[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 244 (Tuesday, December 21, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 80068-80069]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-31970]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA 49834; L51010000.ER0000 LLCAD09000 LVRWB09B3160]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Report/
Final 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, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(FLPMA), and the California Environmental Quality Act of 1970, the 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the

[[Page 80069]]

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) have prepared a Final 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the proposed Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission Project (EITP), 
Clark County, Nevada, and San Bernardino County, California, and by 
this notice are announcing its availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a Record of Decision based on the EITP 
Final EIR/EIS until 30 days after the date the Environmental Protection 
Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the EITP Final EIR/EIS are available at the 
Needles Field Office, 1303 South U.S. Highway 95, Needles, California 
92363; on the Internet at: 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]. Please include 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, address: 2465 South Townsend Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 81401; 
phone: (970) 240-5345; fax: (970) 240-5368, or e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM's purpose and need for the EITP is 
to respond to Southern California Edison's (SCE) application under 
Title V of the FLPMA (43 USC 1761) for authorization of a right-of-way 
(ROW) on BLM-managed lands to upgrade and replace an existing 115-
kilovolt (kV) transmission line on public lands with a new double 
circuit 230-kV transmission line in compliance with FLPMA, BLM's 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 generated in the Ivanpah Valley 
area. The existing Eldorado Substation would be modified to accommodate 
the new EITP. 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. 
The EITP would carry electricity from several renewable energy projects 
proposed in and around the Ivanpah Valley, including the Ivanpah Solar 
Energy Generation System currently under construction by BrightSource 
Energy Partners. 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 Plan and the Las Vegas Field Office Resource 
Management Plan.
    The BLM will consider approval of the EITP in a manner that avoids 
or reduces impacts to public lands. This action is consistent with 
Federal law and the Department of the Interior's policy to facilitate 
and encourage the development of renewable energy resources on the 
public lands pursuant to Title V of FLPMA and Section 211 of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (119 Stat. 594, 660).
    In addition to the proposed action and the no action alternatives, 
the Final EIR/EIS analyzes six additional action alternatives that 
address alternative routes for the transmission and telecommunications 
lines. As proposed, the transmission line has been sited to take 
advantage of existing designated ROW corridors which are areas 
identified by BLM land use plans as suitable for ROW development.
    A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIR/EIS for the EITP was published 
in the Federal Register on July 27, 2009 (74 FR 37053) followed by a 
30-day public scoping period. A Notice of Availability for the Draft 
EIR/EIS was published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2010 (75 FR 
25288) followed by a 45-day public comment period. The BLM and the CPUC 
conducted one public meeting during the comment period on the Draft 
EIR/EIS. Major comments addressed in this Final EIR/EIS concern project 
impacts on biological resources, compatibility with the proposed 
Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport, consistency with existing BLM 
land use plans, and cumulative impacts.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10, and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2010-31970 Filed 12-17-10; 8:45 am]
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