[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3691-3692]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00656]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500175965]
Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact
Statement for the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and Mineral Counties, NV
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In compliance 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)
announces the availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and Mineral Counties, Nevada.
DATES: To afford the BLM the opportunity to consider comments in the
final EIS, please ensure that the BLM receives your comments within 45
days following the date the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
publishes its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the
Federal Register. The EPA usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays.
ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review on the BLM National
NEPA Register Website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
Written comments related to the Libra Solar Project may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
BLM National NEPA Register Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
Email: [email protected].
Mail: Attn: Libra Solar Project, 5665 Morgan Mill Road,
Carson City, Nevada 89701.
Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at the
BLM National NEPA Register website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570 and at the BLM Carson City District
Office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melanie Hornsby, BLM Project Manager,
telephone (775) 885-6024; address 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City,
NV 89701; email [email protected]. Individuals in the
United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services for contacting Ms. Hornsby.
Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services
offered within their country to make international calls to the point-
of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Libra Solar LLC (Applicant) submitted a
right-of-way (ROW) application to construct, operate, maintain, and
decommission a 700-megawatt alternating current solar photovoltaic
power generating facility with battery storage and associated
components on approximately 5,114 acres of BLM-managed land in Mineral
and Lyon counties, Nevada. The proposal also includes the development
of a 24.1-mile-long generation tie line, of which 22.9 miles would be
located on BLM managed lands, to connect the solar site to the Fort
Churchill Substation in Lyon County. The total right-of-way requested
for the project is 5,778 acres. The project would sit approximately 55
miles southeast of the Reno metropolitan area, 11 miles southeast of
the town of Yerington, 7 miles west of U.S. Route 95, and 8 miles east
of State Route 208.
Purpose and Need
The BLM's purpose and need is to respond to the ROW application
submitted by the Applicant under FLPMA Title V (43 U.S.C. 1761) (serial
number NVNV105844599, legacy serial number NVN-099846). The need for
this action is to fulfill the BLM's responsibility under FLPMA and its
ROW regulations to manage the public lands for multiple uses, including
the generation of electric energy. FLPMA, as amended, established a
multiple-use mandate for the BLM's management of Federal lands,
including ``systems for generation, transmission, and distribution of
electric energy, except that the proponent shall also comply with all
applicable requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
under the Federal Power Act, including part I thereof (41 Stat. 1063,
16 U.S.C. 791a-825r).'' (43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(4)). The BLM must consider
compliance with FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, the BLM NEPA Handbook (BLM
2008), Department of Interior NEPA regulations, and other applicable
Federal and State laws and policies.
Proposed Action and Alternatives, Including the Preferred Alternative
The BLM has analyzed the No Action Alternative, the proposed Action
as submitted by the Applicant, and three action alternatives. Under the
No Action Alternative, the solar facility, generation tie-line, battery
storage, substation, and associated facilities would not be developed
because the BLM would not issue the ROW grant. The three action
alternatives analyzed in the draft EIS are as follows: Action
Alternative 1: Major Drainage Avoidance, Fenced Corridors, and
Vegetation and Topography Maintenance; Action Alternative 2:
Alternative Supplemental Access During Construction; and Action
Alternative 3: Alternative Gen-tie Connecting to proposed Greenlink
West. Action Alternative 1 includes the use of specific construction
methods to reduce impacts to vegetation, drainage, and topography
within the solar array areas. Action Alternative 2 focuses on reduction
of impacts associated with East Walker Road (the project's mostly
unpaved access road) by providing supplemental access during
construction. Action Alternative 3 entails connecting the generation
tie-line from the project to the proposed Greenlink West Transmission
Project through a new switching station under the proposed Greenlink
West line, which would reduce impacts to air, vegetation, soils,
wildlife, visual resources, and other resource areas from the 24.1-
mile-long generation tie-line under the Proposed Action.
The BLM Preferred Alternative is a modification of the Proposed
Action that combines Action Alternative 1 and Action Alternative 2 for
the use of specific construction methods, as well as provides
supplemental access to reduce total traffic on East Walker Road during
construction. An overlay of Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 is the
preferred alternative since it reduces many of the resource impacts,
including to vegetation communities, wildlife, hydrology, and other
resources. It also allows for faster and more successful restoration at
decommissioning, allowing for future uses of the land under multiple
use. Alternative 2 reduces traffic impacts as well. Several additional
action alternatives were considered, including alternative sites,
technologies, and methods, but were eliminated as described in Chapter
2: Proposed Action of the Draft EIS.
Design Features and Mitigation
This section includes Applicant-committed design features and
mitigation measures. Key mitigation for
[[Page 3692]]
the project includes development of a Workforce Housing and
Transportation Plan as well as Cooperative Services Agreements, since
the project would bring a large construction workforce of a few hundred
people into the Yerington area. The Workforce Housing and
Transportation Plan would identify the housing options and allow the
Applicant to plan construction housing needs that could alleviate the
project's contribution to housing impacts. Alternative transportation
options, including carpooling, park-and-ride, bus, shuttle, and other
forms, would also be assessed to reduce the project's contribution to
traffic impacts. The Cooperative Services Agreements would require the
Applicant to coordinate with Mineral and Lyon counties to determine
increased demands for services such as fire protection, law
enforcement, and emergency medical services, and shall include a fee
based on the likely point of service and estimated increases in service
needs.
While no federally or State-listed threatened or endangered species
have the potential to occur on-site that could be impacted by the
project, several mitigation measures have been added to reduce effects
to special status species, wildlife, and vegetation communities. These
measures include development of a Site Restoration Plan and Integrated
Weed Management Plan, development of a Worker Environmental Awareness
Program, pre-construction surveys and avoidance where feasible for
special status plants, and development of a Bird and Bat Conservation
Strategy. To address conflicts with grazing permit holders, mitigation
includes measures to work with the permit holder to provide
infrastructure upgrades to move livestock around the solar facility.
Anticipated Permits and Authorizations
If approved, the BLM would issue a ROW for the project. The term
for the ROW would be for 30 years.
Schedule for Decision-Making Process
The final EIS is anticipated to be available in summer 2024 with a
Record of Decision in summer or fall 2024.
Public Involvement Process
The BLM will hold one virtual public meeting and one in-person
public meeting during the public comment period. The BLM will announce
the exact dates, times, and link for these meetings at least 15 days
prior to the events. Announcements will be made by news release to the
media and posting on the BLM National NEPA Register website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570.
The BLM will continue to consult with Indian Tribal Nations on a
government-to-government basis in accordance with Executive Order
13175, BLM MS 1780 and other Departmental policies. Tribal concerns,
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to
cultural resources, will be given due consideration.
Before including your address, phone 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. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)
Kimberly D. Dow,
Carson City District Manager.
[FR Doc. 2024-00656 Filed 1-18-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-21-P