[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35423-35424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-14376]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-051552, LLCAD0700 L51010000 FX0000 LVRWB10B3980]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Ocotillo 
Express LLC's Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility and Associated California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment, Imperial County, CA

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 for the Ocotillo Wind Energy 
Facility (OWEF) to be located in the California Desert District near 
Imperial County, California. The Secretary of the Interior approved the 
ROD on May 11, 2012, which constitutes the final decision of the 
Department

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/Approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan are 
available upon request from the Field Manager, BLM El Centro Field 
Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, California 92243 and the BLM 
California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, 
Moreno Valley, California 92553, or via the Internet at

[[Page 35424]]

the following Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/elcentro.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cedric Perry, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone (951) 697-5388; address 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, 
Moreno Valley, CA 92553; email [email protected]. Persons who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (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: Pattern Energy, Inc., through its wholly 
owned subsidiary, Ocotillo Express LLC, filed right-of-way (ROW) 
application CACA-51552 for the OWEF. The project as originally proposed 
would have consisted of 155 wind turbines (1.6 to 3.0 MW each) on 
12,436 acres of predominately BLM-managed lands with a generating 
capacity of up to 465 MW and the following ancillary facilities; a 
substation; administration, operations and maintenance facilities; 
transmission lines; and temporary construction lay down areas. The 
project site is located west of the city of El Centro in Imperial 
County, California.
    The project site is in the California Desert District within the 
planning boundary of the CDCA Plan, which is the applicable Resource 
Management Plan for the project site and surrounding areas. The CDCA 
Plan, while recognizing the potential compatibility of wind energy 
generation facilities with other uses on public lands, requires that 
all sites associated with power generation or transmission not already 
identified in the Plan be considered through the BLM's land use plan 
amendment process. As a result, in connection with its approval of a 
ROW grant for the OWEF, the BLM had to amend the CDCA Plan to recognize 
the project site as suitable for wind energy development. The approved 
Amendment to the CDCA Plan specifically amends the CDCA Plan to make 
such a determination.
    The BLM Preferred Alternative identified in the Final Environmental 
Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report (EIS/EIR) is the Refined 
Project, which involves the construction and operation of 112 wind 
turbines at the project site, with a generating capacity of up to 315 
MW. The Refined Project eliminates 43 turbines that were analyzed under 
the Proposed Action in order to reduce effects to cultural resources. 
The Refined Project configuration is comprised of a subset of the 
turbine sites that are already part of the existing alternatives 
analyzed in the Final EIS/EIR. The Refined Project was approved by the 
ROD and will result in construction of the wind generation facility 
consisting of: up to 112 turbines with a generating capacity of 315 MW 
on approximately 10,151 acres of BLM-managed lands in Imperial Valley, 
California, and the following ancillary facilities: a substation; 
administration, operations and maintenance facilities; transmission 
lines; and temporary construction lay down areas.
    With respect to the plan amendment, the publication of the Notice 
of Availability for the Final EIS/EIR on March 9, 2012 initiated a 30-
day protest period on the proposed plan amendment, which concluded 
April 9, 2012. The BLM received 12 timely and complete written 
protests, each of which was resolved prior to the execution of the ROD. 
These protest resolutions are summarized in the Director's Protest 
Summary Report attached to the ROD. The proposed amendment to the CDCA 
Plan was not modified as a result of the protests received or their 
resolution. Simultaneously with the plan amendment protest period, the 
Governor of California conducted an expedited 30-day consistency review 
of the proposed CDCA Plan amendment to identify any inconsistencies 
with State or local plan, policies or programs; no inconsistencies were 
identified by the Governor's Office.
    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.

Timothy Spisak,
Deputy Assistant Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-14376 Filed 6-12-12; 8:45 am]
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