[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 219 (Friday, November 13, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70254-70256]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-28791]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCA932000.L13400000.DQ0000.LXSSB0020000.16X]
Notice of Availability of the Desert Renewable Energy
Conservation Plan Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment to the California
Desert Conservation Plan and the Bakersfield and Bishop Resource
Management Plans and Final Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) and Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Desert Renewable Energy
Conservation Plan (DRECP). This LUPA would amend the California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan and the Bakersfield and Bishop Resource
Management Plans (RMPs). By this notice, the BLM is announcing the
availability of the Proposed LUPA and Final EIS.
DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's
Proposed LUPA/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions and files a
protest must do so within 30 days of the date that the Environmental
Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal
Register.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the DRECP Proposed LUPA and Final EIS have been
sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies,
affected tribal governments, and to other stakeholders. The Proposed
LUPA and Final EIS are available for review online at www.drecp.org and
www.blm.gov/ca/drecp. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section below
for a list of locations where copies of the Proposed LUPA and Final EIS
are available for public inspection.
All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following
addresses: Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest
Coordinator, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383; Overnight
Delivery: BLM Director (210), Attention: Protest Coordinator, 20 M
Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vicki Campbell, Program Manager,
[[Page 70255]]
DRECP, telephone 916-978-4401; address BLM California State Office,
2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1623, Sacramento, CA; email
[email protected]. To request a DVD, please send an email to
drecp.info@energy.ca.gov">drecp.info@energy.ca.gov or call 1-866-936-7477 to provide a mailing
address. 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: The BLM developed the DRECP to: (1) Advance
Federal and State natural resource conservation goals and other Federal
land management goals; (2) Meet the requirements of the Federal
Endangered Species Act, Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
(OPLMA), California Endangered Species Act, Natural Community
Conservation Planning Act, and FLPMA in the Mojave and Colorado/Sonoran
desert region of Southern California; and (3) Facilitate the timely and
streamlined permitting of renewable energy projects. The Draft DRECP
includes a strategy that identifies and maps potential areas for
renewable energy development and areas for long-term natural resource
conservation. The Draft DRECP was published on September 26, 2014 (79
FR 57971), and comments were accepted until February 23, 2015.
In March 2015, the DRECP partner agencies (the BLM, California
Energy Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and California
Department of Fish and Wildlife) announced a phased approach to
completing the DRECP. As part of this approach, the BLM's component of
the DRECP is being finalized first in Phase I, outlining important
designations for conservation and renewable energy on public lands.
The Proposed DRECP LUPA would amend the CDCA Plan for the entire
CDCA, and the RMPs for portions of the Bishop and Bakersfield Field
Offices, which includes the Mojave Desert and Colorado/Sonoran Desert
ecoregion subareas in California. The DRECP Plan Area includes all or a
portion of the following counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles,
Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego. The DRECP Plan Area covers
approximately 22,585,000 acres, of which approximately 9,784,000 acres
are BLM-administered lands. An additional 1,085,000 acres of BLM-
administered lands are within the CDCA but outside of the DRECP Plan
Area.
The BLM's objectives for the Proposed DRECP LUPA and Final EIS are
to:
Conserve biological, physical, cultural, social, and
scenic resources;
Promote renewable energy and transmission development,
consistent with Federal renewable energy and transmission goals and
policies, in consideration of State renewable energy targets;
Comply with all applicable Federal laws, including the
BLM's obligation to manage the public lands consistent with FLPMA;
``Preserve the unique and irreplaceable resources,
including archaeological values, and conserve the use of the economic
resources'' of the CDCA (FLPMA 601(a)(6), 43 U.S.C. 1781(a)(6));
Incorporate goals, objectives, and allowable uses on areas
of the public lands managed for conservation purposes within the CDCA
and which the BLM identifies as components of the National Landscape
Conservation System, consistent with the Omnibus Public Land Management
Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11);
Amend land use plans consistent with the criteria in FLPMA
and the CDCA Plan;
Coordinate planning and management activities with other
Federal, State, local, and tribal planning and management programs by
considering the policies of approved land resource management programs,
to the extent consistent with Federal law; and
Make some land use allocation decisions outside the DRECP
area but within the CDCA, including Visual Resource Management Classes
and land use allocations to replace multiple-use classes.
Following the publication of the Proposed LUPA and Final EIS, the
BLM expects to issue a decision that will identify the public lands in
the CDCA that Congress included in the National Landscape Conservation
System under Section 2002(b)(2)(D) of Public Law 111-11. The Proposed
LUPA and Final EIS would define the goals, objectives, and allowable
uses within those lands. It would also identify areas suitable for
renewable energy development (Development Focus Areas or DFAs); Areas
of Critical Environmental Concern and Wildlife Allocation Areas; areas
suitable for an emphasis on recreation (Special Recreation Management
Areas and Extensive Recreation Management Areas), and areas that would
continue to be managed for other uses. In addition, the Proposed LUPA
and Final EIS contemplate modifications in the management of recreation
(including the establishment of Special Recreation Management Areas and
Extensive Recreation Management Areas), allowing for continued
exploration of mineral resources, establishment of Visual Resource
Management Classes, and grazing. The Proposed LUPA and Final EIS also
incorporate proposed mitigation measures to be considered in relation
to future authorized uses on the public lands and activities on non-
public lands that could adversely affect public land resources. The BLM
consulted with tribes and carefully considered tribal comments when
developing proposed DFAs and conservation areas and other elements of
the proposed LUPA.
The Proposed DRECP LUPA and Final EIS include the BLM's proposed
alternative, four additional action alternatives, and a no action
alternative. Action alternatives analyzed in detail are the result of
integrating varying locations and configurations for renewable energy
and conservation on BLM-managed lands. These alternatives were
developed through the interagency process that led to the development
of the Draft DRECP. The preferred alternative in the draft DRECP/Draft
EIS has been modified based on public comment.
The alternatives differ in the following ways:
Areas suitable for renewable energy: The alternatives
range from 81,000 acres of Development Focus Areas (Alternative 1) to
718,000 acres of Development Focus Areas (Alternative 2). Under the No
Action Alternative, 2,804,000 acres would be open to some form of
renewable energy development. The Proposed Alternative identifies
388,000 acres of Development Focus Areas. The alternatives include
Conservation and Management Actions for development in these areas.
Conservation Designations: With respect to lands to be
included in the National Landscape Conservation System, the
alternatives range from 3,264,000 acres (Alternative 1) to 5,113,000
acres (Alternative 2). Under the No Action Alternative, no lands would
be identified as National Conservation Lands, although 2,966,000 acres
would remain as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern. The Proposed
Alternative would identify 3,856,000 acres of National Conservation
Lands. The alternatives also analyze a range of management actions for
National Conservation Lands. In addition, the Proposed LUPA and Final
EIS would identify new and expanded Areas of Critical Environmental
Concern. The Proposed Alternative would identify approximately
4,717,000 acres of
[[Page 70256]]
ACECs, although approximately 3,337,000 acres would overlap with
proposed National Conservation Lands.
Recreation: The Proposed LUPA and Final EIS would identify
Special Recreation Management Areas (SRMAs) and Extensive Recreation
Management Areas (ERMAs). The alternatives range from 2,537,000 acres
of SRMA (Alternative 1) and 2,458,000 acres of SRMA (Proposed
Alternative). The Proposed Alternative would also include 946,000 acres
of ERMAs. Under the No Action Alternative, there would be zero acres of
ERMA, 193,000 acres of SRMA, and 1,465,000 acres managed for recreation
emphasis.
Comments on the Draft RMP/Draft EIS received from the public and
internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as appropriate
into the proposed plan. Public comments resulted in the addition of
clarifying text, but did not significantly change proposed land use
plan decisions.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the Proposed LUPA/Final EIS may be found in the ``Dear
Reader'' Letter of the DRECP Proposed LUPA and Final EIS and at 43 CFR
1610.5-2. All protests must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate
address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above. Emailed protests
will not be accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also
provides the original protest by either regular or overnight mail
postmarked by the close of the protest period. Under these conditions,
the BLM will consider the emailed protest as an advance copy and it
will receive full consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with
such advance notification, please direct emails to: [email protected].
Copies of the Proposed LUPA and Final EIS are available for public
inspection at the following locations:
BLM California State Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-
1623, Sacramento, CA 95825;
BLM California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San
Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553;
BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, CA
92311;
BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro,
CA 92243;
BLM Needles Field Office, 1303 S. Highway 95, Needles, CA
92363;
BLM Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird
Center Drive,
Palm Springs, CA 92262;
BLM Ridgecrest Field Office, 300 S. Richmond Road,
Ridgecrest, CA 93555;
BLM Bakersfield Field Office, 3801 Pegasus Drive,
Bakersfield, CA 93308;
BLM Bishop Field Office, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100, Bishop,
CA 93514; and
FWS Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, 777 East
Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
Electronic copies will also be available at public libraries
throughout the Planning Area. See the project Web site above or contact
the BLM for further information on other locations.
Before including your phone number, email address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your protest 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, 43 CFR
1610.5.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-28791 Filed 11-12-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P