[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 51 (Monday, March 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14733-14734]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-05633]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLNVS03100 L13400000.PQ0000; 13-08807; MO 4500054217; TAS 
14X5017]


Notice Seeking Public Interest for Solar Energy Development on 
Public Lands in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone in Clark County, NV

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Southern Nevada District 
is seeking expressions of interest in proposing projects for utility-
scale solar energy development on approximately 5,717 acres of public 
land identified as the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) in Clark 
County, Nevada.

DATES: Parties interested in proposing a solar energy project on the 
lands described in this notice should do so by April 16, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submissions should be sent to the Bureau of Land Management, 
Attention: Greg Helseth, Renewable Energy Project Manager, 4701 North 
Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130-2301. Electronic submissions 
will not be accepted.

[[Page 14734]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Greg Helseth, Renewable Energy Project 
Manager, by telephone at 702-515-5173; or by email at [email protected]. 
Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-702-515-5086 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: The Dry Lake SEZ is approximately 25 miles 
northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in an undeveloped rural area. The 
nearest major roads accessing the Dry Lake SEZ are I-15, which runs 
along the southeastern border of the SEZ, and U.S. 93, which runs along 
the southwestern border of the SEZ. The subject public lands are 
described as:

Mount Diablo Meridian

T. 17 S., R. 63 E.,
    Sec. 33, lots 9, 10, 13 and 14, NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 34, lots 1 thru 4, NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, and N\1/2\S\1/
2\;
    Secs. 35 and 36.
T. 18 S., R. 63 E.,
    Secs. 1 and 2;
    Sec. 3, lots 1 thru 3, 5, 7 thru 10, 13, and 14, S\1/2\NE\1/4\, 
NE\1/4\SE\1/4\;
    Sec. 4, lot 5;
    Sec. 10, lot 1;
    Sec. 11, lots 1, 3 thru 5, and 9, NE\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\, SE\1/
4\SE\1/4\, NE\1/4\NW\1/4\;
    Sec. 12; that portion lying northerly and westerly of the 
centerline of the southbound lane of I-15;
    Sec. 13, that portion lying northerly and westerly of the 
centerline of the southbound lane of I-15 and northerly and easterly 
of the centerline of U.S. Highway No. 93;
    Sec. 14, lot 1.
T. 17 S., R. 64 E.,
    Sec. 31, lots 5 thru 8, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\W\1/2\, and that 
portion of the SE\1/4\ lying northerly and westerly of the 
centerline of the southbound lane of I-15;
    Sec. 32, that portion of the SW\1/4\ lying northerly and 
westerly of the centerline of the southbound lane of I-15.
T. 18 S., R. 64 E.,
    Secs. 6 and 7, that portion lying northerly and westerly of the 
centerline of the southbound lane of I-15, respectively.

    The area described contains an aggregate of 6,160 acres, more or 
less, in Clark County, Nevada.

    During the development of the Solar Energy Programmatic 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Record of Decision (ROD), the 
BLM identified 469 acres of floodplain and wetland as non-development 
areas within the Dry Lake SEZ, leaving 5,717 acres within the SEZ as 
available for development. A map of the SEZ can be viewed and 
downloaded at: http://solareis.anl.gov/maps/index.cfm.
    The request for interest follows a 2-year planning effort on the 
public lands as part of the Solar Energy Programmatic EIS and ROD. On 
October 12, 2012, the Secretary of the Interior signed the ROD, which 
amended 89 resource management plans. The Solar Energy Programmatic EIS 
and ROD provide a road map for utility-scale solar energy development 
on public lands. Public comments were received during the draft, 
supplemental, and final Programmatic EIS process. While the ROD does 
not authorize any solar energy development projects or eliminate the 
need for site-specific environmental review for future utility-scale 
projects, the Dry Lake SEZ was identified by the BLM under the Solar 
Energy Programmatic EIS and ROD as one of the areas as best suited for 
solar energy development because of fewer potential resource conflicts 
than other areas on the public land. The Solar Energy Programmatic EIS 
also will help streamline site-specific environmental analysis for 
future proposed projects in the Dry Lake SEZ. This notice also 
announces the release of the ``Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy for 
the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone'' that describes off-site mitigation 
costs that will be required for the development of future solar energy 
projects in the Dry Lake SEZ. The Mitigation Strategy is available 
online at http://blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/nv/dry-lake/mitigation.
    Two designated transmission corridors pass through the Dry Lake 
SEZ. These corridors have numerous natural gas, petroleum product, and 
electric transmission lines, including a 500-kV transmission line.
    Parties interested in proposing a solar energy development project 
in the Dry Lake SEZ, or portion of the Dry Lake SEZ, should submit a 
letter of interest and a preliminary right-of-way (ROW) application 
(SF-299) to the address in the ADDRESSES section. The ROW application 
form is available online: http://www.gsa.gov/portal/forms/download/117318. The ROW application should include a legal description and map 
of the specific parcel of land that is proposed for solar energy 
development.
    The BLM Southern Nevada District has one ROW application within the 
Dry Lake (SEZ) serialized as NVN-084232. Applications for solar energy 
development are processed as ROW authorizations under Title V of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. The regulations at 43 
CFR 2804.23 authorize the BLM to determine whether competition exists 
among ROW applications filed for the same area. The regulations also 
allow the BLM to resolve any such competition by using competitive 
bidding procedures.
    The BLM will review submissions from interested parties in response 
to this notice and determine whether competition exists to develop 
solar energy projects in the Dry Lake SEZ. If the BLM determines 
sufficient competition exists, the BLM may use a competitive bidding 
process, consistent with the regulations, to select a preferred 
applicant in the Dry Lake SEZ.

    Authority: 43 CFR 2804.23.

Amy L. Lueders,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-05633 Filed 3-14-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P