[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 139 (Wednesday, July 20, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43341-43342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18275]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[OR-065784, LLOPRP0600 L51010000.ER0000 LVRWH09H0600; HAG 10-0338]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the West 
Butte Wind Power Right-of-Way, Crook and Deschutes Counties, OR

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) for the project located in the 
Prineville District. The Secretary of the Interior approved the ROD on 
July 14, 2011, which constitutes the final decision of the Department 
of the Interior.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD are available upon request from the 
District Manager, Prineville District Office, Bureau of Land 
Management, 3050 NE., 3rd Street, Prineville, Oregon 97754 or via the 
following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/prineville/plans/wbw_power_row/.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Storo, BLM West Butte Wind Power 
Right-of-Way Project Lead: telephone (541) 416-6885; address 3050 NE., 
3rd Street, Prineville, Oregon 97754; e-mail: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The applicant, West Butte Wind Power, LLC, 
filed right-of-way (ROW) application OR-065784 to construct 4.5 miles 
of road and an adjacent power transmission line on public land to 
support the construction of up to 52 wind turbines and ancillary 
facilities on adjacent private land. The portion of the project on 
public lands is the ``Proposed Action.'' Actions occurring on private 
land are called ``connected actions.'' The project is 25 air miles 
southeast of Bend, Oregon, located on the north side of US Highway 20.
    The BLM has selected the preferred alternative. The BLM preferred 
alternative would result in the granting of a 4.5 mile ROW for 
construction and operation of an access road and transmission line 
across lands administered by the BLM. Consideration of this alternative 
includes an analysis of the connected action of West Butte Wind Power 
constructing and operating a wind farm and associated facilities (e.g., 
access road, transmission line, substation, and an operations and 
maintenance building) on privately held lands.
    The Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) was published in the Federal Register on October 1, 
2010 (75 FR 60804). Publication of the Notice of Availability for the 
Final EIS initiated a 30-day review period on the Final EIS. The BLM 
received seven letters during this period that ended on November 1, 
2010, and three more letters shortly after period ended. The BLM 
analyzed these letters to determine if they contained substantive 
comments that were not already addressed in the responses to public 
comments received on the Draft

[[Page 43342]]

EIS or that addressed a need for changes between the Draft and Final 
EIS. No significant new information was presented in the letters that 
would require reissuance of the Draft or Final EIS . The U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service confirmed that an Avian and Bat Protection Plan (ABPP) 
has been developed for the project and that the project applicant has 
cooperated with the Service to address golden eagle issues within the 
ABPP.
    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 and 1506.10.

Mike Pool,
Deputy Director, Operations, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2011-18275 Filed 7-19-11; 8:45 am]
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