Badger State Solar, LLC: Notice of Availability of a Final Environmental Impact Statement, 52502-52503 [2022-18381]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 165 / Friday, August 26, 2022 / Notices
brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis.
That final notice was accompanied by a
final environmental assessment and
finding of no significant impact
(FONSI). The final environmental
assessment and FONSI also evaluated
the possible environmental impacts
associated with classifying the State of
Sonora as Level II; the Yucata´n
Peninsula region (States of Yucata´n and
Quintana Roo, and part of the State of
Campeche), the Huasteca region (parts
of the States of Puebla, Veracruz, and
Hidalgo), part of the State of Chihuahua,
and part of the State of Durango as Level
III; and part of the State of Coahuila,
part of the State of Nuevo Leo´n, and the
State of Tamaulipas as Level IV for
bovine tuberculosis. Accordingly, we
direct the public to go to
www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–
2020–0071 in the Search field to view
those documents, and are not
republishing them for this action.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622 and 8301–
8317; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 31 U.S.C.
9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.4.
Done in Washington, DC, this 22nd day of
August 2022.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022–18409 Filed 8–25–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
[Docket #: RUS–22–ELECTRIC–0049]
Badger State Solar, LLC: Notice of
Availability of a Final Environmental
Impact Statement
Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
Notice of availability of a Final
Environmental Impact Statement.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Rural Utilities Service
(RUS), an agency within the United
States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), has prepared a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
to meet its responsibilities under the
National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA) as amended, RUS’s
implementing regulations, and other
applicable environmental requirements
related to providing financial assistance
for Badger State Solar, LLC’s proposed
Alternating Current solar project
(Project) in Wisconsin. RUS has
included documentation in the FEIS
demonstrating RUS has completed its
responsibilities under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act and
its implementing regulations,
‘‘Protection of Historic Properties.’’ The
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SUMMARY:
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16:59 Aug 25, 2022
Jkt 256001
FEIS addresses the construction,
operation, and maintenance of a 149
megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV)
alternating current solar energy
generating facility on a site in in
Jefferson County, Wisconsin described
previously in the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement (DEIS). It also
addresses comments received during the
comment period for the DEIS.
DATES: Written comments on the FEIS
will be accepted for 30 days following
the publication of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s environmental
impact statement receipt notice in the
Federal Register. Comments must be
received by October 3, 2022. Notices of
Availability of the FEIS will be
published in local newspapers. After a
30-day comment period on the FEIS,
RUS will prepare a Record of Decision
for its respective action. The
environmental review process is
expected to conclude in Fall 2022.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and other
Project-related information is available
at RUS’s and Badger State Solar’s
websites located at: https://
www.rd.usda.gov/resources/
environmental-studies/impactstatements, https://badgerstatesolar.
consultation.ai, and https://www.badger
statesolar.com.
All comments submitted during the
comment period will become part of the
public record. Before including your
address, telephone 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. All
comments will be reviewed and in the
Record of Decision. For consideration,
comments must be received by October
3, 2022.
Comments may be submitted at
BadgerStateSolarEIS@usda.gov during
the comment period. Comments
submitted after the comment period
may not be considered by the agency.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To
receive copies of the FEIS or request
information on the proposed Project, the
FEIS process, and RUS financing,
contact Peter Steinour at
BadgerStateSolarEIS@usda.gov or 202–
692–5346.
Copies of the FEIS will be available
for review at the Jefferson Public Library
in Jefferson, WI, the Cambridge
Community Library in Cambridge, WI
and the Lake Mills Library in Lake
Mills, WI. Library locations will be
published in the local papers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Badger
State Solar is a project of the solar
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
development company, Ranger Power.
Many of Wisconsin’s fossil-fueled
power plants are scheduled to cease
power generation over the next several
years. Six of the 12 coal-fired power
plants in Wisconsin have been retired or
are scheduled to go offline. The
Applicant’s purpose and need for the
proposed Project is to develop a utilityscale solar facility in Jefferson County,
Wisconsin, to replace load demand on
local utilities, including Dairyland
Power, resulting from coal-fired power
plant closures or scheduled
decommissioning.
Badger State Solar has indicated the
intention to request Federal financing
from USDA RUS for development of the
Project. While RUS is authorized under
the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
(REA) to finance electric generation
infrastructure in rural areas, it is the
Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc. (MISO), not RUS, who is
responsible for electric grid planning.
Supporting renewable energy projects
meets both RUS’s goal to support
infrastructure development in rural
communities and USDA’s support of the
President’s Climate Action Plan, issued
in June 2013, which encourages
voluntary actions to increase energy
independence.
Badger State Solar proposes to
construct, install, operate, and maintain
a 149 MW PV alternating current solar
energy generating facility on a site in the
Townships of Jefferson and Oakland, in
Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The
proposed Project involves
approximately 1,200 acres located on
the north and south sides of U.S.
Highway 18, approximately 2-miles
west of the City of Jefferson and west of
State Highway 89. Site land cover is
predominantly agricultural crops and
pasture, with some forest and wetland.
Bader State Solar estimates the total
project cost will be approximately
$225,000,000. Project construction
would begin in October 2022.
Construction would be complete, and
the project would be expected to come
online by Fall 2023.
Construction involves the installation
on leased lands of 487,848 single-axis
tracking PV panels. The PV panels
would be mounted on a steel racking
frame. Supporting facilities include an
electrical substation. The lease
agreement allows for an operating
period of 40 years. A power purchase
agreement (PPA) has been executed
with Dairyland Power Cooperative for
the entire output of the Project. The
proposed site is near the point of
interconnection to the grid at the
American Transmission Company
Jefferson substation near the
E:\FR\FM\26AUN1.SGM
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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 165 / Friday, August 26, 2022 / Notices
intersection of State Trunk Highway 89
and U.S. Highway 18.
Construction equipment would
include graders, bulldozers, excavators,
forklifts, trailers, plows, trenchers, pile
drivers, and directional boring rigs.
Vehicles for transporting construction
materials and components primarily
would be legal load over-the road
flatbed and box trucks. Transport would
use existing regional roads, bridges, and
intersections. Laydown areas would be
established within the Project site.
Internal site access roads would be
required. The solar facility would be
interconnected to the transmission grid
through the existing ATC substation
located to the northeast of the proposed
substation and would require a short
138 kilovolt (kV) overhead line between
the two stations. Laydown areas and a
Laydown Yard would be established
within the Project site. Fencing would
be placed around contiguous blocks of
solar arrays.
Potential locations for development of
the solar facility in Wisconsin were
evaluated in an initial preliminary site
review to identify locations where
electric transmission infrastructure
would be sufficient to connect a solar
project to the power grid. The Site
Selection Study consisted of three
phases of evaluation which began with
18 potential sites and ended with the
identification of the 1,200 acre proposed
site in Jefferson County as the most
feasible alternative for detailed
evaluation in the EIS because it best
meets the purpose and need and
minimizes or mitigates potential
impacts.
RUS is authorized to make loans and
loan guarantees that finance the
construction of the Badger State Solar
Alternating Current Project. RUS is
responsible for completing the
environmental review process in
processing Badger State Solar’s
application. RUS is serving as the lead
Federal agency, as defined at 40
CFR1501.5, for preparation of the FEIS.
The proposed Project is subject to the
jurisdiction of Public Service
Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW),
Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (WDNR), Wisconsin State
Historical Society of Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO), Wisconsin
Department of Transportation
(WisDOT), and State of Wisconsin
Division of Safety and Buildings. PSCW
and WDNR are responsible for
coordination of environmental reviews
for compliance with the Wisconsin
Environmental Policy Act (WEPA).
PSCW and WDNR must comply with
WEPA when reviewing proposed energy
construction projects, including electric
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16:59 Aug 25, 2022
Jkt 256001
generating and transmission projects
seeking PSCW statutory approval.
WEPA applies only to actions of state
agencies. However, the environmental
impact of the proposed Project was
reviewed by PSCW, in coordination
with WDNR, as part of the application
for a Certificate of Public Convenience
and Necessity (CPCN). PSCW issued an
Order approving the CPCN application
subject conditions issued in the Final
Decision on February 26, 2020 (Docket
9800–CE–100)
RUS has prepared the FEIS to analyze
the impacts of its respective Federal
actions and the proposed Project in
accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 United States
Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.), Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ)
regulations for implementing the
procedural provisions of NEPA (40 Code
of Federal Regulations [CFR] part 1500
et seq.), and Rural Utilities Service
(RUS), Environmental Policies and
Procedures (7 CFR part 1970 et seq.).
RUS has prepared and published a DEIS
which can be found on the RUS and
Badger State Solar websites (https://
www.rd.usda.gov/resources/
environmental-studies/impactstatements, https://badgerstatesolar.
consultation.ai, and https://
www.badgerstatesolar.com).
RUS evaluated the potential impacts
of the proposed Project on
environmental resources. The analysis
determined that there would be no
impact or minor adverse impacts on
soils and geology, air quality, acoustic
environment (noise), water resources
(including groundwater and surface
water), biological resources (including
vegetation, wetlands, riparian areas,
floodplains, wildlife, fisheries and
aquatic resources, and threatened and
endangered species), land resources
(including prime farmlands), visual
resources, transportation, cultural
resources and historic properties, public
health and safety, and socioeconomics
and environmental justice associated
with the proposed Project. Badger State
Solar would implement mitigation
measures as necessary and appropriate
to minimize adverse impacts. There
would be potential beneficial effects on
soils, water resources, air quality, and
socioeconomics. Unavoidable adverse
effects related to proposed Project
operations would last only as long as
the useful life of the solar facility (an
expected 40 years). Implementation of
the proposed Project would not result in
significant unavoidable adverse
impacts, irreversible or irretrievable
commitment of resources, or in
permanent losses to maintenance or
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Fmt 4703
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52503
enhancement of long-term productivity
of the environment. When the
incremental effects from the proposed
Project are considered together with
other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future actions, there would
be no cumulative adverse impact.
This Notice of Availability also serves
as a notice of proposed wetland and
floodplain actions. It is anticipated that
there will be no permanent wetland
impacts and no significant direct or
indirect impacts to floodplains. The
proposed Project was planned to avoid
and minimize impacts to wetlands and
waterways to the extent practicable
during the site selection and design
phase of the Project. Throughout the
Project, best management practices
(BMPs) (e.g., silt fences, hand-clearing
of vegetation where necessary, etc.) will
be implemented to minimize soil
disturbance in or near wetlands and
jurisdictional streams, and BMPs in
accordance with requirements of the
Project’s Sediment and Erosion Control
Plan and stormwater pollution
prevention plan would be followed.
Temporary impacts to wetlands would
be permitted in accordance with United
States Army Corps of Engineers and
state requirements. The proposed
Project also has been designed to avoid
impacts to sensitive floodplains; there
are no floodplains present within the
Project boundary.
Christopher A. McLean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2022–18381 Filed 8–25–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–15–P
COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS
Notice of Public Meetings of the
California Advisory Committee
U.S. Commission on Civil
Rights.
ACTION: Announcement of meeting.
AGENCY:
Notice is hereby given,
pursuant to the provisions of the rules
and regulations of the U.S. Commission
on Civil Rights (Commission) and the
Federal Advisory Committee Act that
the California Advisory Committee
(Committee) will hold a meeting via a
Webex platform on Wednesday,
September 28, 2022, from 2:00 p.m. to
4:30 p.m., for the purpose of hearing
testimony regarding the civil rights
impacts of AB5.
DATES: The meeting will take place on:
• Panel 5: Wednesday, September 28,
2022, from 2:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. Pacific
Time
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\26AUN1.SGM
26AUN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52502-52503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18381]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
[Docket #: RUS-22-ELECTRIC-0049]
Badger State Solar, LLC: Notice of Availability of a Final
Environmental Impact Statement
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Final Environmental Impact
Statement.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has prepared a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to meet its responsibilities
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as amended,
RUS's implementing regulations, and other applicable environmental
requirements related to providing financial assistance for Badger State
Solar, LLC's proposed Alternating Current solar project (Project) in
Wisconsin. RUS has included documentation in the FEIS demonstrating RUS
has completed its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations,
``Protection of Historic Properties.'' The FEIS addresses the
construction, operation, and maintenance of a 149 megawatt (MW)
photovoltaic (PV) alternating current solar energy generating facility
on a site in in Jefferson County, Wisconsin described previously in the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It also addresses comments
received during the comment period for the DEIS.
DATES: Written comments on the FEIS will be accepted for 30 days
following the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's
environmental impact statement receipt notice in the Federal Register.
Comments must be received by October 3, 2022. Notices of Availability
of the FEIS will be published in local newspapers. After a 30-day
comment period on the FEIS, RUS will prepare a Record of Decision for
its respective action. The environmental review process is expected to
conclude in Fall 2022.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and other Project-related information is
available at RUS's and Badger State Solar's websites located at:
https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements, https://badgerstatesolar.consultation.ai, and https://www.badgerstatesolar.com.
All comments submitted during the comment period will become part
of the public record. Before including your address, telephone 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. All comments will be reviewed and in the Record of Decision. For
consideration, comments must be received by October 3, 2022.
Comments may be submitted at [email protected] during
the comment period. Comments submitted after the comment period may not
be considered by the agency.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To receive copies of the FEIS or
request information on the proposed Project, the FEIS process, and RUS
financing, contact Peter Steinour at [email protected] or
202-692-5346.
Copies of the FEIS will be available for review at the Jefferson
Public Library in Jefferson, WI, the Cambridge Community Library in
Cambridge, WI and the Lake Mills Library in Lake Mills, WI. Library
locations will be published in the local papers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Badger State Solar is a project of the solar
development company, Ranger Power. Many of Wisconsin's fossil-fueled
power plants are scheduled to cease power generation over the next
several years. Six of the 12 coal-fired power plants in Wisconsin have
been retired or are scheduled to go offline. The Applicant's purpose
and need for the proposed Project is to develop a utility-scale solar
facility in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, to replace load demand on
local utilities, including Dairyland Power, resulting from coal-fired
power plant closures or scheduled decommissioning.
Badger State Solar has indicated the intention to request Federal
financing from USDA RUS for development of the Project. While RUS is
authorized under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (REA) to finance
electric generation infrastructure in rural areas, it is the
Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), not RUS, who is
responsible for electric grid planning. Supporting renewable energy
projects meets both RUS's goal to support infrastructure development in
rural communities and USDA's support of the President's Climate Action
Plan, issued in June 2013, which encourages voluntary actions to
increase energy independence.
Badger State Solar proposes to construct, install, operate, and
maintain a 149 MW PV alternating current solar energy generating
facility on a site in the Townships of Jefferson and Oakland, in
Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The proposed Project involves
approximately 1,200 acres located on the north and south sides of U.S.
Highway 18, approximately 2-miles west of the City of Jefferson and
west of State Highway 89. Site land cover is predominantly agricultural
crops and pasture, with some forest and wetland. Bader State Solar
estimates the total project cost will be approximately $225,000,000.
Project construction would begin in October 2022. Construction would be
complete, and the project would be expected to come online by Fall
2023.
Construction involves the installation on leased lands of 487,848
single-axis tracking PV panels. The PV panels would be mounted on a
steel racking frame. Supporting facilities include an electrical
substation. The lease agreement allows for an operating period of 40
years. A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been executed with
Dairyland Power Cooperative for the entire output of the Project. The
proposed site is near the point of interconnection to the grid at the
American Transmission Company Jefferson substation near the
[[Page 52503]]
intersection of State Trunk Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 18.
Construction equipment would include graders, bulldozers,
excavators, forklifts, trailers, plows, trenchers, pile drivers, and
directional boring rigs. Vehicles for transporting construction
materials and components primarily would be legal load over-the road
flatbed and box trucks. Transport would use existing regional roads,
bridges, and intersections. Laydown areas would be established within
the Project site. Internal site access roads would be required. The
solar facility would be interconnected to the transmission grid through
the existing ATC substation located to the northeast of the proposed
substation and would require a short 138 kilovolt (kV) overhead line
between the two stations. Laydown areas and a Laydown Yard would be
established within the Project site. Fencing would be placed around
contiguous blocks of solar arrays.
Potential locations for development of the solar facility in
Wisconsin were evaluated in an initial preliminary site review to
identify locations where electric transmission infrastructure would be
sufficient to connect a solar project to the power grid. The Site
Selection Study consisted of three phases of evaluation which began
with 18 potential sites and ended with the identification of the 1,200
acre proposed site in Jefferson County as the most feasible alternative
for detailed evaluation in the EIS because it best meets the purpose
and need and minimizes or mitigates potential impacts.
RUS is authorized to make loans and loan guarantees that finance
the construction of the Badger State Solar Alternating Current Project.
RUS is responsible for completing the environmental review process in
processing Badger State Solar's application. RUS is serving as the lead
Federal agency, as defined at 40 CFR1501.5, for preparation of the
FEIS.
The proposed Project is subject to the jurisdiction of Public
Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW), Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (WDNR), Wisconsin State Historical Society of Historic
Preservation Office (SHPO), Wisconsin Department of Transportation
(WisDOT), and State of Wisconsin Division of Safety and Buildings. PSCW
and WDNR are responsible for coordination of environmental reviews for
compliance with the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA). PSCW and
WDNR must comply with WEPA when reviewing proposed energy construction
projects, including electric generating and transmission projects
seeking PSCW statutory approval. WEPA applies only to actions of state
agencies. However, the environmental impact of the proposed Project was
reviewed by PSCW, in coordination with WDNR, as part of the application
for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). PSCW
issued an Order approving the CPCN application subject conditions
issued in the Final Decision on February 26, 2020 (Docket 9800-CE-100)
RUS has prepared the FEIS to analyze the impacts of its respective
Federal actions and the proposed Project in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 United
States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality
(CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA
(40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] part 1500 et seq.), and Rural
Utilities Service (RUS), Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR
part 1970 et seq.). RUS has prepared and published a DEIS which can be
found on the RUS and Badger State Solar websites (https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements,
https://badgerstatesolar.consultation.ai, and https://www.badgerstatesolar.com).
RUS evaluated the potential impacts of the proposed Project on
environmental resources. The analysis determined that there would be no
impact or minor adverse impacts on soils and geology, air quality,
acoustic environment (noise), water resources (including groundwater
and surface water), biological resources (including vegetation,
wetlands, riparian areas, floodplains, wildlife, fisheries and aquatic
resources, and threatened and endangered species), land resources
(including prime farmlands), visual resources, transportation, cultural
resources and historic properties, public health and safety, and
socioeconomics and environmental justice associated with the proposed
Project. Badger State Solar would implement mitigation measures as
necessary and appropriate to minimize adverse impacts. There would be
potential beneficial effects on soils, water resources, air quality,
and socioeconomics. Unavoidable adverse effects related to proposed
Project operations would last only as long as the useful life of the
solar facility (an expected 40 years). Implementation of the proposed
Project would not result in significant unavoidable adverse impacts,
irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources, or in permanent
losses to maintenance or enhancement of long-term productivity of the
environment. When the incremental effects from the proposed Project are
considered together with other past, present, and reasonably
foreseeable future actions, there would be no cumulative adverse
impact.
This Notice of Availability also serves as a notice of proposed
wetland and floodplain actions. It is anticipated that there will be no
permanent wetland impacts and no significant direct or indirect impacts
to floodplains. The proposed Project was planned to avoid and minimize
impacts to wetlands and waterways to the extent practicable during the
site selection and design phase of the Project. Throughout the Project,
best management practices (BMPs) (e.g., silt fences, hand-clearing of
vegetation where necessary, etc.) will be implemented to minimize soil
disturbance in or near wetlands and jurisdictional streams, and BMPs in
accordance with requirements of the Project's Sediment and Erosion
Control Plan and stormwater pollution prevention plan would be
followed. Temporary impacts to wetlands would be permitted in
accordance with United States Army Corps of Engineers and state
requirements. The proposed Project also has been designed to avoid
impacts to sensitive floodplains; there are no floodplains present
within the Project boundary.
Christopher A. McLean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2022-18381 Filed 8-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
