[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 6200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1763]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[1220-AL]


Notice of Availability of Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area 
Final Environmental Impact Statement, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.),the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area, Imperial 
County, managed by the El Centro Field Office.

DATES: BLM will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) 30 days after the date 
of publication of this notice (40 CFR 1506.10(b)(2)).

ADDRESSES: A copy of the FEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State, 
and local government agencies and interested parties. The document will 
be available electronically at the following Truckhaven Geothermal 
Leasing Area, Imperial County EIS Web site: http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro. Copies of the FEIS will be available for public inspection at 
the following locations:
     Bureau of Land Management, California State Office, 2800 
Cottage Way, Suite W-1834, Sacramento, CA 95825.
     Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office, 1661 S. 
4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.
     Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District, 
22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553

FOR FURTHER IINFORMATION CONTACT: John Dalton, Truckhaven Geothermal 
Leasing Area EIS Project Manager, at (951) 691-5200, Bureau of Land 
Management, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553; 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area 
encompasses approximately 14,731 acres of Federal minerals in western 
Imperial County, California, north of State Route 78 and generally west 
and south of County Highway S-22. The area is part of the California 
Desert Conservation Area. The main issues addressed in the Final EIS 
are geothermal resource leasing, recreation, and special status 
species. Three alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS: (1) No 
action, which would not lease any geothermal resources; (2) leasing 
only lands with existing noncompetitive lease applications; and (3) the 
proposed action, which would offer all BLM managed lands within this 
area for lease, subject to certain stipulations and mitigation measures 
to be applied at the development stage. Comments on the Truckhaven 
Geothermal Leasing Area Draft EIS received from the public and via 
internal BLM review were incorporated into the Final EIS. These 
comments resulted in corrections, clarifying text, and the addition of 
new data used in the analysis of impacts. The Final EIS includes 
measures to mitigate impacts to off-highway vehicle restriction. The 
Final EIS addresses comprehensive, long-range decisions for the use and 
management of geothermal resources in the planning area and management 
of other resources and uses potentially affected by geothermal resource 
management decisions. The reasonable foreseeable development scenario 
for the area projects a potential for two 25-Megawatt geothermal power 
plants, with a total surface disturbance of 502.25 acres of the 14,731 
acres proposed for leasing that are administered by the BLM. The ROD 
for this project will address only BLM's decisions for public lands and 
resources administered by the BLM.

Alan Stein,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E8-1763 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P