[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 9 (Thursday, January 14, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2133-2134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-605]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
Construction and Operation of the Quartzsite Solar Energy
Project, La Paz County, AZ (DOE/EIS-0440)
AGENCY: Western Area Power Administration, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
and To Conduct Scoping Meetings; Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands
Involvement.
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SUMMARY: The Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency of
the DOE, intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for
the proposed Quartzsite Solar Energy Project (Project) in La Paz
County, near Quartzsite, Arizona. Quartzsite Solar Energy, LLC (QSE)
has applied to Western to interconnect the proposed Project to
Western's power transmission system. Western is issuing this notice to
inform the public and interested parties about Western's intent to
prepare an EIS, to conduct a public scoping process, and to invite the
public to comment on the scope, proposed action, alternatives, and
issues to be addressed in the EIS. Solar Reserve has applied to the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Yuma Field Office for a right-of-way
grant for the proposed solar power plant. Western will apply to BLM for
a right-of-way grant for the proposed substation.
This EIS will address Western's Federal action of interconnecting
the proposed Project to Western's transmission system and making any
necessary modification to Western facilities to accommodate the
interconnection. The EIS will also review the potential environmental
impacts of QSE constructing, operating, and maintaining a 100-megawatt
(MW) (net) solar-powered generating facility, consisting of a solar
field of heliostat mirrors, power block, thermal energy storage system,
substation site, transmission line, temporary laydown areas, and other
ancillary facilities.
The BLM has agreed to be a cooperating agency for the EIS.
DATES: Public scoping meetings will be held:
1. January 26, 2010, BLM, Yuma Field Office, 2555 E. Gila Ridge
Road, Yuma, AZ 85365.
2. January 27, 2010, Blue Water Casino, 11300 Resort Dr., Parker,
AZ 85344.
3. January 28, 2010, Quartzsite Town Hall, 465 N. Plymouth Ave.,
Quartzsite, AZ 85346.
The public scoping meetings will begin at 6 p.m. and will end at 8
p.m. The meetings will be informal, and attendees will be able to speak
directly with Western and QSE representatives about the proposed
Project. The public scoping period begins with the publication of this
notice and closes on February 16, 2010. Announcements will also be made
by news release to the media, individual letter mailings, and posting
on the Western Web site listed below.
ADDRESSES: Western will host public scoping meetings at the time and
locations indicated in the DATES section. Oral or written comments may
be provided at the public scoping meetings, mailed or e-mailed to Ms.
Mary Barger. Comments should be addressed to Ms. Mary Barger, National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Document Manager, Western Area Power
Administration, Desert Southwest Region, P.O. Box 6457, 615 S. 43rd
Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85005 or [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the proposed
Project and general information about interconnections with Western's
transmission system, you may refer to the project Web site http://www.wapa.gov/transmission/quartzsitesolar.htm or contact Ms. Mary
Barger, NEPA Document Manager, at the address above, by telephone (602)
605-2524, fax (602) 605-2630, or e-mail [email protected].
For general information on DOE's NEPA review procedures or status
of a NEPA review, contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director of NEPA
Policy and Compliance, GC-54, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, telephone (202) 586-
4600 or (800) 472-2756.
For information on BLM's participation, contact Eddie Arreola,
Supervisory Project Manager, Bureau of Land Management, One North
Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004, telephone (602) 417-9505, fax (602)
417-9454, or e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Western, an agency within DOE, markets
Federal hydroelectric power to preference customers, as specified by
law. These customers include municipalities, cooperatives, irrigation
districts, Federal and State agencies, and Native American tribes.
Western's service territory covers 15 western states, of which Arizona
is included. Western owns and operates more than 17,000 miles of high-
voltage transmission lines.
QSE is a Santa Monica, California-based energy company formed by
U.S. Renewables Group, a private equity firm focused exclusively on
renewable energy.
Project Description and Alternatives
QSE proposes to construct a 100-MW (net), solar-powered electrical
generation facility in La Paz County, Arizona. The solar power facility
would occupy approximately 1,450 acres of BLM administered lands within
a larger BLM administered area. The proposed Project would be located
approximately six miles north of Quartzsite, and adjacent to Arizona
State Route 95. The proposed Project, powerline and ancillary
facilities would be on BLM administered land.
The proposed Project would use concentrating solar ``power tower''
technology to capture the sun's heat to make steam, which would power
traditional steam turbine generators. The solar power facility would
contain the power block, a central receiver or tower, solar fields
which consist of mirrors or heliostats to reflect the sun's energy to
the central tower, a thermal energy storage system, technical and non-
technical buildings, a stormwater system, water supply and treatment
systems, a wastewater system, and other supporting facilities.
Other Project components would include access roads, an electrical
substation, and a transmission line. The access road would originate
from Highway 95 and extend approximately 0.5 miles to the perimeter of
the solar power facility.
QSE has applied to Western to interconnect the proposed Project to
Western's transmission system. The transmission line from the solar
facility would extend approximately 0.5 miles from the solar facility
boundary to a new substation to be constructed adjacent to Western's
existing line. The substation would be owned, operated, and maintained
by Western, and would be located adjacent to Western's existing Bouse-
Kofa 161-kV line that parallels State Route 95 in the vicinity of
[[Page 2134]]
Quartzsite, Arizona. The substation would be approximately 300 x 400
feet, or about 2 to 3 acres.
An on-site temporary laydown area would be used during the
construction phase of the Project. The laydown areas, outside of the
solar facility boundary, total approximately 30 acres and would be used
for storage and assembly of proposed Project components and for
temporary construction trailers.
Proposed Agency Action and Alternatives
Western's proposed actions are to build a new substation and to
interconnect the proposed Project to Western's transmission system at
the substation described above.
Western will also consider the no-action alternative in the EIS.
Under the no-action alternative, Western would deny the interconnection
request and would not build a new substation. For the purpose of impact
analysis and comparison in the EIS, it will be assumed that the
Applicant's proposed Project would not be built and the environmental
impacts associated with construction and operation would not occur.
Agency Responsibilities
Because interconnection of the proposed Project would incorporate a
major new generation resource into Western's power transmission system,
Western has determined that an EIS is required under DOE NEPA
implementing procedures, 10 CFR part 1021, Subpart D, Appendix D, class
of action D6.\1\ Western would be the lead Federal agency for preparing
the EIS, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. The proposed Project would
include construction of a new electrical generating facility,
substation and transmission line across lands managed by the BLM;
therefore, the BLM has agreed to be a cooperating agency for
preparation of the EIS. Western will invite other Federal, State,
local, and tribal agencies with jurisdiction by law or special
expertise with respect to environmental issues to be cooperating
agencies on the EIS, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.6. Such agencies may
also make a request to Western to be a cooperating agency by contacting
Ms. Barger at the address listed above in the ADDRESSES section.
Because the proposed Project may involve action in floodplains or
wetlands, this NOI also serves as a notice of proposed floodplain or
wetland action, in accordance with DOE regulations for Compliance with
Floodplain and Wetlands Environmental Review Requirements at 10 CFR
1022.12(a). The EIS will include a floodplain/wetland assessment and,
if required, a floodplain/wetland statement of findings will be issued
with the Final EIS or Western and BLM's Records of Decision (ROD).
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\1\ On October 4, 1999, DOE's Assistant Secretary for
Environmental, Safety and Health delegated to Western's
Administrator the authority to approve EISs for integrating
transmission facilities with Western's transmission grid.
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Environmental Issues
This notice is to inform agencies and the public of Western's
intent to prepare an EIS and solicit comments and suggestions for
consideration in the EIS. To help the public frame its comments, the
following list contains potential environmental issues preliminarily
identified for analysis in the EIS:
1. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive
species of animals or plants.
2. Impacts on migratory birds.
3. Introduction of noxious weeds, invasive and non-native species.
4. Impacts on recreation and transportation.
5. Impacts on land use, wilderness, farmlands, and Areas of
Critical Environmental Concern.
6. Impacts on cultural or historic resources and tribal values.
7. Impacts on human health and safety.
8. Impacts on air, soil, and water resources (including air quality
and surface water impacts).
9. Visual impacts.
10. Socioeconomic impacts and disproportionately high and adverse
impacts to minority and low-income populations.
This list is not intended to be all-inclusive or to imply any
predetermination of impacts. Western invites interested parties to
suggest specific issues within these general categories, or other
issues not included above, to be considered in the EIS.
Public Participation
The EIS process includes a public scoping period; public scoping
meetings; public review and hearings on the draft EIS; publication of a
final EIS; and publication of a ROD. The public scoping period begins
with publication of this notice and closes February 16, 2010. At the
conclusion of the NEPA process, Western will prepare a ROD. Persons
interested in receiving future notices, Project information, copies of
the EIS, and other information on the NEPA review process should
contact Ms. Barger at the address listed above in the ADDRESSES
section.
The purpose of the scoping meetings is to provide information about
the proposed Project, review Project maps, answer questions, and take
written comments from interested parties. All meeting locations will be
handicapped-accessible. Anyone needing special accommodations should
contact Ms. Barger to make arrangements.
The public will have the opportunity to provide written comments at
the public scoping meetings. Written comments may also be sent to Ms.
Barger by fax, e-mail, or U.S. Postal Service mail. To help define the
scope of the EIS, comments should be received by Western no later than
February 16, 2010.
Dated: January 6, 2010.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2010-605 Filed 1-13-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P