[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 168 (Wednesday, August 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52352-52353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-21272]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD06000 L51010000.ER0000.LVRWB12B4840]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Rio Mesa Gen-Tie Project and Possible Land Use Plan Amendment, 
Riverside County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, (NEPA) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Palm 
Springs South Coast Field Office, Palm Springs, California, intends to 
prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Rio Mesa Gen-
Tie Project. The proposed project would require an amendment to the 
California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (1980 as amended), 
which would be evaluated in this EIS. By this notice, the BLM is 
announcing the beginning of the scoping process to solicit public 
comments and identify issues related to the EIS/plan amendment (PA).

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS/PA. 
Comments on issues related to the EIS/PA may be submitted in writing 
until September 28, 2012. The date(s) and location(s) of any scoping 
meetings will be announced at least 15 days in advance through local 
media, newspapers and the BLM Web site at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects.html. In order to be included in the 
analysis, all comments must be received prior to the close of the 30-
day scoping period or 15 days after the last public meeting, whichever 
is later. We will provide additional opportunities for public 
participation as appropriate.

ADDRESSES: You may submit scoping comments for the proposed Rio Mesa 
Gen-Tie Project by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en.html;
     Email: [email protected];
     Fax: 951-697-5299; or
     Mail: Lynnette Elser, Planning and Environmental 
Coordinator, BLM California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San 
Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM 
Palm Springs South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm 
Springs, CA 92262 or at the BLM California Desert District Office.
    For further information and/or to have your name added to our 
mailing list, contact Lynnette Elser, Planning and Environmental 
Coordinator; telephone 951-697-5233; 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: The applicant, Rio Mesa Solar Holdings, LLC, 
has requested a right-of-way (ROW) authorization to construct, operate, 
maintain, and decommission an approximately 8-mile generation 
interconnection transmission (gen-tie) line, an approximately 3-mile 
emergency power line and an approximately 1.6 miles of access roads on 
BLM-managed land. Through an application with the California Energy 
Commission, the applicant proposes to construct an approximately 3805-
acre, 500-MW solar generation facility on nearby private lands. The 
above-identified components proposed on BLM-managed lands in Riverside 
County approximately 13 miles southwest of Blythe, California, would 
support this thermal power plant project. The Project's 230-kilovolt 
(kV) gen-tie line is proposed to parallel the existing Imperial 
Irrigation District F Line from where it crosses the Rio Mesa 
generation site north to the Southern California Edison Colorado River 
Substation where it could connect the Project to the regional 
transmission grid. Due to the number of transmission lines in this 
location, the BLM will consider whether the CDCA Plan should be amended 
by designating this area as a utility corridor. Additionally two 
pathways for 33-kV lines providing electrical service to the Project 
and two pathways for roads providing access to the Project are proposed 
on BLM-administered lands. If approved, project construction would 
begin in 2013 and would take approximately 24 months to complete.
    The purpose of the public scoping process is to determine relevant 
issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, 
including alternatives, and guide the process for developing the Draft 
EIS/PA. The BLM has identified the following preliminary issues: Air 
quality, biological resources, recreation, cultural resources, water 
resources, geological resources, special management areas, land use, 
noise, paleontological resources, public health, socioeconomic, soils, 
and traffic and transportation, visual resources. It should be noted 
that the BLM has determined that the proposed solar facility on private 
property is a connected action, and the BLM plans to analyze the 
potential effects of the solar facility in the EIS.
    Pursuant to the BLM's CDCA Plan, sites associated with transmission 
above 161kV not identified in the CDCA Plan will be considered through 
the plan amendment process to determine the suitability of the site for 
energy transmission. Since a portion of the gen-tie route was not 
previously identified as a designated utility corridor, its 
authorization would require amendment of the CDCA Plan. By this notice, 
the BLM is complying with requirements in 43 CFR 1610.2(c) to notify 
the public of potential amendments to CDCA Plan predicated on the 
findings in the EIS. If a land use plan amendment is necessary, the BLM 
will integrate the land use planning process with the NEPA process for 
the Project. A preliminary list of the potential planning criteria that 
will be used to help guide and define the scope of the plan amendment 
process includes:
    1. The plan amendments will be completed in compliance with FLPMA, 
NEPA, and all other relevant Federal

[[Page 52353]]

laws, executive orders, and BLM policies;
    2. Existing, valid plan decisions will not be changed and any new 
plan decisions will not conflict with existing plan decisions; and
    3. The plan amendment(s) will recognize valid existing rights.
    You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing 
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the 
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section above. To 
be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 30-day 
scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later.
    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.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA public participation 
requirements to assist the agency in satisfying the public involvement 
requirements under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act (NHPA) (16 U.S.C. 470(f)) as provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 
Information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed Rio Mesa Project and potential 
CDCA Plan amendment will assist the BLM in identifying and evaluating 
impacts to such resources in the context of both NEPA and Section 106 
of the NHPA.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets, 
will be given due consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, 
along with tribes and other stakeholders that may be interested or 
affected by the proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited 
to participate in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or 
be requested by the BLM to participate in the development of the 
environmental analysis as a cooperating agency.
    The BLM will evaluate identified issues to be addressed in the 
plan, and will place them into one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the EIS as to why an issue 
was placed in category two or three. The public is also encouraged to 
identify any management questions and concerns that should be addressed 
in the plan amendment. The BLM will work collaboratively with 
interested parties to identify the management decisions that are best 
suited to local, regional, and national needs and concerns.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the plan 
amendment in order to consider the variety of resource issues and 
concerns identified. Specialists with expertise in the following 
disciplines will be involved in the planning process: Rangeland 
management, minerals and geology, outdoor recreation, archaeology, 
paleontology, wildlife and fisheries, lands and realty, hydrology, 
soils, and sociology and economics.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, California.
[FR Doc. 2012-21272 Filed 8-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P