[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66389-66390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-27285]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-048811, LLCAD060000, L51010000.FX0000, LVRWB09B2600]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Blythe 
Solar Power Project and Associated Amendment to the California Desert 
Conservation Area Resource Management Plan, Riverside County, 
California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Amendment to the California 
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (the applicable Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) for the project site and the surrounding areas) 
located in the California Desert District. The Secretary of the 
Interior signed the ROD on October 22, 2010, which constitutes the 
final decision of the Department.

DATES: The ROD/Approved Plan Amendment are effective immediately upon 
publication of this notice.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/Approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan are 
available upon request from the Field Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast 
Field Office, Bureau of Land Management, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm 
Springs, California 92262 or via the internet at the following Web 
site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison Shaffer, BLM Project Manager; 
telephone: (760) 833-7100; mailing address: Bird Center Drive, Palm 
Springs, California 92262; or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Chevron Energy Solutions filed right-of-way 
(ROW) application CACA-048811 for the proposed Blythe Solar Power 
Project (BSPP). Chevron Energy Solutions entered into a development 
agreement with Solar Millennium and requested that the project be 
assigned to Palo Verde Solar I, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Solar 
Millennium. The BSPP is a concentrated solar electrical generating 
facility using parabolic trough technology and facilities. The BSPP 
site is proposed on approximately 7,025 acres of BLM-managed lands in 
Riverside County, California, approximately 8 miles west of Blythe, 
California, 3 miles north of Highway I-10, and 1 mile north of the 
Blythe Regional Airport. In addition to the BSPP site, the project 
includes a distribution line, an electrical transmission line, fiber 
optic lines, a natural gas pipeline, and an access road. The double 
circuit 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line will be constructed to 
interconnect to the Devers-Palo Verde II 500-kV transmission line at 
the Colorado River substation. The linear facilities will encumber 
approximately 43 acres onsite and 183 acres offsite.
    The project site is in the California Desert District within the 
planning boundary of the CDCA Plan, which is the applicable RMP for the 
project site and the surrounding areas. The CDCA Plan, while 
recognizing the potential compatibility of solar generation facilities 
on public lands, requires that all sites associated with power 
generation or transmission not already identified in that Plan be 
considered through the BLM's land use plan amendment process. As a 
result, prior to approval of a ROW grant for the BSPP, the BLM must 
amend the CDCA Plan to allow the solar generating project on the site. 
The Approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan specifically revises the CDCA 
Plan to allow for the development of the BSPP project on the 7,025 
acres of land managed by the BLM

[[Page 66390]]

with other ancillary structures and facilities.
    The BLM preferred alternative would result in the building of 4 
adjacent and independent power block units, capable of generating an 
approximate nominal capacity of 1000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, as 
well as all associated ancillary facilities. The 1000-MW alternative 
was evaluated in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The 
Notice of Availability of the Final EIS for the BSPP and the proposed 
CDCA Plan amendment was published in the Federal Register on August 20, 
2010 (75 FR 51480).
    Publication of the Notice of Availability for the Final EIS 
initiated a 30-day protest period for the proposed amendment to the 
CDCA Plan and a 30-day public comment period for the Final EIS. At the 
close of the 30-day period on September 20, 2010, 4 timely and complete 
written protests and 16 comment letters were received. The BLM's 
responses to the comments are provided in Appendix 1 to this ROD. The 
proposed amendment to the CDCA Plan was not modified as a result of the 
protest resolution. Simultaneous to the protest period, the Governor of 
California conducted a 30-day consistency review of the proposed CDCA 
Plan amendment/Final EIS to identify any inconsistencies with the state 
or local plan, policies, or programs. The California Governor's office 
did not identify inconsistencies between the proposed amendment to the 
CDCA Plan/Final EIS and state or local plan, policies, or programs.
    Because this decision is approved by the Secretary of the Interior, 
it is not subject to administrative appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a)(3)).

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6.

Robert V. Abbey,
Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2010-27285 Filed 10-27-10; 8:45 am]
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