[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 77 (Tuesday, April 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22529-22530]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09139]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA-048669, LLCAD07000, L51010000.ER0000.LVRWB10B4050]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the San 
Diego Gas & Electric Ocotillo Sol Solar Project and California Desert 
Conservation Area Plan Amendment, Imperial County, CA

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) and approved plan amendment to the 
California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) for the San Diego Gas & 
Electric (SDG&E) Ocotillo Sol Solar Project in Imperial County, 
California. The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals 
Management, approved the ROD on April 7, 2014, which constitutes the 
final decision of the Department of the Interior.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Ocotillo Sol Solar Project ROD/approved CDCA 
plan amendment are available upon request at the BLM El Centro Field 
Office at 1661 S. 4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243, at the BLM 
California Desert District Office at 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/elcentro/nepa/ocotillosol.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Noel Ludwig, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone 951-697-5368; address BLM California Desert District Office, 
22835 Calle San Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553; 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: The applicant, SDG&E, filed an application 
for a right-of-way (ROW) grant authorization to construct, operate, 
maintain, and decommission the Ocotillo Sol project, a 20-megawatt (MW) 
(peak load) solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant facility, on 115 acres 
of BLM-administered public lands in Imperial County, California, 
including a 15-acre temporary construction laydown area. The site for 
the solar facility would be adjacent to the existing Imperial Valley 
Substation (IVS), approximately 5 miles north of the United States-
Mexico border, 9 miles southwest of El Centro, and 82 miles east of San 
Diego. The proposed project site is located within the BLM's CDCA, the 
BLM's Yuha Basin Area of Critical Environmental Concern, and the Yuha 
Desert Management Area for the flat-tailed horned lizard. A portion of 
the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail lies approximately 5 
miles southwest of the project site at its closest point, and runs 
approximately north-south. The Jacumba Mountains Wilderness Area lies 
11.7 miles to the west of the project site. The Agency Selected 
Alternative retains the 100-acre solar facility from the proposed 
project, but reduces the laydown area from 15 acres to 2 acres; this 
was described in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as 
Alternative 3: Reduced Construction Footprint, and identified as the 
Preferred Alternative.
    All proposed project components, including the temporary 2-acre 
construction laydown area, would be located on BLM-administered lands 
subject to a ROW grant. The proposed Ocotillo Sol project components 
would include the PV modules and mounting structures, a maintenance 
building with an associated parking area, internal roads, inverters, 
transformers, and the combining switchgear. An existing road to the IVS 
would provide access to the proposed project site. New minor internal 
roads would be constructed between the module rows. The interconnection 
to the IVS would be via underground trench. Once approved and 
operational, the proposed Ocotillo Sol project is expected to have an 
average generating capacity of 15 to 18 MW, depending on the specific 
technology chosen, with a peak output of 20 MW.
    In addition to mitigation and monitoring measures applied to all 
large ground disturbance projects on BLM land, the following are 
several of the key mitigation measures included in the ROD:
     Flat-tailed horned lizard translocation and monitoring 
plan;
     Burrowing owl mitigation and monitoring plan;
     Flat-tailed horned lizard exclusionary fence monitoring 
plan;
     Compensatory mitigation for flat-tailed horned lizard 
habitat losses;
     Wildlife mortality monitoring plan and mitigation 
measures; and
     An Archaeological Resources Monitoring and Discovery Plan, 
Tribal Participation Plan, and Long-Term Archaeological Management 
Plan.
    The project site is located 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 surrounding areas. 
The CDCA Plan, while recognizing the potential compatibility of solar 
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 Ocotillo Sol Solar Project, the BLM must amend the CDCA Plan to 
allow the solar 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 Ocotillo Sol Solar Project and ancillary 
facilities on land managed by the BLM.
    In addition to the ROW grant and plan amendment, the ROD also 
authorizes the temporary closures of existing routes for purposes of 
construction and maintenance of the underground transmission line for 
the Project as described in the ROD.
    A Notice of Availability of the proposed plan amendment/final EIS 
for the Ocotillo Sol Solar Project was published on July 26, 2013 (78 
FR 45268). Publication of the Notice of Availability for the plan 
amendment/final EIS initiated a 30-day protest period for the proposed 
amendment to the CDCA Plan. At the close of the 30-day period, no 
written protests were received. Simultaneously with the protest period, 
the Governor of California conducted a 30-day consistency review of the 
proposed plan amendment to identify any inconsistencies with State or 
local plans, policies or programs; no inconsistencies were identified.

[[Page 22530]]

    Because this decision has been approved by the Principal Deputy 
Assistant Secretary, Land and Mineral Management, it is not subject to 
administrative appeal (43 CFR 4.410(a)(3)).

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6.

Neil Kornze,
Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-09139 Filed 4-21-14; 8:45 am]
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