(portion of map from Scoping Report)

BUSHKILL, PA – Superintendent John J. Donahue is making available for public review the Internal Scoping Report for the Susquehanna to Roseland Transmission Line Proposal and Right-of-Way Request Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). A consortium of power companies, PPL Electric Utilities Corporation (PPL) and PSE&G, have requested permits for construction and right-of-way (ROW) permits from the National Park Service in connection with the proposed 500,000 kilovolt (500-kV) Susquehanna to Roseland Transmission Line. As proposed, the transmission line would cross three units of the National Park System in Pennsylvania and New Jersey – the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

The Internal Scoping Reports (ISR) is the starting point for the EIS, which is being prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA). The report summarizes the results of an internal scoping meeting held at Delaware Water Gap NRA in September. It presents some background material that will be useful in preparing the EIS and addresses the purpose of and need for action, resource concerns, and objectives.

The ISR has been posted on the National Park Service’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website –http://parkplanning.nps.gov– an online collaborative tool that gives the public unprecedented, easy access to documents used in developing and tracking projects within the National Park System.

Posting the Internal Scoping Report on PEPC allows the public to view a summary of the beginning internal steps in the EIS process. Comments from the public on the proposed project will be accepted in the future via numerous venues. Following the Internal Scoping Report, the NPS will begin public scoping, which will include public outreach in the form of public scoping meetings and newsletters. Later in the planning process, public meetings and a formal public comment period will be held when the draft EIS is available for review. Public participation in the NEPA process is specifically required in the preparation of an EIS. Further description of the public scoping process is explained in the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (10 CRF 1500-1508).