Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
AGENCY:
Bonneville Power Administration (Bonneville), Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION:
Notice of Availability of Record of Decision (ROD).
SUMMARY:
This notice announces the availability of the ROD for the Transmission System Vegetation Management Program Environmental Impact Statement (DOE/EIS-0285, May 2000). This program is the policy and direction for managing vegetation at Bonneville's facilities throughout its service area (seven states of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, western Montana, and small portions of northwest Wyoming, northern California, and Utah). Bonneville has decided to manage vegetation at its facilities by: (1) Promoting the establishment of low-growing plant communities on the rights-of-way to “out-compete” trees and tall-growing brush; (2) having all possible vegetation control methods available for use to maintain rights-of-way (manual, mechanical, biological, and herbicides—spot, localized, broadcast, and aerial applications); (3) allowing herbicides to be available for use on any kind of vegetation needing management on rights-of-way; (4) continuing our current practice of controlling vegetation in electrical yards using mostly pre-emergent herbicides; and (5) for other non-electric facilities, continuing to have available a variety of methods for use to manage vegetation, including manual, mechanical, herbicides, and fertilizers. Bonneville has also put in place planning steps and mitigaiton measures to be used to make site-specific project decisions tiered to the EIS and ROD.
ADDRESSES:
Copies of the ROD and Environmental Impact Statement may be obtained by calling Bonneville's toll-free document request line: 1-800-622-4520.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stacy Mason, Environmental Project Manager—KECP-4, Bonneville Power Administration, P.O. Box 3621, Portland, Oregon, 97208-3621, phone number (503) 230-5455, fax number (503) 230-5699, e-mail slmason@bpa.gov.