[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77801-77802]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-32060]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[ID-077-03-1430-ER-D025; IDI-33676]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement/
Land Use Plan Amendment

AGENCY: Burley Field Office, Upper Snake River District, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), Cassia County, Idaho.

ACTION: Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) and to Amend the Cassia Resource Management Plan (RMP).

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the BLM is proposing to prepare a 
land use plan amendment and environmental impact statement (EIS) to 
consider the proposed Cotterel Mountain Wind Energy Project (Project), 
located southeast of the town of Albion in Cassia County, Idaho. 
Windland, Inc. (Windland) of Boise, Idaho proposes to construct and 
operate the 200-megawatt (MW) wind-driven power generation facility. 
The EIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts of the 
construction and operation of the wind project itself, as well as 
related transmission facilities and roads. This planning activity would 
amend the Cassia RMP and deals with the 40,967 acres of public land in 
the Cotterel Mountain Management Area of the RMP and more specifically 
with approximately 4,600 acres running north and south along the ridge 
line of the mountain that would be directly affected by the proposed 
project. The planning process will comply with the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). The BLM will work closely with interested 
parties to identify the management decisions that are best suited to 
the needs of the public. This collaborative process will take into 
account local, regional, and national needs and concerns. This notice 
initiates the public scoping process to identify specific issues and 
develop planning criteria. The scoping process will include an 
evaluation of the needs and interests of the public.

DATES: The scoping comment period will commence with the publication of 
this notice. Formal scoping will end 60 days after publication of this 
notice. Comments regarding issues and planning criteria should be 
received on or before the end of the scoping period at the address 
listed below. Public meetings or open houses will be held. In order to 
ensure local community

[[Page 77802]]

participation and input, public meetings will most likely be held in 
Albion, Burley and Boise, Idaho. Specific dates and locations for 
public participation will be published in local newspapers and 
broadcast on local community calendars. Meetings and open houses will 
provide opportunity for the public to work collaboratively with the BLM 
to identify issues to be addressed in the planning process.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the proposed development of a wind-driven 
power generation facility should be sent to: Project Manager, Cotterel 
Mountain Wind Project, Bureau of Land Management, Burley Field Office, 
15 East 200 South, Burley, Idaho 83318. Comments, including names and 
street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at 
the above address during regular business hours, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 
p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, and may be published as 
part of the EIS. 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 prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such 
requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Windland, Inc., a Boise based company, is 
proposing to install approximately 130 wind turbines, each having a 
generating capacity between 1.3 and 1.8 megawatts, on a site covering 
approximately 7 square miles on the Cotterel Mountains southeast of 
Burley, Idaho. The proposed project area is within the Burley Field 
Office, Upper Snake River District of the BLM. The 130 turbines 
situated on towers approximately 250 feet in height would produce a 
maximum of 200 megawatts of power, enough to provide electricity for 
40,000 homes. Power from the project would be collected by an 
underground cable system and then fed into one of two proposed 
substations to be located on the project site. The fenced substation 
sites would occupy approximately two to four acres each. From the 
substation sites, power from the project would then be transported to 
one of two existing 138-kilovolt (kV) power transmission lines that are 
in the vicinity of the proposed project area, via new overhead 
transmission facilities. Other facilities required as part of the 
proposed project are small pad mounted transformers located at the base 
of each wind turbine tower, access roads and one operation and 
maintenance building. The area permanently occupied by the project 
after final reclamation of disturbed areas would total approximately 68 
acres. The project is scheduled to begin construction as early as June 
2004, followed by commercial operation as early as November 2005 and 
would operate year-round for at least 30 years.
    The purpose and need for the proposed project are to (1) provide 
wind-generated electricity from a site in Idaho to meet existing and 
future demands for electricity; and (2) to develop energy generation 
facilities that are consistent with the President's National Energy 
Policy which encourages the development of renewable energy resources, 
including wind energy, as part of an overall strategy to develop a 
diverse portfolio of domestic energy supplies for the nation's future.
    Public Participation: Potential issues that have been identified to 
date include, but are not limited to the following general categories: 
Wildlife (including birds); vegetation (including weeds and invasive 
plant species); threatened, endangered and sensitive species; public 
access; visual concerns; cultural resources; Tribal concerns; rangeland 
resources; geology and soils; hydrology; recreation resources; 
hazardous materials; air quality; noise; and socio-economics. The BLM 
has established a 60-day scoping period during which, affected tribes, 
landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local 
governments, and any other interested parties are invited to comment on 
the scope of the EIS. Scoping will help the BLM identify the full range 
of issues that should be addressed in the EIS. The Draft EIS/Draft plan 
amendment, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2003, will 
be circulated for public review and comment. The BLM will consider and 
respond in the Final EIS/proposed planned amendment to comments 
received on the draft. The Final EIS and proposed plan amendment are 
expected to be published early in 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Barker, Project Manager, Burley 
Field Office, 15 East 200 South, Burley, Idaho 83318, telephone (208) 
677-6678.

    Dated: October 28, 2002.
Theresa Hanley,
Burley Field Office Manager.
[FR Doc. 02-32060 Filed 12-18-02; 8:45 am]
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