Upper Badlands Wind Development, LLC proposes to construct the Upper Badlands Wind Project (Project) in Dawson County, Montana. The Project would generate up to 320 mega-watts and would interconnect to WAPA’s existing Dawson to Fort peck 230kV transmission line.
WAPA’S Involvement
If there is available transmission capacity on the federal transmission system, WAPA provides open access to transmission services so that energy producers can transmit power to their customers. Any entity requesting transmission services must submit an application for interconnection. For more information about the interconnection process, visit WAPA’s website here. The federal interconnection process is separate from any State, County, or local permitting and approvals that may be required.
The proposed interconnection of the Project to WAPA’s transmission system is a Federal action under NEPA. As a result, an Environmental Assessment (EA) will be prepared to evaluate the environmental effects of the Project. The EA will tier from the analysis conducted in the Upper Great Plains Wind Energy Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). The PEIS can be viewed here. If WAPA finds there are no significant environmental impacts, the interconnection request will be granted and WAPA will prepare a Finding of No Significant Impact. Together, the EA and the PEIS would comprise the NEPA documentation for this proposed Federal action. If significant impacts are identified, the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process would be initiated. An EIS provides a more thorough evaluation of impacts and alternatives, as well as a more formal public involvement process.
Public Involvement
One of the first steps in the NEPA process is public scoping. During the scoping process, input is requested from the general public, government agencies, tribal governments, and others to identify issues and alternatives that will help WAPA define the scope of the EA. WAPA held a public scoping meeting on Thursday, October 11th, 2018. The scoping comment period closed on November 12th, 2018.
The next step in the NEPA process will be to prepare a draft EA to analyze environmental impacts of the proposal. Once prepared, a draft of the EA will be available for public review and comment. If you wish to be notified when the draft EA is available, please contact WAPA using one of the methods listed below.
Project Links
Draft Enviromental Assessment
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Once prepared, a draft of the EA will be available here for public review and comment.
Contact Information
Christina Gomer
Western Area Power Administration
UGP NEPA Coordinator
2900 4th Avenue North
Billings, MT 59101-1266
(406) 255-2811
Last modified on November 4th, 2024