[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 88 (Friday, May 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Page 25288]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-10664]
[[Page 25288]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CACA 49834; L51010000.ER0000 LLCAD09000 LVRWB09B3160]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Report
and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Southern California
Edison Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project, California and Nevada
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, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970,
the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
together with the California Public Utilities Commission, has prepared
a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the proposed Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project
(EITP), and by this notice is announcing the opening of the comment
period.
DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive
written comments on the EITP Draft EIR/EIS within 45 days following the
date the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of
Availability in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future
meetings or hearings and any other public involvement activities at
least 15 days in advance through public notices, media releases, or
mailings.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the proposed EITP Draft
EIR/EIS by any of the following methods:
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles.html;
E-mail: [email protected], subject line EITP;
Fax: (760) 326-7099; or
Mail or other delivery service: George R. Meckfessel,
Needles Field Office, 1303 South U.S. Highway 95, Needles, California
92363-4228.
Copies of the EITP Draft EIR/EIS are available in the Needles Field
Office at the above address, or at the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/needles.html, and at the BLM California State
Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento, California 95825. Electronic (CD-
ROM) or paper copies may also be obtained by contacting George
Meckfessel at (760) 326-7000 or by e-mailing your request to
[email protected] and including your name and mailing address.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Tom Hurshman, Project
Manager, telephone (970) 240-5345; fax (970) 240-5368; address 2465
South Townsend Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401; e-mail [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM's purpose and need for the EITP
project is to respond to Southern California Edison's (SCE) application
for a right-of-way (ROW) grant to construct and operate a double
circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to replace an existing 115-
kV transmission line on public lands in compliance with Title V of the
Federal Lands Management and Policy Act (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1761-1771),
the BLM ROW regulations, and other applicable Federal laws.
The upgraded transmission line would extend approximately 35 miles
from southern Clark County, Nevada (28 miles), into northeastern San
Bernardino County, California (7 miles). The project would also include
a new Ivanpah substation in California near Primm, Nevada, which would
serve as a connector hub for solar energy that may be produced by
future solar generation projects in the Ivanpah Valley area. The
existing Eldorado Substation would be modified to accommodate the new
Eldorado-Ivanpah transmission line. The segment of transmission line to
be replaced is approximately 36 miles long and originates at the
existing Eldorado Substation in T. 25 S., R. 62 E., Sec. 1, Mount
Diablo Meridian, and terminates at the proposed Ivanpah Substation in
T. 16 N., R. 14 E., Sec. 4, San Bernardino Meridian.
The BLM will decide whether to approve, approve with modification,
or deny issuance of a ROW authorization to SCE for the proposed EITP
project. The EITP would carry electricity from several renewable energy
projects proposed in and around the Ivanpah Valley, including the
Ivanpah Solar Energy Generation System planned by BrightSource, LLC.
The proposed transmission line and new substation would be constructed
within an existing designated utility corridor. Telecommunications
lines are also proposed. The public lands in the project area are
managed by the BLM in accordance with the California Desert
Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan and the Las Vegas Field Office Resource
Management Plan.
As proposed by SCE, the transmission line would be sited within an
existing ROW corridor designated in the CDCA plan and Las Vegas RMP. In
addition to the proposed action and the no action alternatives, the
EIR/EIS analyzes seven additional action alternatives that address
alternative routes for the transmission and telecommunications lines.
A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIR/EIS for the EITP project was
published in the Federal Register on July 27, 2009, and was followed by
a 30-day public scoping period. The BLM held an interagency meeting on
July 1, 2009, to inform other agencies about the project and held
formal scoping meetings for the public on July 28 and 29, 2009. Four
primary areas of concern were identified during the public scoping
process: (1) Impacts of the project on several biological resources,
especially desert tortoise; (2) compatibility of the project with
regional land uses such as the planned Southern Nevada Supplemental
Airport; (3) compatibility of the project with other existing ROW
designations; and (4) cumulative impacts. Before including your
address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying
information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire
comment--including your personal identifying information--may be made
publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to
withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we
cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2
Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-10664 Filed 5-6-10; 8:45 am]
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