Notice of Availability of the Draft enXco Desert Harvest Solar Farm Project Environmental Impact Statement, Riverside County, CA and the Draft California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment, 23275-23276 [2012-9338]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 18, 2012 / Notices
Applicant: U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, Ecological Services Field
Office, Twin Cities, MN.
The applicant requests a permit
amendment to add snuffbox,
spectaclecase, and sheepnose mussels to
existing Fish and Wildlife Permit
Number TE206778. Proposed activities
would occur within Minnesota and
Wisconsin for the enhancement of
propagation and survival of the species
in the wild.
Permit Application Number: TE71834A.
Applicant: Robert J. Welch, Waupaca
Biological Field Station, Waupaca,
WI.
The applicant requests a permit to
take (capture and release) snuffbox
mussels within Wisconsin for the
enhancement of survival of the species
in the wild.
Permit Application Number: TE02360A.
Applicant: Sydney Morgan, Charleston,
WV.
The applicant requests a permit
renewal to take (capture and release)
Indiana bats, gray bats, and Virginia bigeared bats throughout the States of
Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut,
Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi,
Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and
Wisconsin. Proposed activities are for
the enhancement of survival of the
species in the wild.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Public Comments
We seek public review and comments
on these permit applications. Please
refer to the permit number when you
submit comments. Comments and
materials we receive are available for
public inspection, by appointment,
during normal business hours at the
address shown in the ADDRESSES
section. Before including your address,
phone number, email 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.
Dated: April 12, 2012.
Sean Marsan,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological
Services, Region 3.
[FR Doc. 2012–9391 Filed 4–17–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD06000 L51010000.FX0000
LVRWB09B3350 CACA49491]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
enXco Desert Harvest Solar Farm
Project Environmental Impact
Statement, Riverside County, CA and
the Draft 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 Draft Environmental Impact
Statement (Draft EIS) for the enXco
Desert Harvest Solar Farm Project and
draft California Desert Conservation
Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment, and by
this notice is announcing the opening of
the comment period on the Draft EIS
and Draft CDCA Plan Amendment.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be
considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS and
Draft CDCA Plan Amendment within 90
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 releases,
and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
related to the enXco Desert Harvest
Solar Farm Project and CDCA Plan
Amendment by any of the following
methods:
• Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/
en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/
Desert_Harvest_Solar_Project.html.
• Email: cadesertharvest@blm.gov.
• Fax: (951) 697–5299.
• Mail: Lynnette Elser, BLM,
California Desert District Office, 22835
Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno
Valley, California 92553.
Copies of the enXco Desert Harvest
Solar Farm Project Draft EIS and Draft
CDCA Plan Amendment are available in
the BLM California Desert District Office
at the above address and at the BLM
Palm Springs Field Office, 1201 Bird
Center Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lynnette Elser, Project Manager;
telephone (951) 697–5233; address
SUMMARY:
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23275
BLM, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los
Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553; email
cadesertharvest@blm.gov. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339 to contact the above
individual during normal business
hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, to leave a message
or question for the above referred
individual. You will receive a reply
during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
applicant, enXco, has requested a rightof-way (ROW) authorization to
construct, operate, maintain, and
decommission a solar photovoltaic (PV)
generating facility with a proposed
output of 150 megawatts (mw) and a
facility footprint of approximately 1,280
acres. The proposed project would be
located on BLM-administered lands in
Riverside County, California, about 6
miles north of the rural community of
Desert Center, California. The overall
site layout and generalized land uses
could include a substation, an
administration building, operations and
maintenance facilities, a transmission
line, and temporary construction lay
down areas. The project’s 230-kilovolt
(kV) generation interconnection
transmission line would either be
located on the previously approved First
Solar Desert Sunlight project’s 230-kV
gen-tie (as a shared facility), or would be
located on a combination of private and
BLM-administered lands and would
utilize a planned 230- to 500-kV
substation (referred to as the Red Bluff
Substation). The Red Bluff Substation
would connect the project to Southern
California Edison regional transmission
grid. If the project is approved,
construction would begin in late 2013
and would take 9–12 months to
complete.
The BLM’s purpose and need for the
Desert Harvest Project is to respond to
enXco’s application under Title V of
FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) for a ROW
grant to construct, operate, and
decommission a solar PV facility on
public lands in compliance with
FLPMA, NEPA, BLM ROW and land use
planning regulations, and other
applicable laws and regulations. The
BLM will decide whether to approve,
approve with modification, or deny a
ROW to enXco for the proposed Desert
Harvest project. Concurrently with its
action on the ROW request, the BLM is
also proposing to amend the CDCA Plan
to make the project area (or portions of
the project area) either available or
unavailable for future solar
development. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
23276
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 75 / Wednesday, April 18, 2012 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
amended), while recognizing the
potential compatibility of solar
generation facilities with other uses on
public lands, requires that all sites
proposed for power generation or
transmission not already identified in
the CDCA Plan be considered through
the plan amendment process. If the BLM
decides to grant a ROW, the BLM would
amend the CDCA Plan as required based
on guidance in the BLM Land Use
Planning Handbook (H–1601–1).
The Draft EIS Analyzes 12 Alternatives
Four no action/no development
alternatives (Alternative 1: No Action
(No Plan Amendment), Alternative 2:
No Project Alternative (with Plan
Amendment to Find the Site Suitable
for Solar), Alternative 3: No Project
Alternative (with Plan Amendment to
Find the Site Unsuitable for Solar),
Alternative A: No Gen-Tie),
Four generation plan development
alternatives (Alternative 4: Proposed
Solar Project, Alternative 5: Solar
Project Excluding WHMA, Alternative
6: Reduced Footprint Solar Project
Alternative 7: High-Profile Reduced
Footprint Solar Project), and
Four transmission line alternatives
(Alternative B: Proposed Gen-Tie
(Shared Towers), Alternative C:
Separate Transmission Towers within
Same ROW, Alternative D: Cross-Valley
Alignment, Alternative E: New CrossValley Alignment). The BLM has
identified Alternative 7 as the preferred
alternative for the generation plant, and
Alternative B as the preferred
alternative for the transmission line.
The Draft EIS analyzes the direct,
indirect, and cumulative impacts of the
Proposed Action and alternatives to the
affected resources identified by the BLM
and the public during project scoping.
The BLM published a Notice of Intent
(NOI) to prepare an EIS on September
15, 2011, in the Federal Register
Volume 76, Number 179. Publication of
the NOI began a 30-day scoping period,
which ended on October 17, 2011. The
BLM provided a Web site with project
information that also described the
various methods of providing public
comment on the project, including an
email address for the BLM to receive
scoping comments electronically.
Notifications for public scoping
meetings were posted on the BLM’s Web
site. Additionally, notices were sent to
all landowners within 300 feet of the
project boundary and to other interested
parties during the week of September
19, 2011.
Public Scoping Meetings were held on
October 3, 2011, at the University of
Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center
and at the Lake Tamarisk Clubhouse. An
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16:25 Apr 17, 2012
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additional public scoping meeting was
held on October 6, 2011, at the Joshua
Tree Community Center. Attendees
were documented through a voluntary
sign-in sheet, and included 6 attendees
at the University of Riverside Palm
Desert Graduate Center along with
KMIR TV; 30 attendees at the Lake
Tamarisk Clubhouse; and 7 attendees at
the Joshua Tree Community Center. A
court reporter documented the
questions and public comments made at
the three scoping meetings.
Attendees included residents from
Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk,
federal and state agency representatives,
nearby business owners, Tribes,
Chamber of Commerce members, and an
environmental group representative.
Twelve comment letters were
received within the scoping period.
Comments received at the public
meetings and through the submitted
letters identified the following issues
and concerns to be considered when
developing the EIS: the BLM’s purpose
and need, monitoring,
decommissioning, public participation,
biological resources, climate change, air
resources, fire and fuels management,
lands and realty, recreation, social and
economic resources, environmental
justice, water resources, solid and
hazardous wastes, visual resources,
cumulative impacts, and alternatives
development.
The BLM considered these comments
in developing the Draft EIS and Draft
CDCA Plan Amendment.
The BLM used an updated inventory
of wilderness characteristics to
determine that none of the project area
has wilderness characteristics. This
information was used in the preparation
of the Draft EIS and Draft CDCA Plan
Amendment.
Please note that public comments and
information submitted including names,
street addresses, and email 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, email 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.
PO 00000
Frm 00056
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 506.10, and 43
CFR 1610.2
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012–9338 Filed 4–13–12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310–40–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK920000–L14100000–BJ0000]
Notice of Filing of Plats of Survey;
Alaska
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of filing of plat of survey.
AGENCY:
The plat and field notes
representing the dependent resurvey of
U.S. Survey No. 4385, Alaska, has been
accepted by the Chief Cadastral
Surveyor for Alaska. This notice
provides an opportunity for the public
to comment on the proposed action.
This survey is located along Mentasta
Lake Road, approximately 11⁄2 miles
northeasterly of the village of Mentasta,
within Tps. 13 and 14 N., R. 3 E.,
Copper River Meridian, Alaska.
DATES: The plat of survey described
above is scheduled to be officially filed
in the Alaska State Office, Bureau of
Land Management, Anchorage, Alaska,
May 18, 2012. Protests of the survey
must be filed before May 18, 2012 to be
considered.
ADDRESSES: Bureau of Land
Management, Alaska State Office; 222
W. 7th Ave., Stop 13; Anchorage, AK
99513–7599.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michael H. Schoder, Chief Cadastral
Surveyor, Division of Cadastral Survey,
BLM–Alaska State Office; 222 W. 7th
Ave., Stop 13; Anchorage, AK 99513–
7599; Tel: 907–271–5481; fax: 907–271–
4549; email: mschoder@blm.gov.
Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information
Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339
to contact the above individual during
normal business hours. The FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, to leave a message or question
with the above individual. You will
receive a reply during normal business
hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
survey plat and field notes will be
available for inspection in the Public
Information Center, Alaska State Office,
Bureau of Land Management, 222 West
7th Avenue, Anchorage, Alaska 99513–
7599; telephone (907) 271–5960. Copies
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\18APN1.SGM
18APN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23275-23276]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-9338]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLCAD06000 L51010000.FX0000 LVRWB09B3350 CACA49491]
Notice of Availability of the Draft enXco Desert Harvest Solar
Farm Project Environmental Impact Statement, Riverside County, CA and
the Draft California Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of Availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) for the
enXco Desert Harvest Solar Farm Project and draft California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment, and by this notice is
announcing the opening of the comment period on the Draft EIS and Draft
CDCA Plan Amendment.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the Draft EIS and Draft CDCA Plan Amendment within
90 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 releases, and/or mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the enXco Desert Harvest
Solar Farm Project and CDCA Plan Amendment by any of the following
methods:
Web site: https://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/Desert_Harvest_Solar_Project.html.
Email: cadesertharvest@blm.gov.
Fax: (951) 697-5299.
Mail: Lynnette Elser, BLM, California Desert District
Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, California
92553.
Copies of the enXco Desert Harvest Solar Farm Project Draft EIS and
Draft CDCA Plan Amendment are available in the BLM California Desert
District Office at the above address and at the BLM Palm Springs Field
Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive Palm Springs, CA 92262.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynnette Elser, Project Manager;
telephone (951) 697-5233; address BLM, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los
Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553; email cadesertharvest@blm.gov. Persons
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact
the above individual during normal business hours. The FIRS is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to leave a message or question
for the above referred individual. You will receive a reply during
normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, enXco, has requested a right-
of-way (ROW) authorization to construct, operate, maintain, and
decommission a solar photovoltaic (PV) generating facility with a
proposed output of 150 megawatts (mw) and a facility footprint of
approximately 1,280 acres. The proposed project would be located on
BLM-administered lands in Riverside County, California, about 6 miles
north of the rural community of Desert Center, California. The overall
site layout and generalized land uses could include a substation, an
administration building, operations and maintenance facilities, a
transmission line, and temporary construction lay down areas. The
project's 230-kilovolt (kV) generation interconnection transmission
line would either be located on the previously approved First Solar
Desert Sunlight project's 230-kV gen-tie (as a shared facility), or
would be located on a combination of private and BLM-administered lands
and would utilize a planned 230- to 500-kV substation (referred to as
the Red Bluff Substation). The Red Bluff Substation would connect the
project to Southern California Edison regional transmission grid. If
the project is approved, construction would begin in late 2013 and
would take 9-12 months to complete.
The BLM's purpose and need for the Desert Harvest Project is to
respond to enXco's application under Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761)
for a ROW grant to construct, operate, and decommission a solar PV
facility on public lands in compliance with FLPMA, NEPA, BLM ROW and
land use planning regulations, and other applicable laws and
regulations. The BLM will decide whether to approve, approve with
modification, or deny a ROW to enXco for the proposed Desert Harvest
project. Concurrently with its action on the ROW request, the BLM is
also proposing to amend the CDCA Plan to make the project area (or
portions of the project area) either available or unavailable for
future solar development. The CDCA Plan (1980, as
[[Page 23276]]
amended), while recognizing the potential compatibility of solar
generation facilities with other uses on public lands, requires that
all sites proposed for power generation or transmission not already
identified in the CDCA Plan be considered through the plan amendment
process. If the BLM decides to grant a ROW, the BLM would amend the
CDCA Plan as required based on guidance in the BLM Land Use Planning
Handbook (H-1601-1).
The Draft EIS Analyzes 12 Alternatives
Four no action/no development alternatives (Alternative 1: No
Action (No Plan Amendment), Alternative 2: No Project Alternative (with
Plan Amendment to Find the Site Suitable for Solar), Alternative 3: No
Project Alternative (with Plan Amendment to Find the Site Unsuitable
for Solar), Alternative A: No Gen-Tie),
Four generation plan development alternatives (Alternative 4:
Proposed Solar Project, Alternative 5: Solar Project Excluding WHMA,
Alternative 6: Reduced Footprint Solar Project Alternative 7: High-
Profile Reduced Footprint Solar Project), and
Four transmission line alternatives (Alternative B: Proposed Gen-
Tie (Shared Towers), Alternative C: Separate Transmission Towers within
Same ROW, Alternative D: Cross-Valley Alignment, Alternative E: New
Cross-Valley Alignment). The BLM has identified Alternative 7 as the
preferred alternative for the generation plant, and Alternative B as
the preferred alternative for the transmission line.
The Draft EIS analyzes the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts
of the Proposed Action and alternatives to the affected resources
identified by the BLM and the public during project scoping.
The BLM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an EIS on
September 15, 2011, in the Federal Register Volume 76, Number 179.
Publication of the NOI began a 30-day scoping period, which ended on
October 17, 2011. The BLM provided a Web site with project information
that also described the various methods of providing public comment on
the project, including an email address for the BLM to receive scoping
comments electronically.
Notifications for public scoping meetings were posted on the BLM's
Web site. Additionally, notices were sent to all landowners within 300
feet of the project boundary and to other interested parties during the
week of September 19, 2011.
Public Scoping Meetings were held on October 3, 2011, at the
University of Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center and at the Lake
Tamarisk Clubhouse. An additional public scoping meeting was held on
October 6, 2011, at the Joshua Tree Community Center. Attendees were
documented through a voluntary sign-in sheet, and included 6 attendees
at the University of Riverside Palm Desert Graduate Center along with
KMIR TV; 30 attendees at the Lake Tamarisk Clubhouse; and 7 attendees
at the Joshua Tree Community Center. A court reporter documented the
questions and public comments made at the three scoping meetings.
Attendees included residents from Desert Center and Lake Tamarisk,
federal and state agency representatives, nearby business owners,
Tribes, Chamber of Commerce members, and an environmental group
representative.
Twelve comment letters were received within the scoping period.
Comments received at the public meetings and through the submitted
letters identified the following issues and concerns to be considered
when developing the EIS: the BLM's purpose and need, monitoring,
decommissioning, public participation, biological resources, climate
change, air resources, fire and fuels management, lands and realty,
recreation, social and economic resources, environmental justice, water
resources, solid and hazardous wastes, visual resources, cumulative
impacts, and alternatives development.
The BLM considered these comments in developing the Draft EIS and
Draft CDCA Plan Amendment.
The BLM used an updated inventory of wilderness characteristics to
determine that none of the project area has wilderness characteristics.
This information was used in the preparation of the Draft EIS and Draft
CDCA Plan Amendment.
Please note that public comments and information submitted
including names, street addresses, and email 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, email 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, 506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012-9338 Filed 4-13-12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P
