[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 194 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51056-51057]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24982]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement/Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed Teayawa Energy 
Center, 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 (BIA) intends to file a draft Environmental Impact Statement /
Environmental Impact Report (DEIS/EIR) for the proposed Teayawa Energy 
Center to be constructed and operated on 41.5 acres of the Torres 
Martinez Indian Reservation in Riverside County, California. The 
purpose of the proposed project is to conjointly help provide for the 
economic development and progress of the Torres Martinez Desert 
Cahuilla Indians and for the power needs of southern California. 
Details on the project location, proposed action and areas of 
environmental concern are addressed in the DEIS/EIR provided in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. This notice also announces a public 
hearing to receive comments on the DEIS/EIR.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS/EIR must arrive by December 3, 
2001. The public hearing will be held on Thursday, October 25, 2001, 
from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., or until the last public comment is received.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand carry written comments to Ronald 
Jaeger, Regional Director, Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 
2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825-1846. Please include 
your name, return address and the caption, ``DEIS/EIR Comments, Teayawa 
Energy Center, Riverside County, California,'' on the first page of 
your written comments.
    The public hearing will be held at the Tribal Hall, Torres Martinez 
Indian Reservation, 66725 Martinez Road, Thermal, California. This 
hearing will be co-hosted by the BIA and the Torres Martinez Indians.

[[Page 51057]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To obtain a copy of the DEIS/EIR, 
please write or call William Allan, Environmental Protection 
Specialist, Pacific Region, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Sacramento, California 95825-1846, telephone (916) 978-6043. Copies of 
the DEIS/EIR are also available for public review in the Torres 
Martinez Tribal Administrative Headquarters at the Thermal, California, 
address given above and at public libraries throughout the Coachella 
Valley, California.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Calpine Corporation, through an agreement 
with the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, proposes to 
construct, own and operate the Teayawa Energy Center (TEC), a 600 
megawatt, natural-gas-fired power plant to be located on a 41.5 acre 
parcel of tribal trust land in Riverside County, California. The parcel 
is located along 62nd Avenue, east of Johnson Street near the Coachella 
Canal, northeast of the town of Mecca, California.
    Natural gas would be supplied to TEC through a new gas pipeline 
connection to the nearest, Southern California Gas Company intrastate 
pipeline. The preferred route for this connecting pipeline is north 
from the proposed TEC site along an existing utility corridor, to an 
interconnection point on the intrastate line located north of the 
Interstate 10 freeway.
    To provide cooling for TEC, approximately 4000 acre-feet per year 
of process water would be needed. The preferred source for this water 
is via connection to the Coachella branch of the All American Canal 
(Coachella Canal). TEC would use a ``zero liquid discharge'' system for 
treatment of process wastewater, including cooling tower blowdown. 
Water cycled in a cooling tower is concentrated into a sludge-like 
consistency and evaporated from onsite ponds. The resulting mineral 
concentration that builds up in the ponds would be stored, dried and 
eventually hauled off site for disposal at an appropriate landfill.
    Potable water would be supplied to TEC by a groundwater well on 
site. This would also provide a backup source of cooling water when 
canal water is unavailable. Sanitary waste would be collected in a 
storage tank and periodically trucked to an offsite treatment plant, or 
disposed using a septic tank and leach field, if soil conditions 
permit.
    Electricity produced by TEC would be transformed up to transmission 
level voltage at an onsite switch yard that would be connected to the 
double circuit, 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines owned by the 
Imperial Irrigation District (IID). These existing transmission lines 
are located immediately east of the proposed TEC site, on the eastern 
edge of the Coachella Canal. To mitigate potential, localized 
transmission system congestion and reliability problems, TEC would 
include a new electrical transmission line segment to an IID substation 
in the city of Coachella, California. In addition, re-conductoring and 
related improvements will be made to existing offsite transmission 
lines owned by IID and Southern California Edison (SCE) and situated 
between the Coachella substation and the SCE grid.
    Alternatives to the proposed project that are considered in the 
DEIS/EIR include alternative natural gas pipeline routes, alternative 
water sources, a smaller energy center and no action (no project). 
Resources and issues discussed in the DEIS/EIR include water, 
biological, agricultural, mineral, paleontological, cultural and visual 
resources, geology and soils, land use, air quality, noise, traffic and 
transportation, public health/environmental hazards, worker safety, 
hazardous materials, hazardous waste handling, public services and 
utilities, socioeconomic, environmental justice and Indian trust 
assets.

Public Comment Solicitation

    As an alternative to submitting written comments regarding the 
content of the DEIS/EIR to the location identified in the ADDRESSES 
section, interested persons may instead comment via the Internet to 
http://[email protected]. Please submit Internet comments as an 
ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters and any form of 
encryption. Include your name, return address and the caption, ``DEIS/
EIR Comments, Teayawa Energy Center, Riverside County, California,'' on 
the first page of your Internet message. If you do not receive 
confirmation from the system that your Internet message was received, 
contact William Allan at (916) 978-6043.
    Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will 
be available for public review at the BIA address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section, 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.

Authority

    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 8.1.

    Dated: September 27, 2001.
Neal A. McCaleb,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 01-24982 Filed 10-4-01; 8:45 am]
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