For release: February 8, 2013
Release No: OR130-FY2013-0008
Contact: William Schurger (509) 665-2100
BLM Extends Transmission Line Project Comment Period
Spokane, WA – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Spokane District has extended the
public comment period for the Vantage to Pomona Heights 230kV transmission line project Draft
Environmental Impact Statement from Tuesday Feb. 19 to Friday March 8.
The Draft EIS analyzed eight action alternatives along with a no action alternative. The alternative
routes range from 61 to 67 miles in length. The BLM’s preferred alternative would be 66.3 miles in
length and would cross a mixture of federal, state, and private lands. It would run generally east from
Pacific Power’s Pomona Heights Substation near Selah, Washington, continuing eastward, south of the
U.S. Army’s Yakima Training Center through Yakima County. It would then travel a short distance
into Benton County before turning northward, where it would cross the Columbia River into Grant
County. From there the route would run northward, partially along the so-called N Road and then
across the Saddle Mountains to the Bonneville Power Administration’s Vantage Substation, east of
Wanapum Dam.
For additional information contact William Schurger at the BLM Wenatchee Field Office, (509) 6652100. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement is available online at the project website:
http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/spokane/plans/vph230.php
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land – the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System
of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface
mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more
than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies
that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates
on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and
enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock
grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
-BLM-