[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46768-46769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19078]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Moapa Solar Energy Center on the Moapa River Indian Reservation, 
Clark County NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in cooperation with the Moapa 
Band of Paiute Indians and other Federal agencies, intends to prepare 
an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates a solar energy 
generation center on the Moapa River Indian Reservation. This notice 
announces the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify potential issues related to the EIS. It also 
announces that two public scoping meetings will be held in Nevada this 
summer to identify potential issues, alternatives, and mitigation to be 
considered in the EIS. ID30

DATES: Written comments on the scope of the EIS or implementation of 
the proposal must arrive by September 5, 2012. The dates of the public 
scoping meetings will be published in the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas 
Review-Journal, and Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before the scoping 
meetings.

ADDRESSES: You may mail, email, or hand carry written comments to 
either Mr. Paul Schlafly, Natural Resource Specialist, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, Southern Paiute Agency, 180 North 200 East Suite 111, P.O. Box 
720, St. George, Utah 84770; telephone: (435) 674-9720; email: 
[email protected], or Ms. Amy Heuslein, Regional Environmental 
Protection Officer, BIA Western Regional Office, 2600 North Central 
Avenue, 4th Floor Mailroom, Phoenix, Arizona 85004; telephone: (602) 
379-6750; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Proposed Action consists of constructing 
and operating a solar generation energy center, consisting of a 
Photovoltaic (PV), installation up to 100 Megawatts (MW), and 
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP), installation up to 100 MW in size on 
the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada. The 
proposed solar energy project is referred to as the Moapa Solar Energy 
Center (Project).
    The facility would be located on tribal lands held in trust for the 
Moapa Band. The proposed transmission line interconnection and access 
road corridor associated with the project will be located on Federal 
lands administered and managed by BLM.
    The project would:
     Help to provide a long-term, diverse, and viable economic 
revenue base and job opportunities for the Moapa Band while
     Help Nevada and neighboring states to meet their State 
renewable energy needs. The Project would
     Allow the Moapa Band, in partnership with the developer, 
to optimize the use of the lease site while maximizing the potential 
economic benefit to the Tribe.
    The Bureau of Indian Affairs will prepare the EIS in cooperation 
with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), and Nellis Air Force Base. The EIS will provide a 
framework for BIA and BLM to make determinations and take Federal 
actions. The Federal action for BIA would be to approve or deny a lease 
and any associated rights-of-way (ROW) on tribal lands for the proposed 
solar facility and for BLM to grant, grant with modifications or deny 
the ROW application for a proposed transmission line and access road. 
EPA and Nellis Air Force Base may adopt the documentation to make 
decisions under their authority and the Moapa Band may also use the EIS 
to make decisions under their Tribal Environmental Policy Ordinance. 
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will review the document for 
consistency with the Endangered Species Act, as amended, and other 
implementing acts.
    The goals of this EIS are to:
    (1) Provide agency decision makers, the Moapa Band, and the general 
public with a comprehensive understanding of the impacts of the 
proposed solar energy center development project and alternatives on 
the Reservation;
    (2) Describe the cumulative impacts of increased development on the 
Reservation; and
    (3) Identify and propose mitigation measures that would minimize or 
prevent significant adverse impacts.
    This EIS will analyze the proposed project and appurtenant 
features, viable alternatives including other interconnection options, 
and the No Action alternative. Other alternatives may be identified in 
response to issues raised during the scoping process.
    The Project would be located in Township 16 South, Range 64 East, 
Sections 30 and 31 Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada. For the purposes of 
this EIS, the ``Analysis Area'' will include approximately 1,000 acres 
of land entirely located on the Reservation and the corridors for the 
transmission interconnection and access road located on Federal land 
managed by BLM.
    The project would be fenced and contain up to two components. One 
would consist of the construction and operation of up to a 100 MW PV 
solar plant and associated facilities on 500 acres. The PV project 
would include up to 175,000 crystalline PV panels, a single-axis 
tracking system, inverters, and an operation and maintenance building. 
Construction of the PV component is expected to take up to 12 months 
and is expected to have a project life of 25 years.
    The second component would be located on an adjacent 500 acre 
parcel and be a CSP installation using either:
     eSolar's state-of-the-art CSP plant technology--the basic 
building block of eSolar's CSP technology consists of twenty-four 250-
foot tall tower/receiver combinations situated between north and south-
facing subfields of heliostat mirrors. The heliostats are mounted on an 
above-ground frame, elevated approximately three feet from ground level 
to minimize dust collection and allow for easy access for maintenance. 
This module (the tower/receiver and associated heliostat mirrors) is 
repeated as needed to provide the full output of the CSP power plant 
design. The focused solar heat boils water within the thermal receiver 
and produces steam. The steam from each thermal receiver is aggregated 
and sent to a steam turbine that generates electricity. The steam then 
reverts back to water through cooling and is routed back to the tower/
receivers where the process repeats.

[[Page 46769]]

     AREVA Solar's Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector--AREVA 
Solar's core technology, Compact Linear Fresnel Reflector, uses modular 
flat reflectors to focus the sun's heat onto elevated receivers with a 
height of approximately 80 feet which consist of a system of tubes 
through which water flows. The concentrated sunlight boils the water in 
the tubes, generating high-pressure superheated steam for direct use in 
power generation without the need for heat exchangers.
    The CSP solar field generates steam and energy when sun light is 
present. The water supply required for the project would be leased from 
the Moapa Band. Other major parts of the CSP project would include an 
operation and maintenance facility building along with cooling towers 
and evaporation ponds. The CSP project is expected to take 24 months to 
construct and expected to operate for approximately 25 to 30 years.
    A single overhead 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line would connect 
the solar energy center to the nearby Harry Allen 230 kV Substation 
approximately six miles from the site. An additional interconnection 
line could be constructed to the Crystal Substation located 
approximately one mile east of project boundary. An access road would 
be constructed to the project site to provide access from Interstate-15 
(I-15). This new road would be constructed between the site and the 
frontage road on the west side of I-15 for approximately 2.5 miles.

Submission of Public Comments

    Please include your name, return address, and the caption ``EIS, 
Moapa Solar Energy Center Project,'' on the first page of any written 
comments. You may also submit comments at the public scoping meetings.
    The public scoping meetings will be held to further describe the 
Project and identify potential issues and alternatives to be considered 
in the EIS. The first public scoping meeting will be held on the 
Reservation and the other public scoping meeting will be held in Las 
Vegas, Nevada. The dates of the public scoping meetings will be 
included in notices to be posted in the Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas 
Review-Journal, and Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before the meetings.

Public Comment Availability

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the mailing address shown in the 
ADDRESSES section during regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 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.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 of the 
Council of Environmental Quality regulations and 43 CFR 46.235 of the 
Department of the Interior Regulations implementing the procedural 
requirements of the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and in accordance 
with the exercise of authority delegated to the Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by part 209 of the Department 
Manual.

    Dated: July 26, 2012.
Donald E. Laverdue,
Acting Assistant Secretary, Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2012-19078 Filed 8-3-12; 8:45 am]
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