Categorical Exclusion Determination
Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance
August 29, 2017
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Recent inspection of the Ashe-Marion #2 500 kilovolt transmission line identified a damaged section of the sub-conductor in mile 196 of the line as it runs from Ashe Substation to Marion Substation. This section is located in Mount Hood National Forest. One of the sub-conductors in span 196 of the line is damaged and failing, impacting the safety and reliability of the transmission line. If the damaged conductor is not repaired prior to the winter of 2017/2018, the transmission system would be placed in an elevated risk of failure and emergency outage. Bonneville Power Administration proposes to address the sub-conductor failure in the Ashe-Marion #2 line by restringing a four-mile section of the damaged phase with new steel reinforced electrical conductor.