest 

Transmission Project, 1474 Rodeo 

Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505. 

Documents pertinent to the right-ofway application may be examined at: 

Bureau of Land Management New 

Mexico State Office, Public Room, 1474 

Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, NM 87505, 

Telephone (505) 438–7471. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: For further 

information and/or to have your name 

added to the mailing list, contact Adrian 

Garcia, SunZia Southwest Transmission 

BLM Project Manager, at the New 

Mexico State Office, P.O. Box 27115, 

Santa Fe, NM 87502–0115, or by e-mail 

at NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SunZia 

has submitted a right-of-way application 

to construct, operate, and maintain two 

new single-circuit overhead 500 kilovolt 

(kV) transmission lines originating at a 

new substation in either Socorro County 

or Lincoln County in the vicinity of 

Bingham or Ancho, New Mexico, and 

terminating at the Pinal Central 

Substation in Pinal County near 

Coolidge, Arizona. The overall 

transmission line route would be 

approximately 460 miles in length, a 

substantial part of this length on BLM 

lands, and two separate transmission 

lines would be located on BLM, State, 

and private lands. 

SunZia’s proposal is to transport 

electricity generated by power 

generation resources, including 

primarily renewable resources, to 

western power markets and load 

centers. The SunZia project would 

enable the development of renewable 

energy resources, including wind, solar, 

and geothermal generation, by creating 

access to the interState power grid in 

the Southwest and providing increased 

transfer capacity. The proposed project 

would also increase power reliability 

across the southwestern United States, 

allow communities in southern Arizona 

and southern New Mexico to 

economically access energy generated 

from renewable sources, provide power 

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Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 102 / Friday, May 29, 2009 / Notices 25765 

to help meet growing demand in the 

western United States, and enhance 

domestic energy security. 

The Southwest Area Transmission 

Group—a regional transmission 

planning organization—identified a 

need for the project. Its importance is 

demonstrated by the abundance of 

proposed projects that have submitted 

interconnection requests to transmission 

owners within the proposed project 

area, and the potential for renewable 

energy sites within the SunZia project 

area. Additional transmission would be 

required to support development of 

potential renewable energy projects in 

Arizona and New Mexico. In addition, 

the requirement of each State to meet 

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) 

and national interests in energy, 

demonstrate the need for the proposed 

project. 

The proposed transmission line route 

and alternatives developed through the 

NEPA process would cross BLM lands 

in Arizona and New Mexico, as well as 

State and private lands. To the extent 

feasible, the proposed route would use 

existing transmission line corridors and 

designated utility corridors located on 

Federal land. One of the 500 kV 

transmission lines would be constructed 

and operated as an alternating current 

(AC) facility. SunZia may construct and 

operate the other proposed transmission 

lines as either AC or direct current (DC). 

The SunZia transmission lines would 

interconnect with planned substations 

along the route. Equipment additions 

and modifications would be required at 

each of the interconnecting substations. 

Engineering studies would determine 

those requirements as part of the 

project. A right-of-way of up to 1,000 

feet in width and a lease-term of 50 

years would be required to construct, 

operate, and maintain the transmission 

lines, structures and appurtenances. If 

constructed, the project would be in 

operation year-round, transporting 

electrical power to major substation 

hubs in Arizona and New Mexico. The 

project would have a bi-directional 

transmission capacity of approximately 

3,000 megawatts or greater of electrical 

power. 

The proposed project would take 

approximately three years to construct 

and would likely be constructed in 

phased segments with an in-service date 

of 2013. Specific acreages of access 

roads and temporary work areas would 

be determined through the NEPA 

process and project design. 

In Arizona, approximately 43 miles of 

the proposed route would cross public 

land administered by the Safford and 

Tucson BLM Field Offices. In New 

Mexico, approximately 128 miles of the 

proposed route would cross public land 

administered by the BLM Las Cruces 

District Office and BLM Socorro Field 

Office. The proposed route would pass 

in the general vicinity of the following 

locations: 

Arizona: Coolidge, San Manuel, Safford, 

Willcox, Bowie, and San Simon; and 

New Mexico: Lordsburg, Deming, Hatch, 

Derry, Arrey, Truth or Consequences, 

San Antonio, Bingham, Ancho, and 

Carrizozo. 

The BLM is the lead Federal agency for 

the NEPA analysis process and 

preparation of the EIS. Cooperating 

agencies identified at this time could 

include: The Bureau of Reclamation, the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New 

Mexico State Land Office, and the 

Arizona State Land Department. Other 

State and local governments will be 

invited to participate in the process, and 

consultation will occur with local, State, 

and tribal governments. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the process for 

developing the EIS. At present, the BLM 

has identified the following preliminary 

issues: The potential effects of the 

proposed action on wildlife habitat, 

plants, and animals including 

threatened, endangered, and sensitive 

species, visual resources, National 

Historic Trails and related viewsheds; 

Native American traditional cultural 

properties and sacred places; soils/water 

from surface disturbing activities; local 

and regional socioeconomic conditions; 

consistency with local government land 

use plans; and future reclamation/ 

mitigation from transmission line 

construction or location. The BLM 

encourages the public to send comments 

concerning the project as proposed, 

other feasible alternative locations, 

possible mitigation measures, and any 

other information relevant to the 

proposed action. 

Authorization of this proposal may 

require amendments to one or more 

RMPs. By this notice, the BLM is 

complying with requirements in 43 CFR 

1610.2(c) to notify the public of 

potential RMP amendments, predicated 

on the findings of the EIS. If RMP 

amendments are necessary, the BLM 

will integrate the RMP process with the 

NEPA process for this project. 

Your input is important and will be 

considered in the public scoping 

process. All comment submittals must 

include the commenter’s name and 

street address. Comments including the 

names and addresses of the commenter 

will be available for public inspection at 

the above offices during business hours 

(7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday 

through Friday, except Federal holidays. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or any other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, be advised that your entire 

comment, including your personal 

identifying information, may be 

publicly available at any time. While 

you can ask us in your comment to 

withhold from public review your 

personal identifying information, we 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

William Merhege, 

Acting Deputy State Director, Lands and 

Resources. 

[FR Doc. E9–12512 Filed 5–28–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–FB–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

National Park Service 

Notice of Intent To Prepare a 

Feasibility Study and Environmental 

Impact Statement for Everglades 

National Park (Park) To Evaluate 

Modifications to the Tamiami Trail 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, in 

accordance with the provisions of the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 

that the NPS is preparing a Feasibility 

Study and EIS to ‘‘evaluate the 

feasibility of additional bridge length, 

beyond that to be constructed pursuant 

to the Modified Water Deliveries to 

Everglades National Park Project (16 

U.S.C. 410r-S), including a continuous 

bridge, or additional bridges or some 

combination thereof, for the Tamiami 

Trail (United States Highway 41) to 

restore more natural water flow to 

Everglades National Park and Florida 

Bay and for the purpose of restoring 

habitat within the Park and the 

ecological connectivity between the 

Park and the Water Conservation Areas’’ 

(2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act). 

The NPS is the lead agency on this 

federal action; however, the NPS has 

requested the United States Army Corps 

of Engineers (USACOE) be a cooperating 

agency on this effort, with the Federal 

Highway Administration (FHWA) 

providing technical assistance. 

DATES: Written comments regarding the 

proposed project must be postmarked 

no later than 30 days from the 

publication of this Notice of Intent 

(NOI) in the Federal Register. As part of 

this process, public workshops will be 

held to solicit public input about the 

proposed project. The date, time, and 

location of the public workshops will be 

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