Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Staff Assessment for the Stirling Energy Systems Solar Two Project and Possible California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment, 7624-7625 [2010-3443]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 34 / Monday, February 22, 2010 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 47740, LLCAD07000,
L51030000.FX0000, LVRAB109AA01]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement/Staff
Assessment for the Stirling Energy
Systems Solar Two Project and
Possible California Desert
Conservation Area Plan Amendment
cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
SUMMARY: In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and
the California Energy Commission (CEC)
have prepared a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS), Draft California
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
Amendment, and Staff Assessment (SA)
as a joint environmental analysis
document for the Stirling Energy
Systems (SES) Solar Two Project and by
this notice are announcing the opening
of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS/SA
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
activities at least 15 days in advance
through public notices, media releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the SES Solar Two Project by
any of the following methods:
• Web site: https://www.energy.ca.gov/
sitingcases/solartwo/.
• E-mail: Cmeyer@energy.state.ca.us.
• Fax: (818) 597–8001.
• Mail or other delivery service:
Christopher Meyer, Project Manager,
Siting, Transmission and Environmental
Protection Division, California Energy
Commission, 1516 Ninth Street, MS–15,
Sacramento, California, 95814.
Copies of the SES Solar Two Draft
EIS/SA are available from the CEC at the
above address and in the BLM El Centro
Field Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El
Centro, California, 92243.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
further information contact Jim
Stobaugh, BLM Project Manager, by
telephone at (775) 861–6478; through
mail at Bureau of Land Management,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:26 Feb 19, 2010
Jkt 220001
P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520; or
by e-mail at Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SES has
submitted an application to the BLM for
development of the proposed SES Solar
Two Project, a concentrated solar
electrical generating facility capable of
generating 750 megawatts of renewable
power. The entire project encompasses
approximately 6,144 acres of BLMmanaged lands. The project site is in
Imperial County, California,
approximately four miles east of
Ocotillo and 14 miles west of El Centro.
Generally, the site is bounded on the
north by the San Diego Metropolitan
Transit System/San Diego & Arizona
Eastern Railway and on the south by
Interstate 8. The eastern boundary is
approximately 1.5 miles west of
Dunaway Road and the western
boundary is the westerly section line in
Section 22 in Township 16 South,
Range 12 East. An additional 110-acre
construction area is proposed east of
Dunaway Road.
SES proposes to use SunCatcher
technology on the site. A SunCatcher is
a 25-kilowatt solar dish designed to
automatically track the sun and collect
and focus solar energy onto a power
conversion unit (PCU), which generates
electricity. The system consists of a 38foot high by 40-foot wide solar
concentrator in a dish structure that
supports an array of curved glass mirror
facets. These mirrors collect and
concentrate solar energy onto the solar
receiver of the PCU.
The project also includes an electrical
transmission line, water supply
pipeline, and an access road. A new
230-kilovolt (kV) substation would be
constructed in approximately the center
of the project site near a main services
complex that is also part of the
proposal. The substation would be
connected to the existing San Diego Gas
and Electric Imperial Valley Substation
by about a 10.3-mile long, double-circuit
230 kV transmission line.
Approximately 7.6 miles of this new
line would be outside the project area
but is included in the analysis. The
transmission line would require the use
of approximately 92 acres.
The BLM’s purpose and need for the
Solar Two project is to respond to SES’
application under Title V of FLPMA (43
U.S.C. 1761) for a right-of-way (ROW)
grant to construct, operate, and
decommission a solar thermal facility
on public lands in compliance with
FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, and
other applicable Federal laws. The BLM
will decide whether to approve, approve
with modification, or deny a ROW grant
to SES for the proposed Solar Two
PO 00000
Frm 00064
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
project. The BLM will also consider
amending the CDCA Plan in this
analysis. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
amended), while recognizing the
potential compatibility of solar
generation facilities on public lands,
requires that all sites associated with
power generation or transmission not
identified in that plan be considered
through the plan amendment process. If
the BLM decides to grant a ROW, the
BLM would also amend the CDCA Plan
as required.
In the draft EIS analysis, the BLM’s
proposed action is to authorize the SES
Solar Two project and approve a CDCA
Plan amendment in response to the
application received from SES. In
addition to the proposed action, the
BLM is analyzing the following action
alternatives:
• Authorize the proposed action;
• Authorize a smaller 300 MW
alternative and amend the CDCA Plan;
• Authorize the project as described
in the Drainage Avoidance #1
alternative that may reduce impacts to
primary water drainages of the U.S. and
amend the CDCA Plan; and
• Authorize the project as described
in the more restrictive Drainage
Avoidance #2 alternative that may
substantially reduce impacts in eastern
and western high flow water drainages
of the U.S. and amend the CDCA Plan.
As required under the California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and
NEPA, the EIS analyzes three no action
alternatives:
• Deny the application and not
amend the CDCA Plan;
• Deny the project but amend the
CDCA Plan to allow other solar energy
power generation projects on the project
site; and
• Deny the project and amend the
CDCA Plan to prohibit solar energy
power generation projects on the project
site.
The BLM will take into consideration
the provisions of the Energy Policy Act
of 2005 and Secretarial Orders 3283
Enhancing Renewable Energy
Development on the Public Lands and
3285 Renewable Energy Development by
the Department of the Interior in
responding to the SES application.
The BLM has entered into a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with the CEC to conduct a joint
environmental review of solar thermal
projects that are proposed on Federal
land managed by the BLM with the CEC
as the lead agency preparing the
environmental documents. The BLM
and CEC have agreed through the MOU
to conduct joint environmental review
of the project in a single combined
NEPA/CEQA process and document. In
E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM
22FEN1
cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 34 / Monday, February 22, 2010 / Notices
addition, the BLM and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (Corps) entered into
an MOU to formalize the Corps as a
Federal cooperating agency in
developing the EIS. The BLM and CEC,
in coordination with the Corps, have
prepared the Draft EIS/SA evaluating
the potential impacts of the proposed
Solar Two Project on air quality,
biological resources, cultural resources,
water resources, geological resources
and hazards, land use, noise,
paleontological resources, public health,
socioeconomics, soils, traffic and
transportation, visual resources, and
other resources. The Corps requirements
under the Clean Water Act (CWA),
Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines are to
identify and authorize only the Least
Environmentally Damaging Practicable
Alternative which maximizes avoidance
and minimization of impacts to aquatic
resources of the U.S. The Corps and the
applicant are working with the BLM and
CEC to identify the project proposal that
would reasonably comply with the
Corps’ requirements under the CWA
and 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The applicant
has applied to the Department of Energy
(DOE) for a loan guarantee under Title
XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005,
as amended by Section 406 of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, Public Law 111–5. Should
the DOE decide to enter into negotiation
of a possible loan guarantee with the
applicant, the DOE would become a
cooperating agency in developing the
final EIS. A Notice of Intent to Prepare
an EIS/SA and Proposed Land Use Plan
Amendment for the Proposed SES Solar
Two Project in Imperial County,
California was published October 17,
2008 (see 73 FR 61902). The BLM held
two public scoping meetings in El
Centro, California, on November 24 and
December 18, 2008. The formal scoping
period ended January 2, 2009.
Please note that public comments will
be available for public review and
disclosure 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, e-mail 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.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:26 Feb 19, 2010
Jkt 220001
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 40 CFR
1506.10; and 43 CFR 1610.2.
Vickie Weed,
Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2010–3443 Filed 2–19–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS–R2–ES–2010–N016; 20124–1113–
0000–C2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
and Plants; Rio Grande Silvery Minnow
(Hybognathus amarus) Recovery Plan,
First Revision
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of document availability:
revised recovery plan.
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of the Rio Grande Silvery
Minnow (Hybognathus amarus)
Recovery Plan, First Revision. The Rio
Grande silvery minnow was listed as
endangered in 1994, its first recovery
plan was approved in 1999, and critical
habitat was designated in 2003.
ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the
recovery plan can be obtained from our
website at https://www.fws.gov/
southwest/es/Library/. Copies of the
recovery plan are also available by
request. To obtain a copy, contact
Jennifer Bachus by U.S. mail at U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico
Ecological Services Field Office, 2105
Osuna Road, New Mexico 87113; by
phone at (505) 761–4714; or by e-mail
at Jennifer_Bachus@fws.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Bachus (see ADDRESSES).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Rio Grande silvery minnow was
listed as federally endangered in 1994
(July 20, 1994; 59 FR 36988) and critical
habitat was designated in 2003
(February 19, 2003; 68 FR 8087). The
species was extirpated from about 93
percent of its historical range, currently
persisting in only one 280-kilometer
(km) (174-mile (mi)) reach of the Rio
Grande River in New Mexico,
downstream of Cochiti Dam to the
headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir.
In December 2008, silvery minnows
were introduced into the Rio Grande
River near Big Bend, Texas, as a
nonessential, experimental population
under section 10(j) of the ESA
(December 8, 2008; 73 FR 74357).
PO 00000
Frm 00065
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
7625
Throughout much of its historic
range, the decline of the Rio Grande
silvery minnow is attributed primarily
to destruction and modification of its
habitat due to dewatering and diversion
of water, water impoundment, and
modification of the river
(channelization). Competition and
predation by introduced non-native
species, water quality degradation, and
other factors also have contributed to its
decline.
The Endangered Species Act of 1973
(Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), requires the development of
recovery plans for listed species, unless
such a plan would not promote the
conservation of a particular species.
Recovery plans help guide the recovery
effort by describing actions considered
necessary for the conservation of the
species, establishing criteria for
downlisting or delisting, and estimating
time and costs for implementing the
recovery measures. The recovery criteria
form the basis from which to gauge the
species’ recovery and subsequent risk of
extinction.
The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow
Recovery Plan includes updated
scientific information about the species
and provides criteria and actions
needed to downlist and delist the
species. We may consider downlisting
the Rio Grande silvery minnow from
endangered to threatened when three
populations (including a stable middle
Rio Grande population and at least two
additional populations that are selfsustaining) have been established
within the historical range of the species
and have been maintained for at least
five years, as well as habitat sufficient
to support three such populations. We
may consider delisting the species when
three self-sustaining populations have
been established within the historical
range of the species and have been
maintained for at least 10 years, as well
as habitat sufficient to support three
such populations. The revised recovery
criteria provide objective measures by
which populations of silvery minnow is
determined to be self-sustaining.
The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow
Recovery Plan also describes actions
needed to recover the Rio Grande
silvery minnow. These include
developing a thorough knowledge of the
Rio Grande silvery minnow’s life
history, ecology, and behavior, and the
current status of its habitat. It is also
necessary to restore, protect, and alter
habitats as necessary to alleviate threats
to the Rio Grande silvery minnow, to
ensure the survival of the species in its
current habitat, and to reestablish the
species in suitable habitats within its
historical range. By implementation and
E:\FR\FM\22FEN1.SGM
22FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 34 (Monday, February 22, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7624-7625]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-3443]
[[Page 7624]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 47740, LLCAD07000, L51030000.FX0000, LVRAB109AA01]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement/Staff Assessment for the Stirling Energy Systems Solar Two
Project and Possible California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
and the California Energy Commission (CEC) have prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), Draft California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment, and Staff Assessment (SA) as a
joint environmental analysis document for the Stirling Energy Systems
(SES) Solar Two Project and by this notice are announcing the opening
of the comment period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS/SA 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 activities at
least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or
mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the SES Solar Two Project
by any of the following methods:
Web site: https://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solartwo/.
E-mail: Cmeyer@energy.state.ca.us.
Fax: (818) 597-8001.
Mail or other delivery service: Christopher Meyer, Project
Manager, Siting, Transmission and Environmental Protection Division,
California Energy Commission, 1516 Ninth Street, MS-15, Sacramento,
California, 95814.
Copies of the SES Solar Two Draft EIS/SA are available from the CEC
at the above address and in the BLM El Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 4th
Street, El Centro, California, 92243.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information contact Jim
Stobaugh, BLM Project Manager, by telephone at (775) 861-6478; through
mail at Bureau of Land Management, P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520;
or by e-mail at Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SES has submitted an application to the BLM
for development of the proposed SES Solar Two Project, a concentrated
solar electrical generating facility capable of generating 750
megawatts of renewable power. The entire project encompasses
approximately 6,144 acres of BLM-managed lands. The project site is in
Imperial County, California, approximately four miles east of Ocotillo
and 14 miles west of El Centro. Generally, the site is bounded on the
north by the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System/San Diego & Arizona
Eastern Railway and on the south by Interstate 8. The eastern boundary
is approximately 1.5 miles west of Dunaway Road and the western
boundary is the westerly section line in Section 22 in Township 16
South, Range 12 East. An additional 110-acre construction area is
proposed east of Dunaway Road.
SES proposes to use SunCatcher technology on the site. A SunCatcher
is a 25-kilowatt solar dish designed to automatically track the sun and
collect and focus solar energy onto a power conversion unit (PCU),
which generates electricity. The system consists of a 38-foot high by
40-foot wide solar concentrator in a dish structure that supports an
array of curved glass mirror facets. These mirrors collect and
concentrate solar energy onto the solar receiver of the PCU.
The project also includes an electrical transmission line, water
supply pipeline, and an access road. A new 230-kilovolt (kV) substation
would be constructed in approximately the center of the project site
near a main services complex that is also part of the proposal. The
substation would be connected to the existing San Diego Gas and
Electric Imperial Valley Substation by about a 10.3-mile long, double-
circuit 230 kV transmission line. Approximately 7.6 miles of this new
line would be outside the project area but is included in the analysis.
The transmission line would require the use of approximately 92 acres.
The BLM's purpose and need for the Solar Two project is to respond
to SES' application under Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) for a
right-of-way (ROW) grant to construct, operate, and decommission a
solar thermal facility on public lands in compliance with FLPMA, BLM
ROW regulations, and other applicable Federal laws. The BLM will decide
whether to approve, approve with modification, or deny a ROW grant to
SES for the proposed Solar Two project. The BLM will also consider
amending the CDCA Plan in this analysis. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
amended), while recognizing the potential compatibility of solar
generation facilities on public lands, requires that all sites
associated with power generation or transmission not identified in that
plan be considered through the plan amendment process. If the BLM
decides to grant a ROW, the BLM would also amend the CDCA Plan as
required.
In the draft EIS analysis, the BLM's proposed action is to
authorize the SES Solar Two project and approve a CDCA Plan amendment
in response to the application received from SES. In addition to the
proposed action, the BLM is analyzing the following action
alternatives:
Authorize the proposed action;
Authorize a smaller 300 MW alternative and amend the CDCA
Plan;
Authorize the project as described in the Drainage
Avoidance 1 alternative that may reduce impacts to primary
water drainages of the U.S. and amend the CDCA Plan; and
Authorize the project as described in the more restrictive
Drainage Avoidance 2 alternative that may substantially reduce
impacts in eastern and western high flow water drainages of the U.S.
and amend the CDCA Plan.
As required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
and NEPA, the EIS analyzes three no action alternatives:
Deny the application and not amend the CDCA Plan;
Deny the project but amend the CDCA Plan to allow other
solar energy power generation projects on the project site; and
Deny the project and amend the CDCA Plan to prohibit solar
energy power generation projects on the project site.
The BLM will take into consideration the provisions of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 and Secretarial Orders 3283 Enhancing Renewable
Energy Development on the Public Lands and 3285 Renewable Energy
Development by the Department of the Interior in responding to the SES
application.
The BLM has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
the CEC to conduct a joint environmental review of solar thermal
projects that are proposed on Federal land managed by the BLM with the
CEC as the lead agency preparing the environmental documents. The BLM
and CEC have agreed through the MOU to conduct joint environmental
review of the project in a single combined NEPA/CEQA process and
document. In
[[Page 7625]]
addition, the BLM and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) entered
into an MOU to formalize the Corps as a Federal cooperating agency in
developing the EIS. The BLM and CEC, in coordination with the Corps,
have prepared the Draft EIS/SA evaluating the potential impacts of the
proposed Solar Two Project on air quality, biological resources,
cultural resources, water resources, geological resources and hazards,
land use, noise, paleontological resources, public health,
socioeconomics, soils, traffic and transportation, visual resources,
and other resources. The Corps requirements under the Clean Water Act
(CWA), Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines are to identify and authorize only
the Least Environmentally Damaging Practicable Alternative which
maximizes avoidance and minimization of impacts to aquatic resources of
the U.S. The Corps and the applicant are working with the BLM and CEC
to identify the project proposal that would reasonably comply with the
Corps' requirements under the CWA and 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The
applicant has applied to the Department of Energy (DOE) for a loan
guarantee under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as amended
by Section 406 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
Public Law 111-5. Should the DOE decide to enter into negotiation of a
possible loan guarantee with the applicant, the DOE would become a
cooperating agency in developing the final EIS. A Notice of Intent to
Prepare an EIS/SA and Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment for the Proposed
SES Solar Two Project in Imperial County, California was published
October 17, 2008 (see 73 FR 61902). The BLM held two public scoping
meetings in El Centro, California, on November 24 and December 18,
2008. The formal scoping period ended January 2, 2009.
Please note that public comments will be available for public
review and disclosure 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, e-mail 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; and 43 CFR 1610.2.
Vickie Weed,
Field Manager, El Centro Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-3443 Filed 2-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
