[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 103 (Wednesday, May 29, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32240-32241]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-12751]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE


Notice of Inent (NOI) To Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) for the Oro Verde Solar Project at Edwards Air Force 
Base and County of Kern, CA

AGENCY: Department of the Air Force, DOD.

ACTION: Notice of Intent.

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SUMMARY: The Air Force is issuing this notice to advise the public of 
its intent to prepare a joint Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and 
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) with the County of Kern, California 
to evaluate potential environmental impacts associated with the 
development of the Oro Verde Solar Project (OVSP) on Edwards AFB. The 
OVSP is a solar photovoltaic (PV) facility that involves the lease of 
non-excess Air Force lands to a private energy developer, SunEdison 
LLC, who will pursue the development of up to 450 Megawatts of 
renewable energy on Edwards Air Force Base (AFB). The Proposed Action 
includes construction, operation, and maintenance of the OVSP facility. 
As part of the Proposed Action, the developer would construct a 230- 
kilovolt (kV) generation interconnection (Gen-tie) line connecting the 
OVSP to Southern California Edison's Windhub substation or to the Los 
Angeles Department of Power and Water (LADWP) Barren Ridge-Rinaldi 
transmission line. The Gen-tie line would be constructed to support the 
delivery of the energy generated by the project. For the County of 
Kern, the Proposed Action is to approve a franchise agreement for 
routing of the Gen-tie line, and to amend land use plans to provide 
rights-of-way for the project in select locations along the proposed 
transmission route.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The OVSP would be sited on 1,500 to 4,000 
acres of available, non-excess Air Force land located on Edwards AFB. 
Alternatives which meet the purpose and need for Proposed Action have 
been identified and include the No Action Alternative and two 
additional alternatives. Alternative A includes full-scale project 
development of a 450 Megawatt solar PV project on up to 4,000 acres of 
Edwards AFB property located in the northwestern corner of the base. 
The project would include construction of a Gen-tie line of 
approximately 10-14 miles in total length. Alternative B represents a 
reduced-scale alternative for the construction and operation of a 150-
200 Megawatt OVSP facility. Under Alternative B, the reduced-scale 
project would be sited on up to 2,000 acres of

[[Page 32241]]

Edwards AFB non-excess property within the same project footprint as 
Alternative A. Alternative B would allow the developer to have greater 
siting flexibility to avoid environmentally sensitive areas.
    Scoping: In order to effectively define the full range of issues to 
be evaluated in the EIS/EIR, the Air Force and County of Kern are 
soliciting scoping comments from interested state and federal agencies 
and interested members of the public. The public scoping period will 
extend for 30 days following the publication of the Notice of Intent in 
the Federal Register. The public is invited to participate in scoping 
meetings that will be held on 12 and 13 June, 2013, in the local 
communities of Mojave, CA; and Rosamond, CA. Federal, State, and local 
agencies, along with other stakeholders who may be interested or 
affected by the project are invited to participate in the scoping 
process. Notification of the meeting locations, dates, and times will 
be published and announced in local news media no later than 15 days 
prior to public scoping meetings.
    The scoping process will help identify the full range of reasonable 
alternatives, potential impacts, and key issues to be emphasized in the 
environmental analysis. The USAF has identified potential impacts to 
the following resources: Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural 
and Historical Resources, Water Resources, Land Use, Paleontological 
Resources, Soils, and Visual Resources. Scoping will assist the Air 
Force and County of Kern in identifying and addressing other issues of 
concern.
    Oral and written comments presented at the public scoping meetings, 
as well as written comments received by the Air Force or County of Kern 
will be considered in the preparation of the Draft EIS/EIR.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gary Hatch, Environmental Public 
Affairs, Bldg. 1405 Room 400, Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93524; email: 
[email protected], Phone: 661-277-8707, Fax: (661) 277-2732. 
Handicap assistance or translation service at public meetings can be 
made available by providing advance notice to Mr. Hatch at the contact 
information listed above.

Henry Williams Jr,
Acting Air Force Federal Register Liaison Officer.
[FR Doc. 2013-12751 Filed 5-28-13; 8:45 am]
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