[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7191-7192]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-3794]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-050-02-5101-ER-F331; N-75493, N-75471, N-75472, N-75474, N-75475, 
N-75476, N-75477]


Environmental Statements; Notice of Intent: Ivanpah Energy 
Center, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Intent (NOI) to (1) announce a proposed Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Ivanpah Energy Center Project; and (2) 
announce the locations, dates, and times of the scheduled public 
meetings for obtaining public comments.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, an EIS will be prepared by the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), Las Vegas Field Office for the Ivanpah Energy 
Center. The EIS will analyze the impacts of issuing rights-of-way for a 
gas-fired electric power plant and ancillary facilities (consisting of 
electric transmission lines, electric substations, a water pipeline, 
and an access road).

DATES: Three scheduled public meetings to be held at the following 
dates and locations:
     Tuesday, March 5, 2002 commencing at 7 p.m. and continuing 
until all those present have an opportunity to speak but closing no 
later than 9 p.m. Community Center, 375 West San Pedro Avenue, 
Goodsprings, Nevada.
     Wednesday, March 6, 2002 commencing at 7 p.m. and 
continuing until all those present have an opportunity to speak but 
closing no later than 9 p.m. Clark County Government Center, Room ODC 
#3, 500 Grand Central Parkway, Las Vegas, Nevada.
     Thursday, March 7, 2002 commencing at 7 p.m. and 
continuing until all those present have an opportunity to speak but 
closing no later than 9 p.m. Community Center, West Quartz Avenue, 
Sandy Valley, Nevada.
    Individuals making written comments at the public meetings may 
request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name or street 
address from public review of 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 and businesses, and 
for 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 N. Torrey Pines 
Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301 or Bureau of Land Management, 
Farmington Field Office, 1235 La Plata Highway, Suite A, Farmington, NM 
87401; telephone (505) 599-6333, cellular telephone (505) 486-4255.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will address the proposed action and 
(at this time) one alternative.
    The proposed action can be summarized as: Construction, operation 
and maintenance of a nominal 500 Megawatt (MW) gas-fired electrical 
power generating facility and ancillary facilities.
    Except for a related electric transmission line, the proposed 
generating facility and most ancillary facilities are located on public 
land administered by the BLM, in the MDBM, T. 25 S., R. 58 E., sec. 1, 
and T. 25 S., R. 59 E., sec. 6 and in southern Clark County, Nevada. 
The proposed site is about 25 miles southwest of Las Vegas, and two and 
one-half miles southeast of the town of Goodsprings, Nevada. The plant 
consists of two gas turbine-generators. The turbine exhaust heat 
captured and used to create steam will drive a steam turbine-generator 
in a combined-cycle configuration. To minimize consumption of water, 
the

[[Page 7192]]

plant will use refrigerated air-cooling technology.
    The proposed action also includes the following ancillary 
facilities: A 12-inch diameter gas pipeline; a four-inch diameter 
water-supply pipeline; a 230 kilovolt (kV) substation; the following 
230 kV transmission lines: (1) Two 230 kV lines from the proposed 
Ivanpah Substation to the existing Pahrump-Mead 230 kV line corridor; 
(2) a 230 kV line from the Ivanpah Substation to the existing Western 
Area Power Administration Mead Substation; and (3) two 230 kV lines 
from the Table Mountain Substation to the Ivanpah Substation; and the 
following fiber optic lines: (1) An optical-fiber ground wire (OPGW) 
shield wire as an integral part of the Ivanpah-Mead #2 transmission 
line; and (2) an OPGW as an integral part of the Table Mountain-Ivanpah 
#1 transmission line. Access to the generation facility site would be 
via an existing, unimproved road connected to State Highway 161.
    The plant will require approximately 22 months for construction. 
The plant will be built to operate continuously, except for semi-annual 
maintenance shutdowns, with a projected 40-year life. Power will be 
sold into the commercial power markets of Nevada, California, and 
Arizona.
    Under the No Action Alternative, BLM would not issue right-of-way 
grants for the Ivanpah Energy Center and ancillary facilities. The 
project including the power plant, transmission lines, water pipeline, 
gas pipeline, access road, and temporary use areas would not be 
constructed. The areas proposed for the Ivanpah Energy Center would 
remain undeveloped. An energy need would not be met by the proposed 
plant's generated power.
    Public participation is encouraged throughout the processing of 
this project. Comments presented throughout the process will be 
considered.

    Dated: January 23, 2002.
Angie C. Lara,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-3794 Filed 2-14-02; 8:45 am]
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