PacifiCorp’s Rocky Mountain Power and Idaho Power Company jointly propose to build a 1,150 mile high voltage transmission line that will extend from Casper, Wyoming to Boise, Idaho. AECOM teamed with Tetra Tech to provide environmental services to fulfill all National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requirements for the proposed project. The new transmission line when completed will provide electricity to meet increasing customer needs. It will deliver power from existing and future generation resources including renewable resources such as wind energy. The line will also provide strength and reliability to the region’s transmission system.
AECOM and Tetra Tech served as the third-party Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) preparer for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which is the lead federal agency. BLM must comply with all aspects of NEPA including: scoping; baseline data collection; route alternatives analysis; substation siting; preferred route selection; coordination with Federal, state and local agencies; public involvement and agency and tribal coordination and consultation. The scope of work includes conducting biological and cultural resource surveys; and preparation of a stormwater prevention plan. In addition, the scope includes obtaining the required Federal, state, and local permits for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the Project. The Draft EIS was published in 2012 and the Record of Decision was released in November 2013. The AECOM cultural resource team will continue to work with Tetra Tech and the project proponents in 2014.