[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 87 (Friday, May 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24663-24664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09678]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD6000.L51010000.ER0000.LVRWB20B5120.20XL1109AF;MO#4500153248]


Notice of Availability of the Record of Decision for the Crimson 
Solar Project and the Proposed Amendment to the California Desert 
Conservation Area Plan, Riverside County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 
Record of Decision (ROD) for the Final Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS)/Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/Plan Amendment developed for 
the proposed Crimson Solar Project, and by this notice is announcing 
its availability.

DATES: The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals 
Management, Department of the Interior signed the ROD on April 30, 
2021.

ADDRESSES: Copies of the ROD are available for public inspection during 
regular business hours at 1201 Bird Center Drive, Palm Springs, CA 
92262. Due to COVID-19 related office closures, an appointment must be 
made in advance. Please contact the project manager listed below to 
make an appointment. Interested persons may also review the ROD at: 
https://go.usa.gov/xACdN.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam Liberatore, Project Manager, 
telephone: 541-618-2200; email: [email protected]; mailing address: 
Bureau of Land Management, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504. 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. 
Liberatore. 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: Sonoran West Solar Holdings LLC (the 
Applicant), a wholly owned subsidiary of Recurrent Energy LLC, applied 
for a right-of-way grant for a photovoltaic solar project with the BLM. 
The applicant proposed to construct, operate, maintain, and 
decommission a maximum 350-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility with 
integrated battery storage and necessary ancillary facilities, 
including project substations, access roads, operations and maintenance 
buildings, and lay down areas. The Proposed Action included 2,500 acres 
of BLM-administered land in the Riverside East Solar Energy Zone.
    In addition to the Proposed Action (Alternative A), the Final EIS/
EIR/Plan Amendment considered a no-action alternative and two action 
alternatives. Alternative B, Alternative Design, included one or more 
of three design elements to reduce grading, trenching, and vegetation 
removal during construction. Alternative C, Reduced Acreage 
Alternative, was the same as described under Alternative A in the 
number and size of project-related facilities and energy generation, 
but the project area was reduced to 2,049 acres. All action 
alternatives proposed amending the California Desert Conservation Area 
(CDCA) Plan to allow the project. The Agency Preferred Alternative 
combines the reduced grading and reduced vegetation removal elements of 
Alternative B and the facility sizes, locations, and separation by unit 
under Alternative C. The Selected Alternative is the Preferred 
Alternative with the inclusion of the paved access road from Power Line 
Road described under Alternative A. The CDCA Plan requires proposed 
utility sites not previously identified in the plan and proposed 
transmission lines outside designated utility corridors be considered 
through a Plan Amendment. This decision therefore amends the CDCA Plan 
to identify the Crimson Solar Project site as suitable for

[[Page 24664]]

solar energy generation and to recognize the development of a high-
voltage transmission line outside a designated corridor.
    The Draft EIS/EIR/Plan Amendment was circulated for a 90-day public 
comment period initiated in October 2019, Federal Register Notice of 
Availability (84 FR 58738). The BLM held public meetings on December 2 
and 3, 2019, in Palm Desert and Blythe, respectively. Twenty-one 
comments were received during the comment period. Responses to 
substantive comments were in Appendix W of the Final EIS/EIR/Plan 
Amendment. Public comments resulted in the addition of clarifying text 
but did not warrant changes in the analysis or conclusions. The Final 
EIS/EIR/Plan Amendment was published February 12, 2021 (86 FR 9335), 
initiating a 30-day protest period and a concurrent Governor's 
consistency review of up to 60 days. During the protest period for the 
Proposed Amendments to the RMPs, the BLM received three protest 
letters. All protests were resolved prior to the issuance of the RODs. 
For a full description of the issues raised during the protest period 
and how they were addressed, please refer to the BLM Protest Resolution 
Report, which is available online at https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/protest-resolution-reports. The 
Governor of California reviewed the Final EIS and Proposed Amendments 
to the RMPs and did not identify any inconsistencies with State or 
local plans, policies, or programs.
    The BLM selects the Agency Preferred Alternative with the addition 
of the paved access road under Alternative A and amends the CDCA Plan. 
This decision constitutes the final decision of the Department of the 
Interior and is not subject to appeal under departmental regulations at 
43 CFR part 4. Any challenge to this decision must be brought in the 
Federal District Court.

(Authority: 40 CFR part 1500; 43 CFR part 1610; 42 U.S.C. 4370m-
6(a)(1))

Laura Daniel-Davis,
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and Minerals Management.
[FR Doc. 2021-09678 Filed 5-6-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P