Notice of Availability of the Proposed California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, San Bernardino County, California, 47619-47620 [2010-19212]
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Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 151 / Friday, August 6, 2010 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA–48668, 49502, 49503, 49504,
LLCAD09000.L51010000.FX0000,
LVRWB09B2400]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed
California Desert Conservation Area
Plan Amendment and Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating
System, San Bernardino County,
California
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a proposed California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
Amendment/Final Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ivanpah
Solar Electric Generating System
(ISEGS) Project and by this notice is
announcing its availability.
DATES: The publication of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Notice of Availability of this Final
EIS in the Federal Register initiates a
30-day public comment period (see
‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section). In addition, the
BLM planning regulations state that any
person who meets the conditions as
described in the regulations may protest
the BLM’s proposed CDCA Plan
Amendment. A person who meets the
conditions and files a protest must file
the protest within 30 days of the date
that the EPA publishes its notice of
availability in the Federal Register (see
‘‘ADDRESSES’’ section).
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on
the Final EIS to Tom Hurshman, Project
Manager, telephone (970) 240–5345;
address: Bureau of Land Management,
2465 South Townsend Avenue,
Montrose, Colorado 81401 or by e-mail:
caisegs@blm.gov. Copies of the
proposed CDCA Plan Amendment/Final
EIS are available for public inspection at
the Needles Field Office, 1303 South
Highway 95, Needles, California 92363.
Interested persons may also review the
CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS at the
following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/
ca/st/en/fo/needles/nefo_nepa.html. All
protests of the proposed CDCA Plan
Amendment must be in writing and
mailed to one of the following
addresses:
sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:35 Aug 05, 2010
Jkt 220001
Regular Mail: BLM Director (210),
Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210),
Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, N.W., Suite 1075, Washington,
DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom
Hurshman, Project Manager, telephone
(970) 240–5345; address Bureau of Land
Management, 2465 South Townsend
Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401;
e-mail: caisegs@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
BrightSource Energy (BSE) has filed
right-of-way (ROW) applications on
public land for development of the
proposed ISEGS concentrated thermal
solar power project that would generate
up to 400 megawatts of renewable
electricity through the use of 214,000
heliostats. The proposed project would
be located on 4,073 acres of public land
4.5 miles south of Primm, Nevada in
San Bernardino County, California.
The BLM purpose and need for the
ISEGS project EIS is to respond to the
application under Title V of the FLPMA
(43 U.S.C. 1761) for a ROW grant to
construct, operate, maintain, and
decommission a concentrated solar
electric generation plant and associated
infrastructure on public land in
compliance with FLPMA, the BLM
regulations, and other applicable
Federal laws. The BLM will decide to
approve, approve with modifications, or
deny ROW applications filed by Solar
Partners I, LLC; Solar Partners II, LLC;
Solar Partners IV, LLC; and Solar
Partners VIII, LLC, which are
subsidiaries of BSE, to develop the
ISEGS project. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
amended), while recognizing the
potential compatibility of solar power
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.
The proposed action in the CDCA
Plan Amendment/Final EIS is to
authorize the ISEGS project and approve
the plan amendment in response to the
applications received from BSE. The
BLM’s Preferred alternative is Mitigated
Ivanpah 3. The preferred alternative
reduces the capacity of the project to
370 megawatts, reduces the number of
heliostats to 173,000, and reduces the
site disturbance to 3,640 acres in order
to reduce impacts to sensitive plant and
animal species. In addition to the
proposed action and the preferred
alternative, the BLM has analyzed an
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
47619
alternative that would relocate a portion
of the proposed action closer to the
Interstate 15 corridor (Modified I–15
Alternative). As required under NEPA,
the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS
analyzes a no action alternative that
would not require a plan amendment.
The BLM has taken into consideration
the provisions of the Energy Policy Act
of 2005 (EPAct 05) and Secretarial
Orders 3283 Enhancing Renewable
Energy Development on the Public
Lands and 3285A1 Renewable Energy
Development by the Department of the
Interior in responding to the ISEGS
applications.
The applicant has applied to the
Department of Energy (DOE) for a loan
guarantee under Title XVII of EPAct 05,
as amended by Section 406 of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111–5. The DOE is
a cooperating agency in the preparation
of the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final
EIS. The BLM published a Notice of
Availability of the Draft Ivanpah Solar
Electric Generation System EIS and the
Draft CDCA Plan Amendment in the
Federal Register on November 10, 2009
(74 FR 58043). The Draft EIS was
available for a 90-day public comment
period which closed on February 11,
2010. Subsequent to the Draft EIS, the
BLM published a Notice of Availability
of the Supplemental Draft EIS for the
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generation
System Project in the Federal Register
on April 16, 2010 (75 FR 19992), to
evaluate the environmental impacts of
two additional alternatives. The public
comment period on the Supplemental
Draft EIS closed on June 1, 2010.
Comments received on the Draft EIS and
the Supplemental Draft EIS are
addressed in the CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS. Wilderness
characteristics are addressed and
analyzed in the CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS.
Instructions for filing a protest with
the Director of the BLM regarding the
proposed CDCA Plan Amendment may
be found in the ‘‘Dear Reader Letter’’ of
the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS
and at 43 CFR 1610.5–2. E-mailed and
faxed protests will not be accepted as
valid protests unless the protesting
party also provides the original letter by
either regular or overnight mail
postmarked by the close of the protest
period. Under these conditions, the
BLM will consider the e-mailed or faxed
protest as an advance copy and it will
receive full consideration. If you wish to
provide the BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests
to the attention of the BLM protest
coordinator at 202–912–7212, and emails to Brenda_Hudgens-
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
47620
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 151 / Friday, August 6, 2010 / Notices
Williams@blm.gov. All protests,
including the follow-up letter to e-mails
or faxes, must be in writing and mailed
to the appropriate address, as set forth
in the ADDRESSES section above.
Before including your phone number,
e-mail 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 and 1506.10 and
43 CFR 1610.2 and 1610.5.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2010–19212 Filed 8–5–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 49537, LLCAD08000,
L51030000.FX0000, LVRAB109AA03]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement and
Proposed Amendment to the California
Desert Conservation Area Plan for the
Calico Solar (Formerly SES Solar One)
Project, San Bernardino County, CA
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Proposed Resource
Management Plan (RMP) Amendment/
Final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Calico Solar (formerly SES
Solar One) Project, San Bernardino
County, California and for the California
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
and by this notice is announcing the
availability of the Final EIS.
DATES: The publication of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Notice of Availability of this Final
EIS in the Federal Register initiates a
30-day public comment period (see
ADDRESSES section). In addition, the
BLM’s planning regulations state that
any person who meets the conditions as
described in the regulations may protest
the agency’s Proposed RMP
Amendment. A person who meets the
sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:35 Aug 05, 2010
Jkt 220001
conditions and files a protest must file
the protest within 30 days of the date
that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) publishes its notice in the
Federal Register (see ADDRESSES
section).
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on
the Final EIS to Jim Stobaugh, National
Project Manager by mail: P.O. Box
12000, Reno, Nevada 89520; or e-mail:
Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov. Copies of the
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS
are available for public inspection at the
BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601
Barstow Road, Barstow, California
92311. Interested persons may also
review the Proposed RMP Amendment/
Final EIS at the following Web site:
https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/
barstow/solar_one_calico.html. All
protests of the Proposed RMP
amendment must be in writing and
mailed to one of the following
addresses:
Regular Mail: BLM Director (210),
Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210),
Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington,
DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim
Stobaugh, BLM National Project
Manager by mail: P. O. Box 12000,
Reno, Nevada 89520; phone: (775) 861–
6478; or e-mail: Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March
14, 2007, Stirling Energy Systems (SES)
Solar Six, Limited Liability Corporation
(LLC) and SES Solar Three, LLC
submitted applications for rights-of-way
(ROW) grants to the BLM to construct
and operate a concentrated solar
thermal power plant facility on public
lands in San Bernardino County,
California. The two ROW application
areas were subsequently combined into
one project (SES Solar One) proposed
for an 8,230-acre site located
immediately north of Interstate 40,
approximately 37 miles east of Barstow,
California. On December 2, 2008, SES
Solar One, LLC (SES Solar Three, LLC
and SES Solar Six, LLC) submitted an
Application for Certification to the
California Energy Commission (CEC) to
construct and operate the SES Solar One
Project. In January 2010, the project
name was formally changed to Calico
Solar as a result of SES Solar Three, LLC
merging with SES Solar Six, LLC to
create Calico Solar, LLC. Calico Solar,
LLC is a subsidiary of Tessera Solar.
The BLM’s purpose and need for the
Calico Solar Project is to respond to the
Calico Solar, LLC’s application under
Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) for
a ROW grant to construct, operate, and
PO 00000
Frm 00098
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
decommission a solar thermal power
facility on public lands in compliance
with FLPMA, the BLM’s ROW
regulations, and other applicable
Federal laws.
A joint state-Federal environmental
Staff Assessment (SA)A/Draft EIS of the
Calico Solar Project was prepared in
accordance with a 2007 Memorandum
of Understanding between the BLM
California Desert District and CEC to
conduct joint environmental reviews of
solar thermal projects that are proposed
on Federal land managed by the BLM.
The joint environmental review was
achieved through in a single combined
California Environmental Quality Act/
NEPA analysis SA/Draft EIS document.
In the SA/Draft EIS, the proposed
project was described to include
construction of an 850 megawatt (MW),
8,230-acre (13 square mile) solar energy
facility on BLM-administered land.
Approximately 1,718 acres of public
land within the project site were either
donated to the BLM or acquired with
Land and Water Conservation Funds
(LWCF).
In the Final EIS, the BLM modified
the proposed project (Proposed Action)
to form an Agency Preferred Alternative
which reduces the project footprint to
6,215-acres (9.7 square miles) for the
850 MW Calico Solar Project facilities.
The Agency Preferred Alternative is
designed to avoid 1,770 acres of habitat
for desert tortoise, bighorn sheep, and
rare plants through the creation of a
4000-foot wildlife corridor between the
north project boundary and the Cady
Mountains. It also avoids impacts to rare
plants within environmentally-sensitive
areas within the project boundary and
excludes 245 acres of land with cultural
resources outside of the project site,
which eliminates adverse impacts and
mitigation needs for these resources.
The project proposal includes 34,000,
25-kilowatt (kW) Stirling solar dish
systems (SunCatchers). Each
SunCatcher consists of an
approximately 38-foot high by 40-foot
wide solar concentrator dish that
supports an array of curved glass
mirrors. These mirrors automatically
track the sun and focus solar energy
onto a power conversion unit that
generates electricity. The Calico Solar
Project would also include a number of
related facilities and infrastructure,
including: A new 230-kilovolt (kV)
Calico Solar Substation; about 2 miles of
single-circuit 230-kV interconnection
transmission line from the new Calico
Substation to the existing Southern
California Edison (SCE) Pisgah
Substation; an administration building;
a main services complex; and Project
roads and fencing. Approximately 0.1
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 151 (Friday, August 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47619-47620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19212]
[[Page 47619]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA-48668, 49502, 49503, 49504, LLCAD09000.L51010000.FX0000,
LVRWB09B2400]
Notice of Availability of the Proposed California Desert
Conservation Area Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, San
Bernardino County, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a proposed California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ivanpah
Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS) Project and by this notice is
announcing its availability.
DATES: The publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Notice of Availability of this Final EIS in the Federal Register
initiates a 30-day public comment period (see ``ADDRESSES'' section).
In addition, the BLM planning regulations state that any person who
meets the conditions as described in the regulations may protest the
BLM's proposed CDCA Plan Amendment. A person who meets the conditions
and files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date
that the EPA publishes its notice of availability in the Federal
Register (see ``ADDRESSES'' section).
ADDRESSES: Please submit comments on the Final EIS to Tom Hurshman,
Project Manager, telephone (970) 240-5345; address: Bureau of Land
Management, 2465 South Townsend Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401 or by
e-mail: caisegs@blm.gov. Copies of the proposed CDCA Plan Amendment/
Final EIS are available for public inspection at the Needles Field
Office, 1303 South Highway 95, Needles, California 92363. Interested
persons may also review the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS at the
following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles/nefo_nepa.html. All protests of the proposed CDCA Plan Amendment must be in
writing and mailed to one of the following addresses:
Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, N.W., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tom Hurshman, Project Manager,
telephone (970) 240-5345; address Bureau of Land Management, 2465 South
Townsend Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401; e-mail: caisegs@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: BrightSource Energy (BSE) has filed right-
of-way (ROW) applications on public land for development of the
proposed ISEGS concentrated thermal solar power project that would
generate up to 400 megawatts of renewable electricity through the use
of 214,000 heliostats. The proposed project would be located on 4,073
acres of public land 4.5 miles south of Primm, Nevada in San Bernardino
County, California.
The BLM purpose and need for the ISEGS project EIS is to respond to
the application under Title V of the FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) for a ROW
grant to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a concentrated
solar electric generation plant and associated infrastructure on public
land in compliance with FLPMA, the BLM regulations, and other
applicable Federal laws. The BLM will decide to approve, approve with
modifications, or deny ROW applications filed by Solar Partners I, LLC;
Solar Partners II, LLC; Solar Partners IV, LLC; and Solar Partners
VIII, LLC, which are subsidiaries of BSE, to develop the ISEGS project.
The CDCA Plan (1980, as amended), while recognizing the potential
compatibility of solar power 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.
The proposed action in the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS is to
authorize the ISEGS project and approve the plan amendment in response
to the applications received from BSE. The BLM's Preferred alternative
is Mitigated Ivanpah 3. The preferred alternative reduces the capacity
of the project to 370 megawatts, reduces the number of heliostats to
173,000, and reduces the site disturbance to 3,640 acres in order to
reduce impacts to sensitive plant and animal species. In addition to
the proposed action and the preferred alternative, the BLM has analyzed
an alternative that would relocate a portion of the proposed action
closer to the Interstate 15 corridor (Modified I-15 Alternative). As
required under NEPA, the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS analyzes a no
action alternative that would not require a plan amendment. The BLM has
taken into consideration the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of
2005 (EPAct 05) and Secretarial Orders 3283 Enhancing Renewable Energy
Development on the Public Lands and 3285A1 Renewable Energy Development
by the Department of the Interior in responding to the ISEGS
applications.
The applicant has applied to the Department of Energy (DOE) for a
loan guarantee under Title XVII of EPAct 05, as amended by Section 406
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-5.
The DOE is a cooperating agency in the preparation of the CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS. The BLM published a Notice of Availability of the
Draft Ivanpah Solar Electric Generation System EIS and the Draft CDCA
Plan Amendment in the Federal Register on November 10, 2009 (74 FR
58043). The Draft EIS was available for a 90-day public comment period
which closed on February 11, 2010. Subsequent to the Draft EIS, the BLM
published a Notice of Availability of the Supplemental Draft EIS for
the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generation System Project in the Federal
Register on April 16, 2010 (75 FR 19992), to evaluate the environmental
impacts of two additional alternatives. The public comment period on
the Supplemental Draft EIS closed on June 1, 2010. Comments received on
the Draft EIS and the Supplemental Draft EIS are addressed in the CDCA
Plan Amendment/Final EIS. Wilderness characteristics are addressed and
analyzed in the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the proposed CDCA Plan Amendment may be found in the ``Dear
Reader Letter'' of the CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS and at 43 CFR
1610.5-2. E-mailed and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter
by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the
protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-
mailed or faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM
protest coordinator at 202-912-7212, and e-mails to Brenda--Hudgens-
[[Page 47620]]
Williams@blm.gov. All protests, including the follow-up letter to e-
mails or faxes, must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate
address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
Before including your phone number, e-mail 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 and 1506.10 and 43 CFR 1610.2 and
1610.5.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2010-19212 Filed 8-5-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
