In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 as amended NEPA the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as amended and the Federal Power Act FPA as amended the Grid Deployment Office GDO Department of Energy DOE in coordination with Federal cooperating agenciesthe Bureau of Land Management BLM Miles City Field Office Miles City MT the United States Forest Service USFS an agency of the Department of Agriculture USDA Dakota Prairie Grasslands Bismarck ND and the Agricultural Research Service ARS Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory Miles City MTintends to prepare jointly with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality Montana DEQ an environmental impact statement EIS DOEEIS-0568 to analyze the potential environmental impacts of granting authorizations to North Plains Connector LLC for siting constructing operating and maintaining the North Plains Connector Project the proposed Project an up to 525-kilovolt kV high-voltage direct-current HVDC electrical transmission line connecting the Eastern and Western Interconnections also referred to as the eastern and western grids. By this notice GDO is announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public comments and identify issues impacts and possible need for mitigation.