Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Government-to-Government Consultation

A list of frequently asked questions about government-to-government consultation for the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS).

Below is a list of frequently asked questions about government-to-government consultation for the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS. Click a question below to see the answer. Note: A general FAQ list for the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS is also available on the FAQ page.

Who is the lead agency for the PEIS?
With multiple agencies, how do I consult?
What is an Agency POC?
Where can Tribes get information about the project?
How can Tribes keep informed?
How can Tribes get information, especially maps, specific to their interests?
How can Tribes convey specific concerns about this project?
Will information be confidential?

Do Tribes need to consult separately on National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 concerns?
How is the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS related to the Indian Lands Energy Rights-of-Way Study (EPAct Section 1813)?
How is the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS related to the Electric Transmission Congestion Study (EPAct Section 1221(a))?
Can these corridors be sited in locations that will promote economic development for our tribe?
If we feel that consultation on this project is inadequate, how can we speak to the decision makers?
Will these corridors be used to transport hazardous materials such as uranium and coal slurry, in addition to oil, gas, and electricity?
Why don't these maps always reflect land ownership or other features accurately?
Will development affect areas important to us, such as sacred landscapes and landforms, archaeological sites, and culturally important species and resources?

Who is the lead agency for the PEIS?

The Department of Energy is the lead agency with the Bureau of Land Management as co-lead.

The Bureau of Land Management has the lead for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. However, all agencies are coordinating on the project through an interagency management team. This team has established a Tribal Consultation Group to assist with coordinating tribal consultation on the PEIS. Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is the contractor for the project and provides a centralized coordinating function for consultation.

For more information on the agencies involved in preparation of the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic EIS, visit Who Is Preparing the West-wide Energy Corridor Programmatic EIS.

With multiple agencies, how do I consult?

There are two ways Tribes can initiate consultation, or convey requests for information:

Tribes may contact Argonne with a request for information and/or consultation, or simply to convey information that they wish considered in the PEIS. Argonne will refer requests for information or consultation to the BLM or Forest Service (USFS), who will assign a point of contact (POC, usually a BLM or USFS Tribal coordinator) to the Tribe. The Tribe will be notified who that POC will be and may contact that person or wait for him/her to contact the Tribe.
Tribes may use whatever agency (BLM or USFS) channels they are already familiar with at a local, state, or regional level to request information or consultation. It will be up to the agency contacted to inform Argonne of the consultation and to ensure that information important to the PEIS is forwarded to the appropriate contacts. An Agency POC will be assigned to coordinate and facilitate communication and consultation.

What is an Agency POC?

This project involves potentially hundreds of interested Tribes, multiple agencies, and eleven states. In order to ensure that each interested Tribe has someone to respond to Tribal issues and concerns, to answer questions and provide information, and to facilitate government-to-government consultation, each Tribe will be assigned an Agency Point of Contact (Agency POC) when they express an interest in this project. This Agency POC will coordinate with the Tribe, other involved entities, and serve as the point of contact for the PIES management team with regard to that Tribe. Tribes that do not wish to participate in this process will not have an Agency POC. Once assigned, Tribes are encouraged to work through the Agency POC but are not limited to doing so.

Where can Tribes get information about the project?

Tribes may request information about the project from local, state, or regional BLM/USFS offices, through their normal channels and/or through agency Tribal coordinators.
Tribes may request information about the project from Argonne, who will provide basic project information or refer requests to an Agency POC to respond.

How can Tribes keep informed?

Tribes may register to receive project updates and announcements by entering an e-mail address in the "Subscribe" box on any page of this Web site. News and updates are also posted on this Web site on the News and Events page.
Tribes may send a request to Argonne to be kept on a mailing list and notified as important deadlines, such as the release of the Draft PEIS for comment, approach.
Tribes may work through local agency contacts or their Agency POCs to obtain current information regarding the project.

How can Tribes get information, especially maps, specific to their interests?

Tribes may work through local agency contacts and/or their Agency POCs to obtain the best available maps and information.

How can Tribes convey specific concerns about this project?

Tribes may contact Argonne with their issues and Argonne will notify the PEIS management team. If Tribes wish to consult on their issues, they should notify Argonne and Argonne will refer them to an agency POC to arrange consultation.
Tribes may also contact the agencies directly through their usual state, regional, and local contacts. Agencies will then be responsible for forwarding along whatever concerns the Tribe may convey.
If the Tribe has already contacted Argonne and received a referral to a POC, the Tribe may work through that person.

Will information be confidential?

Argonne will collect and analyze information, and will not release confidential information to the public. The agencies can provide confidentiality to the extent that information is exempted from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Do Tribes need to consult separately on National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 concerns?

No. Tribes may have multiple issues and can consult on these together. Section 106 compliance has been integrated into the PEIS. BLM is the lead agency on Section 106 and is primarily concerned that Tribes are given the opportunity to consult. Tribes do not need to separate out their 106 issues or initiate separate consultation.

How is the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS related to the Indian Lands Energy Rights-of-Way Study (EPAct Section 1813)?

Both the PEIS and the Indian Lands Energy Rights-of-Way Study are required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The PEIS is mandated by Section 368 and the Indian Lands study by Section 1813.
Although related, the two studies are separate. The PEIS deals only with Federal lands, while the Section 1813 study deals exclusively with Indian lands.
For information on the 1813 process see http://1813.anl.gov.

How is the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS related to the Electric Transmission Congestion Study (EPAct Section 1221(a))?

Both the PEIS and the "Congestion Study" are required by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The PEIS is mandated by Section 368 and the Congestion Study by Section 1221.
Results from the Congestion Study were used in the selection of the proposed Section 368 energy corridors identified in the PEIS.
The Congestion Study may result in the designation of National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors, some of which may require Tribal consultation.
Further information on Section 1221 can be obtained from a DOE web site: http://www.oe.energy.gov/epa_sec1221.htm.

Can these corridors be sited in locations that will promote economic development for our tribe?

Section 368 directs the affected agencies to designate corridors on federal lands in order to enhance and support the development of a west-wide energy transmission grid. Tribal economic development is not part of this project’s mission. However, tribal economic development with relation to energy concerns is an important part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which Congress addressed in Title V of the Act. Interested tribes are referred to the provisions of that Title.

If we feel that consultation on this project is inadequate, how can we speak to the decision makers?

Decision making on this project is coordinated among the various agencies involved and throughout their respective organizations, reflecting different areas of expertise and authority. The Department of Energy is primarily responsible for assessing the energy transmission needs in the eleven western states; the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service are the agencies that will actually amend local land use plans to designate energy transmission corridors.

There is a national interagency management team representing the heads of the respective agencies on this project. This team works closely with state and local managers to identify the best routes for the corridors. Local and state or regional managers are responsible for ensuring that corridor locations conform to local land use plans and accommodate local concerns. In the rare instances where local concerns conflict with the overall project goals, the issue is decided by the management team or may be elevated to senior management in the agencies.

Following release of the final PEIS, the heads of the BLM and the Forest Service will each sign a Record of Decision that will amend their respective agency’s land use plans to designate Section 368 energy corridors. Ultimately the Director of the BLM and the Chief of the Forest Service will make the decision to designate corridors.

Tribes may, of course, consult with any agency at any level of the organization or with representatives of the interagency management team, should they wish to do so. When a tribe is concerned about the specific location of a corridor or future development within it, however, consultation with local land use mangers may be the most productive place to start. Local managers know the landscape and should also hear any concerns that tribes may have regarding future development within specific corridors. Tribes are welcome to consult with the national management team on these or any other issues, but the national team will necessarily include local managers in any consultations that are specific to a local field office such as corridor location, adjustments, or future development.

Will these corridors be used to transport hazardous materials such as uranium and coal slurry, in addition to oil, gas, and electricity?

Section 368 specifies that these corridors be designated for transport of oil, gas, hydrogen, and electricity. The PIES is specific to the transport of these materials via pipeline or electricity transmission and distribution facilities, and does not analyze the effects of transport of other energy-related substances or transport mechanisms (such as rail or truck). Any future proposals for transport of substances within the corridors that are not specified in Section 368 would be subject to separate analysis and would not necessarily benefit from the work done on the PEIS.

Future development within the corridors for oil, gas, hydrogen, and electricity would be subject to all current and applicable health and safety laws and regulations. In addition, the PEIS identifies a number of interagency operating procedures pertinent to health and safety that will apply to future development within the corridors. These IOPs would not apply to development that crosses tribal lands. Health and safety requirements for development on tribal lands are the responsibility of the affected tribe.

Why don't these maps always reflect land ownership or other features accurately?

The database used for the project is not always complete or up-to-date, due to the fact that it incorporates data from diverse sources and at different scales and due to the fact that land ownership patterns are dynamic. If you notice a significant error please let us know.

Will development affect areas important to us, such as sacred landscapes and landforms, archaeological sites, and culturally important species and resources?

Future development within designated Section 368 energy corridors does have the potential to affect these resources and areas of importance to tribes. Once specific projects are proposed those laws, regulations, and policies that require consultation with tribes, assessment of potential impacts, and actions to avoid, minimize, or mitigate effects will apply.

Where tribes have identified areas of concern for the PEIS, or where local field offices or State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) are aware of such areas, we have adjusted proposed corridor locations to avoid them. Most tribes who have responded to this project so far have preferred to alert us to their concerns but to provide site-specific information at a later time, when specific projects and impacts are identified.