[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51479-51480]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-20559]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 048811, LLCAD06000, L51010000.FX0000, LVRWB09B2600]
Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Chevron Energy Solutions/Solar Millennium Blythe
Solar Power Plant and Proposed California Desert Conservation Area Plan
Amendment
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 (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has
prepared a Proposed California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan
Amendment/Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Chevron
Energy Solutions/Solar Millennium (CESSM), LLC's Blythe Solar Power
Plant (BSPP) project and by this notice is announcing its availability.
DATES: The publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Notice of Availability (NOA) of this Final EIS in the Federal Register
initiates a 30-day public comment period. In addition, the BLM's
planning regulations state that any person who meets the conditions
described in the regulations may protest the BLM's Proposed CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions and files a
protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that EPA
publishes its NOA in the Federal Register. The protest procedures are
described in the ``Dear Reader'' letter accompanying the Proposed Plan
Amendment/Final EIS.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS for the
BSPP Project have been sent to affected Federal, state, and local
government agencies and to other stakeholders. Copies are available for
public inspection at the Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, 1201
Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262. Interested persons
may also review the Proposed CDCA Plan Amendment/Final EIS at the
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/Blythe_Solar_Power_Project.html.
Submit comments on the Final EIS to Allison Shaffer, BLM Project
Manager, Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive,
Palm Springs, California 92262; or e-mail: [email protected].
All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following
addresses:
Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box
66538, Washington, DC 20035.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 1620 L
Street, NW., Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20036.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager,
telephone (760) 833-7100; address (see ADDRESSES above).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: CESSM has submitted a right of way (ROW)
application to the BLM for development of the proposed BSPP project,
consisting of 4 parabolic trough solar thermal power plants. The
project would be built in 4 phases which are designed to generate
approximately 968 megawatts (MW) of electricity at full development.
The project footprint is approximately 5,950 acres of BLM-managed
lands, with a proposed ROW encompassing 9,400 acres. The project site
is in Riverside County, California, approximately 8 miles west of
Blythe, California, 3 miles north of Highway I[hyphen]10, and 1 mile
north of the Blythe Regional Airport.
The project includes the power generation facility, an electrical
transmission line, natural gas pipeline, and an access road. A double
circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line would be constructed to
interconnect to the Devers-Palo Verde 2 500 kV line at the
Colorado River substation. Approximately 6.5 miles of this new line
would be outside the project area but is included in the analysis. The
new line proposes to use a 175-foot wide ROW.
The BLM's purpose and need for the NEPA analysis of the BSPP
project is to respond to CESSM's application under Title V of FLPMA (43
U.S.C. 1761) for a ROW grant to construct, operate, and
[[Page 51480]]
decommission a solar thermal electric generation facility on public
lands in compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, and other
applicable Federal laws. The BLM will decide whether to approve,
approve with modification, or deny a ROW grant to CESSM for the
proposed BSPP project. The BLM will also consider amending the CDCA
Plan in this analysis. The CDCA Plan (1980, as amended), while
recognizing the potential compatibility of solar electric generation
facilities on public lands, requires that all sites associated with
power generation or transmission not identified in the CDCA Plan be
considered through the plan amendment process. If the BLM decides to
grant a ROW, the BLM would also amend the CDCA Plan as required.
In the Final EIS, the BLM's proposed action is to authorize the
BSPP project and approve a CDCA Plan amendment in response to the
application received from CESSM. The BLM's preferred alternative is the
proposed action. In addition to the proposed action, the BLM is
analyzing the following action alternatives: (1) authorize a
reconfigured 1,000-MW alternative and amend the CDCA Plan; and (2)
authorize a smaller 750-MW alternative and amend the CDCA Plan.
As required under NEPA, the Final EIS analyzes a no action
alternative that would not require a CDCA Plan Amendment. Additionally,
the Final EIS analyzes two additional no action alternatives: (1) A no
action alternative which would deny the project but amend the CDCA Plan
to allow other solar energy power generation projects on the project
site and (2) a no action alternative which would deny the project and
amend the CDCA Plan to prohibit solar energy projects on the project
site. The BLM will take into consideration the provisions of the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 and Secretarial Orders 3283 Enhancing Renewable
Energy Development on the Public Lands and 3285A1 Renewable Energy
Development by the Department of the Interior in responding to the BSPP
application.
The Final EIS evaluates the potential impacts of the project on air
quality, biological resources, cultural resources, water resources,
geological resources and hazards, land use, noise, paleontological
resources, public health, socioeconomics, soils, traffic and
transportation, visual resources, wilderness characteristics, and other
resources.
The Applicant has applied to the Department of Energy (DOE) for a
loan guarantee under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct
05), as amended by Section 406 of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5 (the ``Recovery Act''). The
DOE has entered into negotiations of a loan guarantee with the
applicant, and is a cooperating agency in developing the Final EIS.
An NOA for the BSPP Draft EIS/Draft CDCA Plan Amendment and
California Energy Commission Staff Assessment (SA) was published by EPA
in the Federal Register on March 19, 2010 (75 FR 13301). The formal 90-
day comment period ended on June 16, 2010. Comments on the Draft EIS/
plan amendment received from the public and internal BLM review were
considered and incorporated as appropriate into the proposed plan
amendment. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text,
but did not significantly change proposed decisions.
Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM
regarding the BSPP Project may be found in the BSPP Proposed CDCA Plan
Amendment/Final EIS ``Dear Reader'' letter and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. E-
mailed or faxed protests will not be accepted as valid protests unless
the protesting party also provides the original letter by either
regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the protest
period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the e-mailed or
faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM
protest coordinator at (202) 912-7212, and e-mails to [email protected]. All protests, including the follow-up letter to e-
mails or faxes, must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate
address, as set forth in the ADDRESSES section above.
Before including your phone number, e-mail address, or other
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware
that your entire protest--including your personal 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, and 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2 and
1610.5.
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, California.
[FR Doc. 2010-20559 Filed 8-19-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P