A Public Scoping Period was held during spring 2021 and concluded on May 21, 2021. The Public Scoping Period is Now Closed.
The draft EA was published on November 16, 2023, and is available at: /nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at /nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project
Two public comment periods were held from Dec. 19, 2023 to Jan. 17, 2024 and from January 22, 2024 to February 20, 2024. The public comment periods are now closed. Two public meetings were held at Santa Fe Community College on January 11, 2024 and February 15, 2024.
PowerPoint Presentation from the January 11, 2024 and February 15, 2024 Public Meetings (pdf)
Posters from the January 11. 2024 and February 15, 2024 Public Meetings (pdf)
The draft EA was prepared by DOE/NNSA in coordination with the Forest Service Santa Fe National Forest as a cooperating agency and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Taos Field Office as a participating agency.
The draft EA analyzes the potential environmental effects that could result from NNSA’s proposal to construct and operate an approximately 14-mile, 115-Kilovolt power transmission line and related infrastructure upgrades on the LANL campus. The proposed transmission line would be erected on public lands within the Caja del Rio area of Santa Fe County, New Mexico (NM) on lands primarily managed by the Santa Fe National Forest and with a small inclusion of Bureau of Land Management- (BLM) managed land (see map). From the Caja del Rio, the transmission line would span White Rock Canyon onto DOE/NNSA-managed lands at Los Alamos National Laboratory within Los Alamos County, NM.
The purpose of the Proposed Action is to provide LANL with higher capacity electrical power that is reliable and redundant and includes a suite of electrical infrastructure upgrades on the LANL campus. An additional power line is required because the two existing electric power transmission lines are forecast to approach their capacity limit by the end of 2027.
The Santa Fe National Forest and Taos Field Office are providing support to NNSA to ensure that the environmental analysis needed for this project provides sufficient information to support the issuance of a Special Use Permit on National Forest System Lands, and Right-of-Way Grant on BLM-administered lands as required for the construction of the proposed transmission line.
The Santa Fe National Forest begins its pre-decisional objection process on the Final EA pursuant to 36 C.F.R. Part 218 (project-level review) and Part 219 (Forest Plan amendments) on September 11, 2024. Information is available on the USFS website. For additional information regarding this action or the pre-decisional objection process please contact: June Galloway, via email or by phone at 505-438-5350.
NNSA will announce its decision on whether issue a Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact (FONSI) or prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in early 2025.
The USFS NEPA website describes Forest Service NEPA procedures, policy and guidance.
The DOE NEPA Policy and Compliance website provides links to DOE NEPA documents, DOE NEPA guidance and requirements.
Santa Fe National Forest Planning webpage provides access to the Santa Fe National Forest Plan and associated NEPA documents.
NNSA NEPA Reading Room webpage is the public repository for NNSA NNSA-published NEPA documents.
USFS Special Use Permits webpage describes the USFS process of obtaining a special use permit.
USDA Forest Service Objection Process document describes the project-level pre-decisional administrative review process.
BLM Rights-Of-Way webpage describes the BLM process for obtaining a right-of-way for a special use permit.
NPS National Historic Trail - El Camino real de Tierra Adentro webpage provides information of the NPS managed historic trail near the project location.
PNM Environment webpage provides an overview of the PNM efforts and commitment towards the environment.