[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 106 (Monday, June 3, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33101-33102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-13059]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-052537, LLCAD05000, L51010000.LVRWB11B4520.FX0000]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Alta 
East Wind Project, Kern 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) to grant a right-of-way (ROW) and amend 
the California Desert Conservation Area Plan (CDCA Plan) for the Alta 
East Wind Project (AEWP). The Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and 
Minerals Management approved the ROD on May 23, 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 Field Manager, Ridgecrest Field Office, 
300 South Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, CA 93555, and the California 
Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno 
Valley, CA 92553-9046, or via the Internet at: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ridgecrest/alta_east_wind_project.html.

[[Page 33102]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeffery Childers; telephone, 951-697-
5308; mail, BLM California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San Juan 
de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046; or 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: Alta Windpower Development, LLC, filed a ROW 
application for the AEWP. The project as originally proposed would have 
consisted of a 318-megawatt wind-energy generation facility on a 2,592-
acre site (public and private lands) with 106 wind turbines, access 
roads, collector substation, operation and maintenance facility, 
temporary portable concrete batch plant, meteorological towers, and a 
transmission line. The proposed project would require approximately 568 
acres of private lands. The project site is located approximately 3 
miles northwest of the town of Mojave and approximately 11 miles east 
of the city of Tehachapi.
    The Selected Alternative consists of 2,592 acres, of which 1,999 
acres are on public land under the jurisdiction of the BLM and 593 
acres are on private land under the jurisdiction of Kern County. The 
Selected Alternative contains 51 wind turbines capable of generating up 
to 153 megawatts.
    The project site is within the planning boundary of the CDCA Plan. 
The CDCA Plan, while recognizing the potential compatibility of wind-
energy generation facilities with other uses 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 
for the AEWP, the BLM must amend the CDCA Plan to allow the wind-energy 
generating project on that site. The approved amendment to the CDCA 
Plan specifically revises the CDCA Plan to allow for the development of 
the AEWP and ancillary facilities on land managed by the BLM.
    Publication of the Notice of Availability of the Proposed Plan 
Amendment/Final EIS for the AEWP on February 15, 2013 (78 FR 11171), 
initiated a 30-day protest period for the proposed amendment to the 
CDCA Plan which concluded on March 18, 2013. The BLM received one 
timely protest which was resolved prior to the execution of the ROD. 
The protest resolution is summarized in the ROD and addressed in the 
separate Director's Protest Resolution Report. The proposed amendment 
to the CDCA Plan was not modified as a result of the protest received 
or the resolution.
    Simultaneously with the protest period, the Governor of California 
conducted an expedited 30-day consistency review of the proposed CDCA 
Plan amendment to identify any inconsistencies with State or local 
plans, policies, or programs; no inconsistencies were identified by the 
Governor's Office.
    Because this decision is approved by the Acting Assistant Secretary 
for Lands and Minerals, it is not subject to administrative appeal (43 
CFR 4.410(a)(3)).

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6

Jamie Connell,
Acting Deputy Director for Operations, Bureau of Land Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-13059 Filed 5-31-13; 8:45 am]
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