Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, Clark County, NV, 74865-74866 [2012-30537]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 18, 2012 / Notices 74865 PUBLIC INPUT If you wish to You must contact the Council Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) no later than Attend the meeting ....................................................................................................................................................................... Submit written information or questions before the meeting for the council to consider during the meeting ............................. Give an oral presentation during the meeting ............................................................................................................................. January 25, 2013. January 25, 2013. January 25, 2013. Attendance Because entry to Federal buildings is restricted, all visitors are required to preregister to be admitted. In order to attend this meeting, you must register by close of business on the dates listed in ‘‘Public Input’’ under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION. Please submit your name, time of arrival, email address, and phone number to the Council Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with Submitting Written Information or Questions Interested members of the public may submit relevant information or questions for the Council to consider during the public meeting. Written statements must be received by the date above, so that the information may be made available to the Council for their consideration prior to this meeting. Written statements must be supplied to the Council Coordinator in both of the following formats: One hard copy with original signature, and one electronic copy via email (acceptable file formats are Adobe Acrobat PDF, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, or rich text file). Giving an Oral Presentation Individuals or groups requesting to make an oral presentation at the meeting will be limited to 2 minutes per speaker, with no more than a total of 30 minutes for all speakers. Interested parties should contact the Council Coordinator, in writing (preferably via email; see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT), to be placed on the public speaker list for this meeting. Nonregistered public speakers will not be considered during the meeting. Registered speakers who wish to expand upon their oral statements, or those who had wished to speak but could not be accommodated on the agenda, may submit written statements to the Council Coordinator up to 30 days subsequent to the meeting. Meeting Minutes Summary minutes of the conference will be maintained by the Council Coordinator (see FOR FURTHER VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:29 Dec 17, 2012 Jkt 229001 INFORMATION CONTACT) and will be available for public inspection within 90 days of the meeting and will be posted on the Council’s Web site at https://www.fws.gov/whhcc. Stephen Guertin, Deputy Director. [FR Doc. 2012–30384 Filed 12–17–12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310–55–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [LLNVSO3100 L51010000 ER0000 LVRWF12F8740.241A; 13–08807; MO# 450004530; TAS: 14X5017] Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, Clark County, NV 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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Searchlight Wind Energy Project and by this notice is announcing its availability. DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice in the Federal Register. SUMMARY: Printed or electronic copies of the Final EIS are available on request from the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130, phone 702–515–5173, or email to: BLM_NV_SNDO_Search lightWindEnergyEIS@blm.gov. Interested persons may also review the Final EIS on the Internet at https://www. blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/ energy/searchlight_wind_energy.html. ADDRESSES: PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Copies of the Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM Southern Nevada District Office. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Helseth, Renewable Energy Project Manager, telephone 702–515– 5173; address 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; email ghelseth@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 with the above individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Searchlight Wind Energy, LLC (SWE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Duke Energy, applied to the BLM for a rightof-way (ROW) grant on public lands to develop a 200-megawatt (MW) wind energy facility. The ROW application area encompasses approximately 18,790 acres of BLM-administered public lands adjacent to Searchlight, Nevada, about 60 miles southeast of Las Vegas, in Clark County, Nevada. In connection with the SWE proposal, the Western Area Power Administration (Western) has submitted a ROW application to the BLM for construction and operation of an electrical interconnection facility/ switchyard adjacent to the existing Davis-Mead transmission line. The Western application is also analyzed as part of the EIS. The proposed project is in conformance with the 1998 Las Vegas Resource Management Plan and Record of Decision. The proposed wind turbines located on the SWE project would be up to 262feet tall from the ground to the hub with blades extending an additional 153 feet, for a total turbine height of up to 415 feet. In addition to the wind turbines, the proposed project would require the construction of pad mounted transformers at the base of each turbine, underground collection lines, new access roads, two electrical substations, an overhead transmission line E:\FR\FM\18DEN1.SGM 18DEN1 emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with 74866 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 18, 2012 / Notices connecting the two substations, an electrical interconnection facility/ switchyard owned and operated by Western, an operations and maintenance building, and temporary and long-term laydown areas. Three meteorological towers would remain on the site to measure the wind speed and direction across the site over the life of the project. The applicant (SWE) has requested to interconnect its proposed project to the electrical transmission grid via Western’s Davis-Mead 230-kilovolt transmission line. Western, a Federal agency, is participating in the EIS process as a cooperating agency and may use the EIS to support its decision to approve or deny the SWE interconnection request. Three alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS—a 96 wind turbine layout, an 87 wind turbine layout, and a no-action alternative. The 87 wind turbine alternative is the BLM’s preferred alternative. In identifying the preferred alternative, the BLM considered all information that has been received consistent with its environmental review and ROW permitting responsibilities. The Final EIS describes and analyzes the project’s site-specific impacts on air quality, biological resources, cultural resources, environmental justice, geological resources, health and human safety, hazardous materials, lands and realty, noise, noxious weeds, paleontological resources, recreation, socioeconomic resources, transportation, visual resources and water resources. On January 20, 2012, the BLM published the Notice of Availability for the Draft EIS for this proposal in the Federal Register (77 FR 2999). The BLM accepted public comments at three public meetings in Searchlight, Laughlin, and Boulder City, Nevada and by email, mail, and fax during a 90-day comment period. Seventy nine comment submissions were received from individuals, organizations, and agencies. Comments primarily pertained to the NEPA process, project alternatives, project description, project need, air quality, biological resources (desert tortoise, birds, and plants), cultural resources, cumulative impacts, geology, health and human safety, land use, noise, mitigation measures, recreation, transportation, socioeconomics, visual resources, and water. The BLM also received statements in support of, or opposition to, the proposal. Comments on the Draft EIS received from the public and internal BLM review were considered and addressed as appropriate in the Final EIS. Public VerDate Mar<15>2010 15:29 Dec 17, 2012 Jkt 229001 comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did not significantly change the proposed alternatives. Vanessa Hice, Assistant Field Manager, Division of Lands. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10. [FR Doc. 2012–30537 Filed 12–14–12; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 4310–HC–P DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR National Park Service [NPS–WASO–NAGPRA–11793; 2200–1100– 665] Notice of Intent To Repatriate Cultural Items: New York State Museum, Albany, NY AGENCY: ACTION: National Park Service, Interior. Notice. The New York State Museum, in consultation with the appropriate Indian tribe, has determined that the cultural items meet the definition of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony and repatriation to the Indian tribe stated below may occur if no additional claimants come forward. Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes itself to be culturally affiliated with the cultural items may contact the New York State Museum. SUMMARY: Representatives of any Indian tribe that believes it has a cultural affiliation with the cultural items should contact the New York State Museum at the address below by January 17, 2013. DATES: Lisa Anderson, NAGPRA Coordinator, New York State Museum, 3122 Cultural Education Center, Albany, NY 12230, telephone (518) 486–2020. ADDRESSES: Notice is hereby given in accordance with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), 25 U.S.C. 3005, of the intent to repatriate cultural items in the possession of the New York State Museum that meet the definition of sacred objects and objects of cultural patrimony under 25 U.S.C. 3001. This notice is published as part of the National Park Service’s administrative responsibilities under NAGPRA, 25 U.S.C. 3003(d)(3). The determinations in this notice are the sole responsibility of the museum, institution, or Federal agency that has control of the Native American cultural items. The National Park Service is not responsible for the determinations in this notice. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PO 00000 Frm 00043 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 History and Description of the Cultural Items The cultural items are eight wampum belts. Seven of the wampum belts are on loan to the Seneca National Museum in Salamanca, NY, and one wampum belt is housed at the New York State Museum in Albany, NY. The Five Nations Alliance Belt, also known as the Mary Jamison Belt, is composed of seven rows of dark purple beads with three open white diamonds. The belt measures 161⁄4 inches long and two inches wide. It is a portion of an original belt that measured two feet long and contained five diamonds representing the Five Iroquois Nations. The New York State Museum acquired the wampum belt in 1899 from Harriet Maxwell Converse (E–37424). Museum records indicate that Mrs. Converse purchased the Five Nations Alliance Belt from descendants of Mary Jemison on the Cattaraugus Reservation in New York. Mary Jemison was adopted by the Seneca as a child and chose to live her life as a Seneca. At the time of collection, the Five Nations Alliance Belt was described as a ransom belt but Mrs. Converse later reported it as a council belt. Consultation with the Tonawanda Band of Seneca identifies the Five Nations Alliance Belt as both a sacred object and an object of cultural patrimony as it relates to the civil functions of a Council. The Cornplanter Condolence Belt, also known as the Red Jacket Belt, is composed of seven rows of purple beads with five areas of loss that originally may have contained white beads. It measures 351⁄2 inches long and 13⁄4 inches wide. The New York State Museum acquired the wampum belt in 1899 from Harriet Maxwell Converse (E–37426). In correspondence from the Cornplanter Reservation in Pennsylvania, dated June 26, 1899, Mrs. Converse listed the Cornplanter Condolence Belt with three other belts that she had recently purchased. At the time of collection, Mrs. Converse reported that the wampum belt was associated with the Seneca chief, Red Jacket, but later reported it as condolence wampum that had belonged to the Seneca chief Cornplanter. Consultation with the Tonawanda Band of Seneca identifies the Cornplanter Condolence Belt as both a sacred object and an object of cultural patrimony as it relates to the condolence of a leader and installation of a successor. The Nomination Belt is composed of nine rows of white beads with six purple figures joined by extended arms and a purple square that may represent a council fire between the two central E:\FR\FM\18DEN1.SGM 18DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 243 (Tuesday, December 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74865-74866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30537]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVSO3100 L51010000 ER0000 LVRWF12F8740.241A; 13-08807; 
MO450004530; TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Searchlight Wind Energy Project, Clark County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Searchlight Wind 
Energy Project and by this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposal for a 
minimum of 30 days from the date that the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its notice in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Printed or electronic copies of the Final EIS are available 
on request from the BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 4701 N. Torrey 
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130, phone 702-515-5173, or email to: 
BLM_NV_SNDO_SearchlightWindEnergyEIS@blm.gov. Interested persons may 
also review the Final EIS on the Internet at https://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/energy/searchlight_wind_energy.html. Copies 
of the Final EIS are available for public inspection at the BLM 
Southern Nevada District Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Helseth, Renewable Energy 
Project Manager, telephone 702-515-5173; address 4701 N. Torrey Pines 
Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130; email ghelseth@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 with the above 
individual. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Searchlight Wind Energy, LLC (SWE), a 
wholly-owned subsidiary of Duke Energy, applied to the BLM for a right-
of-way (ROW) grant on public lands to develop a 200-megawatt (MW) wind 
energy facility. The ROW application area encompasses approximately 
18,790 acres of BLM-administered public lands adjacent to Searchlight, 
Nevada, about 60 miles southeast of Las Vegas, in Clark County, Nevada. 
In connection with the SWE proposal, the Western Area Power 
Administration (Western) has submitted a ROW application to the BLM for 
construction and operation of an electrical interconnection facility/
switchyard adjacent to the existing Davis-Mead transmission line. The 
Western application is also analyzed as part of the EIS. The proposed 
project is in conformance with the 1998 Las Vegas Resource Management 
Plan and Record of Decision.
    The proposed wind turbines located on the SWE project would be up 
to 262-feet tall from the ground to the hub with blades extending an 
additional 153 feet, for a total turbine height of up to 415 feet. In 
addition to the wind turbines, the proposed project would require the 
construction of pad mounted transformers at the base of each turbine, 
underground collection lines, new access roads, two electrical 
substations, an overhead transmission line

[[Page 74866]]

connecting the two substations, an electrical interconnection facility/
switchyard owned and operated by Western, an operations and maintenance 
building, and temporary and long-term laydown areas. Three 
meteorological towers would remain on the site to measure the wind 
speed and direction across the site over the life of the project.
    The applicant (SWE) has requested to interconnect its proposed 
project to the electrical transmission grid via Western's Davis-Mead 
230-kilovolt transmission line. Western, a Federal agency, is 
participating in the EIS process as a cooperating agency and may use 
the EIS to support its decision to approve or deny the SWE 
interconnection request.
    Three alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS--a 96 wind turbine 
layout, an 87 wind turbine layout, and a no-action alternative. The 87 
wind turbine alternative is the BLM's preferred alternative. In 
identifying the preferred alternative, the BLM considered all 
information that has been received consistent with its environmental 
review and ROW permitting responsibilities. The Final EIS describes and 
analyzes the project's site-specific impacts on air quality, biological 
resources, cultural resources, environmental justice, geological 
resources, health and human safety, hazardous materials, lands and 
realty, noise, noxious weeds, paleontological resources, recreation, 
socioeconomic resources, transportation, visual resources and water 
resources. On January 20, 2012, the BLM published the Notice of 
Availability for the Draft EIS for this proposal in the Federal 
Register (77 FR 2999). The BLM accepted public comments at three public 
meetings in Searchlight, Laughlin, and Boulder City, Nevada and by 
email, mail, and fax during a 90-day comment period. Seventy nine 
comment submissions were received from individuals, organizations, and 
agencies. Comments primarily pertained to the NEPA process, project 
alternatives, project description, project need, air quality, 
biological resources (desert tortoise, birds, and plants), cultural 
resources, cumulative impacts, geology, health and human safety, land 
use, noise, mitigation measures, recreation, transportation, 
socioeconomics, visual resources, and water. The BLM also received 
statements in support of, or opposition to, the proposal.
    Comments on the Draft EIS received from the public and internal BLM 
review were considered and addressed as appropriate in the Final EIS. 
Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text, but did 
not significantly change the proposed alternatives.

Vanessa Hice,
Assistant Field Manager, Division of Lands.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10.

[FR Doc. 2012-30537 Filed 12-14-12; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P
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