BLM is leading the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process to develop an environmental planning document called an environmental impact statement (EIS). The EIS will serve as the basis for the federal determination whether to issue permits to Idaho Power across federal lands. BLM will also coordinate with other federal and state environmental and permitting agencies. Visit the NEPA Process page for more information.

The project is also undergoing review by the ODOE and EFSC. In this process, Idaho Power is applying to the state of Oregon to build the B2H Project. The Oregon energy facility siting process streamlines permitting for project decision-making by consolidating regulations of Oregon state and local agencies. EFSC will ultimately decide whether to approve or deny Idaho Power’s application to build this facility. ODOE is the state agency that provides technical support to the EFSC.

The proposed route submitted by Idaho Power Company crosses federal lands administered by BLM and USFS. The decision to issue a right of way over federal lands for a major transmission line is considered a major federal action, and an EIS will be prepared in compliance with NEPA. For this project, BLM is the lead federal agency responsible for NEPA compliance. The project EIS will evaluate the proposed action and a range of reasonable alternatives for potential effects to environmental, social and economic resources. While the EIS will assess potential impacts for the entire project regardless of land ownership, the federal right of way authorization would apply only to lands administered by the agency.

In Oregon, ODOE and EFSC have regulatory and siting responsibility for large electric generating facilities, high voltage transmission lines, gas pipelines and radioactive waste disposal sites.

ODOE, working with other state agencies and local governments, will determine if Idaho Power's Application for an Energy Facility Site Certificate meets EFSC’s Energy Facility Siting Standards which were developed to protect natural resources and human health and safety. The siting standards are pass/fail and, should ODOE recommend approving Idaho Power's Application for an Energy Facility Site Certificate, EFSC will vote on whether to issue the Site Certificate. EFSC ultimately decides whether to approve or deny Idaho Power’s Application for an Energy Facility Site Certificate.

Visit ODOE-EFSC’s Agency Role and Responsibility pages for more information.

Idaho Power submitted a new NOI to ODOE because its 2008 NOI will expire in August 2010 and due to substantial changes in the proposed project. As with any NOI, Idaho Power’s current proposal is preliminary and subject to change based on feedback from ODOE, government agencies and the public.

ODOE encourages the public to submit comments on the new NOI. ODOE can only consider comments submitted on the new NOI so the public is encouraged to submit new comments or re-submit relevant comments from the 2008 NOI.

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a resident of sagebrush habitat that may be affected by the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project. Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and BLM requirements to maintain at least a 2-mile buffer around leks (communal breeding grounds) will influence where the transmission line may be sited.

Greater sage-grouse are designated as an Oregon “vulnerable sensitive species”, and an Idaho “critically imperiled species.” BLM also lists the greater sage-grouse as a “type 2 sensitive species” in Oregon and Idaho. On March 5, 2010, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined that Greater sage-grouse warrant protection and will be listed as a candidate species under the Endangered Species Act. For more information, visit the USFWS’s greater sage-grouse page.

The ODFW and Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG) work with the primary federal land management agencies (U.S. Forest Service, BLM and the USFWS) to maintain or enhance greater sage-grouse habitat on federal lands within these states. BLM adopted a sage-grouse policy, as part of the National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy (BLM national strategy), which includes the requirement to work with state fish and wildlife agencies to create and adopt further strategies that are specific to each state. BLM policy is to accept and administer public lands consistent with each State sage-grouse conservation strategy. For more information, visit the ODFW's greater sage-grouse page and Idaho's sage-grouse conservation plan.

As part of BLM and ODOE‘s review processes for the project, field surveys will be conducted to evaluate the presence of greater sage-grouse leks and habitat within the proposed transmission line corridor(s). BLM, in consultation with ODFW and IDFG, will document the potential impacts of the proposed transmission line on greater sage-grouse habitat in the project's draft EIS, which will be available for public review and comment. ODOE will also consult with ODFW to ensure that their habitat and mitigation standards have been met. If greater sage-grouse become listed as a federal threatened or endangered species, additional consultation with USFWS will be required.

Routes other than those recommended through the CAP process may be analyzed in the NEPA process. As part of the NEPA process, the BLM and USFS must explore alternatives that meet the agencies’ purpose and need. In the case of the B2H Project, there are potentially a large number of alternatives. NEPA guidance recommends that the BLM and USFS analyze a range of reasonable alternatives covering the full spectrum of alternatives. “Reasonable” alternatives include those that are practical, as well as technically and economically feasible. Public input from the scoping process helps inform the federal agencies’ development of reasonable alternatives.

The duration of a federal right of way grant is limited to a reasonable term in light of all circumstances concerning the project. Idaho Power will identify the term of years needed in their revised SF-299 application to BLM and USFS.

Among other things, the federal agencies will consider the following factors in establishing a reasonable term:

• The cost of the facility.
• Its useful life.
• Any public purpose it serves.

A federal right of way grant will also specify whether or not it is renewable and the terms and conditions applicable to the renewal.