[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 120 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29237-29238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13248]



[[Page 29237]]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAC05000.L51010000.ER0000.LVRWB18B6770.18XL1109AF (MO#4500134877)]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Walker Ridge Wind Energy Project and a Potential Amendment 
to the Ukiah Resource Management Plan, Colusa and Lake Counties, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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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, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Ukiah Field 
Office, Ukiah, California, intends to prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement (EIS) and a potential Resource Management Plan (RMP) 
amendment for the Ukiah Resource Management Plan. The EIS will analyze 
the impacts of a proposal by Colusa Wind LLC to build a Type III wind 
energy project called the Walker Ridge Wind Energy Project in Colusa 
and Lake counties. This notice announces the beginning of the scoping 
process to solicit public comments and identify issues.

DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process for the EIS. 
Comments on issues may be submitted in writing until July 22, 2019. The 
date(s) and location(s) of any scoping meetings will be announced at 
least 15 days in advance on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/california.
    In order to be included in the analysis, all comments must be 
received prior to the close of the 30-day scoping period. We will 
provide additional opportunities for public participation as 
appropriate.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments related to the Walker Ridge Wind 
Energy Project by any of the following methods:
     Website: https://go.usa.gov/xmtGu.
     Email: [email protected].
     Mail: BLM Ukiah Field Office, Attn: Walker Ridge Wind 
Energy Project, 2550 N State Street, Suite 2, Ukiah, CA 95482.
    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined at the BLM 
Ukiah Field Office listed earlier.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Aleta Nafus, Project Manager, 
telephone 707-468-4000; address Bureau of Land Management, 940 2nd 
Ave., Marina, CA 93933; email [email protected]. 
Contact Ms. Nafus to have your name added to our mailing list. Persons 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Ms. Nafus 
during normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week, to leave a message or question. You will receive a reply 
during normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Colusa Wind LLC is requesting a right-of-way 
grant to erect up to 42 wind turbines on approximately 2,270 acres of 
public land along Walker Ridge, within the Indian Valley Management 
Area in northern California. The proposed project includes widening 
Walker Ridge Road, constructing a substation, and burying a collection 
line and tie-in to the existing Pacific Gas and Electric transmission 
line.
    This document provides notice that the BLM Ukiah Field Office, 
intends to prepare an EIS and potential amendment for the Ukiah RMP, 
announces the beginning of the scoping process, and seeks public input 
on issues and planning criteria. The planning area is located in Colusa 
and Lake counties, California, and encompasses approximately 2,270 
acres of public land. The purpose of the public scoping process is to 
determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the 
environmental analysis, including alternatives, and guide the planning 
process. Preliminary issues for the plan amendment area have been 
identified by BLM personnel; Federal, State, and local agencies; and 
other stakeholders. The issues include: Air quality and atmospheric 
values; biological resources, including special status wildlife and 
vegetation species; cultural resources; geology and soils; hazards and 
hazardous materials; hydrology and water quality; lands and realty; 
mineral resources; noise; paleontological resources; recreation; 
socioeconomics and environmental justice; special designations; 
transportation and travel management; visual resources; and wildland 
fire ecology. If an RMP amendment is necessary, the BLM will integrate 
the land use planning process with the NEPA process. Preliminary 
planning criteria include:
    1. The plan amendments will be completed in compliance with FLPMA, 
NEPA, and all other relevant Federal laws, executive orders, and BLM 
policies;
    2. The plan amendment(s) will recognize valid existing rights.
    You may submit comments on issues and planning criteria in writing 
to the BLM at any public scoping meeting, or you may submit them to the 
BLM using one of the methods listed in the ADDRESSES section earlier. 
To be most helpful, you should submit comments by the close of the 30-
day scoping period or within 15 days after the last public meeting, 
whichever is later.
    The BLM will utilize and coordinate the NEPA scoping process to 
help fulfill the public involvement process under the National Historic 
Preservation Act (54 U.S.C. 306108 as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3)). 
The information about historic and cultural resources within the area 
potentially affected by the proposed action will assist the BLM in 
identifying and evaluating impacts to such resources.
    The BLM will consult with Indian tribes on a government-to-
government basis in accordance with Executive Order 13175 and other 
policies. Tribal concerns, including impacts on Indian trust assets and 
potential impacts to cultural resources, will be given due 
consideration. Federal, State, and local agencies, along with tribes 
and other stakeholders that may be interested in or affected by the 
proposed action that the BLM is evaluating, are invited to participate 
in the scoping process and, if eligible, may request or be requested by 
the BLM to participate in the development of the environmental analysis 
as a cooperating agency.
    With respect to the potential RMP amendment, the BLM will evaluate 
identified issues to be addressed in the plan amendment, and will place 
them into one of three categories:
    1. Issues to be resolved in the plan amendment;
    2. Issues to be resolved through policy or administrative action; 
or
    3. Issues beyond the scope of this plan amendment.
    The BLM will provide an explanation in the Draft EIS as to why an 
issue was placed in category two or three. The public is also 
encouraged to help identify any management questions and concerns that 
should be addressed in the EIS and potential land use plan amendments. 
The BLM will work collaboratively with interested parties to identify 
the management decisions that are best suited to local, regional, and 
national needs and concerns.
    The BLM will use an interdisciplinary approach to develop the EIS 
and potential land use plan amendments in order to consider the variety 
of resource issues and concerns identified. Specialists with expertise 
in the

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following disciplines will be involved in the planning process: 
Minerals and geology, outdoor recreation, archaeology, paleontology, 
wildlife and botany, lands and realty, hydrology, soils, sociology, and 
economics.
    Before including your address, phone number, email address, or 
other personally identifiable information in your comment, you should 
be aware that your entire comment--including your personally 
identifiable information--may be made publicly available at any time. 
While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personally 
identifiable information from public review, we cannot guarantee that 
we will be able to do so.

(Authority: 40 CFR 1501.7 and 43 CFR 1610.2)

Danielle Chi,
Deputy State Director, Fire and Resources.
[FR Doc. 2019-13248 Filed 6-20-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P