[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 104 (Friday, May 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31133-31134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-12572]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[CACA 048811, LLCAD01500, L51010000.ER0000.14X.LVRWB14B5340]


Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Right-of-Way Amendment for the Blythe Solar 
Power Project, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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[[Page 31134]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has 
prepared a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed 
right-of-way (ROW) amendment for the Blythe Solar Power Project (BSPP), 
Riverside County, California, and by this notice is announcing its 
availability.

DATES: The BLM will not issue a final decision on the proposed ROW 
amendment for a minimum of 30 days after the date that the 
Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the Final EIS have been sent to affected Federal, 
State, and local government agencies, and to other stakeholders. Copies 
of the Final EIS are available for public inspection at the Palm 
Springs/South Coast Field Office, 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, 
CA 92262 and the California Desert District Office, 22835 Calle San 
Juan de Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553-9046. Interested persons 
also may review the Final EIS on the Internet at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/palmsprings/Solar_Projects/Blythe_Solar_Power_Project.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Frank McMenimen, BLM Project Manager, 
telephone 760-833-7150; address 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, 
CA 92262; 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 Mr. 
McMenimen during normal business hours. The FIRS is available 24 hours 
a day, 7 days a week to leave a message or question for Mr. McMenimen. 
You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The project area is located 8 miles west of 
Blythe and 3 miles north of Interstate 10 (I-10). The BSPP originally 
was permitted and approved in 2010 as a 1,000-megawatt (MW) solar 
thermal generating plant occupying 6,831 acres (Approved Project). On 
August 22, 2012, the BLM approved the assignment of the ROW Grant from 
the prior holder, Palo Verde Solar I, LLC, to NextEra Blythe Solar 
Energy, LLC (Grant Holder). The Grant Holder purchased via bankruptcy 
the (un-built) project assets in mid-2012 from Palo Verde Solar I, LLC. 
The Grant Holder then requested a Level 3 variance to the existing 
Approved Project's ROW grant. The Grant Holder is proposing to 
construct, operate, maintain, and decommission the BSPP using 
photovoltaic (PV) technology with a 485-MW capacity on 4,138 acres of 
BLM-administered public land.
    To support this proposal, a request to amend the existing ROW 
authorization has been submitted to reduce the acreage of the project, 
change the technology from concentrating solar trough to PV, adjust the 
project layout in response to the new generation technology and reduce 
the project's capacity from 1,000 to 485 MWs. These proposed changes 
are referred to in the Final EIS as the Modified Project. In 
anticipation of the Modified Project, the Grant Holder voluntarily 
relinquished approximately 35 percent of the previously approved ROW 
grant area on March 7, 2013.
    The Final EIS fully analyzes the Grant Holder's proposal to 
construct, operate, maintain, and decommission the Modified Project 
(Alternative 1), as well as the BLM's denial of the variance request, 
which would maintain the current ROW grant approvals on the site as 
modified by the Grant Holder's voluntary relinquishment mentioned above 
(Alternative 2, No Action). The Final EIS does not supersede or replace 
the 2010 Proposed Plan Amendment/Final EIS or other elements of the 
2010 Approved Project or Plan Amendment, but rather tiers to those 
documents as appropriate. The Final EIS analyzes the use of PV 
technology in detail, including any additional site-specific impacts 
resulting from the change in technology and additional or relocated 
ancillary facilities. This includes impacts to air quality, biological 
resources, climate change, cultural resources, hazards and public 
health, lands and realty, mineral resources, noise, paleontological 
resources, recreation and special designations, socioeconomics and 
environmental justice, soil resources, traffic and travel management, 
visual resources, water resources, and wildland fire ecology.
    A number of measures would be implemented to avoid, minimize, 
rectify, reduce, or compensate for adverse impacts of the Modified 
Project. These include:
     Biological Resources: Wildlife would be avoided or 
relocated (e.g., desert tortoise) to the extent feasible through 
fencing, clearance surveys, and relocation/translocation. The Grant 
Holder also proposes to implement a Raven Management Plan, Weed 
Management Plan, Bird and Bat Conservation Strategy, and golden eagle 
inventory and monitoring. The Grant Holder has also proposed off-site 
compensatory mitigation to minimize or offset impacts to biological 
resources.
     Cultural Resources: The Grant Holder proposes to employ 
cultural resource specialists as monitors during ground disturbance, 
and to implement long-term protection measures.
     Hazards and Visual Resources: The Grant Holder proposes to 
document, investigate, evaluate, and attempt to resolve all project-
related glare complaints throughout the construction and operation of 
the project; to use textured glass or anti-reflective coating on all 
solar panels; and to construct all exposed PV panel support structures 
with matte or non-reflective surfaces.
     Water Resources: Site hydrology would be designed to 
retain pre-project flows on the majority of the site, and the Grant 
Holder would implement a Groundwater Level Monitoring, Mitigation, and 
Reporting Plan.
    The BLM has conducted Native American tribal consultations in 
accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 
and Federal policy in connection with the previously approved BSPP, 
which resulted in the development of a Programmatic Agreement. During 
that process, tribes expressed their views and concerns about the 
importance and sensitivity of specific cultural resources to which they 
attach religious and cultural significance. The BLM has amended the 
Programmatic Agreement, consistent with its terms, in response to the 
Modified Project. In connection with its review of the Modified 
Project, the BLM will carry out its responsibilities to consult with 
tribes on a government-to-government basis and other members of the 
public pursuant to the existing Programmatic Agreement, as amended, and 
other authorities to the extent applicable and will continue to give 
tribal concerns due consideration, including impacts to historic 
properties to which tribes attach religious and cultural significance 
and Indian trust assets.
    Comments on the Draft EIS received from the public and based on 
internal BLM review were considered and incorporated as appropriate 
into the Final EIS. Public comments resulted in the addition of 
clarifying text, but did not significantly change the substantive 
analysis within the Final EIS.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6 & 1506.10.

Thomas Pogacnik,
Deputy State Director.
[FR Doc. 2014-12572 Filed 5-29-14; 8:45 am]
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