Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Wanapum – Mountain View 230 kV Transmission Line Project

To meet increasing power demand, the Grant County Public Utility District No. 2 proposes constructing a 230-kV transmission line from the Wanapum switchyard, east of Wanapum Dam, to the Mountain View substation in Quincy, Washington. Grant PUD has applied for a land-use authorization from Reclamation to construct, operate, and maintain electrical power lines (approximately 3.3 miles) and associated access roads (approximately 2.5 miles) on Bureau of Reclamation–administered lands. Amid the predominantly agricultural landscape, Reclamation parcels primarily consist of native shrub-steppe habitat characterized by sagebrush and bunchgrass vegetation. The project is part of Grant PUD’s larger Quincy Transmission Expansion Plan, which takes a proactive approach to managing the county’s power system, increasing electrical capacity to meet future energy needs.

Reclamation determined that an environmental assessment per the National Environmental Policy Act must be completed before deciding whether to grant a land-use authorization for crossings on Reclamation easements and lands. As per the Department of the Interior's latest revision to NEPA regulations, along with the release of the February 2026 Department of the Interior Handbook of NEPA Implementing Procedures, the applicant-prepared EA will only cover the impacts and activities on Reclamation–administered lands, specifically the installation of transmission structures, road improvements, and selective replacement of distribution structures within this limited area, rather than the broader 32-mile transmission line project.