Alternative Energy and Alternate Use Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, 62672-62673 [E7-21792]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
62672
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 6, 2007 / Notices
utilities in California must increase to
20% by 2010 and 33% by 2017.
The site selection study for the
proposed solar plants and related
facilities was conducted in 2006–07.
Several sites were identified as being
suitable for this form of concentrating
solar technology. The EIS/FSA will
describe and analyze the proposed
project as proposed and will include: (1)
BLM measures to avoid, minimize, or
mitigate impacts on the environment;
(2) A smaller plant alternative; (3) The
‘‘No Action’’ alternative (no new solar
power generation facility); and (4)
Alternative site locations for
constructing and operating Ivanpah
SEGS. Through public scoping BLM
expects to identify various issues,
potential impacts and mitigation
measures. As proposed, the solar plants
have been sited to take advantage of
high solarity, to be located in areas
identified in the CDCA Plan as suitable
for wind and solar development, and to
avoid special status species habitat. The
plants are dry-cooled to reduce water
consumption and would be located near
existing gas and electric transmission
facilities to reduce land disturbance.
BLM has identified a potential list of
issues that will need to be addressed in
this analysis including but not limited
to: Air quality; social and economic
impacts, including impacts to the public
from traffic; ground and surface water
quantity and quality impacts; plant and
animal species including special status
species; cultural resources; visual
resource impacts; and land tenure
adjustment (grazing and mining). If
approved, these solar energy projects on
public lands would be authorized in
accordance with the FLMPA and the
federal regulations at Title 43 Code of
Federal Regulations 2800.
(Authority: 43 CFR part 1712 and 43 CFR
Part 1761).
Dated: October 31, 2007.
J. Anthony Danna,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources
(CA–930).
[FR Doc. E7–21762 Filed 11–5–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Minerals Management Service
Alternative Energy and Alternate Use
Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement
Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
AGENCY:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:55 Nov 05, 2007
Jkt 214001
Notice of Availability (NOA) of
the Final Programmatic Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS).
ACTION:
SUMMARY: The MMS has prepared a final
programmatic EIS in support of the
establishment of a program for
authorizing alternative energy and
alternate use activities on the Outer
Continental Shelf (OCS), as authorized
by Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act
of 2005 (EPAct), and codified in
subsection 8(p) of the Outer Continental
Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Pursuant to
the regulations implementing the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), the MMS is announcing the
availability of this final programmatic
EIS. As part of its efforts to develop a
regulatory program for alternative
energy and alternate use activities, this
final programmatic EIS examines the
potential environmental effects of the
program on the OCS and identifies
policies and best management practices
that may be adopted for the program.
Several alternatives available to the
MMS for implementing an alternative
energy and alternate use program on the
OCS are analyzed in this final
programmatic EIS, including the ‘‘no
action’’ alternative.
The MMS intends to prepare a
separate NEPA analysis, tiered from this
EIS, to evaluate the environmental
impacts of the proposed rule for
alternative energy and alternate use
activities on the OCS. Further, separate
lease sale, activity-specific, and
proposal-specific NEPA analyses will be
prepared as appropriate.
Authority: The NOA is published pursuant
to the regulations (40 CFR 1506.6)
implementing the provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. (1988)).
Section
388 of the EPAct, granted the Secretary
of the U.S. Department of the Interior
(Secretary) discretionary authority to
issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way
for activities on the OCS that produce or
support production, transportation, or
transmission of energy from sources
other than oil and gas, and are not
otherwise authorized by other
applicable law. The Secretary delegated
this authority to the MMS. Examples of
the general types of alternative energy
project activities that MMS has the
discretion to authorize may include, but
are not limited to: Wind energy, wave
energy, ocean current energy, solar
energy, and hydrogen production.
The MMS has also been delegated
discretionary authority to issue leases,
easements, or rights-of-way for other
OCS project activities that make
alternate use of existing OCS facilities
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
PO 00000
Frm 00050
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
for ‘‘energy-related purposes or for other
authorized marine-related purposes,’’ to
the extent such activities are not
otherwise authorized by other
applicable law. Such activities may
include, but are not limited to: Offshore
aquaculture, research, education,
recreation, and support for offshore
operations and facilities.
This programmatic EIS analyzes the
environmental impacts from potential
activities that may arise from the
establishment of an alternative energy
and alternate use program on the OCS
in the reasonably foreseeable future,
defined in the EIS as 5–7 years. The
MMS chose to prepare this
programmatic EIS to assist its efforts to
develop a comprehensive program and
to complete the proposed rule. The
programmatic EIS analyzes the potential
environmental impacts that could result
from the development of alternative
energy and alternative use projects on
the OCS and identifies potential
mitigation measures. As such, the
programmatic EIS process:
(1) Provides for public input, through
scoping meetings, hearings, and written
comments, concerning the scope of
national issues associated with offshore
alternative energy and alternate use
activities;
(2) Identifies, defines, and assesses
generic environmental impacts
associated with potential offshore
alternative energy and alternate use
activities to increase the agency
understanding of the environmental
consequences of future actions;
(3) Evaluates and proposes policies
and best management practices that may
be adopted for any rulemaking by MMS;
and,
(4) Establishes a foundation for future
NEPA analyses required for the
implementation of the alternative
energy and alternate use program.
The preferred alternative of this final
programmatic EIS combines elements of
the proposed action and the ‘‘case-bycase’’ alternative. This combination
provides MMS flexibility to issue and
manage leases, easements, or rights-ofway on the OCS for alternative energy
and alternate use activities during the
rulemaking process. Areas of the OCS
that are assessed in this programmatic
EIS are limited to those not expressly
excluded under Section 388 of the
EPAct, such as any areas on the OCS
within the exterior boundaries of any
unit of the National Park System,
National Wildlife Refuge System,
National Marine Sanctuary System, or
any National Monument.
EIS Availability: To obtain a single
printed or CD–ROM copy of the final
programmatic EIS, you may contact the
E:\FR\FM\06NON1.SGM
06NON1
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 214 / Tuesday, November 6, 2007 / Notices
Minerals Management Service,
Environmental Assessment Branch (MS
4042), 381 Elden Street, Herndon,
Virginia 20170. An electronic copy of
the final programmatic EIS is available
at the MMS’s EIS Web site at:
ocsenergy.anl.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Minerals Management Service, Mr.
James F. Bennett, Environmental
Division, 381 Elden Street, Herndon,
Virginia 20170, (703) 787–1660.
Dated: October 25, 2007.
Robert P. LaBelle,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore
Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E7–21792 Filed 11–5–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–MR–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Request for Information and
Nominations of Areas for Leases
Authorizing Alternative Energy
Resource Assessment and Technology
Testing Activities Pursuant to
Subsection 8(p) of the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act, as
Amended
Minerals Management Service
(MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Request for information and
nominations.
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Minerals Management
Service (MMS) invites comments
concerning the authorization of
activities on the Outer Continental Shelf
(OCS) involving the installation of
meteorological or marine data collection
facilities to assess alternative energy
resources (e.g., wind, wave, and ocean
current) or to test alternative energy
technology to produce or support
production of alternative energy. The
MMS intends to adopt an interim policy
to authorize such facilities (e.g.,
meteorological towers or wave and
current data collection instruments and
wave or current generators or other
developing technology) under
subsection 8(p) of the OCS Lands Act,
as amended by section 388 of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005. Parties wishing to
obtain such authorizations should
submit detailed and specific nomination
and application information as
described below.
DATES: The MMS requests comments by
January 7, 2008. We will begin review
on that date and consider all comments
received by that time.
ADDRESSES: You may submit your
comments by one of two methods:
VerDate Aug<31>2005
16:55 Nov 05, 2007
Jkt 214001
(1) Commenting electronically using
the MMS Public Connect online
commenting system (https://
ocsconnect.mms.gov).
(2) Mailing your comments to the
following address: Minerals
Management Service, Offshore Minerals
Management, Alternative Energy and
Alternate Use Team, 381 Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ms. Maureen Bornholdt, Minerals
Management Service, Offshore Minerals
Management, 381 Elden Street,
Herndon, Virginia 20170–4817, (703)
787–1300, Mail Stop 4080.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public
Comment Policy. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail address,
or other personal identifying
information in your submission, you
should be aware that your entire
submission—including your personal
identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you may 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.
The MMS will protect privileged or
confidential information that you
submit as allowed by the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). Exemption 4 of
FOIA applies to trade secrets and
commercial or financial information
that is privileged or confidential. If you
wish to protect the confidentiality of
such information that you submit,
clearly mark it and request that the
MMS treat it as confidential. The MMS
will not disclose such information,
subject to the standards of FOIA.
However, the MMS will not treat as
confidential any aggregate summaries of
such information or comments not
containing such information. Please
label privileged or confidential
information ‘‘Contains Confidential
Information’’ and consider submitting
such information as a separate
attachment to your comments.
Background. The Energy Policy Act of
2005 amended the OCS Lands Act by
adding subsection 8(p), which
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior
to grant a lease, easement or right-ofway on the OCS for activities that are
not otherwise authorized by the OCS
Lands Act or other existing law and that
(1) produce or support production,
transportation, or transmission of energy
from sources other than oil or gas; or (2)
use for energy-related purposes or for
other authorized marine-related
purposes, facilities currently or
previously used for activities authorized
under the OCS Lands Act. This
PO 00000
Frm 00051
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
62673
authority was delegated from the
Secretary to the MMS Director on March
20, 2006. This Notice pertains only to
the activities covered in (1) above.
The MMS is developing an
Alternative Energy and Alternate Use
(AEAU) program and associated
regulations. We also are analyzing the
environmental consequences of
establishing an AEAU program in a
Programmatic Environmental Impact
Statement (PEIS) being prepared
pursuant to the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). The MMS began the
rulemaking process by issuing an
Advance Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking on December 30, 2005. The
MMS started the preparation of the PEIS
with a Notice of Intent issued on May
5, 2006. Subsequently, we held scoping
meetings around the country in Spring
2006, issued a draft PEIS for comment
on March 21, 2007, and held hearings
on the draft PEIS in Spring 2007. The
MMS issued its final PEIS on November
6, 2007. Later this year, the MMS will
issue its Record of Decision on the PEIS
and plans to publish a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking. This Notice is
not part of the rulemaking process.
While the MMS is developing the
AEAU program, we have adhered to a
policy of not considering proposals for
new alternative energy projects until
after completion of the PEIS and
issuance of a final rulemaking. During
this time, we have proceeded with
environmental analyses under NEPA on
only two projects identified in the
‘‘savings provision’’ included as section
388(d) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Interim Policy for Authorization of
Resource Data Collection and
Technology Testing Facilities. Among
the first steps of alternative energy
project development is the collection of
resource data. Such data are often
required by component manufacturers,
such as wind turbine suppliers, and by
financial backers. Thus, initial site
assessment activities, such as
meteorological tower installation and
operation, are properly considered a
first phase of commercial alternative
energy production on the OCS.
Similarly, activities involving the
installation and operation of facilities to
test alternative energy generating
technologies advance the development
of an alternative industry offshore and
support the ultimate deployment of
commercial-scale alternative energy
production on the OCS. For these
reasons, installation and operation of
resource data collection and technology
testing facilities on the OCS are deemed
by the MMS to support production of
alternative energy and therefore leases
E:\FR\FM\06NON1.SGM
06NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62672-62673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-21792]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Minerals Management Service
Alternative Energy and Alternate Use Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Final Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The MMS has prepared a final programmatic EIS in support of
the establishment of a program for authorizing alternative energy and
alternate use activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), as
authorized by Section 388 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), and
codified in subsection 8(p) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act
(OCSLA). Pursuant to the regulations implementing the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the MMS is announcing the availability
of this final programmatic EIS. As part of its efforts to develop a
regulatory program for alternative energy and alternate use activities,
this final programmatic EIS examines the potential environmental
effects of the program on the OCS and identifies policies and best
management practices that may be adopted for the program. Several
alternatives available to the MMS for implementing an alternative
energy and alternate use program on the OCS are analyzed in this final
programmatic EIS, including the ``no action'' alternative.
The MMS intends to prepare a separate NEPA analysis, tiered from
this EIS, to evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed rule
for alternative energy and alternate use activities on the OCS.
Further, separate lease sale, activity-specific, and proposal-specific
NEPA analyses will be prepared as appropriate.
Authority: The NOA is published pursuant to the regulations (40
CFR 1506.6) implementing the provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321
et seq. (1988)).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 388 of the EPAct, granted the
Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Secretary)
discretionary authority to issue leases, easements, or rights-of-way
for activities on the OCS that produce or support production,
transportation, or transmission of energy from sources other than oil
and gas, and are not otherwise authorized by other applicable law. The
Secretary delegated this authority to the MMS. Examples of the general
types of alternative energy project activities that MMS has the
discretion to authorize may include, but are not limited to: Wind
energy, wave energy, ocean current energy, solar energy, and hydrogen
production.
The MMS has also been delegated discretionary authority to issue
leases, easements, or rights-of-way for other OCS project activities
that make alternate use of existing OCS facilities for ``energy-related
purposes or for other authorized marine-related purposes,'' to the
extent such activities are not otherwise authorized by other applicable
law. Such activities may include, but are not limited to: Offshore
aquaculture, research, education, recreation, and support for offshore
operations and facilities.
This programmatic EIS analyzes the environmental impacts from
potential activities that may arise from the establishment of an
alternative energy and alternate use program on the OCS in the
reasonably foreseeable future, defined in the EIS as 5-7 years. The MMS
chose to prepare this programmatic EIS to assist its efforts to develop
a comprehensive program and to complete the proposed rule. The
programmatic EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts that
could result from the development of alternative energy and alternative
use projects on the OCS and identifies potential mitigation measures.
As such, the programmatic EIS process:
(1) Provides for public input, through scoping meetings, hearings,
and written comments, concerning the scope of national issues
associated with offshore alternative energy and alternate use
activities;
(2) Identifies, defines, and assesses generic environmental impacts
associated with potential offshore alternative energy and alternate use
activities to increase the agency understanding of the environmental
consequences of future actions;
(3) Evaluates and proposes policies and best management practices
that may be adopted for any rulemaking by MMS; and,
(4) Establishes a foundation for future NEPA analyses required for
the implementation of the alternative energy and alternate use program.
The preferred alternative of this final programmatic EIS combines
elements of the proposed action and the ``case-by-case'' alternative.
This combination provides MMS flexibility to issue and manage leases,
easements, or rights-of-way on the OCS for alternative energy and
alternate use activities during the rulemaking process. Areas of the
OCS that are assessed in this programmatic EIS are limited to those not
expressly excluded under Section 388 of the EPAct, such as any areas on
the OCS within the exterior boundaries of any unit of the National Park
System, National Wildlife Refuge System, National Marine Sanctuary
System, or any National Monument.
EIS Availability: To obtain a single printed or CD-ROM copy of the
final programmatic EIS, you may contact the
[[Page 62673]]
Minerals Management Service, Environmental Assessment Branch (MS 4042),
381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia 20170. An electronic copy of the
final programmatic EIS is available at the MMS's EIS Web site at:
ocsenergy.anl.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Minerals Management Service, Mr. James
F. Bennett, Environmental Division, 381 Elden Street, Herndon, Virginia
20170, (703) 787-1660.
Dated: October 25, 2007.
Robert P. LaBelle,
Acting Associate Director for Offshore Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. E7-21792 Filed 11-5-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-MR-P
