Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Tonopah Solar Energy Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, Nye County, NV, 54177 [2010-21958]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 171 (Friday, September 3, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 54177]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21958]



[[Page 54177]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVB00000 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWF0900380 241A; 10-08807; 
MO4500014355; TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
for the Tonopah Solar Energy Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, Nye 
County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Crescent 
Dunes Solar Energy Project, Nye County, Nevada, and by this Notice is 
announcing the opening of the comment period.

DATES: To ensure comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project Draft EIS 
within 45 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 news releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy 
Project Draft EIS by any of the following methods:
     E-mail: crescent_dunes@blm.gov.
     Fax: 775-482-7810.
     Mail: Timothy Coward, Renewable Energy Project Manager, 
BLM Tonopah Field Office, P.O. Box 911, Tonopah, Nevada 89049.
    Copies of the Draft EIS for the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project 
are available at the BLM Tonopah Field Office and at the Battle 
Mountain District Office, 50 Bastian Road, Battle Mountain, Nevada, or 
at the following Web site: https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Timothy Coward, (775) 482-7800, BLM 
Tonopah Field Office, 1553 South Main Street, P.O. Box 911, Tonopah, 
Nevada 89049; Timothy_Coward@blm.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC applied to the BLM 
for a 7,680-acre right-of-way (ROW) on public lands to construct a 
concentrated solar thermal power plant facility approximately 13 miles 
northwest of Tonopah, Nye County, Nevada. The proposed project is not 
expected to use the total acres applied for in the ROW application. The 
project is located within the southern portion of the Big Smoky Valley, 
north of U.S. Highway 95/6 along the Gabbs Pole Line Road (State 
Highway 89). The facility is expected to operate for approximately 30 
years. The proposed solar power project would use concentrated solar 
power technology, using heliostats or mirrors to focus sunlight on a 
receiver erected in the center of the solar field (the power tower or 
central receiver). A heat transfer fluid is heated as it passes through 
the receiver and is then circulated through a series of heat exchangers 
to generate high-pressure steam. The steam is used to power a 
conventional Rankine cycle steam turbine, which produces electricity. 
The exhaust steam from the turbine is condensed and returned via 
feedwater pumps to the heat exchangers where steam is regenerated. 
Hybrid cooling processes would be used for this project to minimize 
water use while continuing to maintain efficient power generation. The 
plant design would generate a nominal capacity of 100 megawatts.
    The project's proposed facility design includes the heliostat 
fields, a 653-foot central receiver tower, a power block, buildings, a 
parking area, a laydown area, evaporating ponds, and an access road. A 
single overhead 230-kilovolt transmission line would connect the plant 
to the nearby Anaconda Moly substation.
    The Draft EIS describes and analyzes the proposed project's site-
specific impacts on air quality, biological resources, cultural 
resources, water resources, geological resources, hazardous materials 
handling, land use, noise, paleontological resources, public health, 
socioeconomics, soils, traffic and transportation, visual resources, 
wilderness characteristics, waste management, worker safety, and fire 
protection. The Draft EIS also describes facility design engineering, 
efficiency, reliability, transmission system engineering, and 
transmission line safety.
    Three action alternatives were analyzed in addition to the No 
Action alternative: the Proposed Action Alternative, Alternative 1, and 
Alternative 2. Alternative 2 is the BLM preferred alternative.
    Scoping of the project occurred from November 24, 2009 through 
December 24, 2009. A total of 24 comments were received. Comments on 
cumulative impacts identified the affects to air quality to include 
criteria pollutant and ``Dark Sky'' attributes on the effects of the 
viewshed, and the availability of water for current and future use. 
Other comments were that the proposed project is located in an area of 
pediment adjacent to 2 highly mineralized mountain ranges which have 
identified molybdenum and lithium deposits.
    Maps of the proposed project area and the alternatives being 
analyzed in the Draft EIS are available at the BLM Tonopah Field 
Office, the Battle Mountain District Office, and at: https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/battle_mountain_field.html.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted, 
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of persons who 
submit 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 and 1506.10.

Thomas J. Seley,
Manager, Tonopah Field Office.
[FR Doc. 2010-21958 Filed 9-2-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P