80 FR 72716 - Notice of Public Hearings for the Draft Northern Pass Transmission Line Project Environmental Impact Statement and the Supplement to the Draft EIS

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 224 (November 20, 2015)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces public hearings to receive comments on the Draft EIS (DOE/EIS-0463) and the Supplement to the Draft EIS (DOE/EIS-0463 S1). The Draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS evaluate the potential environmental impacts of DOE's proposed Federal action of issuing a Presidential permit to Northern Pass LLC (the Applicant) to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a new electric transmission line across the U.S./Canada border in northern New Hampshire.

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 224 (Friday, November 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72716-72717]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29688]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[OE Docket No. PP-371]


Notice of Public Hearings for the Draft Northern Pass 
Transmission Line Project Environmental Impact Statement and the 
Supplement to the Draft EIS

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of public hearings.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announces public hearings 
to receive comments on the Draft EIS (DOE/EIS-0463) and the Supplement 
to the Draft EIS (DOE/EIS-0463 S1). The Draft EIS and the Supplement to 
the Draft EIS evaluate the potential environmental impacts of DOE's 
proposed Federal action of issuing a Presidential permit to Northern 
Pass LLC (the Applicant) to construct, operate, maintain, and connect a 
new electric transmission line across the U.S./Canada border in 
northern New Hampshire.

DATES: The public review period to receive comments on the Draft EIS 
and the Supplement to the Draft EIS closes on January 4, 2016. See the 
Public Participation section for more information about submitting 
comments.
    DOE will conduct public hearings to receive oral and written 
comments on the draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS at the 
following locations commencing at the times identified:
    Whitefield: Tuesday December 15, 2015, 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., 
Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa, Presidential Room, 101 Mountain 
View Road, Whitefield, NH 03598.
    Concord: Wednesday December 16, 2015, 6:00 p.m., Grappone 
Conference Center, Granite Ballroom, 70 Constitution Avenue, Concord, 
NH 03301.
    Plymouth: Thursday December 17, 2015, 6:00 p.m., Plymouth State 
University, Ice Arena Welcome Center, 129 NH Route 175A, Holderness, NH 
03245.

ADDRESSES: Requests to pre-register to provide oral comments at a 
public hearing should be addressed to the Northern Pass EIS Team at 
this email address: [email protected].
    Comments on the draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS can 
be submitted verbally during public hearings or in writing to Mr. Brian 
Mills at: Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE-
20), U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585; via email to [email protected]; 
by facsimile to (202) 586-8008; or through the project Web site at 
http://www.northernpasseis.us/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Brian Mills at the addresses 
above, or at 202-586-8267.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Public Participation

    Comments: DOE invites interested Members of Congress, state and 
local governments, other Federal agencies, American Indian tribal 
governments, organizations, and members of the public to provide 
comments on the Draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS.
    The public comment period on the Draft EIS started on July 31, 
2015, with the publication in the Federal Register by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency of its Notice of Availability of the 
Draft EIS, and the public comment period on the Supplement began on 
November 20, 2015 with publication in the Federal Register by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency of its Notice of Availability of the 
Supplement to the Draft EIS.
    The public review period to receive comments on the Draft EIS and 
the Supplement to the Draft EIS closes on January 4, 2016. Please mark 
envelopes and electronic mail subject lines as ``NP Draft EIS 
Comments.'' Written comments should be submitted by January 4, 2016. 
Written and oral comments will be given equal weight and all comments 
received or postmarked by that date will be considered by DOE in 
preparing the Final EIS. Comments submitted (e.g., postmarked) after 
that date will be considered to the extent practicable.
    Public Hearings: When requesting to pre-register to provide oral 
comments at a public hearing (see the DATES section for times and 
locations), please include your full name and email address, and 
specify the location you request to speak at. For the Whitefield, NH 
meeting, please indicate which meeting time you wish to speak at. 
Please state in the subject line, ``NP Draft EIS Public Hearing Speaker 
Request.'' Please submit your request by December 7, 2015; requests 
received by that date will be given priority in the speaking order. 
However, requests to speak may also be made at the hearing. The 
speaking order will be as follows: (1) Elected Officials; (2) Pre-
registered speakers (order determined on a first-come, first-served 
basis); (3) Speakers registering at the meeting. Pre-registered 
speakers who have requested to speak at a specific time will be 
accommodated as possible.

[[Page 72717]]

Availability of the Draft EIS and the Supplement to the Draft EIS

    The documents are available online at http://www.northernpasseis.us/. Copies of the draft EIS and the Supplement to 
the Draft EIS are also available at a number of public libraries and 
town halls (a list of locations is found here: http://media.northernpasseis.us/media/DraftEIS_Hard_Copy_Locations.pdf.)
    Printed copies of the documents may be obtained by contacting Mr. 
Mills at the above address.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on November 13, 2015.
Meghan Conklin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, National Electricity Delivery, Office of 
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.
[FR Doc. 2015-29688 Filed 11-19-15; 8:45 am]
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