[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 226 (Friday, November 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70182-70183]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28392]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD09000, L51010000.LVRWB09B2380.FX0000] Notice of Availability of a 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental


Impact Report for the Proposed Stateline Solar Farm, San 
Bernardino County, CA and Draft California Desert Conservation Area 
Land Use Plan Amendments

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, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Draft California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan 
Amendment and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental 
Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for the Stateline Solar Farm Project 
(Stateline) 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 Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR 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

[[Page 70183]]

activities at least 15 days in advance through public notices, media 
releases, and/or mailings.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Stateline Draft Plan 
Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR by any of the following methods:
     Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: 951-697-5299.
     Mail: ATTN: Jeffery Childers, Project Manager, BLM 
California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, 
Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046
    Copies of the Stateline Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR are 
available for public inspection at BLM California Desert District 
Office at the above address; or on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/cdd.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery Childers, Project Manager; 
telephone 951-697-5308; address BLM California Desert District Office, 
22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046; 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: First Solar Development, Inc. (First Solar) 
has requested a right-of-way (ROW) authorization to construct, operate, 
maintain and decommission the 300-megawatt (MW) Stateline Project from 
the BLM and a separate well permit from the County of San Bernardino. 
The BLM is responding to the ROW application as required by FLPMA. The 
proposed project located on BLM-administered lands would include access 
roads, a photovoltaic arrays, an electrical substation, a 
meteorological station, a monitoring and maintenance facility, water 
wells, and a 2.3-mile generation tie-line on up to 2,143 acres. The 
project location is in San Bernardino County approximately 2 miles 
south of the Nevada-California border and 0.5 miles west of Interstate 
15.
    The BLM's purpose and need for the Stateline EIS/EIR is to respond 
to First Solar's application for a ROW grant to construct, operate, 
maintain, and decommission a photovoltaic solar energy facility on 
public lands in compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, and other 
applicable Federal laws. The BLM will decide whether to grant, grant 
with modification, or deny a ROW to First Solar. In connection with its 
consideration of the Stateline ROW application, the BLM is proposing to 
amend the CDCA Plan by designating the project area as either suitable 
or unsuitable for solar energy development. The CDCA Plan (1980, as 
amended), recognized the potential compatibility of solar energy 
generation facilities with other uses on public lands; however, it 
requires that all sites proposed for power generation or transmission 
not already identified in the plan be considered through the plan 
amendment process. While connected, the decision to amend the CDCA plan 
is separate from the decision to approve the ROW application. As part 
of its consideration of project impacts, the BLM may also amend the 
CDCA Plan to address cumulative impacts of this and other developments 
in the Ivanpah Valley watershed. Specifically, the BLM will consider 
whether to expand the boundaries of the Ivanpah Desert Wildlife 
Management Area (DWMA).
    The Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR analyze four project 
development alternatives, including the proposed action, which is 
analyzed as Alternative 1: 300 MWs of development on 2,143 acres. The 
other alternatives include--Alternative 2: 300 MWs of development on 
2,385 acres; Alternative 3: 300 MWs of development on 2,151 acres; and 
Alternative 4: 232 MWs of development on 1,766 acres. In addition to 
project-related impacts, all project development alternatives analyze 
potential expansion of the current boundaries of the Ivanpah DWMA. The 
management prescriptions for the Ivanpah DWMA are defined in Appendix 
A, Section A.2, of the Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert Management 
Plan Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (July 
2002). If the DWMA is expanded, these management prescriptions will be 
applied to the expansion.
    The Draft Plan Amendment and Draft EIS/EIR also analyze three No 
Project alternatives--Alternative 5: No Action; Alternative 6: No 
Project and amendment of the CDCA Plan to find the Project area 
unsuitable for solar development; and Alternative 7: No Project and 
amendment of the CDCA Plan to find the Project area suitable for solar 
development.
    The Draft Plan Amendment and EIS/EIR evaluate the potential impacts 
of the proposed Stateline on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, 
biological resources, cultural resources, special status species, 
geology and soils, hazards and hazardous materials, hydrology and water 
quality, land use, noise, recreation, traffic, visual resources, lands 
with wilderness characteristics, cumulative effects and areas with high 
potential for renewable energy development.
    A Notice of Intent to Prepare a Draft Plan Amendment and EIS/EIR 
for the Stateline Project was published in the Federal Register on 
August 4, 2011 (76 FR 47235). The BLM held one joint public scoping 
meeting with San Bernardino County at the Primm Valley Golf Course on 
August 31, 2011. The formal scoping period ended on September 6, 2011.
    Please note that public comments will be available for public 
review 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, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director, Natural Resources.
[FR Doc. 2012-28392 Filed 11-21-12; 8:45 am]
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