[Federal Register: June 5, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 107)]
[Notices]
[Page 32371]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05jn06-72]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[CA 660-06-5101-ER]
Proposed Wind Energy Project
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a joint Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, 40 CFR 1508.22, and the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA), notice is herby given that the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) and the City of Palm Springs intend to prepare a joint
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report
(EIR) for a proposed wind energy facility on public and private land in
the Coachella Valley. The EIS/EIR will describe and analyze
alternatives for a proposed wind energy generating facility on
approximately 600 acres in the Whitewater floodplain in the Coachella
Valley, Riverside County, California.
DATES: This notice initiates the public scoping process. Comments on
issues may be submitted in writing to the address listed below.
Additionally, a public meeting will be held to encourage public input.
The public meeting will be announced through the local news media,
newspapers, and the BLM Web site (http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ca.blm.gov/palmsprings) at
least 15 days prior to the event. Additional opportunities for public
participation will be provided upon publication of the draft EIS/EIR.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to Greg Hill, Wind Energy Project,
Bureau of Land Management, 690 W. Garnet Ave., P.O. Box 581260, North
Palm Springs, CA 92258 or by fax at (760) 251-4899, or by e-mail at
gchill@ca.blm.gov. Documents pertinent to this proposal, including
comments with the names and addresses of respondents, will be available
for public review at the BLM Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office
located at 690 W. Garnet Avenue, North Palm Springs, California, during
regular business hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays, and may be published as part of the EIS/EIR.
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to
withhold your name or street address from public review or from
disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, you must state this
prominently at the beginning of your written comment. Such requests
will be honored to the extent allowed by law. BLM will not consider
anonymous comments. All submissions from organizations and businesses,
and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or
officials of organizations or businesses, will be available for public
inspection in their entirety.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information and/or to have
your name added to our mailing list, contact Greg Hill, Wind Energy
Project, Bureau of Land Management, Palm Springs-South Coast Field
Office, (760) 251-4840, or by e-mail at gchill@ca.blm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Mountain View Power Partners IV, LLC has
applied for a right of way on public lands and a conditional use permit
on private lands to construct a wind energy generating facility in the
Coachella Valley, in Riverside County. The project site is west of
Indian Avenue and is within the corporate boundary of the City of Palm
Springs and within the planning area for the draft Coachella Valley
Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. Operations are expected to
last approximately 30 years. The proposed project would install a total
of approximately 42 to 50 wind turbines on public and private lands,
with a total generating capacity of approximately 49 megawatts. Related
structures would include access roads, a 34.5kV powerline and an
electrical substation. If approved, the wind energy generating facility
on public lands would be authorized in accordance with Title V of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (U.S.C.) and the Federal
regulations at 43 CFR 2800. The proposed project would take
approximately 7 months to construct.
Dated: January 10, 2006.
Gail Acheson,
Field Manager, Palm Springs-South Coast Field Office.
[FR Doc. E6-8681 Filed 6-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P