Triggered missed date from extending Final decision/agency action (Agency Action) within 30 days of its current target date which was 07/19/2023 and extended to 08/17/2023
Cooperating under NEPA
Milestones:
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Monthly Status Report for August 2023:This nonconformance is a cascading result from the project sponsor submitting incomplete information late in the process. As expressed in the previous nonconformance explanation, the Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023, the original target date. The USFWS has been notified that the release of reverter document that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) must sign in order for the Sevilleta NWR portion of the Sunzia project to move forward will take some additional time for TNC attorney review. Specifically, the document cannot be signed by the TNC regional office but requires chief counsel signature in the TNC DC office. The FWS documents are ready to go (ROD, ROW, SUPs, etc.), however the FWS will not be able to move forward without the release of the signed reverter document. Therefore, additional time is needed.
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Non-conformance Explanation:The Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023.
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Monthly Status Report for August 2023:This nonconformance is a cascading result from the project sponsor submitting incomplete information late in the process. As expressed in the previous nonconformance explanation, the Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023, the original target date. The USFWS has been notified that the release of reverter document that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) must sign in order for the Sevilleta NWR portion of the Sunzia project to move forward will take some additional time for TNC attorney review. Specifically, the document cannot be signed by the TNC regional office but requires chief counsel signature in the TNC DC office. The FWS documents are ready to go (ROD, ROW, SUPs, etc.), however the FWS will not be able to move forward without the release of the signed reverter document. Therefore, additional time is needed.
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Non-conformance Explanation:The Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023.
PROJECT WEBSITE: SunZia Project Website
All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS
ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
08/24/2023
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED
SECTOR
Electricity Transmission
CATEGORY
Project Category
FAST-41 Covered Projects
LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
View FAST-41 Postings by Agencies
Other Agencies with Actions or Authorizations:
Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service
Department of the Army, US Army Corps of Engineers - Regulatory
Description:
The SunZia Project includes two nominal 500-kV transmission lines located on federal, state, and private lands between central New Mexico and central Arizona. The approximately 550-mile-long transmission line route originates at the planned SunZia East Substation in Torrance County, New Mexico, and terminates near the existing Saguaro substation and the existing Pinal Central Substation, both in Pinal County, Arizona. The SunZia Project is located in Socorro, Sierra, Luna, Grant, Hidalgo, and Torrance counties in New Mexico and Graham, Greenlee, Cochise, Pinal, and Pima counties in Arizona.
The SunZia Project will be constructed in two phases and ultimately include two, new, single-circuit, 500 kV transmission lines with the intent of locating both within a single 400-foot-wide right-of-way, where possible. Only one of the two 500-kV circuits will be constructed in Phase 1 and the planned in-service date for the first transmission line is 2025. The first transmission line would be a direct-current (DC) line and the second transmission line would be an alternating-current (AC) line.
Update:
The Executive Director granted a BLM's request to extend the Section 106 consultation "Section 106 Review" completion date because route changes for the Project require modifications to the programmatic agreement needed to conclude the Section 106 consultation. The Executive Director determination is posted here.
The Executive Director granted a BLM's request to extend the Endangered Species Act "Endangered Species Act (ESA)," completion date because because, FWS asked BLM to submit additional information to ensure a complete consultation package that would enable FWS to complete formal consultation under the ESA. The Executive Director determination is posted here.
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Monthly Status Report for August 2023:This nonconformance is a cascading result from the project sponsor submitting incomplete information late in the process. As expressed in the previous nonconformance explanation, the Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023, the original target date. The USFWS has been notified that the release of reverter document that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) must sign in order for the Sevilleta NWR portion of the Sunzia project to move forward will take some additional time for TNC attorney review. Specifically, the document cannot be signed by the TNC regional office but requires chief counsel signature in the TNC DC office. The FWS documents are ready to go (ROD, ROW, SUPs, etc.), however the FWS will not be able to move forward without the release of the signed reverter document. Therefore, additional time is needed.
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Non-conformance Explanation:The Project Sponsor applied for a right-of-way to upgrade their current transmission line on 5/23/2023, but the application was incomplete. The USFWS Southwest Region requested additional information on May 30, 2023 to include a final plan of development to be submitted after all requested changes are updated, land survey/plat and additional cultural survey work to be completed. The USFWS received the updated plan of development for review on 6/26/2023, the land survey plan was submitted for review on 6/23/2023 and the cultural application was submitted for review on 6/27/2023. The public comment period for the Compatibility Determination (CD) closed on 6/30/23, leaving insufficient time for the USFWS to review and address the public comments, issue the CD, send out the request for appraisal, draft the final Record of Decision, issue Special Use Construction Permits, and issue the ROW authorization by 7/19/2023.