[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 20 (Wednesday, January 30, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4470-4471]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2195]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-050-02-5101-ER-F323; NVN66472, NVN73726, N-66150, N-61191]


Availability for the Table Mountain Wind Generating Facility

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability to (1) announce the 60 day public review 
period for the Table Mountain Wind Generating Facility (WGF) Draft 
Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS); (2) announce the locations, 
dates, and times of the scheduled public meetings for formal public 
comments; and (3) announce locations where reading copies of the DEIS 
will be made available.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, a DEIS has been prepared by the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), Las Vegas Field Office for the Table Mountain 
WGF. The DEIS was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing rights-of-
way for arrays of wind turbines and ancillary facilities located on 
public lands administered by the BLM.

DATES: The DEIS will be made available to the public on February 1, 
2002. Copies of the DEIS will be mailed to individuals, agencies, or 
companies who previously requested copies.
    Written comments on the DEIS must be postmarked or otherwise 
delivered by 4:30 p.m. 60 days following the date the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) publishes the Notice of Availability and filing 
of the DEIS in the Federal Register. The EPA Notice of Availability is 
expected to be published on or about February 1, 2002. Written

[[Page 4471]]

comments on the document should be addressed to Mark Morse, Field 
Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 Torrey 
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301. Oral and/or written comments may 
also be presented at three scheduled public meetings to be held at the 
following locations:

 Tuesday, February 26, 2002 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Community 
Center, West Quartz Avenue, Sandy Valley, Nevada
 Wednesday, February 27, 2002 at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Community 
Center, 375 West San Pedro Avenue, Goodspirngs, Nevada
 Thursday, February 28, 2002 at 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Clark County 
Government Center, Room QDC #3, 500 Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, 
Nevada

ADDRESSES: Public reading copies of the DEIS will be available for 
reading at public libraries located at the following addresses:

 650 West Quartz Avenue, Sandy Valley, NV
 365 West San Pedro, Goodsprings, NV
 4280 South Jones Blvd., Las Vegas, NV

    A limited number of copies of the document will be available at the 
following BLM offices:

 Bureau of Land Management, Nevada State Office, 1340 Financial 
Blvd., Reno, NV
 Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 Torrey 
Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV

    Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to 
withhold your name or street address from public review or from 
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this 
definitively at the beginning of your written comments. Such requests 
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from 
organizations, businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves 
as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses will be 
available for public inspection in their entirety.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry Crockford, Project Manager, 
Bureau of Land Management, Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 Torrey Pines 
Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301. Bureau of Land Management, Farmington 
Field Office, 1235 La Plata Highway, Suite A, Farmington, NM 87401; 
telephone (505) 599-6333, cellular telephone (505) 486-4299, or 
electronic mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The DEIS addresses alternatives to resolve 
the following major issues (revealed to date): Air quality, increased 
recreation, mining claims, birds and bats, big horn sheep, threatened 
or endangered species, cultural resources and traditional cultural 
properties, transportation, visual resources, noise, and 
socioeconomics.
    The proposed action and alternatives can be summarized as: Proposed 
Action--Construct arrays containing a total of 153 wind turbine 
generators (WTGs) consisting of a combination of the two sizes of 
turbines identified in Alternatives A and B, and ancillary facilities; 
Alternative A--Construct arrays containing a total of 187 NEG Micon 
Model 900/52 WTGs and ancillary facilities; Alternative B--Construct 
arrays containing a total of 135 NEG Micon Model 1500 C WTGs and 
ancillary facilities; and Alternative C--No Action.
    The proposed action is to construct, operate, and maintain a WGF 
producing 205-megawatts (MWs) and ancillary facilities on approximately 
300 acres of public land within the Table Mountain WGF study area. The 
fully constructed WGF would consist of arrays containing a total of 153 
WTGs. The WTGs installed would be a combination of the NEG Micon Model 
900/52 (each producing 800 kilowatts) and NEG Micon 1500 C (each 
producing 1.5 MWs) turbines. Ancillary facilities consist of access 
roads, underground and overhead 34.5 kilovolt (kV) distribution lines, 
230 kV electric transmission lines, an electric sub-station, a control 
building, and various temporary use areas. The WGF would operate 24 
hours per day, 365 days a year, and produce in excess of 460 million 
kilowatt-hours annually. The anticipated life of the facility would be 
longer than 20 years. The rights-of way would be granted for 20 years 
with the right to renew.
    Alternative A would essentially be the same as the Proposed Action 
but would consist of arrays containing a total of 187 NEG Micon Model 
900/52 WTGs and ancillary facilities. Under Alternative A, there would 
be 22 percent more towers, turbines, and transformers. This would cause 
an increase in total of land disturbance as compared to the Proposed 
Action.
    Alternative B would essentially be the same as the Proposed Action 
but would consist of arrays containing a total of 135 NEG Micon Model 
1500 C WTGs and ancillary facilities. Under Alternative B, there would 
be 12 percent fewer towers, turbines, and transformers. This would 
cause a reduction in total acres of land disturbance as compared to the 
Proposed Action.
    Under the No Action Alternative, BLM would not issue right-of-way 
grants for the WGF and ancillary facilities. The WTGs, access roads, 
underground and overhead 34.5 kV distribution lines, 230 kV electric 
transmission lines, electric sub-station, control building, and various 
temporary use areas would not be constructed/utilized. Wind resources 
at Table Mountain would remain undeveloped.
    Public participation is occurring throughout the processing of this 
project. A Notice of Intent was filed in the Federal Register on 
December 29, 2000. Two rounds of public meetings consisting of three 
meetings each were held. Comments presented throughout the process have 
been considered.

    Dated: January 24, 2002.
Charles F. Delcamp,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-2195 Filed 1-29-02; 8:45 am]
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