SANTA FE – The Bureau of Land Management is asking the public to help identify issues involved in a proposal to construct a high-voltage 500 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line (or two parallel lines) across southern New Mexico and Arizona.

The BLM has initiated a public scoping process to gather information about the proposal and will oversee the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will identify environ-mental impacts and evaluate alternatives for the project, proposed by SunZia Transmission, LLC.

A formal announcement opening the scoping process and a 45-day public comment period was published in the Federal Register on May 29, 2009.  The BLM will host nine open-house meetings in New Mexico and Arizona along the proposed transmission line study corridor to provide the public an opportunity to review the proposal and project information before submitting comments and resource information to the agency.

The final agency decision for the proposed route, which would involve decisions on federal Right-of-Way designations, will only affect public lands administered by the BLM.

The BLM is the lead federal agency for the process. Cooperating agencies
will be invited to participate, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the New
Mexico State Land Office and the Arizona State Land Department.  Other
state agencies and local governments will be invited to participate and
consultation will occur with tribal governments.

SunZia’s proposed transmission line route would be about 460 miles in
length and originate at a new substation site in either Socorro or Lincoln
Counties, New Mexico; it would terminate in Pinal County , Arizona.  The
proposed line - or parallel lines – would be located on federal, state and
private lines.  The purpose of the project would be to transport
electricity, generated primarily from renewable resources, to western power
markets and load centers.

“Scoping meetings will provide the public an opportunity to learn more
about the project, share comments and concerns, and identify issues and
alternatives to be considered during the EIS process,” said Linda Rundell,
BLM- New Mexico State Director.  BLM staff and SunZia employees will be
available at the meetings to explain project details and gather information
from interested individuals or groups, Rundell added.

Open-house scoping meetings will be held in the following communities.  All
meetings will be from 5 p.m. to 8  p.m.

  • Arizona                         Date                    Meeting Locations
  • Eloy                     June 22, 2009               Santa Cruz Valley Union
  •                                                                   High School Cafeteria
  •                                                                   900 North Main Street
  • Oracle                   June 23, 2009             Oracle Community Center
  •                                                                  685 American Avenue
  • Safford                  June 24, 2009             Manor House Convention Center
  •                                                                   415 East Highway 70
  •  Willcox                 June 29, 2009             Valley Telephone Company
  •                                                                  Conference Room, 752 East Maley

  • New Mexico                        Date                    Meeting Locations               
  • Lordsburg             June 30, 2009             Special Events Center
  •                                                                  504 2nd Street
  •  Deming                  July 1, 2009             Mimbres Valley Special
  •                                                                 Events Center
  •                                                                 2300 East Pine Street
  •  Socorro                 July 7, 2009             NM Institute of Mining & Technology
  •                                                                Fidel Center Atrium
  •                                                                801 Leroy Place
  • Carrizozo                July 8, 2009            Carrizozo Municipal Schools
  •                                                                800 D Avenue
  • Elephant Butte         July 9, 2009           Elephant Butte Inn
  •                                                                Banquet Room
  •                                                                401 Highway195


In addition to comments given at each meeting, comments can also be made:

*To the BLM Project Website at:
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/more/lands_realty.html
via the project
email address at NMSunZiaProject@blm.gov

• In writing to:
the Bureau of Land Management
SunZia Transmission Line Project
P.O Box 27115, Santa Fe,
NM 87502-0115.

• By courier/hand delivery to:
the Bureau of Land Management
SunZia Transmission Line Project
1474 Rodeo Road
Santa Fe, NM 87505.