Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement for the Purple Sage Energy Center Project in Clark County, NV, 90312-90314 [2024-26598]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices
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management direction approaches from
all of the alternatives analyzed in the
Draft RMPA and EIS. Specifically,
priority habitat management areas
(PHMA) are identified as exclusion for
solar and wind energy. PHMA remains
an avoidance area for major rights-ofway, but there are fewer allowable
exceptions for development. A subset of
PHMA requiring additional protections
has been identified as PHMA with
Limited Exceptions, which would be
managed as exclusion areas for major
rights-of-way, with no exceptions to the
solar and wind exclusion allocation or
to the no surface occupancy allocation
for fluid minerals. These additional
protections will provide the necessary
protections for GRSG habitat given
anticipated development threats and
negative impacts from climate change
while also ensuring an appropriate
balance of public land uses.
Protest of the Proposed RMP
Amendment
The BLM planning regulations state
that any person who participated in the
preparation of the RMP and has an
interest which will or might be
adversely affected by approval of the
Proposed RMPA may protest its
approval to the BLM. Protest on the
Proposed RMPA constitutes the final
opportunity for administrative review of
the proposed land use planning
decisions prior to the BLM adopting an
approved RMPA. Instructions for filing
a protest with the BLM regarding the
Proposed RMPA may be found online
(see ADDRESSES). All protests must be in
writing and mailed to the appropriate
address found on the protest web page
or submitted electronically through the
BLM ePlanning project website (see
ADDRESSES). Protests submitted
electronically by any means other than
the ePlanning project website will be
invalid unless a hard copy of the protest
is also submitted. The BLM will render
a written decision on each protest. The
protest decision of the BLM shall be the
final decision of the Department of the
Interior. Responses to valid protest
issues will be compiled and
documented in a Protest Resolution
Report made available following the
protest resolution online at: https://
www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/protestresolution-reports. Upon resolution of
protests, the BLM will issue seven statespecific Records of Decision and
Approved RMPAs.
Before including your phone number,
email address, or other personal
identifying information in your protest,
you should be aware that your entire
protest—including your personal
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identifying information—may be made
publicly available at any time. While
you can ask us in your protest 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
(2023), 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR 1610.5)
Sharif Branham,
Assistant Director for Resources and
Planning.
[FR Doc. 2024–26483 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–27–P
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500182346]
Notice of Availability of the Draft
Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Environmental Impact
Statement for the Purple Sage Energy
Center Project in Clark County, NV
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
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) has
prepared a Draft Resource Management
Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Purple Sage Energy Center
Project (Project) and by this notice is
providing information announcing the
opening of the comment period on the
Draft RMP Amendment/EIS. The Purple
Sage Energy Project was formerly
known as the Golden Currant Solar
Project.
DATES: This notice announces the
opening of a 90-day comment period for
the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS
beginning with the date following the
Environmental Protection Agency’s
(EPA) publication of its Notice of
Availability (NOA) in the Federal
Register. The EPA usually publishes its
NOAs on Fridays.
To afford the BLM the opportunity to
consider comments on the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS, please ensure your
comments are received prior to the close
of the 90-day comment period or 15
days after the last public meeting,
whichever is later.
The BLM will be holding one inperson public meeting and one virtual
public meeting during the public
comment period.
SUMMARY:
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• In-Person Meeting
—Date and Time: January 14, 2025, 6
p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Standard
Time (PST)
—Location: Pahrump Nugget Hotel
and Casino, 681 NV Highway 160,
Pahrump, Nevada 89048
• Virtual Meeting
—Date and Time: January 16, 2025, 6
p.m. to 8 p.m. PST
—Registration information: https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2021533/510.
Details on public meetings and
pertinent documents will be provided
on the National NEPA Register project
website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510.
ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS is available for review
on the BLM National NEPA Register
project website at https://eplanning.
blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/
510. Additionally, a copy of the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS is physically
available at the following locations:
• BLM Southern Nevada District Office,
Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 N Torrey
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130
• Pahrump Community Library, 701
East Street, Pahrump, Nevada 89408
• Tecopa Branch Library, 408 Tecopa
Hot Springs Road, Tecopa, California
92389
Written comments related to the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS for the Purple
Sage Energy Center Project may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
• Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/
eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510.
• Email: BLM_NV_SND_
EnergyProjects@blm.gov.
• Mail: BLM Las Vegas Field Office,
Attn: Purple Sage Energy Center Project,
4701 N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas,
Nevada 89130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jessica Headen, Project Manager,
telephone (702) 515–5206; address 4701
N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas,
Nevada 89130; email BLM_NV_SND_
EnergyProjects@blm.gov. 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 Jessica Headen. 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.
This
document provides notice that the BLM
has prepared a Draft RMP Amendment/
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices
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EIS and provides information
announcing the opening of the comment
period on the Draft RMP Amendment/
EIS. The Draft RMP Amendment is
being considered to allow the BLM to
evaluate the effects of modifying two
existing, undeveloped utility corridors
that intersect the Project site. This
change would require amending the
existing 1998 Las Vegas RMP.
The planning area in Clark and Nye
counties, Nevada, encompasses
approximately 9,890,365 acres within
the Southern Nevada District area.
A BLM designated energy corridor,
Segment #224–225, North Pahrump/
U.S. 95 to Las Vegas/Ivanpah Valley (a
Section 368 energy corridor), along the
Clark County/Nye County border
intersects a portion of the Project site. A
locally designated utility corridor,
established in the 1998 Las Vegas RMP
(the RMP-designed utility corridor),
intersects a portion of the Project site.
An amendment to the 1998 Las Vegas
RMP is being considered to modify
these two existing undeveloped
corridors to avoid the Project site.
The BLM is utilizing the NEPA
substitution process to comply with the
requirements of Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act, 54
U.S.C. 306108, consistent with 36 CFR
800.8(c). The BLM, as lead Federal
agency, has incorporated information
and the steps of the Section 106 process
into the Draft EIS, and publication of the
Draft EIS will allow the consulting
parties and the public an opportunity to
review and comment on the process as
provided in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(2).
Purpose and Need
The need for the BLM’s action
(processing the Applicant’s application)
is to respond to the Noble Solar, LLC’s
(Applicant) request for a right-of-way
(ROW) authorization to construct,
operate, maintain, and decommission a
proposed solar facility, associated
battery storage, and an interconnection
to the regional transmission system
(Project), in accordance with the BLM’s
responsibility under title V of FLPMA
and 43 CFR part 2800. The Project
would sit on approximately 4,456 acres
of BLM-managed public land located in
the Pahrump Valley in Clark County
designated as a solar variance area. The
site is approximately five miles
southeast of Pahrump, 26 miles west of
Las Vegas, and less than two miles
southwest of State Route 160. The
BLM’s action of considering the ROW
application also meets the BLM’s
obligation to contribute towards the
legislative and administrative goals of
advancing the development of
renewable energy production on Federal
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public lands as directed by section 3104
of the Energy Act of 2020 and Executive
Order 14057.
The Project as proposed would not
conform to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP as
required by 43 CFR 1610.5–3(a). The
BLM would need to amend the 1998 Las
Vegas RMP to bring the Project into
compliance. In particular, the
Applicant’s proposed Project does not
conform with the management
objectives for the two undeveloped
utility corridors that intersect the
Project site.
The purpose of the BLM’s action is to
determine if the Applicant’s Project and
alternatives are consistent with relevant
laws, regulations, and policies, and to
consider whether to grant, grant with
modifications, or deny the ROW. The
purpose of the Draft RMP Amendment
is to ensure that any development of
renewable energy production in the
general vicinity of the Applicant’s
proposed Project site conforms with the
RMP’s provisions, as provided for in 43
CFR 1610.5–3(c), specifically by
modifying the location of the utility
corridors to avoid the Project site.
The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS
addresses the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of
the Proposed Action and alternatives.
Alternatives to the Proposed Action
were developed by the BLM to avoid or
reduce various resource conflicts. Key
resource constraints include habitat for
and presence of Mojave desert tortoise,
which is listed as threatened under the
Endangered Species Act; over allocated
groundwater resources; paleontological
resources; Pahrump Valley buckwheat;
native desert vegetation at the Project
site; recreation use in the surrounding
area; proximity to local communities;
and generation of dust.
Alternatives Including the Preferred
Alternative
The BLM has analyzed three
alternatives in detail, including the No
Action Alternative. These are the
Applicant Proposed Action, Alternative
Action 1 (BLM preferred alternative),
and the No Action Alternative.
Alternative Action 1, the BLM
preferred alternative that is also referred
to as the Resources Integration
Alternative, was identified in response
to issues raised by the public and
agency considerations. The intent of
Alternative 1 is to minimize long-term
disturbance to vegetation and soils
within the solar facility by setting
restoration standards to ensure that
long-term disturbance to vegetation is
minimized. The established disturbance
threshold for intensive disturbance
construction methods, such as grading,
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90313
disc and roll, and spot grading, under
the Resources Integration Alternative is
20 percent of the development areas.
Given the demonstrated limitations with
equipment tolerances and the steep
slopes of the development areas of the
Project site, it may be necessary to
utilize intensive disturbance
construction methods for up to 35
percent of the development area for
development of the project. Intensive
disturbance methods within the
development areas that are not for
permanent facilities, such as roads,
inverters, substations, or battery energy
storage systems, that exceed the 20
percent threshold established for the
Resources Integration Alternative would
be subject to additional restoration
requirements. Restoration would be
implemented in accordance with and to
meet the 60 percent native vegetation
density standards required for the nongraded areas in the panel array blocks.
The No Action Alternative would be
a continuation of existing conditions
and the ROW would not be approved.
The BLM further considered a number
of additional alternatives but dismissed
these alternatives from detailed analysis
as explained in the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS and Alternatives
Report.
The BLM has identified Alternative
Action 1—Resources Integration
Alternative as the preferred alternative.
Alternative Action 1 was found to best
meet the BLM’s planning guidance and
is designed to be a Project lifecycle
alternative as the alternative addresses
not only construction, but also
operations, maintenance, and
decommissioning of the solar facility.
Mitigation
The BLM included seventeen
mitigation measures including, but not
limited to, the following measures to
address key resources:
• Air emissions reduction measures
(MM AIR–1)
• Reduced project footprint (MM
WILD–1)
• Desert tortoise burrows (MM WILD–2)
• Pre-construction western monarch
butterfly surveys (MM WILD–3)
• Pahrump Valley Buckwheat
protection and topsoil salvage (MM
VG–1)
• Invasive species management (MM
VG–2)
• Timing of vegetation maintenance
(MM VG–3)
• Tribal participation plan (MM NAC–
1)
• Aviation glare notification (MM VR–
1)
• Insulating gases (MM CC–1)
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices
• Components of traffic and
transportation plan (MM TRA–1)
• SR 160 and Tecopa Road intersection
improvements (MM TRA–2)
• Cultural resource avoidance and
monitoring (MM CR–1)
• Discovery of human remains (MM
CR–2)
• Coordination with transmission line
ROW holders/applicants (MM LU–1)
• Requirements for the paleontological
resources monitoring and mitigation
plan (MM PR–1)
• Groundwater pumping meter and
development of a groundwater
monitoring and reporting plan (MM
WR–1).
These mitigation measures, along
with Project Design Features required by
the Southern Nevada District Office,
Solar PEIS, management plans, and
interagency operating procedures, are
provided in full in Appendix B of the
Draft RMP Amendment/EIS.
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Schedule for the Decision-Making
Process
The BLM will provide additional
opportunities for public participation
consistent with the NEPA and land use
planning processes, including a 30-day
public protest period and a concurrent
60-day Governor’s consistency review
on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is
anticipated to be available for public
protest by early summer 2025, and if the
Project is authorized, the approved RMP
Amendment and Record of Decision
would be available by late summer
2025.
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 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 1501.9, 40 CFR 1506.10,
43 CFR 1610.2 and 43 CFR part 2800)
Kimberly Prill,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024–26598 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331–21–P
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_AZ_FRN_MO4500182789 AZA–37939]
Notice of Availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Statement for
the Jove Solar Project, La Paz County,
Arizona
Bureau of Land Management,
Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
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 Final
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
for the Jove Solar Project.
DATES: The BLM will not issue a
decision on the proposal for a minimum
of 30 days after the date that the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability
(NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA
usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and
documents pertinent to this proposal are
available for review on the BLM
ePlanning project website at https://
eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/
project/2017881/510.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Derek Eysenbach, Project Manager, at
deysenbach@blm.gov, Bureau of Land
Management, One North Central
Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, Arizona
85004, or by phone at (602) 417–9505.
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. Eysenbach. 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.
SUMMARY:
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose and Need
Jove Solar, LLC (Applicant) is seeking
a 30-year right-of-way (ROW) to use
3,495 acres administered by the BLM
Yuma Field Office and 38 acres
administered by La Paz County to
construct, operate and maintain, and
decommission a utility-scale solar
photovoltaic (PV) facility, called the
Jove Solar Project (the Project). The
Project would be located in southeastern
La Paz County, Arizona, south of
Interstate-10 midway between Phoenix
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and the California border,
approximately 22 miles east-southeast
of the community of Brenda and the I–
10/Highway 60 junction, and 30 miles
west of the community of Tonopah. The
Project, as proposed, would consist of
up to 1.2 million solar PV modules and
associated infrastructure, including new
and improved roads, powerlines for
collection and transmission of
electricity, and operation and
maintenance facilities. The Project
would interconnect at the Cielo Azul
Switchyard adjacent to the Ten West
Link 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line
and have a generation capacity of 600
megawatts or more. The initial
application in 2019 was received under
the company name Taurus Solar; the
project name was revised to Jove Solar
in an amended application on August 9,
2022. The Project is proposed within a
solar variance area identified in the
BLM Western Solar Plan (2012), and
after conducting the variance review
process described in that Plan, the BLM
has determined that it is appropriate for
the project to move forward for
additional review and analysis under
NEPA.
The BLM’s purpose and need is to
respond to the ROW application for a
30-year grant for the Project submitted
by the Applicant under FLPMA Title V
(43 U.S.C. 1761). The BLM is
responsible under FLPMA and its ROW
regulations for managing the public
lands under principles of multiple use
and sustained yield, including by
considering applications for the
generation of electric energy on public
lands. (43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(4)). In the
course of reviewing applications for a
ROW to generate electric energy on
public lands, the BLM must comply
with FLPMA, the BLM ROW
regulations, the Council on
Environmental Quality regulations
implementing NEPA, the Department of
the Interior NEPA regulations, and other
applicable Federal laws and regulations.
Proposed Action and Alternatives
Under the Proposed Action, the BLM
would grant a 30-year ROW for the
Project, which would have a net
generating capacity of 600 megawatts
alternating current (MWac) and span
3,495 acres of public land administered
by the BLM Yuma Field Office, as well
as 38 acres of La Paz County land. The
Project would include solar PV
modules, direct current cabling and
combining switchgear, inverters, voltage
collection systems, transformers,
monitoring and controls systems,
operations and maintenance facilities,
and above-ground electrical connection
lines. The Project would use a
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 221 (Friday, November 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90312-90314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-26598]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500182346]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Resource Management Plan
Amendment and Environmental Impact Statement for the Purple Sage Energy
Center Project in Clark County, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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) has
prepared a Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Purple Sage Energy Center
Project (Project) and by this notice is providing information
announcing the opening of the comment period on the Draft RMP
Amendment/EIS. The Purple Sage Energy Project was formerly known as the
Golden Currant Solar Project.
DATES: This notice announces the opening of a 90-day comment period for
the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS beginning with the date following the
Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) publication of its Notice of
Availability (NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes
its NOAs on Fridays.
To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments on the Draft
RMP Amendment/EIS, please ensure your comments are received prior to
the close of the 90-day comment period or 15 days after the last public
meeting, whichever is later.
The BLM will be holding one in-person public meeting and one
virtual public meeting during the public comment period.
In-Person Meeting
--Date and Time: January 14, 2025, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific
Standard Time (PST)
--Location: Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino, 681 NV Highway 160,
Pahrump, Nevada 89048
Virtual Meeting
--Date and Time: January 16, 2025, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. PST
--Registration information: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510.
Details on public meetings and pertinent documents will be provided
on the National NEPA Register project website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510.
ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS is available for review on the
BLM National NEPA Register project website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510. Additionally, a
copy of the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS is physically available at the
following locations:
BLM Southern Nevada District Office, Las Vegas Field Office,
4701 N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130
Pahrump Community Library, 701 East Street, Pahrump, Nevada
89408
Tecopa Branch Library, 408 Tecopa Hot Springs Road, Tecopa,
California 92389
Written comments related to the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS for the
Purple Sage Energy Center Project may be submitted by any of the
following methods:
Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510.
Email: [email protected].
Mail: BLM Las Vegas Field Office, Attn: Purple Sage Energy
Center Project, 4701 N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Headen, Project Manager,
telephone (702) 515-5206; address 4701 N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas,
Nevada 89130; 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 Jessica Headen.
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: This document provides notice that the BLM
has prepared a Draft RMP Amendment/
[[Page 90313]]
EIS and provides information announcing the opening of the comment
period on the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS. The Draft RMP Amendment is being
considered to allow the BLM to evaluate the effects of modifying two
existing, undeveloped utility corridors that intersect the Project
site. This change would require amending the existing 1998 Las Vegas
RMP.
The planning area in Clark and Nye counties, Nevada, encompasses
approximately 9,890,365 acres within the Southern Nevada District area.
A BLM designated energy corridor, Segment #224-225, North Pahrump/
U.S. 95 to Las Vegas/Ivanpah Valley (a Section 368 energy corridor),
along the Clark County/Nye County border intersects a portion of the
Project site. A locally designated utility corridor, established in the
1998 Las Vegas RMP (the RMP-designed utility corridor), intersects a
portion of the Project site. An amendment to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP is
being considered to modify these two existing undeveloped corridors to
avoid the Project site.
The BLM is utilizing the NEPA substitution process to comply with
the requirements of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act, 54 U.S.C. 306108, consistent with 36 CFR 800.8(c). The BLM, as
lead Federal agency, has incorporated information and the steps of the
Section 106 process into the Draft EIS, and publication of the Draft
EIS will allow the consulting parties and the public an opportunity to
review and comment on the process as provided in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(2).
Purpose and Need
The need for the BLM's action (processing the Applicant's
application) is to respond to the Noble Solar, LLC's (Applicant)
request for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization to construct, operate,
maintain, and decommission a proposed solar facility, associated
battery storage, and an interconnection to the regional transmission
system (Project), in accordance with the BLM's responsibility under
title V of FLPMA and 43 CFR part 2800. The Project would sit on
approximately 4,456 acres of BLM-managed public land located in the
Pahrump Valley in Clark County designated as a solar variance area. The
site is approximately five miles southeast of Pahrump, 26 miles west of
Las Vegas, and less than two miles southwest of State Route 160. The
BLM's action of considering the ROW application also meets the BLM's
obligation to contribute towards the legislative and administrative
goals of advancing the development of renewable energy production on
Federal public lands as directed by section 3104 of the Energy Act of
2020 and Executive Order 14057.
The Project as proposed would not conform to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP
as required by 43 CFR 1610.5-3(a). The BLM would need to amend the 1998
Las Vegas RMP to bring the Project into compliance. In particular, the
Applicant's proposed Project does not conform with the management
objectives for the two undeveloped utility corridors that intersect the
Project site.
The purpose of the BLM's action is to determine if the Applicant's
Project and alternatives are consistent with relevant laws,
regulations, and policies, and to consider whether to grant, grant with
modifications, or deny the ROW. The purpose of the Draft RMP Amendment
is to ensure that any development of renewable energy production in the
general vicinity of the Applicant's proposed Project site conforms with
the RMP's provisions, as provided for in 43 CFR 1610.5-3(c),
specifically by modifying the location of the utility corridors to
avoid the Project site.
The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS addresses the direct, indirect, and
cumulative environmental impacts of the Proposed Action and
alternatives. Alternatives to the Proposed Action were developed by the
BLM to avoid or reduce various resource conflicts. Key resource
constraints include habitat for and presence of Mojave desert tortoise,
which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act; over
allocated groundwater resources; paleontological resources; Pahrump
Valley buckwheat; native desert vegetation at the Project site;
recreation use in the surrounding area; proximity to local communities;
and generation of dust.
Alternatives Including the Preferred Alternative
The BLM has analyzed three alternatives in detail, including the No
Action Alternative. These are the Applicant Proposed Action,
Alternative Action 1 (BLM preferred alternative), and the No Action
Alternative.
Alternative Action 1, the BLM preferred alternative that is also
referred to as the Resources Integration Alternative, was identified in
response to issues raised by the public and agency considerations. The
intent of Alternative 1 is to minimize long-term disturbance to
vegetation and soils within the solar facility by setting restoration
standards to ensure that long-term disturbance to vegetation is
minimized. The established disturbance threshold for intensive
disturbance construction methods, such as grading, disc and roll, and
spot grading, under the Resources Integration Alternative is 20 percent
of the development areas. Given the demonstrated limitations with
equipment tolerances and the steep slopes of the development areas of
the Project site, it may be necessary to utilize intensive disturbance
construction methods for up to 35 percent of the development area for
development of the project. Intensive disturbance methods within the
development areas that are not for permanent facilities, such as roads,
inverters, substations, or battery energy storage systems, that exceed
the 20 percent threshold established for the Resources Integration
Alternative would be subject to additional restoration requirements.
Restoration would be implemented in accordance with and to meet the 60
percent native vegetation density standards required for the non-graded
areas in the panel array blocks.
The No Action Alternative would be a continuation of existing
conditions and the ROW would not be approved.
The BLM further considered a number of additional alternatives but
dismissed these alternatives from detailed analysis as explained in the
Draft RMP Amendment/EIS and Alternatives Report.
The BLM has identified Alternative Action 1--Resources Integration
Alternative as the preferred alternative. Alternative Action 1 was
found to best meet the BLM's planning guidance and is designed to be a
Project lifecycle alternative as the alternative addresses not only
construction, but also operations, maintenance, and decommissioning of
the solar facility.
Mitigation
The BLM included seventeen mitigation measures including, but not
limited to, the following measures to address key resources:
Air emissions reduction measures (MM AIR-1)
Reduced project footprint (MM WILD-1)
Desert tortoise burrows (MM WILD-2)
Pre-construction western monarch butterfly surveys (MM WILD-3)
Pahrump Valley Buckwheat protection and topsoil salvage (MM
VG-1)
Invasive species management (MM VG-2)
Timing of vegetation maintenance (MM VG-3)
Tribal participation plan (MM NAC-1)
Aviation glare notification (MM VR-1)
Insulating gases (MM CC-1)
[[Page 90314]]
Components of traffic and transportation plan (MM TRA-1)
SR 160 and Tecopa Road intersection improvements (MM TRA-2)
Cultural resource avoidance and monitoring (MM CR-1)
Discovery of human remains (MM CR-2)
Coordination with transmission line ROW holders/applicants (MM
LU-1)
Requirements for the paleontological resources monitoring and
mitigation plan (MM PR-1)
Groundwater pumping meter and development of a groundwater
monitoring and reporting plan (MM WR-1).
These mitigation measures, along with Project Design Features
required by the Southern Nevada District Office, Solar PEIS, management
plans, and interagency operating procedures, are provided in full in
Appendix B of the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS.
Schedule for the Decision-Making Process
The BLM will provide additional opportunities for public
participation consistent with the NEPA and land use planning processes,
including a 30-day public protest period and a concurrent 60-day
Governor's consistency review on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is anticipated to be available for
public protest by early summer 2025, and if the Project is authorized,
the approved RMP Amendment and Record of Decision would be available by
late summer 2025.
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
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 1501.9, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2 and 43 CFR
part 2800)
Kimberly Prill,
Acting State Director.
[FR Doc. 2024-26598 Filed 11-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P
