[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]
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