A nearly 1,000 mile long power line, which would stretch across Wyoming and Southern Idaho, is one step closer to reality.
Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power have been trying to build the Gateway West Transmission Line since 2007. The line would extend from a substation near Glenrock, Wyoming to another one near Melba, southwest of Boise.
Most of the line was given the green light by the Bureau of Land Management three years ago. At issue was a 125 mile segment in south-central Idaho that could affect farmland, sage grouse habitat, and the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey Area.
Friday, the BLM is issuing a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the last stretch of the line. It's the final assessment of the potential environmental impacts of the BLM's chosen route.
Spokeswoman Heather Feeney says the long process is designed to protect public lands.
“It allows us to avoid or minimize quite a few of the impacts and concerns that we heard and observed as part of the process of evaluating the environmental impacts,” Feeney says.
After a 30 day protest period, the BLM will issue a Record of Decision, putting the ball in the power companies’ court to begin survey, design, and engineering work before construction can begin.
Feeney says the power line is an important goal for President Barack Obama’s Administration.
“It is part of a modernization effort and an effort to increase the reliability of the power grid in the Northwest.”
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