Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project in Jerome, Lincoln, and Minidoka Counties, ID, 3759-3760 [2023-00646]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 13 (Friday, January 20, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3759-3760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00646]



[[Page 3759]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_ID_FRN_MO4500168247]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project in Jerome, Lincoln, 
and Minidoka Counties, ID

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In compliance 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) 
announces the availability of the draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the proposed Lava Ridge Wind Project in Jerome, Lincoln, and 
Minidoka Counties, Idaho.

DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the 
final EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 60 
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the draft EIS in the 
Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.

ADDRESSES: The draft EIS is available for review on the BLM ePlanning 
project website at https://bit.ly/3uu3BuV.
    Written comments related to the Lava Ridge Wind Project may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     ePlanning Website: https://bit.ly/3uu3BuV.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Lava Ridge Wind Project EIS, BLM Shoshone Field 
Office, Attn: Kasey Prestwich, 400 West F Street, Shoshone, ID 83352.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at: 
https://bit.ly/3uu3BuV and at the BLM Shoshone Field Office, 400 West F 
Street, Shoshone, ID 83352.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kasey Prestwich, project manager, 
telephone 208-732-7204; address BLM Shoshone Field Office, 400 West F 
Street, Shoshone, ID 83352; email [email protected]. Individuals in 
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a 
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access 
telecommunications relay services for contacting Mr. Prestwich. 
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services 
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Purpose and Need

    Magic Valley Energy, LLC (MVE) has applied for a right-of-way (ROW) 
grant to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission the Lava Ridge 
Wind Project (the project), a wind energy facility and ancillary 
facilities primarily on BLM-administered public lands in Jerome, 
Lincoln, and Minidoka counties, Idaho. The BLM's purpose is to respond 
to the ROW application submitted by MVE in compliance with the FLPMA, 
BLM ROW regulations, and other applicable Federal laws and policies. 
The need for the BLM's Proposed Action arises from Title V of the 
FLPMA, which establishes a multiple use mandate for management of 
Federal lands, including ``systems for generation, transmission, and 
distribution of electric energy'' (43 U.S.C 1761).

Proposed Action and Alternatives

    The project, as described by the Proposed Action (Alternative B), 
would be located primarily on public lands administered by the BLM 
Shoshone Field Office, approximately 25 miles northeast of Twin Falls, 
Idaho. The project would consist of up to 400 wind turbines and 
associated infrastructure, including new and improved roads, powerlines 
for collection and transmission of electricity, substations, operation 
and maintenance facilities, and a battery storage facility. The 
project's 500-kilovolt generation intertie transmission line would 
interconnect at Idaho Power Company's existing Midpoint Substation or 
at a new substation within the ROW corridor of the northern portion of 
the Southwest Intertie Project. The project's estimated generation 
capacity is 1,000 megawatts or more.
    The project area spans 197,474 acres and all project components 
would be sited within a series of corridors. These corridors are 
approximately one-half mile wide and cover approximately 84,385 acres, 
of which 75,760 acres are located on public lands managed by the BLM, 
2,910 acres are on State lands managed by the Idaho Department of 
Lands, 5,417 acres are on private lands, and 288 acres are on lands 
managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. All wind turbines, powerlines, 
and associated infrastructure would be located on lands managed by the 
BLM and the Idaho Department of Lands. The Bureau of Reclamation and 
private lands would include the use of existing public access roads, 
but no other project related infrastructure. The project infrastructure 
proposed within the corridors is estimated to have a 2,374-acre 
footprint and a total disturbance area of 9,114 acres.
    Under the No Action Alternative, the Lava Ridge Wind Project would 
not be authorized and would not be constructed.
    The project area of Alternative C would span 146,389 acres and the 
maximum number of turbines would be 378. Alternative C removes some 
siting corridors in the southwestern and northern portions of the 
project area to avoid or minimize potential impacts to Wilson Butte 
Cave, the Minidoka National Historic Site, and associated impacts to 
the Native American and Japanese American communities. Alternative C 
also removes siting corridors in the northern portion of the project 
area to reduce the potential for fragmenting wildlife habitat.
    The project area of Alternative D would be the smallest of all 
action alternatives at 110,315 acres and the maximum number of turbines 
would be 280. Alternative D builds on the proposed changes in 
Alternative C that avoid and minimize potential impacts to Wilson Butte 
Cave, the Minidoka National Historic Site, and wildlife habitat. 
Alternative D further reduces potential impacts within wildlife habitat 
by removing siting corridors located in the eastern portion of the 
project area that have higher sagebrush cover that provide functional 
Greater sage-grouse habitat. Also, Alternative D would have 
substantially fewer wind turbines and less infrastructure than 
Alternatives B and C. It therefore would reduce the potential for bat 
and avian mortality and potential conflicts with livestock grazing 
operations.
    The project area of Alternative E would span 122,444 acres and the 
maximum number of turbines would be 269. Alternative E builds off the 
proposed changes in Alternative C that avoid or minimize potential 
impacts to Wilson Butte Cave, the Minidoka National Historic Site, and 
wildlife habitat. Alternative E would remove siting corridors that are 
directly east of the Minidoka National Historic Site, resulting in this 
alternative having the least amount of visual impacts to the historic 
site. Like Alternative D, the smaller footprint and lower number of 
turbines would also reduce the potential for bat and avian mortality 
and potential conflicts with livestock grazing operations.

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    The BLM has identified Alternatives C and E as the agency's 
preferred alternatives. In selecting preferred alternatives, the BLM 
aims to consider project elements that balance energy production with 
reducing the potential for adverse impacts. Identification of these as 
the agency's preferred alternatives does not imply that one of these 
will be selected as the BLM's final decision. Information acquired 
during the public comment period could identify an alternative that 
blends elements of the agency's preferred alternatives, incorporates 
elements of any of the alternatives, or selects any of the five 
alternatives as the proposed alternative in the final EIS.

Draft EIS Preparation Process

    A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal 
Register on August 20, 2021, (86 FR 46867), announcing the beginning of 
the public scoping process. The scoping period closed on October 20, 
2021, and 1,478 comment submissions were received; of those, 1,157 are 
unique. A scoping report was prepared and is available on the project's 
ePlanning website https://bit.ly/3uu3BuV.
    The scoping process and subsequent feedback received from agency 
resource specialists, Native American Tribes, cooperating agencies, 
consulting parties, and interested parties identified a range of 
concerns to be included in the EIS analysis. Concerns included, but 
were not limited to the following:
     Potential impacts to the Minidoka National Historic Site 
and associated impacts to Japanese American communities;
     Potential impacts to Wilson Butte Cave and associated 
impacts to Native American Tribes;
     Potential impacts to cultural resources associated with 
Native American habitation and early European-American settlement;
     Potential impacts to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes' treaty 
rights, including the rights to hunt and harvest foods, medicines, and 
materials from their homeland;
     Potential impacts to big game winter range and movement 
corridors, bats, raptors, and the Greater sage-grouse general habitat 
management area;
     Potential impacts to permitted livestock grazing 
operations;
     Potential impacts to transportation networks needed to 
access the project; and
     Potential socioeconomic impacts.

Lead and Cooperating Agencies

    The BLM is the lead agency responsible for completing the EIS and 
deciding whether to approve, approve with conditions, or deny MVE's 
request for a ROW grant. Cooperating agencies involved in the 
development of the draft EIS include the National Park Service, the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the 
State of Idaho, and the counties of Jerome, Lincoln, and Minidoka, 
Idaho.

Schedule for Decision Making Process

    The final EIS is tentatively scheduled to be issued in summer 2023, 
with a Record of Decision in fall 2023.

Public Involvement Process

    The BLM will hold virtual and in-person public meetings during the 
comment period. The date(s) and location(s) of meetings will be 
announced in advance through local media, email, mail, and the 
ePlanning project website https://bit.ly/3uu3BuV.
    The purpose of public review of the draft EIS is to provide an 
opportunity for meaningful collaborative public engagement and for the 
public to provide substantive comments, such as identification of 
factual errors, data gaps, relevant methods, or scientific studies. You 
may submit comments at any time during the 60-day comment period by 
using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section of this 
notice. The BLM will respond to substantive comments by making 
appropriate revisions to the EIS or explaining why a comment did not 
warrant a change.
    The BLM will continue to consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a 
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order 
13175, BLM MS 1780, and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns, 
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to 
cultural resources, will be given due consideration.
    The BLM will use the draft EIS review process to help fulfill the 
public involvement requirements under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the Proposed Action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
    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, 40 CFR 1506.10)

Michael C. Courtney,
BLM Twin Falls District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2023-00646 Filed 1-19-23; 8:45 am]
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