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, 47620-47621 [2010-19470]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management
• Land Management Bureau

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 151 (Friday, August 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47620-47621]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-19470]


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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

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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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 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 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 
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

[[Page 47621]]

miles of the new 230-kV transmission line would be outside of the 
project site and inside the SCE ROW.
    The proposed solar facility has an estimated life span of 30 years. 
The BLM is considering a renewable 20-year ROW grant authorization to 
align with the 20-year Power Purchase Agreement signed by the Applicant 
and SCE on August 9, 2005. Upgrades to the SCE electrical transmission 
system would be needed to transmit the electricity generated from the 
Calico Solar Project and are identified as a reasonably foreseeable 
future actions in the Final EIS. The existing SCE transmission lines 
have the ability to handle about 275 MW of generation and upgrades 
would be needed to handle all of the proposed new capacity of 850 MW. 
These upgrades would be built outside of the Calico Solar Project site 
and are being considered by the BLM as a separate ROW grant application 
that will require separate NEPA review. The SCE upgrades would also 
require licensing by the California Public Utilities Commission and 
separate environmental review under the California Environmental 
Quality Act.
    The BLM is also considering amending the CDCA Plan as part of 
processing the project proposal. The CDCA Plan, 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 approve the ROW authorization, 
the BLM must also amend the CDCA Plan.
    In the Final EIS analysis, the BLM's proposed action is to 
authorize the modified 850 MW Calico Solar project and approve the CDCA 
Plan amendment in response to the application received from Calico 
Solar, LLC. The action alternatives include the: (1) 850-MW Proposed 
Action (8,230 acres (13 square miles)); (2) 850-MW Agency Preferred 
Alternative (6,512 acres (9.7 square miles)); (3) 275-MW Reduced 
Acreage Alternative (2,320 acres (3.6 square miles)); and (4) 850-MW 
Avoidance of Donated and Acquired Lands Alternative (7,050 acres (11 
square miles)) which avoids 1,718 acres of donated and LWCF-acquired 
lands (included as part of the Proposed Action and Agency Preferred 
Alternative). The latter alternative was described in the Staff 
Assessment (SA)/Draft EIS to accommodate 28,800 SunCatchers and 
generate 720 MW, but the Applicant has since conducted more detailed 
site analysis which indicates that this alternative could accommodate 
34,000 SunCatchers and generate 850 MW of electricity from solar 
thermal power.
    The Final EIS also analyzes three alternatives under which the 
project would not be approved: (1) Deny the Calico Solar Project ROW 
grant application and not amend the CDCA Plan (the ``No Action '' 
alternative); (2) deny the Calico Solar Project ROW grant, but amend 
the CDCA Plan to allow other solar energy project applications on the 
proposed project site; and (3) deny the Calico Solar Project ROW grant 
and amend the CDCA Plan to prohibit solar energy project applications 
on the proposed project site. As part of its review of the Calico 
Solar, LLC application, the BLM considered the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 and Secretarial Orders 3283 (Enhancing Renewable Energy 
Development on the Public Lands) and 3285A1 (Renewable Energy 
Development by the Department of the Interior).The BLM's Final EIS 
evaluates the potential impacts of the proposed Calico Solar Project on 
air quality and climate; biological resources; non-native and invasive 
species; cultural resources and paleontology; fire and fuels; geology, 
soils, topography, mineral resources and seismicity; grazing, wild 
horses and burros; land use, including corridor analysis; noise and 
vibration; public health and safety, and hazardous materials; 
recreation; socioeconomics and environmental justice; special 
designations; traffic and transportation; visual resources; wilderness 
characteristics; and water resources.
    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-Williams@blm.gov. 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. 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. Please note that 
public comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above BLM office 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 any 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 and 1506.10; and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2010-19470 Filed 8-5-10; 8:45 am]
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