[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 166 (Friday, August 27, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52776-52778]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-21276]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA 048649, LLCAD06000, L51010000.FX0000, LVRWB09B2490]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Desert Sunlight Holdings, LLC Desert Sunlight Solar 
Farm Project and Possible California Desert Conservation Area Plan 
Amendment

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

[[Page 52777]]


ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Draft 
California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan Amendment for the 
Desert Sunlight Holdings, LLC Desert Sunlight Solar Farm (DSSF) 
Project, Riverside County, California, and by this notice, is 
announcing the opening of a 90-day public comment period.

DATES: To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must receive 
written comments on the Draft EIS within 90 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, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Desert Sunlight 
Holdings DSSF project by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (760) 833-7199.
     Mail or other delivery service: Allison Shaffer, Project 
Manager, BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center 
Drive, Palm Springs, California 92262.

Copies of the DSSF Draft EIS are available from the Palm Springs-South 
Coast Field Office at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone (760) 833-7100. See also ADDRESSES section.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Desert Sunlight Holdings, LLC has requested 
a 19,516-acre right-of-way (ROW) to construct and operate the DSSF 550-
megawatt (MW) solar photovoltaic (PV) facility and associated 220-
kilovolt (kV) generation interconnection line (gen-tie line), and to 
facilitate the construction and operation by Southern California Edison 
(SCE) of a new 500- to 220-kV Red Bluff Substation where the project 
would interconnect with the SCE regional transmission system.
    The DSSF power generation site would encompass 4,245 acres. The 
power generation site would consist of several components: A main 
generation area which includes PV arrays, combining switchgear, 
overhead lines, and access corridors; an operations and maintenance 
facility; a solar energy visitor center; an on-site substation where 
the voltage of the generated electricity would be stepped up to 220 kV 
to match that of the transmission line; and site security and fencing.
    The transmission line from the project would transmit the 
electricity to the regional transmission system through the Red Bluff 
Substation where the power would feed into SCE's existing Devers-Palo 
Verde 1 (DPV1) 500-kV transmission line. The length of the transmission 
line would be 12.2 miles long involving 236 acres.
    The Red Bluff Substation would consist of a 500/220 kV substation 
on approximately 90 acres, with an additional 20 to 30 acres for 
related features including access roads and drainage control. 
Substation features include: Connection of the project tranmission line 
into the substation; transmission lines to connect the substation to 
the DPV1 line; modification of DPV1 towers near the substation; 
construction of an electric distribution line for substation light and 
power; and installation of telecommunications facilities.
    The DSSF project would be located approximately six miles north of 
Interstate Highway 10 and the rural community of Desert Center in 
Riverside County. The project area is within two miles of Joshua Tree 
National Park. The Draft EIS analyzes the direct, indirect, and 
cumulative impacts to the environment. Three action alternatives and 
three no project alternatives are analyzed in the Draft EIS. 
Alternatives include:
     The proposed action;
     A modified proposed action with an alternative 
transmission line route and substation location;
     A modified proposed action with a reduced project 
footprint (3,045 acres) and reduced output (413 MW);
     No action with no plan amendment to the CDCA plan;
     No project approval with a plan amendment to the CDCA plan 
to make the project area unsuitable for solar energy projects; and
     No project approval with a plan amendment to the CDCA plan 
to make the project area suitable for other solar energy projects.

The BLM's purpose and need for the DSSF project is to respond to Desert 
Sunlight Holdings' application under Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761) 
for a ROW grant to construct, operate, and decommission a solar PV 
facility on public lands in compliance with FLPMA, NEPA, BLM ROW and 
land use planning regulations, and other applicable laws and 
regulations. The BLM will decide whether to approve, approve with 
modification, or deny a ROW grant to Desert Sunlight Holdings for the 
proposed DSSF project. The BLM will also consider amending the CDCA 
Plan to make the project area (or portions) either available or 
unavailable to future solar development. The CDCA Plan (1980, as 
amended), while recognizing the potential compatibility of solar 
generation facilities with other uses on public lands, requires that 
all sites proposed for power generation or transmission not already 
identified in the plan be considered through the plan amendment 
process. If the BLM decides to grant a ROW, the BLM would amend the 
CDCA Plan as required based on guidance in the BLM Land Use Planning 
Handbook (H 1601-1). The inventory for wilderness characteristics was 
updated and the project area was found to lack wilderness 
characteristics.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS and possible CDCA plan 
amendment for the DSSF was published in the Federal Register on January 
13, 2010 (75 FR 1801). This was followed by a 30-day public scoping 
period which ended February 13, 2010. Scoping meetings were held on 
January 28, 2010, in Palm Desert, California. Numerous public scoping 
comments were received.
    The main concerns identified during scoping included potential 
impacts to biological, visual, water, and air resources, wilderness 
characteristics and cumulative impacts resulting from the potential 
development of the Interstate Highway 10 corridor. The issues and 
concerns identified in the scoping comments were addressed in the Draft 
EIS.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and e-mail addresses of persons who 
submit comments will be available for public review and disclosure at 
the above address during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 
Monday through Friday, except holidays, and at the following Web site: 
http://www.blm.gov/ca.
    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.


[[Page 52778]]


    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 and 1506.10 and 43 CFR 1610.2

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, California.
[FR Doc. 2010-21276 Filed 8-26-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P