[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 57 (Friday, March 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17091-17092]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6921]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD08000. L51010000. ER0000. LVRWB09B2660 CACA-49138]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement/Draft Environmental Impact Report and the Draft California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment for the Calnev Pipe Line 
Expansion Project

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, and the California Environmental Quality Act, the 
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), together 
with the County of San Bernardino, has prepared an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and Draft Resource 
Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Calnev Pipe Line Expansion 
Project in San Bernardino County, California and Clark County, Nevada, 
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 Draft RMP Amendment and 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 Calnev Pipeline 
Expansion Project by any of the following methods:

 Email: [email protected]
 Fax: 760-252-6099
 Mail: Attn: Rich Rotte, BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow 
Road, Barstow California 92310
Copies of the Calnev Pipeline Expansion Project Draft EIS/EIR and Draft 
RMP Amendment are available in the Barstow Field Office at the above 
address and at the following locations:

 Victorville City Library, 15011Circle Drive, Victorville, 
California 92395
 Rialto Branch Library, 251 West 1st Street, Rialto, California 
92376
 Las Vegas Library, 833 Las Vegas Blvd. N., Las Vegas, Nevada 
80101

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Rich 
Rotte, Realty Specialist, telephone 760-252-6026, address: Barstow 
Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road, Barstow, California 92311; email [email protected]. Persons who use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individual during normal 
business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to 
leave a message or question with the above individual. You will receive 
a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Calnev Pipe Line, LLC (Calnev) has submitted 
a right-of-way (ROW) application to the BLM to construct, operate, 
maintain, and decommission a petroleum pipeline known as the Calnev 
Pipeline Expansion Project in San Bernardino County, California and 
Clark County, Nevada. The proposed project site encompasses 
approximately 2,841 acres of land under multiple jurisdictions: 
Private, County, or Municipal--1,398 acres; California State Lands 
Commission--14 acres; Department of Defense--86 acres; San Bernardino 
National Forest--104 acres; BLM--1,329 acres. The project site is 
generally located adjacent to two existing Calnev pipelines except 
where it may deviate from those pipelines to avoid the Mojave National 
Preserve. The project will consist of approximately 235 miles of 16-
inch diameter pipe (approximately half is on BLM lands), a new pump 
station near Baker, California, a 3-mile lateral pipeline from the 
Bracken junction to McCarran International Airport, and new or modified 
connections to new or modified laterals, valves, and ancillary 
facilities. Calnev is required to obtain a Revised Franchise Agreement 
from the County of San Bernardino.
    The BLM and San Bernardino County are conducting a joint EIS/EIR 
for the Calnev Pipeline Expansion Project on BLM-managed land. The 
BLM's purpose and need for the Project is to respond to Calnev's 
application for a ROW grant. The BLM will decide whether to approve, 
approve with modification, or deny issuance of a ROW grant to Calnev 
for the proposed Calnev Pipeline Expansion Project. The BLM will 
analyze the following alternatives: Alternative 1 (the Proposed 
Action), Alternative 2 (Modified Route Alternative), Alternative 3 (the 
Agency-Preferred Alternative which avoids the Mojave National 
Preserve), and the No Project/No Action Alternative.

[[Page 17092]]

    Since approval of any of the action alternatives would require 
amendment of the BLM's California Desert Conservation Area Plan, the 
plan amendment process will be integrated with the NEPA process as part 
of the EIS/EIR.
    The BLM will use the NEPA process to satisfy the public involvement 
requirement for Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
(NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)) as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). Native 
American Tribal consultations are being conducted in accordance with 
Section 106 of the NHPA, BLM, and Department of the Interior policy, 
and Tribal concerns will be given due consideration, including impacts 
on Indian trust assets.
    The Draft EIS/EIR evaluates the potential impacts on air quality, 
biological resources, cultural resources, geological resources and 
hazards, land use, noise, paleontological resources, public health, 
socioeconomics, soils, traffic and transportation, visual resources, 
wilderness characteristics, and other resources. A Notice of Intent to 
prepare an EIS/EIR for the Calnev Pipeline Expansion Project was 
published in the Federal Register (73 FR 13558) on Thursday, March 13, 
2008. The BLM and San Bernardino County held five public scoping 
meetings: Rialto, California on April 1, April 30, and June 18, 2008; 
Victorville, California on April 2, 2008; and Las Vegas, Nevada on 
April 3, 2008. The formal scoping period ended on July 1, 2008. Issues 
and concerns raised during the scoping period involved impacts to 
visual resources, health and safety and natural resources.
    Please note that public comments and information submitted 
including names, street addresses, and email 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.
    Before including your address, phone number, email 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. 2012-6921 Filed 3-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P