[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 3, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39503-39505]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16160]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLWYL03000 L51010000.FX0000 LVRWK09K1030; WYW-167155]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement, Proposed Rawlins Resource Management Plan Amendment, and 
Segregation of Public Lands for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind 
Farm Project

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 (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Proposed Rawlins Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment (Volume I) 
and Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Energy Project (Volume II) 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), and by this notice is 
announcing its availability. This notice will also segregate 2,560 
acres of public lands located within the CCSM right-of-way (ROW) 
application area from appropriation under the public land laws 
including the 1872 Mining Law, but not the Mineral Leasing or Mineral 
Material Acts, for a period of 2 years from the date of publication of 
this notice.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS. A person who meets the conditions and 
files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of the date that 
the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its notice in the Federal 
Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS have been 
sent to affected Federal, State, and local government agencies and to 
other stakeholders. Copies of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS are 
available for public inspection at the BLM Rawlins Field Office, 1300 
North Third Street, Rawlins, Wyoming; the BLM Rock Springs Field 
Office, 280 Highway 191 North, Rock Springs, Wyoming; and the BLM 
Wyoming State Office, 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming. The 
Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is also available on the Internet at 
www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/rfo/Chokecherry.html.
    All protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following 
addresses:

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, P.O. Box 
71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383.
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Williams, 20 M 
Street SE., Room 2134LM, Washington, DC 20003.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela Murdock, Project Manager, 
telephone 307-775-6259; address 5353 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, WY 
82007; 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: The BLM proposes to amend the 2008 Rawlins 
RMP for visual resources management (VRM) class designations (Final EIS 
Volume I). The Power Company of Wyoming, LLC (PCW) proposes to 
construct and operate a wind energy project south of Rawlins in Carbon 
County, Wyoming (Final EIS Volume II. The proposed project consists of 
two areas located approximately 9 miles apart within the Wind Site 
Testing and Monitoring Application Area--the Chokecherry site and the 
Sierra Madre site--totaling 227,638 acres of Federal, private and State 
lands. Only a portion of the total land area would be used for, or 
disturbed by, the project. The project proposal includes up to 1,000 
wind turbine generators (WTG) and associated infrastructure, each 
turbine capable of producing 1.5 to 3 megawatts (MW) with a total 
nameplate capacity of 1,500 to 3,000 MW of electrical power.
    On July 22, 2011 (76 FR 44039), the BLM segregated approximately 
107,175 acres of public lands within the proposed project area. Through 
this notice, additional public lands within the CCSM project area would 
be segregated under the authority contained in 43 CFR 2091.3-1(e) and 
43 CFR 2804.25(e) for a period of 2 years, in order to process the ROW 
application filed on the described lands; this 2-year segregation 
period will commence on July 3, 2012. It has been determined that this 
segregation is necessary for the orderly administration of the public 
lands.
    The temporary segregation period will terminate and the lands will 
automatically re-open to appropriation under the public land laws, 
including the mining laws, if one of the following events occurs: (1) 
Upon the BLM's decision regarding whether to issue a ROW authorization 
for the wind energy generation proposal; (2) Upon publication in the 
Federal Register of a notice of termination of the segregation; or (3) 
Without further administrative action at the end of the segregation 
provided for in the Federal Register notice initiating the segregation, 
whichever occurs first. Any segregation made under this authority would 
be effective only for a period of up to 2 years, without the 
possibility of extension.
    In accordance with 43 CFR 2091.3-1(e) and 2804.25(e), the following 
described public lands within the proposed project area are hereby 
segregated for a period of up to 2 years, subject to valid existing 
rights, from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, 
including location and entry under the United States mining laws, but 
not from leasing under the mineral leasing laws or disposal under the 
mineral material laws:

Sixth Principal Meridian, Wyoming

T. 18 N., R. 85 W.,
    Sec. 8.
T. 18 N., R. 86 W.,
    Sec. 32, N\1/2\;
    Sec. 35, N\1/2\.
T. 21 N., R. 87 W.,
    Sec. 32;
    Sec. 34.

    The areas described aggregate 2,560 acres, according to the 
official plats of the surveys of the said lands, on file with the 
BLM.

    The BLM Rawlins Field Office has been designated as the lead 
Federal agency for the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS. Cooperating 
agencies include the U.S. Forest Service, the State of Wyoming, the 
Saratoga-Encampment-Rawlins Conservation District, the Little Snake 
River Conservation District, the Medicine Bow Conservation District, 
Carbon County, and the City of Rawlins.
    The Draft RMP Amendment/Draft EIS was made available on July 22, 
2011, for a 90-day public review and comment period. The Draft RMP 
Amendment/Draft EIS described and analyzed four VRM planning 
alternatives for the management of the public lands administered by the 
BLM Rawlins Field Office within the planning area, which includes and 
extends 30 miles beyond the CCSM project boundary, comprising 
approximately 3.6 million acres in Carbon County, south-central 
Wyoming.

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Within this area, the BLM administers approximately 1.3 million acres 
of public land surface and Federal mineral estate and an additional 
100,000 acres of mineral estate under State and privately owned 
surface. The BLM decisions would apply only to public lands and to BLM-
administered Federal mineral estate. Comments on the Draft RMP 
Amendment/Draft EIS received from the public and from internal BLM 
review were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the 
proposed plan amendment. Public comments resulted in the addition of 
clarifying text, but did not significantly change the proposed land use 
planning decisions.
    Volume I of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS analyzes in detail 
four RMP Amendment alternatives:
    Alternative 1 (No Action Alternative): Continue existing management 
direction;
    Alternative 2: Provide for development and use opportunities while 
minimizing adverse impacts to visual resources;
    Alternative 3: Provide for compatible development and use while 
maintaining focus on greater conservation of visual resources; and
    Alternative 4 (BLM Preferred Alternative): Provide for development 
opportunities while protecting visual resources.
    Volume II of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS analyzes the 
direct, indirect and cumulative environmental impacts of constructing 
and operating the CCSM wind generation facility (proposed action) and 
whether the application area is suitable for development of the 
proposed project or for an alternative development strategy. The impact 
analysis is based on resource-specific assumptions, estimated project 
disturbance, and appropriate project-specific stipulations. 
Alternatives to the proposed action were developed in response to 
issues and concerns raised during the NEPA scoping and comment periods. 
All alternatives conform to the preferred planning alternative 
identified in Volume I of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS. The BLM 
will identify requirements for future wind development in the area and 
decide whether the area identified in PCW's proposal would be 
acceptable for development of a wind farm.
    Alternative 1 (No Action Alternative): Determine that the proposed 
project area is unsuitable for wind development, deny PCW's request to 
develop wind energy on public lands, and deny any request to provide 
access to private lands for wind development within the application 
area.
    Alternative 1R (BLM Preferred Alternative with modifications): 
Determine that the application area is suitable for wind development 
and can accommodate up to 1,000 WTGs. This alternative, a revision of 
PCW's original proposed action, was submitted by the applicant in 
response to issues raised during scoping and developed in consideration 
of a comprehensive review of information pertaining to wildlife issues 
in the project area. This alternative would require amending the VRM 
decisions in the 2008 Rawlins RMP.
    Alternative 2: Determine that the application area to the north of 
T. 18 N. is suitable for wind development and can accommodate up to 
1,000 WTGs. This alternative would keep development primarily within 
the checkerboard land ownership pattern and was developed in response 
to concerns regarding visual impacts to areas with high recreational 
values. More restrictive Greater Sage-grouse stipulations would apply 
to public lands in this alternative compared to the other alternatives. 
This alternative would require amending the VRM decisions in the 2008 
Rawlins RMP.
    Alternative 3: Determine that the Chokecherry portion and the area 
from the eastern half of T. 18 N., R. 88. W. to the east of the Sierra 
Madre portion of PCW's application area is suitable for wind 
development and can accommodate up to 1,000 WTGs. All lands would be 
excluded to the south of T. 18. N. and the western half of T. 18. N., 
R. 88 W. This alternative was developed in response to concerns 
regarding existing VRM Class II areas as well as areas with wildlife 
concerns. This alternative would require amending the VRM decisions in 
the 2008 Rawlins RMP.
    Alternative 4: No placement of WTGs on public lands within either 
the Chokecherry or Sierra Madre sites. Instead, the BLM would provide 
ROW grants to allow PCW to develop wind energy facilities on privately 
held lands. The BLM would apply required restrictions and timing 
stipulations to public lands for requested access points. This 
alternative was developed in response to overall concerns regarding 
developing a wind farm on public lands and the associated impacts. This 
alternative would not require amending the VRM decisions in the 2008 
Rawlins RMP.
    Volume II considered 12 additional alternatives but eliminated them 
from detailed study since they did not meet the purpose and need of the 
proposed action, or because they were incorporated into the 
alternatives analyzed in detail.
    A recent inventory of wilderness characteristics determined that 
lands with wilderness characteristics are not present.
    If the analysis results in the decision to approve wind energy 
development, PCW may submit up to four plans of development (POD) for 
separate aspects of the project including: Turbine siting in the 
Chokecherry development area, turbine siting in the Sierra Madre 
development area, haul-road development throughout the project area, 
and transmission lines. The site-specific PODs would be tiered to the 
analysis and decisions in the EIS and Record of Decision for the CCSM 
wind farm project. Site-specific impacts associated with the location 
of individual project components not analyzed in the EIS would be 
evaluated in subsequent NEPA analyses based on site-specific proposals 
within the boundary of the alternative selected in the ROD. ROW grants 
for these PODs, if issued, will include site-specific terms and 
conditions analyzed either in the POD NEPA documents or in the CCSM 
project EIS.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS may be found in the 
``Dear Reader'' Letter of the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS and at 
43 CFR 1610.5-2. Email and faxed protests will not be accepted as valid 
protests unless the protesting party also provides the original letter 
by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by the close of the 
protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will consider the email 
or faxed protest as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct faxed protests to the attention of the BLM 
protest coordinator at 202-245-0028 or emails to [email protected].
    All protests, including the follow-up letter to emails or faxes, 
must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as set forth 
in the ADDRESSES section above.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.


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    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR 
1610.5.

Donald A. Simpson,
State Director, Wyoming.
[FR Doc. 2012-16160 Filed 7-2-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-VC-P