[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57880-57881]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-22877]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVS03000. L51010000.ER0000. LVRWF1304100; N-85801, N-89530, N-90050, 
and N-90823; MO 4500053894; TAS: 14X5017]


Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement and Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment for 
the Silver State Solar South Project, Clark County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended, and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Proposed 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment for the Silver State Solar 
South Project located on public lands east of Primm, Nevada, and by 
this notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's Final 
Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment. A person who meets the 
conditions and files a protest must file the protest within 30 days of 
the date that the Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice 
of Availability in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Silver State Solar South Project Final 
Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment have been sent to affected 
Federal, State, and local government agencies and to other stakeholders 
including the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, the 
Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, the Moapa 
Band of Paiutes, and the Pahrump Paiute Tribe. Copies of the Silver 
State Solar South Final Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment are 
available for public inspection at the BLM Southern Nevada District 
Office at 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada. Interested 
persons may also review the Final Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP 
Amendment on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/lvfo/blm_programs/energy/Silver_State_Solar_South.html. All protests must be 
in writing and mailed to one of the following addresses:

Regular Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
P.O. Box 71383, Washington, DC 20024-1383
Overnight Mail: BLM Director (210), Attention: Brenda Hudgens-Williams, 
20 M Street SE, Room 2134LM Washington, DC 20003

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nancy Christ, Renewable Energy Project 
Manager, telephone 702-515-5136; address 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, 
Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301; 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: Silver State Solar Power South, LLC, has 
submitted a right-of-way (ROW) application for the construction, 
operation, maintenance, and termination of a 250-350 megawatt (MW) 
solar energy generation facility within a 13,184-acre area of public 
land east of Primm, Nevada. The ROW application is assigned BLM case 
number N-89530. This application expands on ROW application N-85801. 
The proposed solar energy project would consist of photovoltaic (PV) 
panels and related infrastructure ROW appurtenances, including a 
substation and switchyard facilities, and would produce about 250 MWs 
of electricity under the BLM Preferred Alternative. The solar field and 
infrastructure would consist of single-axis tracker systems or fixed 
panels, an underground and overhead electrical power collection system, 
two step-up transformers, 230 kilovolt (kV) and 220 kV transmission 
lines, an operation and maintenance area, a switchyard, paved access 
and maintenance roads, flood and drainage controls, and a fire break. 
If approved, the Silver State Solar South Project would have a 
footprint of between 2,427 acres and 3,881 acres, depending on the EIS 
alternative chosen and the final site configuration. The ROW grant 
would only be issued for lands needed for project development; no ROW 
would be granted for the remaining acreage within the application area.
    The Final Supplemental EIS addresses new information associated 
with N-89530 and updates as necessary the consideration of N-85801, 
which was analyzed in the Final EIS for the Silver State Solar Energy 
Project, a 400-MW PV solar energy facility. The BLM approved a Record 
of Decision on October 12, 2010, for the Silver State Solar Energy 
Project, and authorized ROW N-85077 for the construction and operation 
a 50 MW PV solar energy facility on 618 acres of BLM-administered 
lands, which represented the first phase of project development and 
became the Silver State Solar North Project. The Record of Decision did 
not authorize ROW application N-85801, which is now included as part of 
the Silver State Solar South Project, along with ROW application N-
89530. The BLM would need to amend the October 1998 Las Vegas RMP to 
address proposed changes in land and resource use within the Jean Lake/
Roach Lake Special Recreation Management Area in order to approve ROW 
application N-89530. The BLM has considered additional changes that 
would amend the Las Vegas RMP, including a proposed nomination for an 
Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) within the Ivanpah 
Valley, and a Visual Resource Management change within the project 
boundary from Class III to Class IV.
    The Final Supplemental EIS analyzes five alternatives, including a 
no action alternative (Alternative A) and four action alternatives. 
Alternative B is Silver State's original proposal (as described in 
their Plan of Development dated July 2011). This alternative was 
introduced in initial scoping meetings and does not include perimeter 
roads. Alternative B would disturb up to 3,881

[[Page 57881]]

acres of Federal land. Alternative C would disturb up to 2,546 acres of 
Federal lands, and is the project layout for Phases II and III that 
were previously evaluated in the 2010 Final EIS. Alternative D would 
disturb up to 3,110 acres of Federal land and is a modified layout of 
Silver State's original proposal (Alternative B above) that would allow 
access through a historically-used recreation route, avoid impacts to 
interstate drainages, and reduce impacts to desert tortoise and other 
special status species. The BLM Preferred Alternative is a modification 
of Alternative D and was developed after release of the Draft 
Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment to address public and agency 
concerns related to desert tortoise demographic connectivity within the 
Ivanpah Valley and agency and public interest in a reduced-scale 
project. The BLM Preferred Alternative is smaller in area than other 
analyzed project alternatives and reduces electricity generation 
capacity to 250 MWs. The BLM Preferred Alternative would disturb up to 
2,427 acres of Federal land entirely within the footprint of 
alternatives analyzed in the Draft Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP 
Amendment, and thus involves no new areas of effect. The BLM Preferred 
Alternative also includes a 31,859-acre area for designation as an ACEC 
and management prescriptions that would be required for the designated 
ACEC.
    The Final Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment describes and 
analyzes the project's site-specific impacts on air quality, biological 
resources, cultural resources, special designations (the Special 
Recreation Management Area), water resources, and geological resources 
and hazards. Also analyzed were land and airspace use, noise, 
paleontological resources, public health, socioeconomics, soils, 
traffic and transportation, visual resources, wilderness 
characteristics, waste management, worker safety, fire protection, and 
hazardous materials handling; as well as facility-design engineering, 
efficiency, reliability, transmission-system engineering, transmission 
line safety, and nuisance issues.
    On October 15, 2012, the BLM published the Notice of Availability 
for the Draft Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment for this proposal 
in the Federal Register (77 FR 62525). The BLM accepted public comments 
at three public meetings in Primm, Las Vegas, and Jean, Nevada, and by 
email, mail, and fax during a 90-day comment period. The BLM received 
381 comment submissions from individuals, organizations, and agencies. 
Comments primarily pertained to evaluation of an additional 
conservation alternative, consideration of desert tortoise demographic 
connectivity, and delay of the Final Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP 
Amendment until after a regional analysis of tortoise connectivity is 
completed. The BLM also received statements in support of, or 
opposition to, the proposal.
    Comments on the Draft Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment 
received from the public and internal BLM review were considered and 
incorporated as appropriate into the proposed project and plan 
amendment. Public comments resulted in the addition of substantive 
revisions since the Draft Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment was 
published in October 2012. Substantive revisions include (1) 
identification of a reduced scale BLM Preferred Alternative to address 
public and agency concerns related to desert tortoise connectivity 
within the Ivanpah Valley; (2) additional mitigation measures developed 
in response to input from resource agencies and stakeholder discussion; 
and (3) designation of a 31,859-acre ACEC. Minor revisions were also 
made to correct project acreage; these revisions are identified 
throughout the document.
    Instructions for filing a protest with the Director of the BLM 
regarding the Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS may be found in the 
``Dear Reader'' letter of the Silver State Solar South Project Final 
Supplemental EIS/Proposed RMP Amendment and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2. All 
protests must be in writing and mailed to the appropriate address, as 
set forth in the ADDRESSES section above. Emailed protests will not be 
accepted as valid protests unless the protesting party also provides 
the original letter by either regular or overnight mail postmarked by 
the close of the protest period. Under these conditions, the BLM will 
consider the email as an advance copy and it will receive full 
consideration. If you wish to provide the BLM with such advance 
notification, please direct emails to [email protected].
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us in your protest to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.

    Authority:  40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR 
1610.5.

Gayle Marrs-Smith,
Las Vegas Field Manager (Acting).
[FR Doc. 2013-22877 Filed 9-19-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P