Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project | Environmental Stewardship Resources

Project Overview

The purpose of the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project (EPCU) is to increase the capacity, capability, reliability, and resiliency of the existing electrical transmission and distribution systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This will enable the transmission and distribution systems to successfully align with and meet the Department of Energy’s (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA), and LANL’s mission for ensuring America’s security and prosperity by solving national security challenges through simultaneous excellence.

Goals and Objectives

The goals and objectives of the EPCU are to provide the LANL 115 kV transmission system with 200 MVA import capacity with contingency reliability, to provide the internal 115kV transmission system with the capacity and reliability to support the imported 200 MVA capacity, and to provide the 13.8kV distribution system with the capacity and resiliency to deliver 200 MVA to LANL facilities and customer loads by 2027. Project will also include a dual purpose fiber lines to improve communications to LANL and power protection coordination across the transmission system network.

Project Status

The NNSA Los Alamos Field Office is preparing an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the EPCU in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Action (NEPA) requirements.

Ownership map of the Caja del Rio and the proposed transmission line showing the two alternative routes under consideration.

The EA will analyze the potential environmental effects that could result from NNSA’s proposal to construct and operate an approximately 12.5-mile, 115-Kilovolt power transmission line. 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 below). From the Caja del Rio, the transmission line would span White Rock Canyon onto DOE- and NNSA-managed lands at LANL 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 to meet LANL's increasing power demand for current and future national security missions. 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 is 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 as required for the construction of the proposed transmission line.

White Rock Canyon crossing looking west.

NEPA Process

The National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, enacted on January 1, 1970, requires federal agencies to assess the environmental effects of their proposed actions prior to making decisions.

An EA under NEPA is a concise public document that provides sufficient evidence and analysis for determining whether a Federal Agency should issue a Finding of No Significant Environmental Impact (FONSI) or prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Additionally, an EA aids a federal agency's compliance with NEPA when no EIS is necessary, i.e., it helps to identify better alternatives and mitigation measures and facilitates preparation of an EIS should one be proven necessary. The FONSI is a decision document based on an EA analysis in which the agency briefly explains the reasons why an action will not have a significant effect on the environment.

The Council of Environmental Quality has prepared A Citizen's Guide to NEPA to help citizens and organizations effectively participate in federal agencies’ environmental reviews under NEPA. Also, the USDA NEPA Process and NNSA NEPA Overview provide graphical overviews of their agency-specific NEPA processes. Please review the above links for an overview of the NEPA process and how to best participate in the preparation of this EA.

Visit this website regularly as it will be updated as the NEPA process progresses.

The EPCU NEPA roadmap provides a summary of the co-lead agencies’ combined NEPA process for this specific project.

A public scoping period was held during spring 2021 and concluded on May 21, 2021.

Public Scoping Period is Now Closed.

EPCU EA Scoping Meeting Presentation (pdf)

A draft EA is being prepared in conjunction with the Santa Fe National Forest and BLM Taos Field Office. Once the draft EA is released for public review, the public will have the opportunity to review the document and provide comments. Stay tuned!

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.