Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and Mineral Counties, NV, 3691-3692 [2024-00656]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
• Bureau of Land Management

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3691-3692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00656]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500175965]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and Mineral Counties, NV

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 Libra Solar Project, Lyon and Mineral Counties, Nevada.

DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the 
final EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 45 
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 National 
NEPA Register Website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
    Written comments related to the Libra Solar Project may be 
submitted by any of the following methods:
     BLM National NEPA Register Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
      Email: [email protected].
     Mail: Attn: Libra Solar Project, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, 
Carson City, Nevada 89701.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at the 
BLM National NEPA Register website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570 and at the BLM Carson City District 
Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Hornsby, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone (775) 885-6024; address 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, 
NV 89701; 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 Ms. Hornsby. 
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: Libra Solar LLC (Applicant) submitted a 
right-of-way (ROW) application to construct, operate, maintain, and 
decommission a 700-megawatt alternating current solar photovoltaic 
power generating facility with battery storage and associated 
components on approximately 5,114 acres of BLM-managed land in Mineral 
and Lyon counties, Nevada. The proposal also includes the development 
of a 24.1-mile-long generation tie line, of which 22.9 miles would be 
located on BLM managed lands, to connect the solar site to the Fort 
Churchill Substation in Lyon County. The total right-of-way requested 
for the project is 5,778 acres. The project would sit approximately 55 
miles southeast of the Reno metropolitan area, 11 miles southeast of 
the town of Yerington, 7 miles west of U.S. Route 95, and 8 miles east 
of State Route 208.

Purpose and Need

    The BLM's purpose and need is to respond to the ROW application 
submitted by the Applicant under FLPMA Title V (43 U.S.C. 1761) (serial 
number NVNV105844599, legacy serial number NVN-099846). The need for 
this action is to fulfill the BLM's responsibility under FLPMA and its 
ROW regulations to manage the public lands for multiple uses, including 
the generation of electric energy. FLPMA, as amended, established a 
multiple-use mandate for the BLM's management of Federal lands, 
including ``systems for generation, transmission, and distribution of 
electric energy, except that the proponent shall also comply with all 
applicable requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
under the Federal Power Act, including part I thereof (41 Stat. 1063, 
16 U.S.C. 791a-825r).'' (43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(4)). The BLM must consider 
compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, the BLM NEPA Handbook (BLM 
2008), Department of Interior NEPA regulations, and other applicable 
Federal and State laws and policies.

Proposed Action and Alternatives, Including the Preferred Alternative

    The BLM has analyzed the No Action Alternative, the proposed Action 
as submitted by the Applicant, and three action alternatives. Under the 
No Action Alternative, the solar facility, generation tie-line, battery 
storage, substation, and associated facilities would not be developed 
because the BLM would not issue the ROW grant. The three action 
alternatives analyzed in the draft EIS are as follows: Action 
Alternative 1: Major Drainage Avoidance, Fenced Corridors, and 
Vegetation and Topography Maintenance; Action Alternative 2: 
Alternative Supplemental Access During Construction; and Action 
Alternative 3: Alternative Gen-tie Connecting to proposed Greenlink 
West. Action Alternative 1 includes the use of specific construction 
methods to reduce impacts to vegetation, drainage, and topography 
within the solar array areas. Action Alternative 2 focuses on reduction 
of impacts associated with East Walker Road (the project's mostly 
unpaved access road) by providing supplemental access during 
construction. Action Alternative 3 entails connecting the generation 
tie-line from the project to the proposed Greenlink West Transmission 
Project through a new switching station under the proposed Greenlink 
West line, which would reduce impacts to air, vegetation, soils, 
wildlife, visual resources, and other resource areas from the 24.1-
mile-long generation tie-line under the Proposed Action.
    The BLM Preferred Alternative is a modification of the Proposed 
Action that combines Action Alternative 1 and Action Alternative 2 for 
the use of specific construction methods, as well as provides 
supplemental access to reduce total traffic on East Walker Road during 
construction. An overlay of Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 is the 
preferred alternative since it reduces many of the resource impacts, 
including to vegetation communities, wildlife, hydrology, and other 
resources. It also allows for faster and more successful restoration at 
decommissioning, allowing for future uses of the land under multiple 
use. Alternative 2 reduces traffic impacts as well. Several additional 
action alternatives were considered, including alternative sites, 
technologies, and methods, but were eliminated as described in Chapter 
2: Proposed Action of the Draft EIS.

Design Features and Mitigation

    This section includes Applicant-committed design features and 
mitigation measures. Key mitigation for

[[Page 3692]]

the project includes development of a Workforce Housing and 
Transportation Plan as well as Cooperative Services Agreements, since 
the project would bring a large construction workforce of a few hundred 
people into the Yerington area. The Workforce Housing and 
Transportation Plan would identify the housing options and allow the 
Applicant to plan construction housing needs that could alleviate the 
project's contribution to housing impacts. Alternative transportation 
options, including carpooling, park-and-ride, bus, shuttle, and other 
forms, would also be assessed to reduce the project's contribution to 
traffic impacts. The Cooperative Services Agreements would require the 
Applicant to coordinate with Mineral and Lyon counties to determine 
increased demands for services such as fire protection, law 
enforcement, and emergency medical services, and shall include a fee 
based on the likely point of service and estimated increases in service 
needs.
    While no federally or State-listed threatened or endangered species 
have the potential to occur on-site that could be impacted by the 
project, several mitigation measures have been added to reduce effects 
to special status species, wildlife, and vegetation communities. These 
measures include development of a Site Restoration Plan and Integrated 
Weed Management Plan, development of a Worker Environmental Awareness 
Program, pre-construction surveys and avoidance where feasible for 
special status plants, and development of a Bird and Bat Conservation 
Strategy. To address conflicts with grazing permit holders, mitigation 
includes measures to work with the permit holder to provide 
infrastructure upgrades to move livestock around the solar facility.

Anticipated Permits and Authorizations

    If approved, the BLM would issue a ROW for the project. The term 
for the ROW would be for 30 years.

Schedule for Decision-Making Process

    The final EIS is anticipated to be available in summer 2024 with a 
Record of Decision in summer or fall 2024.

Public Involvement Process

    The BLM will hold one virtual public meeting and one in-person 
public meeting during the public comment period. The BLM will announce 
the exact dates, times, and link for these meetings at least 15 days 
prior to the events. Announcements will be made by news release to the 
media and posting on the BLM National NEPA Register website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
    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.
    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)

Kimberly D. Dow,
Carson City District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2024-00656 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P