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KINGMAN — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)’s Kingman Field Office is seeking public input on an Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating impacts from the proposed construction and installation of an electric transmission line in eastern Golden Valley and the west side of Kingman. The Golden Valley Transmission Line Project is designed to help improve reliability, replace aging equipment, and support the future energy needs of customers in Mohave County.
“Modernizing America’s aging infrastructure and facilitating responsible energy development on public lands are BLM priorities,” said BLM Kingman Field Manager Amanda Dodson. “This transmission line would increase capacity for the electric grid in the Kingman area, improving energy efficiency and reliability in a region that is fast growing.”
UNS Electric Inc., a subsidiary of UniSource Energy Services, is developing plans for a 17-mile-long, 230-kilovolt (kV), electric transmission line and substation in the Kingman and Golden Valley region. The new transmission line would supply a projected 5-35 megawatt (MW) increase in customer energy needs over the next decade in the north Golden Valley area. Power within UniSource’s Mohave County service territory is currently transmitted primarily over a 69kV transmission network.
The BLM prepared the EA, pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, to analyze and describe the potential environmental impacts associated with the proposed action. The EA evaluates BLM alternative alignments for the transmission line, seeking to identify a route that minimizes visual impacts and
keeps the transmission line within existing utility corridors to the greatest extent possible.
A 30-day public comment period on the EA will be open from Aug. 3 to Sept. 2, 2020. Copies of the draft EA will be available for public review and commenting through BLM’s ePlanning website: https://go.usa.gov/xwf6J. Comments may also be mailed to the Kingman Field Office, 2755 Mission Blvd., Kingman, AZ 86401. All comments must be received online or postmarked by Sept. 2, 2020 to be considered in the final decision.
To learn more about the project, please visit Unisource’s project page https://www.uesaz.com/golden-valley. Anyone who would like to receive a hard copy of the EA may contact the BLM’s Kingman Field Office at 928-317-3200.
