[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 165 (Friday, August 26, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52502-52503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18381]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

[Docket #: RUS-22-ELECTRIC-0049]


Badger State Solar, LLC: Notice of Availability of a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability of a Final Environmental Impact 
Statement.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the United 
States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has prepared a Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to meet its responsibilities 
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) as amended, 
RUS's implementing regulations, and other applicable environmental 
requirements related to providing financial assistance for Badger State 
Solar, LLC's proposed Alternating Current solar project (Project) in 
Wisconsin. RUS has included documentation in the FEIS demonstrating RUS 
has completed its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National 
Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations, 
``Protection of Historic Properties.'' The FEIS addresses the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of a 149 megawatt (MW) 
photovoltaic (PV) alternating current solar energy generating facility 
on a site in in Jefferson County, Wisconsin described previously in the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). It also addresses comments 
received during the comment period for the DEIS.

DATES: Written comments on the FEIS will be accepted for 30 days 
following the publication of the Environmental Protection Agency's 
environmental impact statement receipt notice in the Federal Register. 
Comments must be received by October 3, 2022. Notices of Availability 
of the FEIS will be published in local newspapers. After a 30-day 
comment period on the FEIS, RUS will prepare a Record of Decision for 
its respective action. The environmental review process is expected to 
conclude in Fall 2022.

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and other Project-related information is 
available at RUS's and Badger State Solar's websites located at: 
https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements, https://badgerstatesolar.consultation.ai, and https://www.badgerstatesolar.com.
    All comments submitted during the comment period will become part 
of the public record. Before including your address, telephone number, 
email address, or other personal identifying information in your 
comment, you should be aware that your entire comment_including your 
personal identifying information_may be made publicly available at any 
time. All comments will be reviewed and in the Record of Decision. For 
consideration, comments must be received by October 3, 2022.
    Comments may be submitted at [email protected] during 
the comment period. Comments submitted after the comment period may not 
be considered by the agency.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To receive copies of the FEIS or 
request information on the proposed Project, the FEIS process, and RUS 
financing, contact Peter Steinour at [email protected] or 
202-692-5346.
    Copies of the FEIS will be available for review at the Jefferson 
Public Library in Jefferson, WI, the Cambridge Community Library in 
Cambridge, WI and the Lake Mills Library in Lake Mills, WI. Library 
locations will be published in the local papers.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Badger State Solar is a project of the solar 
development company, Ranger Power. Many of Wisconsin's fossil-fueled 
power plants are scheduled to cease power generation over the next 
several years. Six of the 12 coal-fired power plants in Wisconsin have 
been retired or are scheduled to go offline. The Applicant's purpose 
and need for the proposed Project is to develop a utility-scale solar 
facility in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, to replace load demand on 
local utilities, including Dairyland Power, resulting from coal-fired 
power plant closures or scheduled decommissioning.
    Badger State Solar has indicated the intention to request Federal 
financing from USDA RUS for development of the Project. While RUS is 
authorized under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (REA) to finance 
electric generation infrastructure in rural areas, it is the 
Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), not RUS, who is 
responsible for electric grid planning. Supporting renewable energy 
projects meets both RUS's goal to support infrastructure development in 
rural communities and USDA's support of the President's Climate Action 
Plan, issued in June 2013, which encourages voluntary actions to 
increase energy independence.
    Badger State Solar proposes to construct, install, operate, and 
maintain a 149 MW PV alternating current solar energy generating 
facility on a site in the Townships of Jefferson and Oakland, in 
Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The proposed Project involves 
approximately 1,200 acres located on the north and south sides of U.S. 
Highway 18, approximately 2-miles west of the City of Jefferson and 
west of State Highway 89. Site land cover is predominantly agricultural 
crops and pasture, with some forest and wetland. Bader State Solar 
estimates the total project cost will be approximately $225,000,000. 
Project construction would begin in October 2022. Construction would be 
complete, and the project would be expected to come online by Fall 
2023.
    Construction involves the installation on leased lands of 487,848 
single-axis tracking PV panels. The PV panels would be mounted on a 
steel racking frame. Supporting facilities include an electrical 
substation. The lease agreement allows for an operating period of 40 
years. A power purchase agreement (PPA) has been executed with 
Dairyland Power Cooperative for the entire output of the Project. The 
proposed site is near the point of interconnection to the grid at the 
American Transmission Company Jefferson substation near the

[[Page 52503]]

intersection of State Trunk Highway 89 and U.S. Highway 18.
    Construction equipment would include graders, bulldozers, 
excavators, forklifts, trailers, plows, trenchers, pile drivers, and 
directional boring rigs. Vehicles for transporting construction 
materials and components primarily would be legal load over-the road 
flatbed and box trucks. Transport would use existing regional roads, 
bridges, and intersections. Laydown areas would be established within 
the Project site. Internal site access roads would be required. The 
solar facility would be interconnected to the transmission grid through 
the existing ATC substation located to the northeast of the proposed 
substation and would require a short 138 kilovolt (kV) overhead line 
between the two stations. Laydown areas and a Laydown Yard would be 
established within the Project site. Fencing would be placed around 
contiguous blocks of solar arrays.
    Potential locations for development of the solar facility in 
Wisconsin were evaluated in an initial preliminary site review to 
identify locations where electric transmission infrastructure would be 
sufficient to connect a solar project to the power grid. The Site 
Selection Study consisted of three phases of evaluation which began 
with 18 potential sites and ended with the identification of the 1,200 
acre proposed site in Jefferson County as the most feasible alternative 
for detailed evaluation in the EIS because it best meets the purpose 
and need and minimizes or mitigates potential impacts.
    RUS is authorized to make loans and loan guarantees that finance 
the construction of the Badger State Solar Alternating Current Project. 
RUS is responsible for completing the environmental review process in 
processing Badger State Solar's application. RUS is serving as the lead 
Federal agency, as defined at 40 CFR1501.5, for preparation of the 
FEIS.
    The proposed Project is subject to the jurisdiction of Public 
Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW), Wisconsin Department of Natural 
Resources (WDNR), Wisconsin State Historical Society of Historic 
Preservation Office (SHPO), Wisconsin Department of Transportation 
(WisDOT), and State of Wisconsin Division of Safety and Buildings. PSCW 
and WDNR are responsible for coordination of environmental reviews for 
compliance with the Wisconsin Environmental Policy Act (WEPA). PSCW and 
WDNR must comply with WEPA when reviewing proposed energy construction 
projects, including electric generating and transmission projects 
seeking PSCW statutory approval. WEPA applies only to actions of state 
agencies. However, the environmental impact of the proposed Project was 
reviewed by PSCW, in coordination with WDNR, as part of the application 
for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN). PSCW 
issued an Order approving the CPCN application subject conditions 
issued in the Final Decision on February 26, 2020 (Docket 9800-CE-100)
    RUS has prepared the FEIS to analyze the impacts of its respective 
Federal actions and the proposed Project in accordance with the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended (42 United 
States Code [U.S.C.] 4321 et seq.), Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA 
(40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] part 1500 et seq.), and Rural 
Utilities Service (RUS), Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR 
part 1970 et seq.). RUS has prepared and published a DEIS which can be 
found on the RUS and Badger State Solar websites (https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements, 
https://badgerstatesolar.consultation.ai, and https://www.badgerstatesolar.com).
    RUS evaluated the potential impacts of the proposed Project on 
environmental resources. The analysis determined that there would be no 
impact or minor adverse impacts on soils and geology, air quality, 
acoustic environment (noise), water resources (including groundwater 
and surface water), biological resources (including vegetation, 
wetlands, riparian areas, floodplains, wildlife, fisheries and aquatic 
resources, and threatened and endangered species), land resources 
(including prime farmlands), visual resources, transportation, cultural 
resources and historic properties, public health and safety, and 
socioeconomics and environmental justice associated with the proposed 
Project. Badger State Solar would implement mitigation measures as 
necessary and appropriate to minimize adverse impacts. There would be 
potential beneficial effects on soils, water resources, air quality, 
and socioeconomics. Unavoidable adverse effects related to proposed 
Project operations would last only as long as the useful life of the 
solar facility (an expected 40 years). Implementation of the proposed 
Project would not result in significant unavoidable adverse impacts, 
irreversible or irretrievable commitment of resources, or in permanent 
losses to maintenance or enhancement of long-term productivity of the 
environment. When the incremental effects from the proposed Project are 
considered together with other past, present, and reasonably 
foreseeable future actions, there would be no cumulative adverse 
impact.
    This Notice of Availability also serves as a notice of proposed 
wetland and floodplain actions. It is anticipated that there will be no 
permanent wetland impacts and no significant direct or indirect impacts 
to floodplains. The proposed Project was planned to avoid and minimize 
impacts to wetlands and waterways to the extent practicable during the 
site selection and design phase of the Project. Throughout the Project, 
best management practices (BMPs) (e.g., silt fences, hand-clearing of 
vegetation where necessary, etc.) will be implemented to minimize soil 
disturbance in or near wetlands and jurisdictional streams, and BMPs in 
accordance with requirements of the Project's Sediment and Erosion 
Control Plan and stormwater pollution prevention plan would be 
followed. Temporary impacts to wetlands would be permitted in 
accordance with United States Army Corps of Engineers and state 
requirements. The proposed Project also has been designed to avoid 
impacts to sensitive floodplains; there are no floodplains present 
within the Project boundary.

Christopher A. McLean,
Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2022-18381 Filed 8-25-22; 8:45 am]
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