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111 comment letters were received by the close of the comment period (Department of Commerce, ' 2011b). Xcel Energy also submitted a comment letter after the close of the public comment period addressing alternative routes and substation sites proposed during the scoping period (Xcel Energy, 2011b). After consideration of the public comments the deputy commissioner of the Department of Commerce issued the scope of the EA on September 12,2011. The EA scoping decision document is included in Appendix A. 2.5 Environmental Assessment An EA must be prepared for all high-voltage transmission projects being reviewed under the alternative permitting process. The procedures EFP staff must follow in preparing the EA are described in Minnesota Rule 7850.3700. The EA contains information on the human and environmental impacts of the proposed project as identified in the scoping decision document. It also addresses required methods to mitigate such impacts for all routes considered. The EA is the only state environmental review document required to be prepared for this project. Upon completion of the EA,continuing procedural steps include: providing notice on the availability of the EA,scheduling and providing notice of a public hearing in the area where the project is located,and bringing the matter to the Commission for a final decision. An example of a route permit issued by the Commission for a high-voltage transmission line is provided in Appendix D. Copies of the route permit application and other documents relevant to the process are available for ' viewing and downloading on the Commission website at: http://energyfacilities.puc.state.mn.us/Docket.html?Id=32082 or the eDockets website at: https://www.edockets.state.mn.us/EFiling/search.jsp,enter"11" for Year and"223" for Number, under search criteria. 1 1 Environmental Assessment PUC Docket E002/TL-11-223 Page 4 1