[Federal Register: April 19, 2010 (Volume 75, Number = 74)] [Notices] =20 [Page 20376-20377] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr19ap10-55] =20 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Bureau of Land Management [CACA 49537, LLCAD08000, L51030000.ER0000, LVRAB109AA02] =20 Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact=20 Statement/Staff Assessment and Possible Amendment to the California=20 Desert Conservation Area Plan for the Calico Solar (Formerly SES Solar=20 One) Project, San Bernardino County, CA AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of availability. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land=20 Management (BLM) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) have=20 jointly released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Staff=20 Assessment (SA), including a possible Draft Amendment to the California=20 Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan (1980, as amended), for the Calico=20 Solar (formerly Stirling Energy Systems Solar One) Project, San=20 Bernardino County, California. The Draft EIS/SA, prepared in compliance=20 with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA),=20 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA),=20 and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), evaluates the=20 environmental impacts of constructing and operating an 850 megawatt=20 (MW) solar power facility on 8,230 acres of BLM-administered land. The=20 Draft EIS/SA is jointly prepared by the BLM and the CEC in response to=20 Calico Solar, LLC's right-of-way (ROW) application to the BLM and its=20 Application for Certification (AFC) to the CEC. DATES: The publication of the EPA's Notice of Availability of this=20 Draft EIS in the Federal Register initiates a 90-day public comment=20 period. To ensure that comments will be considered, the BLM must=20 receive written comments on the Draft EIS/SA and plan amendment within=20 90 days following the date the EPA publishes its Notice of Availability=20 in the Federal Register. The BLM will announce future meetings or=20 hearings and any other public involvement activities at least 15 days=20 in advance through public notices, media releases, and/or mailings. ADDRESSES: Copies of the Calico Solar Project Draft EIS/SA are=20 available from the BLM Barstow Field Office, 2601 Barstow Road,=20 Barstow, California 92311. The document may also be viewed at public=20 libraries in San Bernardino County, Sacramento, Fresno, San Francisco,=20 Los Angeles, Eureka, and San Diego, California. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Stobaugh, BLM Project Manager, by=20 mail: P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520; phone: (775) 861-6478; or e- mail: Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 14, 2007, SES Solar Six, LLC and=20 SES Solar Three, LLC submitted applications for ROW grants to the BLM=20 to construct and operate a concentrated solar dish power plant facility=20 on Federal public lands in San Bernardino County, California. The two=20 ROW application areas were subsequently combined into one project (SES=20 Solar One) proposed for an 8,230-acre site located immediately north of=20 Interstate 40, approximately 37 miles east of Barstow, California. On=20 December 2, 2008, SES Solar One, LLC (SES Solar Three, LLC and SES=20 Solar Six, LLC) submitted an AFC to the CEC to construct and operate=20 the SES Solar One Project. In January 2010, the project name was=20 formally changed to Calico Solar as a result of SES Solar Three, LLC=20 merging with SES Solar Six, LLC to create Calico Solar, LLC. The proposed action is to construct an 850-MW, 8,230-acre (13=20 square mile) solar energy facility on BLM-administered land.=20 Approximately 1,718 acres of public land within the proposed project=20 area were either donated to the BLM or acquired by the BLM with Land=20 and Water Conservation Funds (LWCF). The project proposal includes=20 building about 34,000, 25-kilowatt Stirling solar dish systems. Each=20 solar dish system consists of an approximately 38-foot high by 40-foot=20 wide solar concentrator dish that supports an array of curved glass=20 mirrors. These mirrors would automatically track the sun and focus=20 solar energy onto a power conversion unit that generates electricity. The Calico Solar Project would also include a number of related=20 facilities and infrastructure, including:A new 230-kilovolt (kV) Calico Substation; approximately 2=20 miles of single-circuit 230-kV transmission line to connect the new=20 Calico Substation to the existing Southern California Edison (SCE)=20 Pisgah Substation; Project roads and fencing; An administration building; and A 45,000 square foot main services complex. Approximately 739 feet of the new 230-kV transmission line would be=20 outside of the project area. The solar facility would operate for about=20 20 years based on the Purchase Power Agreement signed with SCE on=20 August 9, 2005. Upgrades to the SCE transmission system are needed to=20 transmit the electricity generated from the Calico Solar Project. These=20 upgrades would take place outside the Calico Solar project area. The BLM is considering amending the CDCA Plan as part of the=20 proposed action. The CDCA Plan requires that all sites associated with=20 power generation or transmission not identified in the CDCA Plan be=20 considered through the BLM land use planning amendment process. If the=20 BLM decides to approve the ROW grant, the BLM would also amend the CDCA=20 Plan, as required. The BLM's proposed action in the Draft EIS/SA is to=20 authorize the 850-MW Calico Solar Project and approve the CDCA Plan=20 amendment in response to the application received from Calico Solar,=20 LLC. The action alternatives include: (1) The proposed action (as=20 described above); (2) a 720-MW, 6,512-acre (10.2 [[Page 20377]] square mile) alternative which avoids the 1,718 acres of donated and=20 LWCF-acquired lands; and (3) a reduced acreage alternative (2,320 acres=20 (3.6 square mile)) which would connect a proposed 275-MW transmission=20 upgrade to the SCE grid capacity. As required under CEQA and NEPA, the=20 EIS is also analyzing the following three ``no action'' alternatives:=20 (1) Deny the Calico Solar Project applications and not amend the CDCA=20 Plan; (2) deny the Calico Solar Project but amend the CDCA Plan to=20 allow other solar energy projects on the proposed project site; and (3)=20 deny the Project and amend the CDCA Plan to prohibit solar energy=20 projects on the proposed project site. As part of its review of the=20 Calico Solar, LLC applications, the BLM will consider the Energy Policy=20 Act of 2005, Secretarial Order 3283 Enhancing Renewable Energy=20 Development on the Public Lands, and Secretarial Order 3285 Renewable=20 Energy Development by the Department of the Interior. If the Calico Solar Project is approved and constructed, a number=20 of related future actions are also anticipated. The NEPA and CEQA=20 require examination of reasonably foreseeable actions resulting from a=20 project under consideration. Accordingly, the Draft EIS/SA examines the=20 construction and operational impacts of future SCE transmission=20 substation/transmission line upgrade options and the nature and scope=20 of the probable impacts of each scenario, should they occur as a result=20 of the approval of the Calico Solar Project. These future scenarios=20 would require additional utility and ROW applications from SCE and=20 additional environmental review under CEQA and NEPA. The BLM's purpose and need for the Calico Solar project is to=20 respond to the Calico Solar, LLC's application for a ROW grant to=20 construct, operate, and decommission a solar thermal facility on public=20 lands in compliance with Title V of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1761), the BLM's=20 ROW regulations, and other applicable Federal laws. Upon completion and=20 consideration of the Final EIS/SA, the BLM will decide whether to=20 approve, approve with modification, or deny issuance of a ROW grant to=20 Calico Solar, LLC for the proposed Calico Solar Project. A joint Federal-State environmental review of the Calico Solar=20 Project is being prepared as a result of a 2007 Memorandum of=20 Understanding (MOU) between the California Desert District of the BLM=20 and the CEC to conduct joint environmental review of solar thermal=20 projects that are proposed on Federal land managed by the BLM in=20 California. The MOU assigns the CEC as the lead agency for preparing=20 the environmental documents. The joint environmental review is being=20 conducted in a single combined NEPA/CEQA analysis process and document.=20 The Draft EIS/SA analyzes site-specific impacts of the proposed project=20 on air quality; biological, cultural, water, soil, visual,=20 paleontological, and geologic resources; recreation; land use; noise;=20 public health; socioeconomics; and traffic and transportation. The=20 Draft EIS/SA also addresses hazardous materials handling, waste=20 management, worker safety, fire protection, facility design=20 engineering, transmission system engineering, transmission line safety,=20 and nuisance. Additionally, the applicant has applied to the Department of Energy=20 (DOE) for a loan guarantee under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of=20 2005, as amended by Section 406 of the American Recovery and=20 Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5. Should the DOE decide to=20 enter into negotiation of a possible loan guarantee with the Applicant,=20 the DOE would become a cooperating agency in developing the Final EIS.=20 The purpose and need for action by the DOE would be to comply with its=20 mandate under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to select eligible projects=20 that meet the goals of the Act. A Notice of Intent to Prepare an EIS/SA and Land Use Plan Amendment=20 for the SES Solar One Project (now called Calico Solar), San Bernardino=20 County, California was published in the Federal Register on June 8,=20 2009 (73 FR 27176). The BLM held a public scoping meeting in Barstow,=20 California, on June 22, 2009. The formal 30-day public scoping period=20 ended July 7, 2009. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or=20 other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be=20 aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying=20 information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can=20 ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying=20 information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be=20 able to do so. Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 1506.10 and 43 CFR 1610.2. Tom Pogacnik, Deputy State Director. [FR Doc. 2010-8910 Filed 4-16-10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4310-40-P