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Department of Energy (DOE), in cooperation with the Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Taos Field Office, published the Final Environmental Assessment for the Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade project. The purpose of this project is to increase the capacity, capability, reliability, and resiliency of the existing electrical transmission and distribution systems at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
As part of today’s action, the SFNF published a Draft Decision Notice and Finding of No Significant Impact. The legal notice published in the Albuquerque Journal marks the start of a
45-day objection period.
The Final Environmental Assessment analyzes the environmental impact of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s proposal to construct and operate a 14-mile, 115-kilovolt power transmission line and related infrastructure. The line would run through the Caja del Rio area in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, on lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. From the Caja del Rio, the transmission line would cross White Rock Canyon onto Department of Energy managed lands at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos County.
The Forest Service’s draft decision would amend the Santa Fe National Forest Land Management Plan to establish a new management area for the transmission line corridor. It would also approve a special use permit for the construction and operation of the new power line across the forest.
The Final Environmental Assessment, draft decision with plan amendments, and Finding of No Significant Impact are available for public review and objections. Interested parties who submitted comments during previous official periods may file objections as part of the Forest Service’s pre-decisional review process.
For more information on the project and public participation in the NEPA process, visit the EPCU Project Website .
