[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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