Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Solar Reserve LLC Quartzsite Solar Energy Project, La Paz County, AZ (DOE/EIS-0440) and the proposed Amendment to the Bureau of Land Management Yuma Field Office Resource Management Plan, 70125-70127 [2011-29146]
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 218 / Thursday, November 10, 2011 / Notices
approval of the form. They also will
become a matter of public record.
Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974,
Pub. L. 93–275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 772(b).
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 2,
2011.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Office of Survey Development and
Statistical Integration, U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011–29187 Filed 11–9–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Energy Information Administration
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request
U. S. Energy Information
Administration (EIA), Department of
Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Agency Information Collection
Activities: Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request.
AGENCY:
The EIA has submitted the
U.S. Energy Information
Administration’s Monthly Biodiesel
Production Survey to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
revision and a three-year extension
under section 3507(h)(1) of the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub.
L. 104–13) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq).
DATES: Comments must be filed by
December 12, 2011. If you anticipate
that you will be submitting comments
but find it difficult to do so within that
period, you should contact the OMB
Desk Officer for DOE listed below as
soon as possible.
ADDRESSES: Send comments to OMB
Desk Officer for DOE, Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget. To
ensure receipt of the comments by the
due date, submission by Fax at (202)
395–7285 or email to
Chad_S_Whiteman@omb.eop.gov is
recommended. The mailing address is
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC
20503. The OMB DOE Desk Officer may
be telephoned at (202) 395–4718. (A
copy of your comments should also be
provided to EIA’s Office of Survey
Development and Statistical Integration
at the address below.)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Requests for additional information
should be directed to Jason Worrall. To
ensure receipt of the comments by the
due date, submission by email
(Jason.worrall@eia.gov) is also
recommended. The mailing address is
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
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Office of Survey Development and
Statistical Integration (EI–21), Forrestal
Building, U.S. Department of Energy,
1000 Independence Ave. SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0670. Mr.
Worrall may be contacted by telephone
at (202) 586–6075.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This
section contains the following
information about the energy
information collections submitted to
OMB for review: (1) The collection
numbers and title; (2) the sponsor (i.e.,
the Department of Energy component);
(3) the current OMB docket number (if
applicable); (4) the type of request (i.e,
new, revision, extension, or
reinstatement); (5) response obligation
(i.e., mandatory, voluntary, or required
to obtain or retain benefits); (6) a
description of the need for and
proposed use of the information; (7) a
categorical description of the likely
respondents; (8) estimated number of
respondents annually; (9) an estimate of
the total annual reporting burden in
hours (i.e., the estimated number of
likely respondents times the proposed
frequency of response per year times the
average hours per response); and (10) an
estimate of the total annual reporting
and recordkeeping cost burden (in
thousands of dollars).
1. EIA–22M, ‘‘Monthly Biodiesel
Production Survey.’’
2. U.S. Energy Information
Administration.
3. OMB Number 1905–0207.
4. Three-year extension.
5. Mandatory.
6. The purpose of the survey is to
collect information from biodiesel
producers regarding the following: Plant
location, capacity, and operating status;
Biodiesel and co-product production;
Inputs to production; Sales for end-use
and resale; Sales revenue; and Biodiesel
stocks.
7. Business or other for-profit.
8. 150 Respondents
9. Annual total of 5400, hours,
collected 12 times per year, three hours
per response.
10. Annual total of $0.
Please refer to the supporting
statement as well as the proposed forms
and instructions for more information
about the purpose, who must report,
when to report, where to submit, the
elements to be reported, detailed
instructions, provisions for
confidentiality, and uses (including
possible nonstatistical uses) of the
information. For instructions on
obtaining materials, see the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section.
Statutory Authority: Section 13(b) of the
Federal Energy Administration Act of 1974,
P.L. 93–275, codified at 15 U.S.C. 772(b).
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70125
Issued in Washington, DC, on November 2,
2011.
Stephanie Brown,
Director, Office of Survey Development and
Statistical Integration, U.S. Energy
Information Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011–29147 Filed 11–9–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Proposed Solar Reserve LLC
Quartzsite Solar Energy Project, La
Paz County, AZ (DOE/EIS—0440) and
the proposed Amendment to the
Bureau of Land Management Yuma
Field Office Resource Management
Plan
Western Area Power
Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended,
Western Area Power Administration
(Western) and the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) have prepared a
Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DEIS) for the proposed Quartzsite Solar
Energy Project (Project), in La Paz
County, Arizona, and the proposed
amendment to the Yuma Field Office
(Yuma) Resource Management Plan
(RMP), and by this notice are
announcing the opening of the public
comment period. Western is the lead
Federal agency for purposes of
satisfying the NEPA requirements with
the BLM acting as a cooperating agency.
DATES: The public is invited to submit
comments on the DEIS for the proposed
Project and the proposed RMP
amendment during the public comment
period. To ensure that comments will be
considered, Western or BLM must
receive written comments on the DEIS/
proposed RMP amendment within 90
days following the date the
Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in
the Federal Register. Oral comments
will be taken at a public hearing, which
will be announced at least 15 days in
advance through public notices, media
releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the
Project may be sent to Ms. Liana Reilly,
NEPA Document Manager, Western
Area Power Administration, P.O. Box
281213, Lakewood, CO 80228–8213 or
SUMMARY:
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70126
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 218 / Thursday, November 10, 2011 / Notices
sent by email to
QuartzsiteSolarEIS@wapa.gov. Copies of
the DEIS and proposed RMP
amendment are available on the
Western and BLM Project Web sites:
https://www.wapa.gov/transmission/
quartzsitesolar.htm and https://
www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/energy/
solar/quartzsite_solar_energy.html.
Copies of the document are also
available at the BLM Yuma Field Office,
2555 East Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, AZ
85365 and at the BLM Arizona State
Office, One North Central Avenue,
Phoenix, AZ 85004.
Before including your address, phone
number, or email address in your
comment, you should be aware that
your entire comment may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your information from public
review, we cannot guarantee that we
will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For
information on the proposed Project, the
EIS and general information about
Western’s transmission system, contact
Ms. Liana Reilly, Western NEPA
Document Manager, at (720) 962–7253
or the address provided above. Parties
wishing to be placed on the Project
mailing list for future information and
to receive copies of the document
should also contact Ms. Reilly. For
general information on the DOE NEPA
process, please contact Ms. Carol M.
Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA
Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S.
Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, telephone (202)
586–4600 or (800) 472–2756. For
information on BLM’s role with the
Project or the proposed RMP
Amendment, contact Mr. Eddie Arreola,
Supervisory Project Manager, (602) 417–
9505, One North Central Avenue,
Phoenix, AZ 85004 or
Quatzsite_solar@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice
of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an EIS for the
proposed Project in La Paz County was
published in the Federal Register on
January 14, 2010 (75 FR 2133). Western
and BLM held public scoping meetings
in Yuma, Arizona, on January 26, 2010,
in Parker, Arizona, on January 27, 2010
and in Quartzsite, Arizona, on January
28, 2010. The formal scoping period
ended February 16, 2010. A NOI for the
proposed RMP amendment was
published in the Federal Register on
March 30, 2011 (76 FR 17668). Scoping
meetings for the proposed RMP
amendment were held by BLM in Yuma,
Arizona, on April 18, 2011, and in
Quartzsite, Arizona, on April 19, 2011.
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The formal scoping period for the
proposed RMP amendment closed on
April 29, 2011. Comments received
during the scoping periods were
considered in preparing the DEIS.
Proposed Project
The proposed Project is a 100megawatt solar electric power plant that
would use concentrating solar power
technology to capture the sun’s heat to
make steam, which would power
traditional steam turbine generators.
The solar generation facility would
contain the central receiver or tower, a
solar field consisting of mirrors or
heliostats to reflect the sun’s energy to
the central tower, a conventional steam
turbine generator, insulated storage
tanks for hot and cold liquid salt,
ancillary tanks, evaporation ponds, a
temporary construction laydown area,
technical and non-technical buildings,
transformers and a 161/230-kilovolt (kV)
electrical substation, roads, and water
wells. All Project components would be
located on BLM-managed land.
Quartzsite Solar Energy, LLC (QSE) has
applied to Western to interconnect the
proposed Project to Western’s
transmission system. A new 1.5-mile
long 161/230-kV generator tie-line
would extend from the southern
boundary of the solar facility boundary
to a new switchyard to be constructed
adjacent to Western’s existing BouseKofa 161-kV transmission line. The
switchyard would be on BLM-managed
land and would be owned and operated
by Western.
QSE has submitted a right-of-way
(ROW) application to the BLM for the
Project. The ROW application is for a
total of 26,273 acres, of which 1,675
acres would be utilized for the final
Project ROW if approved. The Project
site is in an undeveloped area in La Paz
County, Arizona, east of State Route
(SR) 95, approximately 10 miles north of
Quartzsite, Arizona, on lands managed
by the BLM.
Agency Purpose and Need
Western’s purpose and need for the
Project is to respond to QSE’s
interconnection request in accordance
with Western’s Open Access
Transmission Tariff. The BLM’s purpose
and need for the Project is to respond to
QSE’s application for a ROW under
Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) to
construct, operate, and decommission
the solar facility, 161/230-kV collector
line and access road, and also to
respond to Western’s application for a
switchyard, and fiber optic line on
public lands administered by the BLM.
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Proposed Agency Actions
Western’s proposed action is to
interconnect the proposed Project to
Western’s existing Bouse-Kofa 161-kV
transmission line. As part of Western’s
proposed action, Western would also
construct, operate and maintain the new
switchyard and would establish either a
fiber optic or microwave
telecommunications point. In addition
to responding to the project ROW
applications analyzed in the EIS, BLM
is also considering amending the Yuma
RMP. The Yuma RMP recognizes the
compatibility of solar generation
facilities on public lands, but requires
that such activities conform to
designated visual resource management
(VRM) classes.
Alternatives
The DEIS analyzes two Project
alternatives, a dry-cooling technology
and a hybrid cooling technology. The
DEIS also analyzes the proposed RMP
amendment to change approximately
6,800 acres of VRM Class III to VRM
Class IV with a project approval, the
proposed plan amendment without
project approval, and a no action
alternative. For the proposed
amendment, BLM’s preferred alternative
is to amend the Yuma RMP. BLM has
not identified a preferred alternative for
the proposed project.
As required under NEPA, the DEIS
analyzes the following no action
alternatives: Western would deny the
interconnection request and the BLM
would either (1) decline to amend the
Yuma RMP and deny the project
proposal; or (2) amend the Yuma RMP
to change the VRM management
classification but deny the project
proposal.
For purposes of NEPA compliance,
Western is serving as the lead Federal
agency with BLM acting as a
cooperating agency. The DEIS analyzes
site-specific impacts on air quality,
biological resources, recreation, cultural
resources, water resources, geological
resources and hazards, hazardous
materials handling, land use, noise,
paleontological resources, public health,
socioeconomics, soils, traffic and
transportation, visual resources, waste
management, and worker safety and fire
protection, as well as facility design
engineering, efficiency, reliability,
transmission system engineering, and
transmission line safety and nuisance.
Western and BLM welcome public
comments on the DEIS and proposed
RMP amendment.
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 218 / Thursday, November 10, 2011 / Notices
Dated: October 19, 2011.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011–29146 Filed 11–9–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OECA–2011–0210; FRL–9490–4]
Agency Information Collection
Activities; Submission to OMB for
Review and Approval; Comment
Request; NSPS for Municipal Waste
Combustors (Renewal)
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
In compliance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
3501 et seq.), this document announces
that an Information Collection Request
(ICR) has been forwarded to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) for
review and approval. This is a request
to renew an existing approved
collection. The ICR which is abstracted
below describes the nature of the
collection and the estimated burden and
cost.
DATES: Additional comments may be
submitted on or before December 12,
2011.
SUMMARY:
Submit your comments,
referencing docket ID number EPA–HQ–
OECA–2011–0210, to (1) EPA online
using www.regulations.gov (our
preferred method), or by email to
docket.oeca@epa.gov, or by mail to: EPA
Docket Center (EPA/DC), Environmental
Protection Agency, Enforcement and
Compliance Docket and Information
Center, mail code 2822IT, 1200
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington,
DC 20460; and (2) OMB at: Office of
Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA,
725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC
20503.
ADDRESSES:
jlentini on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Learia Williams, Monitoring,
Assistance, and Media Programs
Division, Office of Compliance, Mail
Code 2223A, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone
number: (202) 564–4113; fax number:
(202) 564–0050; email address:
williams.learia@epa.gov.
EPA has
submitted the following ICR to OMB for
review and approval according to the
procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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On May 9, 2011 (76 FR 26900), EPA
sought comments on this ICR pursuant
to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA received no
comments. Any additional comments on
this ICR should be submitted to both
EPA and OMB within 30 days of this
notice.
EPA has established a public docket
for this ICR under docket ID number
EPA–HQ–OECA–2011–0210, which is
available for public viewing online at
https://www.regulations.gov, or in person
viewing at the Enforcement and
Compliance Docket in the EPA Docket
Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room
3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW.,
Washington, DC The EPA Docket Center
Public Reading Room is open from 8:30
a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
telephone number for the Reading Room
is (202) 566–1744, and the telephone
number for the Enforcement and
Compliance Docket is (202) 566–1752.
Use EPA’s electronic docket and
comment system at https://
www.regulations.gov to submit or view
public comments, access the index
listing of the contents of the docket and
to either access those documents in the
docket that are available electronically.
Once in the system, select ‘‘docket
search,’’ then key in the docket ID
number identified above. Please note
that EPA’s policy is that public
comments, whether submitted
electronically or in paper, will be made
available for public viewing at https://
www.regulations.gov as EPA receives
them and without change, unless the
comment contains copyrighted material,
Confidential Business Information (CBI),
or other information whose public
disclosure is restricted by statute. For
further information about the electronic
docket, go to www.regulations.gov.
Title: NSPS for Municipal Waste
Combustors (Renewal).
ICR Numbers: EPA ICR Number
1506.12, OMB Control Number 2060–
0210.
ICR Status: This ICR is scheduled to
expire on December 31, 2011. Under
OMB regulations, the Agency may
continue to conduct or sponsor the
collection of information while this
submission is pending at OMB.
Abstract: The New Source
Performance Standards (NSPS) for
Municipal Waste Combustors apply to
municipal waste combustors with unit
capacities greater than 225 megagrams
per day. Owners or operators of the
affected facilities must make one-timeonly notifications and reports and must
keep records of all facilities subject to
NSPS requirements. Owners or
operators are also required to maintain
records of the occurrence and duration
PO 00000
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70127
of any startup, shutdown, or
malfunction in the operation of an
affected facility, or any period during
which the monitoring system is
inoperative. The pollutants of concern
for subpart Ea are metals, municipal
waste combustor (MWC) organics, MWC
acid gases, and nitrogen oxides. In
subpart Eb, the additional pollutants of
concern are cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb),
and mercury (Hg). Subparts Ea and Eb
require owners and operators with unit
capacity above 225 megagrams per day
to notify the Agency of intent to
construct and initiate operation of a
new, modified, or reconstructed MWC.
The notification must contain
supporting information regarding unit
design capacity, the calculations used to
determine capacity, and estimated
startup dates.
Owners and operators must submit
semiannual and annual compliance
reports. In addition, facilities subject to
subpart Eb are required to keep records
of the weekly amount of carbon used for
activated carbon injection and to
calculate the estimated hourly carbon
injection rate for hours of operation as
a means of determining continuous
compliance for Hg. Annual reports of
excess emissions are required under
subpart Ea, while semiannual reports of
excess emissions are required under
subpart Eb. These notifications, reports,
and records are essential in determining
compliance and are required, in general,
of all sources subject to the standard.
Any owner or operator subject to
subpart Ea will maintain a file of these
measurements, and retain the file for at
least two years. For those facilities
subject to subpart Eb, all records are
required to be maintained at the source
for a period of five years.
Notifications are used to inform the
Agency or delegated authority when a
source becomes subject to the standard.
The reviewing authority may then
inspect the source to check if the
pollution control devices are properly
installed and operated and that the
standard is being met. Performance test
reports are needed as these are the
Agency’s records of a source’s initial
capability to comply with the emission
standards, and serve as a record of the
operating conditions under which
compliance was achieved. The
information generated by monitoring,
recordkeeping, and reporting
requirements described in this ICR is
used by the Agency to ensure that
facilities affected by the standard
continue to operate the control
equipment and achieve continuous
compliance with the regulation.
All reports are sent to the delegated
state or local authority. In the event that
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 218 (Thursday, November 10, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70125-70127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29146]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Solar Reserve LLC Quartzsite Solar Energy
Project, La Paz County, AZ (DOE/EIS--0440) and the proposed Amendment
to the Bureau of Land Management Yuma Field Office Resource Management
Plan
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, Western Area Power Administration
(Western) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have prepared a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the proposed Quartzsite Solar
Energy Project (Project), in La Paz County, Arizona, and the proposed
amendment to the Yuma Field Office (Yuma) Resource Management Plan
(RMP), and by this notice are announcing the opening of the public
comment period. Western is the lead Federal agency for purposes of
satisfying the NEPA requirements with the BLM acting as a cooperating
agency.
DATES: The public is invited to submit comments on the DEIS for the
proposed Project and the proposed RMP amendment during the public
comment period. To ensure that comments will be considered, Western or
BLM must receive written comments on the DEIS/proposed RMP amendment
within 90 days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Oral
comments will be taken at a public hearing, which will be announced at
least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or
mailings.
ADDRESSES: Written comments on the Project may be sent to Ms. Liana
Reilly, NEPA Document Manager, Western Area Power Administration, P.O.
Box 281213, Lakewood, CO 80228-8213 or
[[Page 70126]]
sent by email to QuartzsiteSolarEIS@wapa.gov. Copies of the DEIS and
proposed RMP amendment are available on the Western and BLM Project Web
sites: https://www.wapa.gov/transmission/quartzsitesolar.htm and https://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/energy/solar/quartzsite_solar_energy.html.
Copies of the document are also available at the BLM Yuma Field Office,
2555 East Gila Ridge Road, Yuma, AZ 85365 and at the BLM Arizona State
Office, One North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
Before including your address, phone number, or email address in
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment may be made
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your information from public review, we cannot guarantee that
we will be able to do so.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed
Project, the EIS and general information about Western's transmission
system, contact Ms. Liana Reilly, Western NEPA Document Manager, at
(720) 962-7253 or the address provided above. Parties wishing to be
placed on the Project mailing list for future information and to
receive copies of the document should also contact Ms. Reilly. For
general information on the DOE NEPA process, please contact Ms. Carol
M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance (GC-54),
U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC
20585, telephone (202) 586-4600 or (800) 472-2756. For information on
BLM's role with the Project or the proposed RMP Amendment, contact Mr.
Eddie Arreola, Supervisory Project Manager, (602) 417-9505, One North
Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004 or Quatzsite_solar@blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice of Intent (NOI) to Prepare an EIS
for the proposed Project in La Paz County was published in the Federal
Register on January 14, 2010 (75 FR 2133). Western and BLM held public
scoping meetings in Yuma, Arizona, on January 26, 2010, in Parker,
Arizona, on January 27, 2010 and in Quartzsite, Arizona, on January 28,
2010. The formal scoping period ended February 16, 2010. A NOI for the
proposed RMP amendment was published in the Federal Register on March
30, 2011 (76 FR 17668). Scoping meetings for the proposed RMP amendment
were held by BLM in Yuma, Arizona, on April 18, 2011, and in
Quartzsite, Arizona, on April 19, 2011. The formal scoping period for
the proposed RMP amendment closed on April 29, 2011. Comments received
during the scoping periods were considered in preparing the DEIS.
Proposed Project
The proposed Project is a 100-megawatt solar electric power plant
that would use concentrating solar power technology to capture the
sun's heat to make steam, which would power traditional steam turbine
generators. The solar generation facility would contain the central
receiver or tower, a solar field consisting of mirrors or heliostats to
reflect the sun's energy to the central tower, a conventional steam
turbine generator, insulated storage tanks for hot and cold liquid
salt, ancillary tanks, evaporation ponds, a temporary construction
laydown area, technical and non-technical buildings, transformers and a
161/230-kilovolt (kV) electrical substation, roads, and water wells.
All Project components would be located on BLM-managed land. Quartzsite
Solar Energy, LLC (QSE) has applied to Western to interconnect the
proposed Project to Western's transmission system. A new 1.5-mile long
161/230-kV generator tie-line would extend from the southern boundary
of the solar facility boundary to a new switchyard to be constructed
adjacent to Western's existing Bouse-Kofa 161-kV transmission line. The
switchyard would be on BLM-managed land and would be owned and operated
by Western.
QSE has submitted a right-of-way (ROW) application to the BLM for
the Project. The ROW application is for a total of 26,273 acres, of
which 1,675 acres would be utilized for the final Project ROW if
approved. The Project site is in an undeveloped area in La Paz County,
Arizona, east of State Route (SR) 95, approximately 10 miles north of
Quartzsite, Arizona, on lands managed by the BLM.
Agency Purpose and Need
Western's purpose and need for the Project is to respond to QSE's
interconnection request in accordance with Western's Open Access
Transmission Tariff. The BLM's purpose and need for the Project is to
respond to QSE's application for a ROW under Title V of FLPMA (43
U.S.C. 1761) to construct, operate, and decommission the solar
facility, 161/230-kV collector line and access road, and also to
respond to Western's application for a switchyard, and fiber optic line
on public lands administered by the BLM.
Proposed Agency Actions
Western's proposed action is to interconnect the proposed Project
to Western's existing Bouse-Kofa 161-kV transmission line. As part of
Western's proposed action, Western would also construct, operate and
maintain the new switchyard and would establish either a fiber optic or
microwave telecommunications point. In addition to responding to the
project ROW applications analyzed in the EIS, BLM is also considering
amending the Yuma RMP. The Yuma RMP recognizes the compatibility of
solar generation facilities on public lands, but requires that such
activities conform to designated visual resource management (VRM)
classes.
Alternatives
The DEIS analyzes two Project alternatives, a dry-cooling
technology and a hybrid cooling technology. The DEIS also analyzes the
proposed RMP amendment to change approximately 6,800 acres of VRM Class
III to VRM Class IV with a project approval, the proposed plan
amendment without project approval, and a no action alternative. For
the proposed amendment, BLM's preferred alternative is to amend the
Yuma RMP. BLM has not identified a preferred alternative for the
proposed project.
As required under NEPA, the DEIS analyzes the following no action
alternatives: Western would deny the interconnection request and the
BLM would either (1) decline to amend the Yuma RMP and deny the project
proposal; or (2) amend the Yuma RMP to change the VRM management
classification but deny the project proposal.
For purposes of NEPA compliance, Western is serving as the lead
Federal agency with BLM acting as a cooperating agency. The DEIS
analyzes site-specific impacts on air quality, biological resources,
recreation, cultural resources, water resources, geological resources
and hazards, hazardous materials handling, land use, noise,
paleontological resources, public health, socioeconomics, soils,
traffic and transportation, visual resources, waste management, and
worker safety and fire protection, as well as facility design
engineering, efficiency, reliability, transmission system engineering,
and transmission line safety and nuisance.
Western and BLM welcome public comments on the DEIS and proposed
RMP amendment.
[[Page 70127]]
Dated: October 19, 2011.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2011-29146 Filed 11-9-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P
