[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32240-32241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12751]
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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Notice of Inent (NOI) To Prepare an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Oro Verde Solar Project at Edwards Air Force
Base and County of Kern, CA
AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DOD.
ACTION: Notice of Intent.
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SUMMARY: The Air Force is issuing this notice to advise the public of
its intent to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) with the County of Kern, California
to evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the
development of the Oro Verde Solar Project (OVSP) on Edwards AFB. The
OVSP is a solar photovoltaic (PV) facility that involves the lease of
non-excess Air Force lands to a private energy developer, SunEdison
LLC, who will pursue the development of up to 450 Megawatts of
renewable energy on Edwards Air Force Base (AFB). The Proposed Action
includes construction, operation, and maintenance of the OVSP facility.
As part of the Proposed Action, the developer would construct a 230-
kilovolt (kV) generation interconnection (Gen-tie) line connecting the
OVSP to Southern California Edison's Windhub substation or to the Los
Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) Barren Ridge-Rinaldi
transmission line. The Gen-tie line would be constructed to support the
delivery of the energy generated by the project. For the County of
Kern, the Proposed Action is to approve a franchise agreement for
routing of the Gen-tie line, and to amend land use plans to provide
rights-of-way for the project in select locations along the proposed
transmission route.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OVSP would be sited on 1,500 to 4,000
acres of available, non-excess Air Force land located on Edwards AFB.
Alternatives which meet the purpose and need for Proposed Action have
been identified and include the No Action Alternative and two
additional alternatives. Alternative A includes full-scale project
development of a 450 Megawatt solar PV project on up to 4,000 acres of
Edwards AFB property located in the northwestern corner of the base.
The project would include construction of a Gen-tie line of
approximately 10-14 miles in total length. Alternative B represents a
reduced-scale alternative for the construction and operation of a 150-
200 Megawatt OVSP facility. Under Alternative B, the reduced-scale
project would be sited on up to 2,000 acres of
[[Page 32241]]
Edwards AFB non-excess property within the same project footprint as
Alternative A. Alternative B would allow the developer to have greater
siting flexibility to avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
Scoping: In order to effectively define the full range of issues to
be evaluated in the EIS/EIR, the Air Force and County of Kern are
soliciting scoping comments from interested state and federal agencies
and interested members of the public. The public scoping period will
extend for 30 days following the publication of the Notice of Intent in
the Federal Register. The public is invited to participate in scoping
meetings that will be held on 12 and 13 June, 2013, in the local
communities of Mojave, CA; and Rosamond, CA. Federal, State, and local
agencies, along with other stakeholders who may be interested or
affected by the project are invited to participate in the scoping
process. Notification of the meeting locations, dates, and times will
be published and announced in local news media no later than 15 days
prior to public scoping meetings.
The scoping process will help identify the full range of reasonable
alternatives, potential impacts, and key issues to be emphasized in the
environmental analysis. The USAF has identified potential impacts to
the following resources: Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural
and Historical Resources, Water Resources, Land Use, Paleontological
Resources, Soils, and Visual Resources. Scoping will assist the Air
Force and County of Kern in identifying and addressing other issues of
concern.
Oral and written comments presented at the public scoping meetings,
as well as written comments received by the Air Force or County of Kern
will be considered in the preparation of the Draft EIS/EIR.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Hatch, Environmental Public
Affairs, Bldg. 1405 Room 400, Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93524; email:
[email protected], Phone: 661-277-8707, Fax: (661) 277-2732.
Handicap assistance or translation service at public meetings can be
made available by providing advance notice to Mr. Hatch at the contact
information listed above.
Henry Williams Jr,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-12751 Filed 5-28-13; 8:45 am]
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