[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 56 (Friday, March 22, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17717-17718]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-06672]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-049491, LLCAD01500 L51010000 FX0000 LVRWB12B4920]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the EDF 
Renewable Energy Desert Harvest Solar Field Project and California 
Desert Conservation Area Plan Amendment, Riverside County, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announces the availability 
of the Record of Decision (ROD)/Approved Amendment to the California 
Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan, for the Desert Harvest Solar 
Project (DHSP), in Riverside County, California. The Secretary of the 
Interior approved the ROD on March 13, 2013, which constitutes the 
final decision of the Department.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD/Approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan are 
available upon request from the BLM Field Manager, Palm Springs-South 
Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92262 and 
the BLM California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los 
Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553, or via the Internet at the following 
Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/Desert_Harvest_Solar_Project.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank McMenimen, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone 760-833-7150; mail 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, 
California 92262; 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: EDF Renewable Energy (formerly enXco 
Development Corporation) (Applicant) has requested right-of-way (ROW) 
grant authorization to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission 
an up to 150-megawatt (MW), nominal capacity, alternating current, 
solar photovoltaic (PV) energy generation facility and necessary 
ancillary facilities including an operations and maintenance (O&M) 
facility, site security, on-site substation, switchyard, access road, 
and a 220-kilovolt (kV) generation interconnection line (gen-tie line). 
The project site is located approximately 6 miles north of Interstate 
10 and the rural community of Desert Center and 3 miles north of Lake 
Tamarisk, between the cities of Coachella and Blythe.
    The project site is in the California Desert District within the 
planning boundary of the CDCA Plan, which is the applicable Resource 
Management Plan for the project site and the surrounding areas. The 
CDCA Plan, while recognizing the potential compatibility of solar 
generation facilities on public lands, requires that all sites 
associated with power generation or transmission not already identified 
in the Plan be considered through the BLM's land use plan amendment 
process. As a result, prior to approval of a ROW grant to the DHSP, the 
BLM must amend the CDCA Plan to allow the solar generating project on 
that site. Additionally, the CDCA Plan also requires that transmission 
lines above 161 kV be placed within a federally designated utility 
corridor or that the transmission line be specifically allowed outside 
a corridor through a plan amendment process. Since there is no 
designated corridor from DHSP generation tie-in transmission line, the 
CDCA Plan must also be amended to allow that line outside of a 
designated corridor. The approved Amendment to the CDCA Plan 
specifically revises the CDCA Plan to allow for the development of the 
DHSP and ancillary facilities on land managed by the BLM. The BLM 
selected alternative would result in construction of a solar farm, 
capable of generating up to 150 MW of electricity, and is within the 
range of alternatives analyzed in the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS). The Notice of Availability of the Final EIS for the 
DHSP and proposed CDCA Plan Amendment was published in the Federal 
Register on November 2, 2012 (77 FR 66183).
    Publication of the Notice of Availability for the Final EIS and 
Proposed CDCA Plan Amendment initiated a 30-day protest period for the 
proposed amendment to the CDCA Plan. At the close of the 30-day protest 
period, six protests were received and resolved. Their resolution is 
summarized in the Director's Protest Summary Report, available online 
at http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/content/wo/en/prog/planning/planning_overview/protest_resolution.html. The proposed amendment to the CDCA 
Plan was not modified as a result of the protest resolution, however, 
the BLM did

[[Page 17718]]

provide some clarifications and modifications to project mitigation 
measures. These clarifications and modifications were minor and do not 
warrant supplementation of the Final EIS. Simultaneously with the 
protest period, the Governor of California conducted a consistency 
review for the proposed CDCA Plan Amendment to identify any 
inconsistencies with State or local plans, policies, or programs. No 
inconsistencies were identified.
    Because the decisions described in the ROD are approved by the 
Secretary of the Interior, they are not subject to administrative 
appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a) (3)).

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.

Jamie Connell,
Acting Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-06672 Filed 3-21-13; 8:45 am]
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