Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Moapa Solar Energy Center on the Moapa River Indian Reservation, Clark County NV, 46768-46769 [2012-19078]
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2012 / Notices
FEMA seeks comment on the
proposed policy, which is available
online at https://www.regulations.gov in
docket ID FEMA–2012–0025. Based on
the comments received, FEMA may
make appropriate revisions to the
proposed policy. Although FEMA will
consider any comments received in the
drafting of the final policy, FEMA will
not provide a response to comments
document. When or if FEMA issues a
final policy, FEMA will publish a notice
of availability in the Federal Register
and make the final policy available at
https://www.regulations.gov.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 5121–5207.
Dated: August 1, 2012.
David J. Kaufman,
Director, Office of Policy and Program
Analysis, Federal Emergency Management
Agency.
[FR Doc. 2012–19132 Filed 8–3–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111–23–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Moapa Solar Energy Center on the
Moapa River Indian Reservation, Clark
County NV
Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs,
in cooperation with the Moapa Band of
Paiute Indians and other Federal
agencies, intends to prepare an
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
that evaluates a solar energy generation
center on the Moapa River Indian
Reservation. This notice announces the
beginning of the scoping process to
solicit public comments and identify
potential issues related to the EIS. It also
announces that two public scoping
meetings will be held in Nevada this
summer to identify potential issues,
alternatives, and mitigation to be
considered in the EIS. ID30
DATES: Written comments on the scope
of the EIS or implementation of the
proposal must arrive by September 5,
2012. The dates of the public scoping
meetings will be published in the Las
Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal,
and Moapa Valley Progress 15 days
before the scoping meetings.
ADDRESSES: You may mail, email, or
hand carry written comments to either
Mr. Paul Schlafly, Natural Resource
Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Southern Paiute Agency, 180 North 200
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:11 Aug 03, 2012
Jkt 226001
East Suite 111, P.O. Box 720, St. George,
Utah 84770; telephone: (435) 674–9720;
email: paul.schlafly@bia.gov, or Ms.
Amy Heuslein, Regional Environmental
Protection Officer, BIA Western
Regional Office, 2600 North Central
Avenue, 4th Floor Mailroom, Phoenix,
Arizona 85004; telephone: (602) 379–
6750; email: amy.heuslein@bia.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Proposed Action consists of
constructing and operating a solar
generation energy center, consisting of a
Photovoltaic (PV), installation up to 100
Megawatts (MW), and Concentrated
Solar Power (CSP), installation up to
100 MW in size on the Moapa River
Indian Reservation in Clark County,
Nevada. The proposed solar energy
project is referred to as the Moapa Solar
Energy Center (Project).
The facility would be located on tribal
lands held in trust for the Moapa Band.
The proposed transmission line
interconnection and access road
corridor associated with the project will
be located on Federal lands
administered and managed by BLM.
The project would:
• Help to provide a long-term,
diverse, and viable economic revenue
base and job opportunities for the
Moapa Band while
• Help Nevada and neighboring states
to meet their State renewable energy
needs. The Project would
• Allow the Moapa Band, in
partnership with the developer, to
optimize the use of the lease site while
maximizing the potential economic
benefit to the Tribe.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs will
prepare the EIS in cooperation with the
Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), and Nellis Air Force Base. The
EIS will provide a framework for BIA
and BLM to make determinations and
take Federal actions. The Federal action
for BIA would be to approve or deny a
lease and any associated rights-of-way
(ROW) on tribal lands for the proposed
solar facility and for BLM to grant, grant
with modifications or deny the ROW
application for a proposed transmission
line and access road. EPA and Nellis Air
Force Base may adopt the
documentation to make decisions under
their authority and the Moapa Band may
also use the EIS to make decisions
under their Tribal Environmental Policy
Ordinance. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service will review the document for
consistency with the Endangered
Species Act, as amended, and other
implementing acts.
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Sfmt 4703
The goals of this EIS are to:
(1) Provide agency decision makers,
the Moapa Band, and the general public
with a comprehensive understanding of
the impacts of the proposed solar energy
center development project and
alternatives on the Reservation;
(2) Describe the cumulative impacts of
increased development on the
Reservation; and
(3) Identify and propose mitigation
measures that would minimize or
prevent significant adverse impacts.
This EIS will analyze the proposed
project and appurtenant features, viable
alternatives including other
interconnection options, and the No
Action alternative. Other alternatives
may be identified in response to issues
raised during the scoping process.
The Project would be located in
Township 16 South, Range 64 East,
Sections 30 and 31 Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada. For the purposes of
this EIS, the ‘‘Analysis Area’’ will
include approximately 1,000 acres of
land entirely located on the Reservation
and the corridors for the transmission
interconnection and access road located
on Federal land managed by BLM.
The project would be fenced and
contain up to two components. One
would consist of the construction and
operation of up to a 100 MW PV solar
plant and associated facilities on 500
acres. The PV project would include up
to 175,000 crystalline PV panels, a
single-axis tracking system, inverters,
and an operation and maintenance
building. Construction of the PV
component is expected to take up to 12
months and is expected to have a
project life of 25 years.
The second component would be
located on an adjacent 500 acre parcel
and be a CSP installation using either:
• eSolar’s state-of-the-art CSP plant
technology—the basic building block of
eSolar’s CSP technology consists of
twenty-four 250-foot tall tower/receiver
combinations situated between north
and south-facing subfields of heliostat
mirrors. The heliostats are mounted on
an above-ground frame, elevated
approximately three feet from ground
level to minimize dust collection and
allow for easy access for maintenance.
This module (the tower/receiver and
associated heliostat mirrors) is repeated
as needed to provide the full output of
the CSP power plant design. The
focused solar heat boils water within the
thermal receiver and produces steam.
The steam from each thermal receiver is
aggregated and sent to a steam turbine
that generates electricity. The steam
then reverts back to water through
cooling and is routed back to the tower/
receivers where the process repeats.
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 151 / Monday, August 6, 2012 / Notices
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
• AREVA Solar’s Compact Linear
Fresnel Reflector—AREVA Solar’s core
technology, Compact Linear Fresnel
Reflector, uses modular flat reflectors to
focus the sun’s heat onto elevated
receivers with a height of approximately
80 feet which consist of a system of
tubes through which water flows. The
concentrated sunlight boils the water in
the tubes, generating high-pressure
superheated steam for direct use in
power generation without the need for
heat exchangers.
The CSP solar field generates steam
and energy when sun light is present.
The water supply required for the
project would be leased from the Moapa
Band. Other major parts of the CSP
project would include an operation and
maintenance facility building along
with cooling towers and evaporation
ponds. The CSP project is expected to
take 24 months to construct and
expected to operate for approximately
25 to 30 years.
A single overhead 230 kilovolt (kV)
transmission line would connect the
solar energy center to the nearby Harry
Allen 230 kV Substation approximately
six miles from the site. An additional
interconnection line could be
constructed to the Crystal Substation
located approximately one mile east of
project boundary. An access road would
be constructed to the project site to
provide access from Interstate-15 (I–15).
This new road would be constructed
between the site and the frontage road
on the west side of I–15 for
approximately 2.5 miles.
Submission of Public Comments
Please include your name, return
address, and the caption ‘‘EIS, Moapa
Solar Energy Center Project,’’ on the first
page of any written comments. You may
also submit comments at the public
scoping meetings.
The public scoping meetings will be
held to further describe the Project and
identify potential issues and alternatives
to be considered in the EIS. The first
public scoping meeting will be held on
the Reservation and the other public
scoping meeting will be held in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The dates of the public
scoping meetings will be included in
notices to be posted in the Las Vegas
Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and
Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before
the meetings.
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the
mailing address shown in the
ADDRESSES section during regular
business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
VerDate Mar<15>2010
17:11 Aug 03, 2012
Jkt 226001
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.
Authority
This notice is published in
accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 of the
Council of Environmental Quality
regulations and 43 CFR 46.235 of the
Department of the Interior Regulations
implementing the procedural
requirements of the NEPA (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), and in accordance with
the exercise of authority delegated to the
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary—
Indian Affairs by part 209 of the
Department Manual.
Dated: July 26, 2012.
Donald E. Laverdue,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012–19078 Filed 8–3–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[LLAK910000 L13100000.DB0000
LXSINSSI0000]
Notice of Public Meeting, North Slope
Science Initiative—Science Technical
Advisory Panel
Bureau of Land Management,
Alaska State Office, North Slope Science
Initiative, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the
Federal Land Policy and Management
Act (FLPMA) and the Federal Advisory
Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), the U.S.
Department of the Interior, North Slope
Science Initiative (NSSI)—Science
Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) will
meet as indicated below.
DATES: The meeting will be held
September 18–20, 2012, in Fairbanks,
Alaska. The meetings will begin at 9
a.m. in Room 401, International Arctic
Research Center (IARC), 930 Koyukuk
Drive, University of Alaska Fairbanks
campus, Fairbanks, Alaska. Public
comment will be accepted between 3
and 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18,
2012.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
F. Payne, Executive Director, North
Slope Science Initiative, AK–910, c/o
Bureau of Land Management, 222 W.
Seventh Avenue, #13, Anchorage, AK
99513, (907) 271–3431 or email
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00089
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
46769
jpayne.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.
The NSSI
STAP provides advice and
recommendations to the NSSI Oversight
Group regarding priority information
needs for management decisions across
the North Slope of Alaska. These
priority information needs may include
recommendations on inventory,
monitoring, and research activities that
contribute to informed resource
management decisions. This meeting
will include continued dialog for
scenario planning for the North Slope
and adjacent marine environments.
Additionally, the STAP will continue
with designing a long-term monitoring
strategy for the North Slope.
All meetings are open to the public.
The public may present written
comments to the Science Technical
Advisory Panel through the Executive
Director, North Slope Science Initiative.
Each formal meeting will also have time
allotted for hearing public comments.
Depending on the number of persons
wishing to comment and time available,
the time for individual oral comments
may be limited. Individuals who plan to
attend and need special assistance, such
as sign language interpretation,
transportation, or other reasonable
accommodations, should contact the
Executive Director, North Slope Science
Initiative. 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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: July 30, 2012.
Bud C. Cribley,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2012–19096 Filed 8–3–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1310–JA–P
E:\FR\FM\06AUN1.SGM
06AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46768-46769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19078]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for
the Moapa Solar Energy Center on the Moapa River Indian Reservation,
Clark County NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in cooperation with the Moapa
Band of Paiute Indians and other Federal agencies, intends to prepare
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates a solar energy
generation center on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. This notice
announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public
comments and identify potential issues related to the EIS. It also
announces that two public scoping meetings will be held in Nevada this
summer to identify potential issues, alternatives, and mitigation to be
considered in the EIS. ID30
DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS or implementation of
the proposal must arrive by September 5, 2012. The dates of the public
scoping meetings will be published in the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas
Review-Journal, and Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before the scoping
meetings.
ADDRESSES: You may mail, email, or hand carry written comments to
either Mr. Paul Schlafly, Natural Resource Specialist, Bureau of Indian
Affairs, Southern Paiute Agency, 180 North 200 East Suite 111, P.O. Box
720, St. George, Utah 84770; telephone: (435) 674-9720; email:
paul.schlafly@bia.gov, or Ms. Amy Heuslein, Regional Environmental
Protection Officer, BIA Western Regional Office, 2600 North Central
Avenue, 4th Floor Mailroom, Phoenix, Arizona 85004; telephone: (602)
379-6750; email: amy.heuslein@bia.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action consists of constructing
and operating a solar generation energy center, consisting of a
Photovoltaic (PV), installation up to 100 Megawatts (MW), and
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), installation up to 100 MW in size on
the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada. The
proposed solar energy project is referred to as the Moapa Solar Energy
Center (Project).
The facility would be located on tribal lands held in trust for the
Moapa Band. The proposed transmission line interconnection and access
road corridor associated with the project will be located on Federal
lands administered and managed by BLM.
The project would:
Help to provide a long-term, diverse, and viable economic
revenue base and job opportunities for the Moapa Band while
Help Nevada and neighboring states to meet their State
renewable energy needs. The Project would
Allow the Moapa Band, in partnership with the developer,
to optimize the use of the lease site while maximizing the potential
economic benefit to the Tribe.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs will prepare the EIS in cooperation
with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and Nellis Air Force Base. The EIS will provide a
framework for BIA and BLM to make determinations and take Federal
actions. The Federal action for BIA would be to approve or deny a lease
and any associated rights-of-way (ROW) on tribal lands for the proposed
solar facility and for BLM to grant, grant with modifications or deny
the ROW application for a proposed transmission line and access road.
EPA and Nellis Air Force Base may adopt the documentation to make
decisions under their authority and the Moapa Band may also use the EIS
to make decisions under their Tribal Environmental Policy Ordinance.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will review the document for
consistency with the Endangered Species Act, as amended, and other
implementing acts.
The goals of this EIS are to:
(1) Provide agency decision makers, the Moapa Band, and the general
public with a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of the
proposed solar energy center development project and alternatives on
the Reservation;
(2) Describe the cumulative impacts of increased development on the
Reservation; and
(3) Identify and propose mitigation measures that would minimize or
prevent significant adverse impacts.
This EIS will analyze the proposed project and appurtenant
features, viable alternatives including other interconnection options,
and the No Action alternative. Other alternatives may be identified in
response to issues raised during the scoping process.
The Project would be located in Township 16 South, Range 64 East,
Sections 30 and 31 Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada. For the purposes of
this EIS, the ``Analysis Area'' will include approximately 1,000 acres
of land entirely located on the Reservation and the corridors for the
transmission interconnection and access road located on Federal land
managed by BLM.
The project would be fenced and contain up to two components. One
would consist of the construction and operation of up to a 100 MW PV
solar plant and associated facilities on 500 acres. The PV project
would include up to 175,000 crystalline PV panels, a single-axis
tracking system, inverters, and an operation and maintenance building.
Construction of the PV component is expected to take up to 12 months
and is expected to have a project life of 25 years.
The second component would be located on an adjacent 500 acre
parcel and be a CSP installation using either:
eSolar's state-of-the-art CSP plant technology--the basic
building block of eSolar's CSP technology consists of twenty-four 250-
foot tall tower/receiver combinations situated between north and south-
facing subfields of heliostat mirrors. The heliostats are mounted on an
above-ground frame, elevated approximately three feet from ground level
to minimize dust collection and allow for easy access for maintenance.
This module (the tower/receiver and associated heliostat mirrors) is
repeated as needed to provide the full output of the CSP power plant
design. The focused solar heat boils water within the thermal receiver
and produces steam. The steam from each thermal receiver is aggregated
and sent to a steam turbine that generates electricity. The steam then
reverts back to water through cooling and is routed back to the tower/
receivers where the process repeats.
[[Page 46769]]
AREVA Solar's Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector--AREVA
Solar's core technology, Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector, uses modular
flat reflectors to focus the sun's heat onto elevated receivers with a
height of approximately 80 feet which consist of a system of tubes
through which water flows. The concentrated sunlight boils the water in
the tubes, generating high-pressure superheated steam for direct use in
power generation without the need for heat exchangers.
The CSP solar field generates steam and energy when sun light is
present. The water supply required for the project would be leased from
the Moapa Band. Other major parts of the CSP project would include an
operation and maintenance facility building along with cooling towers
and evaporation ponds. The CSP project is expected to take 24 months to
construct and expected to operate for approximately 25 to 30 years.
A single overhead 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line would connect
the solar energy center to the nearby Harry Allen 230 kV Substation
approximately six miles from the site. An additional interconnection
line could be constructed to the Crystal Substation located
approximately one mile east of project boundary. An access road would
be constructed to the project site to provide access from Interstate-15
(I-15). This new road would be constructed between the site and the
frontage road on the west side of I-15 for approximately 2.5 miles.
Submission of Public Comments
Please include your name, return address, and the caption ``EIS,
Moapa Solar Energy Center Project,'' on the first page of any written
comments. You may also submit comments at the public scoping meetings.
The public scoping meetings will be held to further describe the
Project and identify potential issues and alternatives to be considered
in the EIS. The first public scoping meeting will be held on the
Reservation and the other public scoping meeting will be held in Las
Vegas, Nevada. The dates of the public scoping meetings will be
included in notices to be posted in the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas
Review-Journal, and Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before the meetings.
Public Comment Availability
Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the
ADDRESSES section during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 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.
Authority
This notice is published in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 of the
Council of Environmental Quality regulations and 43 CFR 46.235 of the
Department of the Interior Regulations implementing the procedural
requirements of the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and in accordance
with the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by part 209 of the Department
Manual.
Dated: July 26, 2012.
Donald E. Laverdue,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012-19078 Filed 8-3-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P
