[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 114 (Tuesday, June 13, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37163-37164]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-14888]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Torres Martinez-Calpine Power Generating Facility, Riverside 
County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, with the cooperation of the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla 
Indians and Calpine Corporation, intends to gather information 
necessary for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the 
proposed Torres Martinez-Calpine Power Generating Facility that Calpine 
would construct and operate on a 40-acre parcel within the Torres 
Martinez Indian Reservation, Riverside County, California. The purpose 
of the proposed action is to help Calpine Corporation meet the 
electrical power needs of southern California. Details on the project 
location, proposed action and initial areas of environmental concern to 
be addressed in the EIS follow as supplementary information. This 
notice also announces a public scoping meeting for the content of the 
EIS.

DATES: Comments on the scope and implementation of this proposal must 
arrive by July 14, 2000. The public scoping meeting will be held on 
June 28, 2000, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any 
one of several methods. You may mail or hand carry written comments to 
Ronald M. Jaeger, Regional Director, Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California, 95825-1846. You may 
also comment via the Internet to [email protected]. Please submit 
Internet comments as an ASCII file, avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption. If you do not receive 
confirmation from the system that your Internet message was received, 
contact us directly at (916) 978-6043.
    Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the above address during regular 
business hours, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
holidays. Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you 
wish us to withhold your name and/or address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. We will not, however, 
consider anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations or 
businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public inspection in their entirety.
    The public scoping meeting will be held at the Tribal Hall, Torres 
Martinez Indian Reservation, 66-725 Martinez Road, Thermal, California.

[[Page 37164]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William Allan, (916) 978-6043, or 
Bobbi Fletcher, (760) 397-9850.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Calpine Corporation, through an agreement 
with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, plans to construct, 
own and operate a 600 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant on a 40-
acre parcel of tribal trust land in Riverside County, California, 
northeast of the town of Mecca. The parcel is located along 62nd 
Avenue, east of Johnson Street in proximity to the Coachella Canal.
    Natural gas is proposed to be supplied to the plant by a new 10 to 
12 mile gas line extending northward to a connection point north of the 
I-10 Freeway. Electricity produced by the plant would be routed through 
an on-site substation to nearby electrical transmission lines. 
Improvements to several miles of off-site transmission lines may also 
be required. Cooling water for the plant is proposed to be obtained 
from on-site wells. The water would be cycled, then possibly discharged 
for beneficial re-use at fish farms and/or vineyards on nearby Torres 
Martinez tribal lands.
    The areas of environmental concern so far identified include air 
quality, biological and botanical resources, aesthetics, water 
resources and cultural resources. This range of issues may be expanded 
based on comments received during the scoping process.
    This notice is published in accordance with section 1503.1 of the 
Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR Parts 1500 through 
1508), implementing the procedural requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), 
and the Department of the Interior Manual (516 DM 1-6), and is in the 
exercise of authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary--Indian 
Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: June 5, 2000.
Kevin Gover,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 00-14888 Filed 6-12-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-02-P