[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 218 (Friday, November 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 69458]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-28434]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA-048880, LLCAD060000, L51010000.FX0000, LVRWB09B2520]
Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Genesis
Solar Energy Project and Amendment to the California Desert
Conservation Area Resource Management Plan, Riverside County, CA
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability
of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Amendment to the California
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan, the applicable Resource
Management Plan (RMP) for the project site and the surrounding areas,
located in the California Desert District. The Secretary of the
Interior approved the ROD on November 4, 2010, which constitutes the
final decision of the Department.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/Approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan are
available upon request from the Field Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast
Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm
Springs, California 92262 or via the Internet at the following Web
site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager;
telephone: (760) 833-7100; mailing address: 1201 Bird Center Drive,
Palm Springs, California 92262; or e-mail: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Genesis Solar, LLC, a wholly owned
subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, filed right-of-way (ROW)
application CACA-048880 for the proposed Genesis Solar Energy Project
(GSEP). The GSEP is a concentrated solar electrical generating facility
using parabolic trough technology and facilities. The GSEP site is
proposed on approximately 1,950 acres of BLM-managed lands in Riverside
County, California, approximately 27 miles east of the unincorporated
community of Desert Center and 25 miles west of the Arizona-California
border city of Blythe. The GSEP consists of 2 independent solar
electric generating facilities with a net electrical output of 125
megawatts (MW) each, resulting in a total net electrical output of 250
MW. In addition to the site, the project includes a distribution line,
an electrical transmission line, fiber optic lines, a natural gas
pipeline, and an access road. A double circuit 230-kilovolt (kV)
transmission line will be constructed to connect to the Southern
California Edison Colorado River substation via the existing Blythe
Energy Project Transmission Line between the Julian Hinds and Buck
substations. The linear facilities will encumber approximately 90 acres
offsite.
The project site is in the California Desert District within the
planning boundary of the CDCA Plan, which is the applicable RMP for the
project site and the surrounding areas. The CDCA Plan, while
recognizing the potential compatibility of solar generation facilities
on public lands, requires that all sites associated with power
generation or transmission not already identified in that Plan be
considered through the BLM's land use plan amendment process. As a
result, prior to approval of a ROW grant for the GSEP, the BLM must
amend the CDCA Plan to allow the solar generating project on that site.
The approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan specifically revises the CDCA
Plan to allow for the development of the GSEP and ancillary facilities
on land managed by the BLM.
The BLM preferred alternative would result in the building of 2
adjacent and independent power block units, capable of generating
approximately 250 MW of electricity, and the use of dry cooling
technology, as well as all associated ancillary facilities. This 250 MW
alternative was evaluated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS). The Notice of Availability of the Final EIS for the GSEP and the
proposed CDCA Plan amendment was published in the Federal Register on
August 27, 2010 (75 FR 52736).
Publication of the Notice of Availability for the Final EIS
initiated a 30-day protest period for the proposed amendment to the
CDCA Plan and a 30-day comment period on the Final EIS. At the close of
the 30-day period on September 27, 2010, 3 timely and complete written
protests were received and resolved. Their resolution is summarized in
the Director's Protest Summary Report attached to the ROD. The proposed
amendment to the CDCA Plan was not modified as a result of the protest
resolution. In addition, the BLM received 10 comment letters on the
Final EIS. The BLM's responses to these comments are provided in
Appendix 1 of the ROD. Simultaneously with the protest period, the
Governor of California conducted a 30-day consistency review of the
proposed CDCA Plan amendment to identify any inconsistencies with the
state or local plan, policies, or programs. The California Governor's
office did not identify inconsistencies between the proposed amendment
to the CDCA Plan and state or local plan, policies, or programs.
Because this decision is approved by the Secretary of the Interior,
it is not subject to administrative appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a)(3)).
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.
Robert V. Abbey,
Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-28434 Filed 11-10-10; 8:45 am]
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