[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 77 (Friday, April 22, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20930-20931]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5454]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-020-5101-ER-F347; N-78567, N-78568, N-78989]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and 
To Initiate the Public Scoping Process for a Proposed Coal-Fired Power 
Plant

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(c) of the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, notice is hereby given that the Winnemucca Field Office (WFO) of 
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is initiating the preparation of an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposed coal-fired power 
plant.

DATES: The public scoping comment period will commence with the 
publication of this Notice, and will end on June 21, 2005. Public 
meetings will be announced through the local news media, and a BLM Web 
site at least 15 days prior to the event. Comments should be received 
on or before the end of the scoping period at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be sent to the Winnemucca Field 
Office, Bureau of Land Management, 5100 East Winnemucca Boulevard, 
Winnemucca, Nevada 89445, via fax at (775) 623-1503 or online at: 
http://www.nv.blm.gov/winnemucca. Comments, including names and 
addresses of respondents will be available for public review at the BLM 
WFO, during regular hours 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday, except 
holidays. 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 of the law. All submissions from 
organizations and 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: For further information and/or to have 
your name added to our mailing list, contact Fred Holzel, Planning and 
Environmental Coordinator, Telephone (775) 623-1500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EIS will analyze a 1,450 megawatt coal-
fired power plant, which is proposed by Granite-Fox Power LLC (GFP), to 
be located in rural northwest Nevada near the town of Gerlach, in 
Washoe County. Features in the area include the Smoke Creek Desert, the 
Black Rock-Desert High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National 
Conservation Area and associated wilderness areas, and five (5)

[[Page 20931]]

wilderness study areas. U.S. Gypsum, a gypsum mine and wallboard 
facility, and the adjacent town of Empire, are located southeast of the 
proposed project. GFP's proposed project consists of the power plant to 
be located on private lands, with their ancillary facilities to be 
constructed on both private and public lands. Proposed power plant 
ancillary facilities include: Water supply, transport, and discharge 
facilities; waste disposal facilities; electric transmission lines; 
rail lines; and a temporary construction worker residence area. Three 
proposed rights-of-way would involve approximately 260 acres of public 
land. The Federal action comprises potential issuance of these public 
rights-of-way, which are necessary for the construction and operation 
of the power plant.
    Although the proposed power plant would be located on private land, 
it could not operate without Federal actions for rights-of-way on 
public lands. The EIS will address potential impacts of the proposal on 
private and public lands. The proposed rights-of-way on public lands 
include approximately 7 miles of railroad spur, approximately 2 miles 
of 500 kilovolt transmission line, and approximately 26 miles of water 
supply pipelines. It also includes approximately 1 mile of ground 
electrode lines. A range of alternatives would be developed with input 
from the scoping process.

    Dated: January 31, 2005.
Vicki L. Wood,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 05-5454 Filed 4-21-05; 8:45 am]
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