Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project, Lander County, NV, 51478-51479 [2010-20557]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
51478
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 161 / Friday, August 20, 2010 / Notices
publishes this 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 Alamogordo Regional
Water Supply Project by any of the
following methods:
• E-mail:
nmlcdo_comments@blm.gov.
• Fax: 575–525–4412.
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
Alamogordo Regional Water Supply
Project, Attention: Lorraine Salas,
Project Manager, 1800 Marquess Street,
Las Cruces, NM 88005.
Copies of the Alamogordo Regional
Water Supply Project Draft EIS are
available in the BLM Las Cruces District
Office at the above address; the BLM
New Mexico State Office, 301 Dinosaur
Trail, Santa Fe, NM; the City of
Alamogordo Public Library, 920 Oregon
Avenue, Alamogordo, NM; the Village
of Tularosa Public Library, 515 Fresno
Street, Tularosa, NM.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lorraine Salas, Project Manager;
telephone 575–525–4388; address 1800
Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005;
e-mail: nmlcdo_comments@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The City
of Alamogordo (the City) has submitted
to the BLM an application for a right-ofway (ROW) for the construction and use
of up to 10 groundwater wells in order
to produce approximately 4,000 acrefeet per year of water with supporting
infrastructure on BLM-managed public
land. Under the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976, as
amended, and supported by NEPA
analysis, the BLM will decide whether
to grant the ROW or grant the ROW with
modifications, and, if so, under what
terms and conditions. The BLM is the
lead Federal agency for this EIS.
Cooperating agencies include the
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and Otero
County.
In 1983, a study concluded that the
City’s long-term water supply is
inadequate and that critical water
shortages could occur should the region
experience a prolonged drought. The
study concluded that the City’s
projected water demand is 10,842 acrefeet per year (afy) through the year 2045.
In response to the study, the City
obtained water rights through the New
Mexico Office of the State Engineer
(State Engineer) and has approached the
BLM for a ROW to withdraw water on
BLM-managed public land with
supporting infrastructure.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:19 Aug 19, 2010
Jkt 220001
The City seeks to address the water
demand through the desalination of
brackish groundwater located in the
Tularosa Underground Water Basin. The
proposed wells would be drilled on
BLM-managed public land located 26
miles north of the City. The BOR will
decide whether to seek and approve
funding for a portion of the project costs
through BOR’s budget under Title XVI,
Public Law 102–575, as amended—the
Reclamation Wastewater and
Groundwater Facilities Act; 43 U.S.C.
§ 39h, provides authority for the BOR
water recyling and reuse program.
The Draft EIS addresses the direct,
indirect, and cumulative environmental
impacts of two alternatives. The
proposed action (Alternative B) by the
City includes obtaining unappropriated
brackish groundwater from the Snake
Tank Well Field, constructing and
operating 10 groundwater wells at
Snake Tank Well Field, installing water
transmission lines to Alamogordo, and
constructing a desalination facility and
a booster pump station in Alamogordo
to treat the brackish groundwater to
drinking water standards. This
alternative has been developed to
incorporate the State Engineer ruling,
which was affirmed by the New Mexico
State District Court to allow 4,000 afy of
brackish groundwater (approximately
3,200 afy of potable water) from the
Snake Tank Well Field and up to 5,000
acre-feet in any one year so long as
withdrawals do not exceed 20,000 acrefeet in any 5-year period. The remaining
future water supply (198 afy) would
have to come from other sources, all of
which are undetermined, and are not
part of the Draft EIS.
Alternative A is the ‘‘No Action’’
Alternative, as required by NEPA. The
No Action Alternative describes
conditions expected to occur if there
would be no new well field
development or additional water supply
beyond the City’s current water supply.
The No Action Alternative assumes the
City would continue to enforce water
conservation measures and use existing
infrastructure. Since the publication of
the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS in
the Federal Register on August 26,
2004, scoping meetings and mailings
have been conducted to solicit public
comment and identify key issues. Tribal
governments with interest in this project
were also contacted.
Approximately 216 scoping
comments were received during the
development of the Draft EIS. Key issues
identified by individuals, groups, and
governmental entities include:
Balancing growth with water use in the
Alamogordo/Tularosa region;
groundwater draw-down in existing
PO 00000
Frm 00042
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
residential wells and mitigation
measures for any impacts to those wells;
potential social and economic impacts
on ranching and agriculture in the
region; and potential impacts on Indian
trust land, community acequias, and
surface water.
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.
Bill Childress,
District Manager, Las Cruces.
[FR Doc. 2010–20564 Filed 8–19–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–VC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVB00000 L71220000.EX0000
LVTFF0986020 241A.00; MO #4500014477;
10–08807; TAS: 14X8069]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the Cortez Hills
Expansion Project, Lander County, NV
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Battle Mountain District, Mount Lewis
Field Office, Battle Mountain, Nevada,
has prepared a Draft Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project in
Lander County, Nevada. The project was
authorized in a Record of Decision and
Plan of Operations Amendment
Approval in November 2008 and by this
notice the BLM is announcing the
opening of the comment period for the
Draft Supplemental EIS.
DATES: The Cortez Hills Expansion
Project Draft Supplemental EIS is
available for public comment for 45
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. To provide the
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\20AUN1.SGM
20AUN1
sroberts on DSKD5P82C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 161 / Friday, August 20, 2010 / Notices
public with an opportunity to review
and comment on the Draft
Supplemental EIS, the BLM will host
public meetings in Crescent Valley and
Battle Mountain, Nevada. 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 Cortez Hills Expansion
Project Draft Supplemental EIS by the
following methods:
• Fax: (775) 635–4034
• E-mail: CortezHills_DSEIS@blm.gov
• Mail: Bureau of Land Management,
50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain,
Nevada 89020, ATTN: Christopher
Worthington.
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/
en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christopher Worthington, telephone
(775) 635–4000; or e-mail:
Christopher_Worthington@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM
signed a Record of Decision and Plan of
Operations Approval on November 12,
2008, for the Cortez Gold Mines (CGM)
Cortez Hills Expansion Project, which is
an expansion of an existing open-pit
gold mining and processing operations
in northeastern Nevada. The project
entails new surface disturbance of
approximately 6,633 acres, including
6,412 acres of public land administered
by the BLM Battle Mountain District
and 221 acres of private land owned by
CGM. The Notice of Availability of the
Final Cortez Hills Expansion Project
EIS, Nevada, was published in the
Federal Register on October 3, 2008 (73
FR 57647).
On December 3, 2009, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
partially reversed the U.S. District Court
of Nevada’s denial of preliminary
injunctive relief with respect to the
BLM’s environmental analysis of air
quality and water resource issues. The
BLM subsequently elected to prepare a
Supplemental EIS to refine the analysis
of potential air quality effects and the
dewatering mitigation effectiveness for
the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The
Supplemental EIS includes these
analyses.
Comments, including names and
street addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the above
address during regular business hours
7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays, and will be
published as part of the Final
Supplemental EIS. Before including
your address, phone number, e-mail
address, or other personal identifying
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:19 Aug 19, 2010
Jkt 220001
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.
Gerald M. Smith,
District Manager, Battle Mountain.
[FR Doc. 2010–20557 Filed 8–19–10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 048811, LLCAD06000,
L51010000.FX0000, LVRWB09B2600]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Chevron Energy Solutions/Solar
Millennium Blythe Solar Power Plant
and Proposed California Desert
Conservation Area Plan Amendment
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 Chevron
Energy Solutions/Solar Millennium
(CESSM), LLC’s Blythe Solar Power
Plant (BSPP) project and by this notice
is announcing its availability.
DATES: The publication of the
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) Notice of Availability (NOA) of
this Final EIS in the Federal Register
initiates a 30-day public comment
period. In addition, the BLM’s planning
regulations state that any person who
meets the conditions described in the
regulations may protest the BLM’s
Proposed CDCA Plan Amendment/Final
EIS. A person who meets the conditions
and files a protest must file the protest
within 30 days of the date that EPA
publishes its NOA in the Federal
Register. The protest procedures are
described in the ‘‘Dear Reader’’ letter
accompanying the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed
CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS for
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
51479
the BSPP Project have been sent to
affected Federal, state, and local
government agencies and to other
stakeholders. Copies are available for
public inspection at the Palm Springs
South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird
Center Drive, Palm Springs, California
92262. Interested persons may also
review the Proposed CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS at the following
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/
fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/
Blythe_Solar_Power_Project.html.
Submit comments on the Final EIS to
Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager,
Palm Springs South Coast Field Office,
1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs,
California 92262; or e-mail:
CAPSSolarBlythe@blm.gov.
All protests 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:
Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager,
telephone (760) 833–7100; address (see
ADDRESSES above).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CESSM
has submitted a right of way (ROW)
application to the BLM for development
of the proposed BSPP project, consisting
of 4 parabolic trough solar thermal
power plants. The project would be
built in 4 phases which are designed to
generate approximately 968 megawatts
(MW) of electricity at full development.
The project footprint is approximately
5,950 acres of BLM-managed lands, with
a proposed ROW encompassing 9,400
acres. The project site is in Riverside
County, California, approximately 8
miles west of Blythe, California, 3 miles
north of Highway I-10, and 1 mile north
of the Blythe Regional Airport.
The project includes the power
generation facility, an electrical
transmission line, natural gas pipeline,
and an access road. A double circuit
230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line
would be constructed to interconnect to
the Devers-Palo Verde #2 500 kV line at
the Colorado River substation.
Approximately 6.5 miles of this new
line would be outside the project area
but is included in the analysis. The new
line proposes to use a 175-foot wide
ROW.
The BLM’s purpose and need for the
NEPA analysis of the BSPP project is to
respond to CESSM’s application under
Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) for
a ROW grant to construct, operate, and
E:\FR\FM\20AUN1.SGM
20AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51478-51479]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20557]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLNVB00000 L71220000.EX0000 LVTFF0986020 241A.00; MO
4500014477; 10-08807; TAS: 14X8069]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental
Impact Statement for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project, Lander County,
NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA), as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (FLPMA), as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
Battle Mountain District, Mount Lewis Field Office, Battle Mountain,
Nevada, has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project in Lander
County, Nevada. The project was authorized in a Record of Decision and
Plan of Operations Amendment Approval in November 2008 and by this
notice the BLM is announcing the opening of the comment period for the
Draft Supplemental EIS.
DATES: The Cortez Hills Expansion Project Draft Supplemental EIS is
available for public comment for 45 days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. To provide the
[[Page 51479]]
public with an opportunity to review and comment on the Draft
Supplemental EIS, the BLM will host public meetings in Crescent Valley
and Battle Mountain, Nevada. 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 Cortez Hills
Expansion Project Draft Supplemental EIS by the following methods:
Fax: (775) 635-4034
E-mail: CortezHills_DSEIS@blm.gov
Mail: Bureau of Land Management, 50 Bastian Road, Battle
Mountain, Nevada 89020, ATTN: Christopher Worthington.
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christopher Worthington, telephone
(775) 635-4000; or e-mail: Christopher_Worthington@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM signed a Record of Decision and Plan
of Operations Approval on November 12, 2008, for the Cortez Gold Mines
(CGM) Cortez Hills Expansion Project, which is an expansion of an
existing open-pit gold mining and processing operations in northeastern
Nevada. The project entails new surface disturbance of approximately
6,633 acres, including 6,412 acres of public land administered by the
BLM Battle Mountain District and 221 acres of private land owned by
CGM. The Notice of Availability of the Final Cortez Hills Expansion
Project EIS, Nevada, was published in the Federal Register on October
3, 2008 (73 FR 57647).
On December 3, 2009, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit partially reversed the U.S. District Court of Nevada's denial
of preliminary injunctive relief with respect to the BLM's
environmental analysis of air quality and water resource issues. The
BLM subsequently elected to prepare a Supplemental EIS to refine the
analysis of potential air quality effects and the dewatering mitigation
effectiveness for the Cortez Hills Expansion Project. The Supplemental
EIS includes these analyses.
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will
be available for public review at the above address during regular
business hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except
holidays, and will be published as part of the Final Supplemental EIS.
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.
Gerald M. Smith,
District Manager, Battle Mountain.
[FR Doc. 2010-20557 Filed 8-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P
