Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States and Notice of Public Meetings, 78980-78984 [2010-31725]

Agencies

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

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 242 (Friday, December 17, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 78980-78984]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31725]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWO300000.L14300000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental 
Impact Statement for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern 
States and Notice of Public Meetings

AGENCIES: Bureau of Land Management, Interior; Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of 
Energy (DOE) (the Agencies) as co-lead agencies announce the 
availability of the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for Solar Energy Development in Six Southwestern States (BLM/DES 
10-59, DOE/EIS--0403). The BLM and the DOE have prepared this document 
in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 
1969, as amended; the Council on Environmental Quality, the DOE, and 
the Department of the Interior (DOI) regulations implementing NEPA; and 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended.

[[Page 78981]]


DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered in the Final 
Programmatic EIS, the Agencies must receive written comments on the 
Draft Programmatic EIS within 90 days following the date the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. The BLM and the DOE will hold 14 public meetings 
on the Draft Programmatic EIS. The locations of scheduled public 
meetings are listed in the Supplementary Information section below. The 
public will also be notified of the dates and times of these meetings 
at least 15 days in advance via local media, the project Web site, and 
the DOE NEPA Web site.

ADDRESSES: You may submit written comments related to the Draft 
Programmatic EIS by the following methods:
     Web site: Using the online comment form available on the 
project Web site: https://solareis.anl.gov. This is the preferred method 
of commenting.
     Mail: Addressed to: Solar Energy Draft Programmatic EIS, 
Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Avenue--EVS/240, Argonne, 
Illinois 60439.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information on 
the Draft Programmatic EIS should be directed to Linda Resseguie, BLM 
Solar Programmatic EIS Project Manager, BLM Washington Office, by e-
mail at linda_resseguie@blm.gov, or by telephone at 202-912-7337; or 
to Jane Summerson, DOE Solar Programmatic EIS Document Manager, by e-
mail at jane.summerson@ee.doe.gov, or by telephone at 202-287-6188. For 
general information regarding the BLM NEPA process, contact Shannon 
Stewart, Senior Planning and Environmental Analyst, BLM Washington 
Office, by e-mail at shannon_stewart@blm.gov, or by telephone at 202-
912-7219. For general information regarding the DOE NEPA process, 
contact Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and 
Compliance, GC-54, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20585, by telephone at 202-586-4600, or leave a 
message at 1-800-472-2756.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Draft Programmatic EIS, references, and 
additional information regarding solar energy development are available 
at the project Web site: https://solareis.anl.gov. An electronic copy of 
the Draft Programmatic EIS can be viewed in any BLM State Office public 
room in the 6-state study area and will be available through the BLM 
Web site at https://www.blm.gov. A complete, printed copy is available 
for review at the following BLM offices:
    Arizona State Office, One North Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, 
Arizona 85004.
    Caliente Field Office, US Highway 93 Building 1, Caliente, 
Nevada 89008.
    California Desert District, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, 
Moreno Valley, California 92553.
    California State Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-1623, 
Sacramento, California 95825.
    Cedar City Field Office, 176 East D.L. Sargent Drive, Cedar City, 
Utah 84721.
    Lake Havasu Field Office, 2610 Sweetwater Avenue, Lake Havasu City, 
Arizona 86406.
    Las Cruces District Office, 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, New 
Mexico 88005.
    Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial Boulevard, Reno, Nevada 89502.
    San Luis Valley Public Lands Center, 1803 West Highway 160, Monte 
Vista, Colorado 81144.
    Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines, Las 
Vegas, Nevada 89130.
    Tonopah Field Office, 1553 South Main Street, Tonopah, Nevada 
89049.
    Utah State Office, 440 West 200 South, Suite 500, Salt Lake City, 
Utah 84101.
    The Draft Programmatic EIS is also available on the DOE NEPA Web 
site at https://nepa.energy.gov.
    The BLM and the DOE will hold 14 public meetings on the Draft 
Programmatic EIS to provide an overview of the document, respond to 
questions, and take public comments. The meetings will be announced 
through local news media, the project Web site (https://solareis.anl.gov), and the DOE NEPA Web site (https://nepa.energy.gov), 
at least 15 days in advance. Public meetings are currently planned for 
the following locations:
    Alamosa, Colorado; Barstow, California; Caliente, Nevada; Cedar 
City, Utah; El Centro, California; Goldfield, Nevada; Las Cruces, New 
Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada; Ontario, California; Palm Springs, 
California; Phoenix, Arizona; Salt Lake City, Utah; Tucson, Arizona; 
Washington, DC.
    At these meetings, the public will have an opportunity to provide 
oral and written comments. Oral and written comments from the meetings 
and additional written comments submitted during the comment period 
will be considered by the Agencies in preparing the Final Programmatic 
EIS. Comments submitted after the close of the comment period will be 
considered to the extent practicable.

Background

    The BLM is considering taking further actions to facilitate solar 
energy development in compliance with various orders, mandates, and 
agency policies. For the BLM, these actions include the evaluation of a 
new Solar Energy Program applicable to utility-scale solar energy 
development on BLM-administered lands in 6 southwestern states 
(Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah). The DOE 
is considering taking actions to facilitate solar energy development in 
compliance with various orders, mandates, and agency policies. For the 
DOE, these actions include the evaluation of developing new program 
guidance relevant to DOE-supported solar energy projects. The BLM and 
the DOE are working jointly as lead Agencies to prepare this 
Programmatic EIS to evaluate the proposed BLM program and whether to 
develop the DOE guidance. The Draft Programmatic EIS assesses 
environmental, social, and economic impacts associated with the 
development and implementation of agency-specific programs that would 
facilitate environmentally responsible utility-scale solar energy 
development in 6 southwestern states. For the purposes of the 
Programmatic EIS, utility-scale solar technologies considered to be 
viable for deployment over the next 20 years include 3 concentrating 
solar power technologies (i.e., parabolic trough, power tower, and dish 
engine systems), and photovoltaic technologies. Because the 
Programmatic EIS involves environmental effects over a broad geographic 
and time horizon, the depth and detail of the impact analysis is 
general, focusing on major impacts in a qualitative manner. The 
Programmatic EIS does not assess site-specific issues associated with 
any future individual solar energy development projects. Future 
utility-scale solar energy development decisions will be subject to 
analysis under NEPA that may tier to the programmatic analysis.

BLM-Specific Information

    The BLM has identified a need to respond in a more efficient and 
effective manner to the high interest in siting utility-scale solar 
energy development on public lands and ensure consistent application of 
measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate the adverse impacts of such 
development. The BLM proposes to develop a new Solar Energy Program to 
further support utility-scale solar energy development on BLM-
administered lands that would be applicable to all pending and future

[[Page 78982]]

solar energy development applications upon execution of the Record of 
Decision for the Solar Programmatic EIS.
    The proposed Solar Energy Program has been designed to further the 
BLM's ability to meet the requirements for facilitating solar energy 
development on BLM-administered lands established by the Energy Policy 
Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109-58) and Secretarial Order 3285A1 issued by the 
Secretary of the Interior. In particular, the proposed program has been 
designed to meet the requirements of Order 3285A1 to identify and 
prioritize solar energy development in locations best suited for such 
development, called solar energy zones (SEZ).
    The objectives of the BLM's proposed Solar Energy Program include:
     Facilitating near-term utility-scale solar energy 
development on public lands;
     Minimizing potential negative environmental, social, and 
economic impacts;
     Providing flexibility to consider a variety of solar 
energy projects (i.e., by location, facility size, or technology);
     Optimizing existing transmission infrastructure and 
corridors; and
     Standardizing and streamlining the authorization process 
for utility-scale solar energy development on BLM-administered lands.
    The anticipated elements of the BLM's proposed Solar Energy Program 
include:
     Identification of lands excluded from utility-scale solar 
energy development in the 6-state study area;
     Identification of priority areas within the lands open to 
solar energy development that are best suited for utility-scale 
production of solar energy in accordance with the requirements of 
Secretarial Order 3285A1 (i.e., proposed SEZs);
     Establishment of mitigation requirements for solar energy 
development on public lands to ensure the most environmentally 
responsible development and delivery of solar energy; and
     Amendment of BLM land use plans in the 6-state study area 
to adopt those elements of the new Solar Energy Program that pertain to 
land use planning.
    A reasonably foreseeable development (RFD) scenario was developed 
as part of the Programmatic EIS to help define the potential magnitude 
of solar energy development that could occur within the 6-state study 
area over the next 20 years. On the basis of the RFD scenario, the 
estimated amount of solar energy generation on BLM-administered lands 
in the study area over the 20-year study period is about 24,000 
megawatts, with a corresponding dedicated use of about 214,000 acres of 
BLM-administered lands.
    Through the Programmatic EIS, the BLM is evaluating 3 alternatives 
for managing utility-scale solar energy development on BLM-administered 
lands in the 6-state study area. These alternatives include two action 
alternatives--a solar energy development program alternative and a SEZ 
program alternative--and a no action alternative.
    Under the solar energy development program alternative, the BLM 
would establish a new Solar Energy Program of administration and 
authorization policies and required design features to replace certain 
elements of its existing solar energy policies. The lands that would be 
excluded from solar energy development include BLM-administered lands 
currently off-limits to solar energy development, including lands 
prohibited by law, regulation, presidential proclamation, or executive 
order (e.g., lands in the National Landscape Conservation System), 
along with lands that (1) have slopes greater than or equal to 5 
percent; (2) have solar insolation levels (i.e., a measurement of the 
amount of sunlight that strikes the earth's surface) below 6.5 
kilowatt-hours per square meter per day; and (3) have known resources, 
resource uses, or special designations identified in local land use 
plans that are incompatible with solar energy development. On the basis 
of these exclusions, approximately 22 million acres of BLM-administered 
lands would be available for right-of-way (ROW) application under this 
alternative.
    As part of the solar energy development program alternative, the 
BLM would also identify a number of SEZs within the lands available for 
ROW application. An SEZ is defined by the BLM as an area well suited to 
utility-scale energy production, with few impediments to facility 
construction and operation where BLM would prioritize solar energy and 
associated transmission infrastructure development. Approximately 
677,400 acres have been identified as proposed SEZs. The elements of 
the BLM's new program under this alternative would be implemented 
through amendment of the land use plans within the 6-state area.
    Under the SEZ program alternative, the BLM would replace certain 
elements of its current solar energy policies with a program that would 
authorize utility-scale solar energy development only in the SEZs. 
Unlike the solar energy development program alternative, lands outside 
of SEZs would be excluded from utility-scale solar energy development 
ROW applications. Under this alternative, about 677,400 acres of BLM-
administered lands have been identified as proposed SEZs and would be 
available for ROW application. Under the SEZ program alternative, the 
management of solar energy development on BLM-administered lands would 
be the same as described for the solar energy development program 
alternative. The BLM would establish comprehensive program 
administration and authorization policies and design features. The 
elements of the BLM's new program under this alternative would be 
implemented through amendment of the land use plans within the 6-state 
area.
    Under the no action alternative, solar energy development would 
continue on BLM-administered lands in accordance with existing solar 
energy policies. The BLM would not implement a comprehensive Solar 
Energy Program to provide guidance to BLM field staff, developers, and 
other stakeholders in the 6-state study area. Specifically, the 
required program administration and authorization policies as well as 
design features and land use plan amendments proposed in the 2 action 
alternatives would not be implemented. Future solar energy projects and 
land use plan amendments would continue to be evaluated solely on an 
individual, case-by-case basis.

DOE-Specific Information

    The DOE is required to take actions to meet mandates under 
Executive Order 13212, ``Actions to Expedite Energy-Related Projects,'' 
published in the Federal Register on May 22, 2001 (66 FR 28357); 
Executive Order 13514, ``Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, 
and Economic Performance,'' published in the Federal Register on 
October 5, 2009 (74 FR 52117); and Section 603 of the Energy 
Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) (Pub. L. 109-58). The 
DOE's purpose and need is to satisfy both executive orders and comply 
with congressional mandates to promote, expedite, and advance the 
production and transmission of environmentally sound energy resources, 
including renewable energy resources and, in particular, cost-
competitive solar energy systems at the utility scale.
    Specifically, the DOE proposes to further integrate environmental 
considerations into its analysis and selection of solar projects that 
it will support. In the Programmatic EIS, the DOE will build on the 
BLM's analysis of potential impacts of utility-scale solar

[[Page 78983]]

development on the environment for all phases of development to provide 
a technical basis for the development of guidance. The DOE will 
consider, as appropriate, the relevance of the analytical results for 
all lands, not just BLM-administered lands in the six state area.
    The DOE would use this information to develop guidance for the 
development of solar energy projects. The DOE's investment and 
deployment strategy would incorporate a decision-making framework of 
guidance for early consideration of sound environmental practices and 
potential mitigation measures for solar energy development. Development 
of a guidance framework, based on the analyses of the Programmatic EIS, 
would give the DOE the tools with which to make more informed, 
environmentally sound decisions at the outset, help to streamline 
future environmental analysis and documentation for DOE-supported solar 
projects, and support the DOE's efforts to comprehensively (1) 
determine where to make technology and resource investments to minimize 
the environmental impacts of solar technologies and (2) establish 
environmental mitigation recommendations for financial assistance 
recipients to consider in project plans when applying for DOE funding.
    Through this Programmatic EIS, the DOE is evaluating 2 
alternatives: an action alternative and a no action alternative. Under 
the action alternative, the DOE would develop programmatic guidance to 
further integrate environmental considerations into its analysis and 
selection of solar projects that it will support. The DOE would use the 
information about environmental impacts provided in this Programmatic 
EIS to appropriately amend its programmatic approaches to facilitate 
the advancement of solar energy development. Under the no action 
alternative, the DOE would continue to conduct environmental reviews of 
DOE-funded solar projects on a case-by-case basis. It would not develop 
programmatic guidance and explicit environmental guidelines and 
mitigation recommendations to apply to DOE-funded solar projects.
    DOE's Western Area Power Administration (Western) markets and 
transmits wholesale electrical power through an integrated 17,000-
circuit mile, high-voltage transmission system across 15 western 
states, including parts of the 6-state study area for this Programmatic 
EIS. Western's purpose and need for participating in this Programmatic 
EIS is to identify potential transmission impacts and recommend 
mitigation measures for transmission lines associated with solar energy 
projects. Western anticipates using the transmission environmental 
impact and mitigation measures analyses in this Programmatic EIS to 
streamline its own NEPA documents once specific projects are identified 
and interconnection requests are filed with Western. With the 
Programmatic EIS providing the basis for this analysis, interconnection 
project-specific NEPA documents should be more concise and take less 
time to prepare, resulting in efficiencies for both Western and the 
project proponent.

Preferred Alternative

    The solar energy development program alternative is the BLM 
preferred alternative. The DOE has not yet identified a preferred 
alternative.

Public Participation

    A notice of intent to prepare this PEIS was published in the 
Federal Register on May 29, 2008 (73 FR 30908). This notice initiated 
the first scoping period, which lasted from May 29 to July 15, 2008. 
During that period, the BLM and the DOE invited the public to provide 
comments on the scope and objectives of the Programmatic EIS, including 
identification of issues and alternatives that should be considered in 
the Programmatic EIS analyses. Public meetings were held at 11 
locations across the 6 states. Comments were also collected via the 
project Web site and by mail. A second scoping period was announced 
through the ``Notice of Availability of Maps and Additional Public 
Scoping'' published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2009 (74 FR 
31307). This scoping period was initiated to solicit public comments on 
24 specific tracts of BLM-administered land proposed to receive in-
depth study for solar development in the Programmatic EIS. 
Specifically, the Agencies solicited comments about environmental 
issues, existing resource data, and industry interest with respect to 
the 24 solar energy study areas. Public comments were collected via the 
project Web site and by mail.
    Approximately 15,900 individuals, organizations, and government 
agencies provided comments during the first scoping process, and 
approximately 300 entities provided comments during the second scoping 
process.
    In addition to public scoping, the BLM initiated government-to-
government consultation with 316 Native American Tribes, Chapters, and 
Bands with a potential interest in solar energy development on BLM-
administered lands in the 6-state study area. The BLM is also 
coordinating with and soliciting input from the State Historic 
Preservation Offices (SHPO) in each of the 6 states in the study area 
and from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. In addition, 
the National Council of SHPOs, the National Trust for Historic 
Preservation, and tribal governments have been invited to consult on 
the Programmatic EIS and the preparation of a National Programmatic 
Agreement regarding solar energy development.
    The Draft Programmatic EIS consists of approximately 11,000 pages 
in 8 volumes. All readers are encouraged to review the document 
electronically. The Executive Summary and Reader's Guide, including a 
digital versatile disc (DVD) containing the entire document, is 
available upon request. The document is also available through the 
project Web site at https://solareis.anl.gov, the BLM Web site at https://www.blm.gov, and the DOE NEPA Web site at https://nepa.energy.gov.

Other Agency Involvement

    Cooperating Federal agencies on the Programmatic EIS include the 
Department of Defense; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the National 
Park Service; the Bureau of Reclamation; the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 9; and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 
South Pacific Division.
    Other cooperating agencies on the Programmatic EIS include the 
Arizona Game and Fish Department; the California Energy Commission and 
Public Utilities Commission; the Nevada Department of Wildlife, the N-4 
Grazing Board; the Utah Public Lands Policy Coordination Office; Clark, 
Esmeralda, Eureka, Lincoln, and Nye Counties, Nevada; Saguache County, 
Colorado; and Dona Ana County, New Mexico.
    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.


[[Page 78984]]


    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2

Michael D. Nedd,
Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management, Bureau of Land 
Management.
Cathy Zoi,
Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2010-31725 Filed 12-16-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-84-P