DOE to Ask Arizona, California Citizens for Views On Environmental Analysis of Trans-Border Power Line

Proposed Power Line to Be Built by NRG Energy Inc.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will begin asking citizens in Arizona and southern California this month to help it define the scope of an environmental impact statement the agency must prepare on the proposed construction of a 500,000-volt electric transmission line that would cross the U.S.-Mexico border.

The power line is being proposed by NRG Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Northern States Power Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It would originate at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, 30 miles west of Phoenix, Arizona, and extend southwest approximately 177 miles, crossing the U.S-Mexico border near Calexico, California.

DOE is required by federal statute to assess the environmental impacts of proposed transmission lines that cross the U.S. border. DOE will use the results in determining whether it is in the public interest to grant a Presidential permit for constructing the power line.

The department will hold open meetings in three locations to obtain the public's views on the environmental issues it should address. The meetings will be in:

• Phoenix, Arizona - November 16, 1998, 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, 1515 North 44 th Street;

• Yuma, Arizona - November 17, 1998, 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at the Yuma Civic & Convention Center, 1440 Desert Hills Drive;

• El Centro, California - November 18, 1998, 4 to 7 p.m. at the Vacation Inn/Scribbles, 2015 Cottonwood Circle.

For NRG's preferred route, all but 2.5 miles of the U.S. portion of the proposed transmission line is expected to be located within an existing utility corridor designated by the Bureau of Land Management. NRG, however, will have to obtain approximately 4,300 acres of additional right-of-way from public and private landowners. Alternative routes that cross the U.S.-Mexican border south of Yuma, Arizona, are also expected to be part of the environmental study.

Additional information about the meetings or the Presidential permit process can be obtained from Mrs. Ellen Russell at (202) 586-9624.

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