Designation of these corridors would not require project applicants to use the corridors, but is expected to speed approvals and construction of energy projects. Corridor designation could effect land use on non-federal lands adjacent to or between corridor segments. How private lands would be affected would depend on the current and anticipated future land use in these areas. The public comment period opened November 10, 2007 and will continue until Thursday, February 14, 2008. The Department of Energy, Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service will host public hearing on January 8 in Sacramento proposing to designate energy corridors on federal lands in the West.  The hearing will be held at the California Energy Commission, 1516 Ninth Street. There will be two sessions: 2- 5 pm and 6-8 pm. to comment on the draft programmatic environmental impact statement, or PEIS,

Meeting attendees will have to sign in and obtain a visitor sticker to get into the meeting room. You can also attend listen-only web casts by going to the web site: corridoreis.anl.gov. The PEIS is available for review at libraries, the Bureau of Land Management, and forest service field offices. You can view the PEIS in electronic format online at corridoreis.anl.gov, where you can also get additional information, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions that explain the scope of this initiative. All comments received or postmarked by Thursday, February 14, 2008 will be considered. The address for written comments is: West-wide Energy Corridor DEIS, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue, Building 900, Mail Stop 4, Argonne, IL 60439 or Fax: (866)542-5904 .