By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent

Plan to attend a meeting to provide information on the Energy Gateway South Transmission Line proposed for Juab County.
"A draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for this project has been released by the BLM," said Randy McKnight, city administrator.
"A public open house to provide information about the project and to accept public comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) will be held from 4 p.m. through 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 20 at Juab High School."
McKnight said that those planning to attend should make special note that the meeting is planned at the high school.
He said that the draft EIS may be viewed online in the documents library located at http://www.blm.gov.
To the right on the webpage, there is a box under a photo of transmission lines and a sunset. Under that photo, in a box, are various items that may be explored by clicking on the information.
The Gateway South Transmission Line maps and routes are now available. Also available from the BLM is the updated guide for cooperating agencies.
"The Bureau of Land Management is the lead agency," said McKnight.
PacifiCorp (doing business as Rocky Mountain Power) a regulated public utility, has filed an application for a right-of-way (ROW) to construct, operate and maintain a 500 kV overhead, alternating current transmission line to cross public and private lands for the Energy Gateway South Transmission Line Project.
When completed, the Project would transmit about 1,500 megawatts of electricity generated from renewable and thermal sources at planned facilities in Wyoming.
"Before the draft EIS may be adopted and made final, public comments will need to be taken," said McKnight.
He said no mention was made about the request the council had made to hold a different type of public meeting—one in which there would be a formal meeting with an opportunity to hold a public hearing.
The project begins in south central Wyoming near Medicine Bow, at the planned Aeolus Substation, and traverses from northeast to southwest across northwestern Colorado to the planned Clover Substation near Mona, Utah.
One of those is a map that shows the preliminary preferred route which varies, in some spots, from the applicant's preferred route.
"A publication mailed to households in the community, is information on how to comment," said McKnight.
"In our area there are no variances," he said.
There were areas in Sanpete County, however, where the two routes did vary, sometimes by 20-miles.
"Sometime between now and the spring of 2015, the gap will have to close," said McKnight.
At a meeting he had attended, he said, the spread between the transmission lines had changed some. They were no longer required to be as far apart. The distance had been narrowed.
The plan was for a 250 foot right-of-way width that will be more than 400 miles line in length.
The project was planned to have typical self-supporting steel lattice tower structures that are 140-190 feet in height with average tower spans that were designed to be 1,000 to 1,500 feet apart with four or five structures per mile.
"A record of decision (ROD) is to be completed by early 2015," said McKnight.
NEPA requires Federal agencies to prepare environmental impact statements (EISs) for major Federal actions that significantly affect the quality of the human environment.
An EIS is a full disclosure document that details the process through which a transportation project was developed, includes consideration of a range of reasonable alternatives, analyzes the potential impacts resulting from the alternatives, and demonstrates compliance with other applicable environmental laws and executive orders.
The EIS process in completed in the following steps: Notice of Intent (NOI), draft EIS, final EIS, and record of decision (ROD).
The ROD is the final step in the EIS process and may not be issued sooner than 30 days after the approved final EIS is distributed nor 90 days after the Draft EIS is circulated.
The ROD identifies the selected alternative, presents the basis for the decision, identifies all the alternatives considered, specifies the "environmentally preferable alternative," and provides information on the adopted means to avoid, minimize and compensate for environmental impacts.
The EIS must summarize the scoping process, the results of any meetings that have been held, and any comments received during preliminary coordination.
Between the draft and final EIS, all comments must be considered and responded to, including those from public hearings or public information meetings.
The final EIS must include copies of the comments received and the agency's responses. If comments are voluminous, they may be summarized. If the EIS was changed in response to comments, changes are referenced in the responses.
Scoping meetings were held in the spring of 2011.