[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2423-2424]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00439]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs


Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Proposed 
Shu'luuk Wind Project on the Campo Indian Reservation in San Diego 
County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Availability.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA) as lead Federal agency, with the Campo Band of Mission 
Indians (Tribe) as a cooperating agency, intends to file a DEIS with 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Proposed 
Shu'luuk Wind Project in San Diego County, California. This notice also 
advises the public that the DEIS is now available for public review and 
provides the date, time, and location of public meetings.

DATES: Written comments on the DEIS must arrive 45 days after EPA 
publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Two 
public hearings will be held, one on January 29, 2013, and the other on 
January 30, 2013 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and the BIA will accept written 
comments at the hearings and throughout the comment period. Oral 
comments will also be taken at each public hearing by a court reporter.

ADDRESSES: You may mail or hand-deliver written comments to Robert 
Eben, Superintendent, Southern California Agency, Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, 1451 Research Park Drive, Riverside, CA 92507. The January 29, 
2013 public hearing will be held at the Alpine Community Center, 1830 
Alpine Boulevard, Alpine, California. The January 30, 2013 public 
hearing will be held at the Campo Indian Reservation Tribal Hall, 31690 
Church Road, Campo, California. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION 
section of this notice for instructions on submitting comments and 
locations where the DEIS is available for review.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lenore Lamb, Southern California 
Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1451 Research Park Drive, Riverside, 
CA 92507, telephone (951) 276-6625 (ext. 254).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Public review of the DEIS is part of the 
administrative process for the BIA evaluation of the lease between the 
Tribe and the developer to enable construction and operation of the 
proposed Shu'luuk Wind Project. Subsequent to the approval of the 
lease, a wind energy project would be developed on the Campo Indian 
Reservation in southeastern San Diego County, approximately 60 miles 
east of San Diego. A Notice of Intent to prepare the DEIS was published 
in the Federal Register on May 20, 2011. The BIA held public scoping 
meetings for the project environmental review on June 21, 2012, and 
June 22, 2012, at the Mountain Empire High School, 3305 Buckman Springs 
Road, Pine Valley, California, and the Campo Indian Reservation Tribal 
Hall, 31690 Church Road, Campo, California, respectively. Pursuant to 
Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA) regulations (40 CFR 1506.10), the publication of this Notice 
of Availability in the Federal Register initiates a 45-day public 
comment period.
    Background: The proposed action consists of BIA approval of a lease 
between the Tribe and Invenergy Wind California, LLC to construct and 
operate a renewable energy facility for up to 35 years on the Campo 
Indian Reservation. The purpose of the project is to improve the 
economic conditions of the Campo Band and to provide environmental 
benefits for the San Diego region through the construction and 
operation of a renewable energy facility.
    The project site is located on the Campo Indian Reservation in 
southeastern San Diego County, California. The lease area would be up 
to 900 acres, based on final project design, which is dependent upon 
which alternative is ultimately selected. The actual disturbance area 
would be less than the lease area. The project would

[[Page 2424]]

be a wind energy project with one alternative that may include some 
solar energy generation. The approval of the lease would allow 
Invenergy, LLC to develop and operate a wind power generation facility 
capable of generating up to 250 MW of electricity, and would consist of 
up to 85 turbines, depending on which alternative is selected. Each of 
the four alternatives, with the exception of the No Action Alternative, 
would achieve the generation of electricity from wind turbines 
installed by Invenergy.
    The manufacturer and model of the wind turbines have not yet been 
selected for the Shu'luuk Wind Project as the advancement in technology 
continues throughout the project site approval process. The turbines 
for the proposed project would have a tower hub height of up to 309 
feet, a rotor diameter up to 414 feet, and a total height (to tip) of 
up to 515 feet. Each turbine would be set on a concrete foundation, and 
turbines would be connected by underground electrical cable to a 
project substation. The substation would be sited on a two-acre area 
and would consist of a graveled, fenced area containing transformer and 
switching equipment and an area for vehicle parking. Up to five miles 
of new three-phase 138 kV overhead interconnection transmission circuit 
would be constructed within the Campo Indian Reservation from the 
project collector substation to a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) pole 
located on private land. Other required facilities, all located within 
the Campo Indian Reservation, would include: up to three permanent 
meteorological towers; temporary material laydown areas during 
construction; temporary office areas; an operations and maintenance 
facility; approximately 25 miles of new access roads; approximately 22 
miles of improved existing roads; an electrical collection and 
communications system; and a temporary concrete batch plant. The wind 
power generation facility would operate year-round for a minimum of 25 
years. Construction of the proposed project is anticipated to take 
between 11 and 24 months depending on the alternative selected. In 
addition to the No Action Alternative, three alternatives are evaluated 
in the DEIS.
    Alternative 1 consists of 250 MW generated from up to 85 3-MW wind 
turbines. Each turbine would have a hub height up to 309 feet, rotor 
diameter up to 414 feet, and tip height up to 515 feet.
    Alternative 2 consists of 200 MW generated primarily from up to 80 
2-MW wind turbines (totaling 160 MW from wind) in combination with up 
to 40 1-MW solar photovoltaic (PV) panels (totaling 40 MW from solar). 
Each turbine would generate 2 MW, have a hub height up to 305 feet, a 
rotor diameter up to 375 feet, and a tip height up to 493 feet.
    Alternative 3 consists of 160 MW generated from up to 71 3-MW to 
2.3-MW wind turbines. Each turbine would have a hub height of up to 308 
feet, rotor diameter of up to 407 feet, and tip height of up to 515 
feet.
    Environmental issues addressed in this DEIS include effects on land 
resources, water resources, air quality, biological resources, climate 
change, cultural resources, socioeconomic conditions, resource use 
patterns, traffic, noise, visual and aesthetic resources, public health 
and safety, and cumulative effects.
    Directions for Submitting Comments: Please include your name, 
return address, and ``EIS Comments, Shu'luuk Wind Project, San Diego 
County, CA,'' on the first page of your written comments.
    Locations Where the DEIS is Available for Review: The DEIS is 
available for review at the Bureau of Indian Affairs Southern 
California office, 1451 Research Park Drive, Riverside, CA 92507; at 
the offices of Campo EPA, Suite 4, 36190 Church Rd, Campo, CA 91906; 
and at the Campo-Morena Village Branch Library, San Diego County 
Library System, 31356 Hwy 94, Campo, CA 91906. Comments can be 
submitted electronically to [email protected]. The DEIS is also 
available online at http://www.shuluukwind.com/. To obtain a compact 
disk copy of the DEIS please provide your name and address in writing 
or by voicemail to Lenore Lamb. Contact information is listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. Individual 
paper copies of the DEIS will be provided upon payment of applicable 
printing expenses by the requestor for the number of copies requested.
    Public Comment Availability: Comments, including the names and 
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the 
BIA mailing address shown in the ADDRESSES section during regular 
business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday excluding 
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: This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1503.1 of 
the CEQ Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508) and Sec. 46.305 
of the Department of Interior regulations (43 CFR part 46), 
implementing the procedural requirements of NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et 
seq.), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: October 12, 2012.
Kevin K. Washburn,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2013-00439 Filed 1-10-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-W7-P