[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 226 (Friday, November 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70182-70183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28392]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD09000, L51010000.LVRWB09B2380.FX0000] Notice of Availability of a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Impact Report for the Proposed Stateline Solar Farm, San
Bernardino County, CA and Draft California Desert Conservation Area
Land Use Plan Amendments
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Draft California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
Amendment and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Stateline Solar Farm Project
(Stateline) and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR within
90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM
will announce future meetings or hearings and any other public
involvement
[[Page 70183]]
activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media
releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Stateline Draft Plan
Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html.
Email: [email protected].
Fax: 951-697-5299.
Mail: ATTN: Jeffery Childers, Project Manager, BLM
California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos,
Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046
Copies of the Stateline Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR are
available for public inspection at BLM California Desert District
Office at the above address; or on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery Childers, Project Manager;
telephone 951-697-5308; address BLM California Desert District Office,
22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046; email
[email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-
800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a
message or question with the above individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: First Solar Development, Inc. (First Solar)
has requested a right-of-way (ROW) authorization to construct, operate,
maintain and decommission the 300-megawatt (MW) Stateline Project from
the BLM and a separate well permit from the County of San Bernardino.
The BLM is responding to the ROW application as required by FLPMA. The
proposed project located on BLM-administered lands would include access
roads, a photovoltaic arrays, an electrical substation, a
meteorological station, a monitoring and maintenance facility, water
wells, and a 2.3-mile generation tie-line on up to 2,143 acres. The
project location is in San Bernardino County approximately 2 miles
south of the Nevada-California border and 0.5 miles west of Interstate
15.
The BLM's purpose and need for the Stateline EIS/EIR is to respond
to First Solar's application for a ROW grant to construct, operate,
maintain, and decommission a photovoltaic solar energy facility on
public lands in compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, and other
applicable Federal laws. The BLM will decide whether to grant, grant
with modification, or deny a ROW to First Solar. In connection with its
consideration of the Stateline ROW application, the BLM is proposing to
amend the CDCA Plan by designating the project area as either suitable
or unsuitable for solar energy development. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
amended), recognized the potential compatibility of solar energy
generation facilities with other uses on public lands; however, it
requires that all sites proposed for power generation or transmission
not already identified in the plan be considered through the plan
amendment process. While connected, the decision to amend the CDCA plan
is separate from the decision to approve the ROW application. As part
of its consideration of project impacts, the BLM may also amend the
CDCA Plan to address cumulative impacts of this and other developments
in the Ivanpah Valley watershed. Specifically, the BLM will consider
whether to expand the boundaries of the Ivanpah Desert Wildlife
Management Area (DWMA).
The Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR analyze four project
development alternatives, including the proposed action, which is
analyzed as Alternative 1: 300 MWs of development on 2,143 acres. The
other alternatives include--Alternative 2: 300 MWs of development on
2,385 acres; Alternative 3: 300 MWs of development on 2,151 acres; and
Alternative 4: 232 MWs of development on 1,766 acres. In addition to
project-related impacts, all project development alternatives analyze
potential expansion of the current boundaries of the Ivanpah DWMA. The
management prescriptions for the Ivanpah DWMA are defined in Appendix
A, Section A.2, of the Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert Management
Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (July
2002). If the DWMA is expanded, these management prescriptions will be
applied to the expansion.
The Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR also analyze three No
Project alternatives--Alternative 5: No Action; Alternative 6: No
Project and amendment of the CDCA Plan to find the Project area
unsuitable for solar development; and Alternative 7: No Project and
amendment of the CDCA Plan to find the Project area suitable for solar
development.
The Draft Plan Amendment and EIS/EIR evaluate the potential impacts
of the proposed Stateline on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions,
biological resources, cultural resources, special status species,
geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water
quality, land use, noise, recreation, traffic, visual resources, lands
with wilderness characteristics, cumulative effects and areas with high
potential for renewable energy development.
A Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Plan Amendment and EIS/EIR
for the Stateline Project was published in the Federal Register on
August 4, 2011 (76 FR 47235). The BLM held one joint public scoping
meeting with San Bernardino County at the Primm Valley Golf Course on
August 31, 2011. The formal scoping period ended on September 6, 2011.
Please note that public comments will be available for public
review at the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4
p.m.), Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2012-28392 Filed 11-21-12; 8:45 am]
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