Contributed Article

The Bureau of Land Management is asking the public to help identify issues involved in a proposal to construct a high-voltage 500 kilovolt power transmission line (or two parallel lines) across southern New Mexico and Arizona.

The local meetings are in Safford on June 24 at 5-8 p.m. at the Manor House Convention Center at 415 East Highway 70 and in Willcox on June 29 at 5-8 p.m. at the Valley Telephone Company Conference Room, 752 East Maley. The BLM has initiated a public scoping process to gather information about the proposal and will oversee the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement that will identify environmental impacts and evaluate alternatives for the project, proposed by SunZia Transmission, LLC.

A formal announcement opening the scoping process and a 45-day public comment period was published in the Federal Register on May 29. The BLM will host nine open-house meetings in New Mexico and Arizona along the proposed transmission line study corridor to provide the public an opportunity to review the proposal and project information before submitting comments and resource information to the agency.

The final agency decision for the proposed route, which would involve decisions on federal right-of-way designations, will only affect public lands administered by the BLM.

The BLM is the lead federal agency for the process. Cooperating agencies will be invited to participate, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New Mexico State Land Office and the Arizona State Land Department. Other state agencies and local governments will be invited to participate, and consultation will occur with tribal governments.

SunZia’s proposed transmission line route would be about 460 miles in length and originate at a new substation site in either Socorro or Lincoln Counties, N.M.; it would terminate in Pinal County. The proposed line — or parallel lines — would be located on federal, state and private lines. The purpose of the project would be to transport electricity, generated primarily from renewable resources, to western power markets and load centers.

“Scoping meetings will provide the public an opportunity to learn more about the project, share comments and concerns and identify issues and alternatives to be considered during the EIS process,” said Linda Rundell, BLM- New Mexico State director. BLM staff and SunZia employees will be available at the meetings to explain project details and gather information from interested individuals or groups, Rundell added.

In addition to comments given at each meeting, comments can also be made to the BLM via the BLM Project Web site at http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/more/lands_realty.html via the project e-mail address at mailto:NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov or in writing to the Bureau of Land Management, SunZia Transmission Line Project, P.O Box 27115, Santa Fe, N.M. 87502-0115. Deliveries will be accepted via courier/-hand delivery to the Bureau of Land Management, SunZia Transmission Line Project, 1474 Rodeo Road, Santa Fe, N.M. 87505.

To be added to the mailing list or if you have questions, contact BLM Project Manager Adrian Garcia at 505-438-7424.