EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Testimony of Eric K. Solorio

INTRODUCTION

Solar Millennium LLC (“Applicant”) filed an application with the U.S. Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) for a Right-of-Way (ROW) grant on public land (CACA 049016)

together with a related Plan of Development (POD) 4th revision dated February 2, 2010,

a Draft Land Use Plan Amendment (DPA) to the California Desert Conservation Area

(CDCA) as amended, and is seeking approval to develop the Ridgecrest Solar Power

Project (RSPP). The applicant also filed an Application for Certification (09-AFC-9) with

the Energy Commission to license the same project. The filing of these applications

triggered the need for both agencies to conduct an environmental review of the

proposed project. When considering a project for licensing, the Energy Commission is

the lead state agency under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and its

certified regulatory program is functionally equivalent to the preparation of an

Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Similarly, for the purpose of considering the

application for a ROW grant and POD, the BLM is the lead federal agency under the

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

This Staff Assessment/Draft Plan Amendment/Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(SA/DPA/DEIS) contains an independent evaluation of the RSPP. The SA/DPA/DEIS

contains analyses similar to an EIR required by CEQA, and also contains analyses

required for a DPA and a DEIS, prepared in accordance with NEPA. Overall, the

document contains an independent assessment of the project’s design and engineering,

and identifies potential impacts to the environment; the public’s health and safety, and

determines whether the project conforms to all applicable laws, ordinances, regulations

and standards (LORS).

The SA/DPA/DEIS is a joint, environmental document because it was generated and

published by the BLM and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to meet the needs

of both CEQA and NEPA. The joint document approach was implemented because it is

in the best interest of the BLM and the Energy Commission to share in the preparation

of a single environmental document, in order to avoid duplication of staff efforts, to

share staff expertise and information, to promote intergovernmental coordination at the

local, state, and federal levels, and to facilitate public review by providing a single

comprehensive document for a more efficient environmental review process.

PROPOSED PROJECT LOCATION AND GENERAL PROJECT

DESCRIPTION

PROJECT LOCATION AND VICINITY

The RSPP is proposed to be developed on approximately 2,000 acres of the 3,995-acre

site, currently managed by the BLM. The project site is located in north eastern Kern

County, along U.S. Highway 395, just west of the China Lake Boulevard exit. The site is

approximately five miles southwest of Ridgecrest, California. Ridgecrest is at the

southwestern boundary of the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS).

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

The proposed RSPP is entirely on Federal land, described as follows: Township 27 and

28 South, Range 39 East The applicant filed an amended by SF-299 application with

the BLM on February 9, 2010 adjusting the previous acreage from 3,920 to

approximately 3,995 to avoid El Paso Wash that was within the project’s original

footprint. Under the amended application, construction and operation of the project

would disturb a total of about 1,944 acres As such, any difference between the total

acreage listed in the Right of Way application (3,995) and the total acreage required for

project construction and operation (approx. 1,944) would be reduced if authorized to the

total disturbed area.

The following Kern County Assessor’s Parcel Number’s identify the parcels within the

overall ROW boundary for the proposed RSPP:

APN 341-091-08 APN 341-091-10 APN 341-091-11 APN 341-110-01

APN 341-110-02 APN 341-110-03 APN 341-110-05 APN 341-110-06

GENERAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The proposed RSPP is a concentrated solar powered, electric generating facility that

would have a nominal electrical output of 250 megawatts (MW). The process for electric

power generation would be to utilize parabolic trough, solar collectors to concentrate

solar energy onto heat collection elements that contain a fluid, known as “heat transfer

fluid” (HTF). After being heated by the solar troughs, the HTF is run through a heat

exchanger where it boils water for conversion to steam. In the next stage, the high

pressure steam drives a Rankine-cycle reheat, steam turbine, electric generator.

The project would use an air-cooled condenser (ACC), commonly referred to as “dry

cooling”. The ACC would eliminate the need to use water for power plant cooling and

eliminate visible plume associated with wet cooling towers. Total water consumption

(balance of plant) for the 250-MW facility is estimated at approximately 150 acre-feet

per year, which is proposed to be supplied by the Indian Wells Valley Water District

(IWVWD) via a new pipeline. The new 12 to 16-inch diameter, five-mile long water

pipeline would be installed within the Brown Road and China Lake Boulevard rights-of way

to a point of connection with the IWVWD water tank.

A new 230kV transmission line from a new switchyard will connect to a new substation

that will in turn interconnect with Southern California Edison’s (SCE) existing 230kV

Inyokern/Kramer Junction transmission line passing west of the Project site.

Additionally, the Project will require the relocation of roughly 10,000 feet (1.6 miles) of

two existing transmission lines owned and operated by SCE. The first is a double-circuit

230kV line (with one of the circuits currently operated at 115kV) and the second is a

double-circuit 115kV line.

For a more detailed description of the proposed project; and the alternative projects and

actions that were considered and analyzed, please see the PROJECT DESCRIPTION

section.

PUBLIC NOTICES, OUTREACH, AND PUBLIC AND AGENCY

INVOLVEMENT

BLM’S INITIAL PUBLIC NOTICE AND OUTREACH

BLM staff issued a formal Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement for the RSPP, and also identified the beginning and end of the Scoping

Period. The formal notice was published in the Federal Register, Volume 74, No. 224,

Monday, November 23, 2009.

On December 8, 2009, the BLM staff mailed out public notices, informing the public of

the NOI. This information was also provided on the BLM’s Ridgecrest Field Office’s

internet website which is also connected to the California Desert District’s renewable

energy website.

On January 5, 2010 the BLM held a publicly noticed Scoping Meeting at the Ridgecrest,

City Hall, Council Chambers in Ridgecrest, California. On January 6, 2010 the BLM held

a second publicly noticed Scoping Meeting at the Inyokern, Town Hall in Inyokern,

California. Scoping comments were received from the public and are included in this

SA/DPA/DEIS, in Appendix 1.

ENERGY COMMISSION STAFF’S PUBLIC OUTREACH

Energy Commission staff provides formal notices to property owners within 1,000 feet of

the proposed site and within 500 feet of a linear facility (such as transmission lines, gas

lines and water lines). Staff mailed the public notices on September 12, 2009, informing

the public, agencies and elected officials of the Commission’s receipt and availability of

the application, 09-AFC-9. Additionally, each notice contained a link to a website the

Energy Commission set up for the project:

http://www.energy.ca.gov/sitingcases/solar_millennium_ridgecrest/index.html.

Libraries

Concurrent with the initial public notice of September 12, 2009, the Energy Commission

staff also sent copies of the RSPP AFC to the following libraries:

Ridgecrest Public Library

131 E Las Flores Ave

Ridgecrest, CA 93555-3648

Walter Stiern Memorial Library

3000 College Heights Blvd

Ridgecrest, CA 93555-9571

Boron Library

26965 Twenty Mule Team Rd

Boron, CA 93516-1550

San Bernardino Library

82805 Mountain View St

Trona, CA 93562-1920

Kern County Library

9507 California City Blvd

California City, CA 93505-2280

Naval Air Warfare Tech Library

1 Administration Cir

Ridgecrest, CA 93555-6104

In addition, to these local libraries, copies of the AFC were also made available at the

Energy Commission’s Library in Sacramento, the California State Library in

Sacramento, as well as, state libraries in Eureka, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Diego, and

San Francisco.

Energy Commission’s Public Adviser’s Office

The Energy Commission’s outreach program is also facilitated by the Public Adviser’s

Office (PAO). This is an ongoing process that to date has included, paid advertising in

the Ridgecrest Daily Independent on December 30, 2009 and January 2, 2010, and

paid advertising in the Kern Valley Sun on December 30, 2009. The PAO also

requested public service announcements at a variety of organizations including

Ridgecrest City Council, three separate Chambers of Commerce, one television station

and two radio stations (CEC 2010s). These notices informed the public of the

Commission’s receipt of the RSPP allocation 09-AFC-9 and invited the public to attend

the Public Site Visit (proposed RSPP site) and Informational Hearing/BLM Scoping

Meeting.

BLM AND CEC PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

The BLM staff together with Energy Commission staff publicly noticed and held

workshops in Ridgecrest, CA, on the following days: December 15, 2009, January 5,

2010 and January 6, 2010 (CEC 2009i and CEC 2009n). During each of these

workshops specific time for public comment was allocated in the meeting agenda and

public comment was taken during the morning and afternoon sessions of each

workshop. These workshops provided a public forum for the applicant, intervener, staff

and cooperating agencies to interact regarding the more substantive project issues. At

the workshops, staff also provided preaddressed forms for public comment and

encouraged the public to use the forms to submit written comments which some

members of the public did. Agency Coordination and government-to-government

consultation with Native American communities

Policy Level and Programmatic Agency Coordination

On August 8, 2007, the California Energy Commission and the Bureau of Land

Management signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the purpose on

agreeing to prepare joint environmental documents for proposed, solar thermal projects

which fall under the jurisdiction of both agencies. The MOU outlines roles and

responsibilities of the cooperative process.

On October 12, 2009, California’s Governor, Arnold Schwarzeneggar, signed an MOU

with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Secretary, Ken Salazar. The purpose of the

MOU “is to direct California Agencies and Department of the Interior Agencies…to take

the necessary actions to further the implementation of the Governors Executive Order

S-14-08 and the Secretary's Order 3285 in a cooperative, collaborative, and timely

manner”. The agencies identified to in the MOU are the California Department of Fish

and Game (CDFG), California Energy Commission (CEC), Bureau of Land

Management (BLM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). The MOU also

outlined specific objectives.

On January 26, 2010, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land

Management signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department

of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) office. The purpose of the MOU is

to provide a framework for the BLM and the LPG to cooperate in preparing

Environmental Assessments, Environmental Impact Statements for renewable energy

project’s that require federal actions be taken by both the BLM and the LGP.

Project Specific Agency Coordination

On September 12, 2009, the Energy Commission staff sent a notice of receipt and a

copy of the RSPP Application for Certification to all local, state, and federal agencies

that might be affected by the proposed project. Staff continues to seek cooperation and

or comments from regulatory agencies that administer LORS which may be applicable

to proposed project. These agencies include the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, California Coastal

Commission, State Water Resources Control Board/Regional Water Quality Control

Board, California Department of Fish and Game, California Air Resources Board and

Kern County, among others.

Staff has worked closely with the CDFG and the FWS to evaluate the proposed RSPP.

Both CDFG and the FWS have attended and participated in public workshops to

address the wildlife issues and related “Incidental Take Permits” required for the

proposed RSPP. Additionally, staff has benefited from the cooperation of the CDFG in

evaluating the proposed streambed alteration agreements that would normally fall under

CDFG’s jurisdiction if not for the Energy Commission’s “in lieu” permitting authority.

Staff also worked closely with the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB),

Lahontan District. The RWQCB assisted staff in evaluating the proposed RSPP with

respect to potential impacts on water quality and the proposed reuse of process water

on site for mirror washing. The RWQCB has been instrumental in providing staff with

suggested language for waste discharge requirements.

Staff has also worked closely with Kern County to identify and apply county LORS,

gather information regarding potential impacts to county services, develop a mitigation

program to offset impacts to potable water resources, and consider the county’s

suggested mitigation measure for impacts to traffic and transportation resources.

Government to Government Consultation - Notification of the Local

Native American Communities

The BLM staff sent letters to various tribes on June 17, 2009. The letter provided an

initial briefing on the project and a request for any comments and concerns. The

deadline for response was Aug. 7, 2009. The letters were mailed to the following six (6)

recipients:

1. Mr. Harold William, Tribal Chair; Kern Valley Indian Council, PO Box 147, Caliente

CA 93518; primary federally unrecognized tribe in eastern Kern County,

representing Kawaiisu, Tubatulabals, Paiute, and Yokuts native peoples.

2. Mr. Bob Robinson, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Kern Valley Indian Council,

PO Box 401, Weldon CA 93283

3. Ms. Donna Miranda-Begay, Tribal Chair; Tubatulabals of Kern Valley Tribe; primary

federally unrecognized tribe in eastern Kern County representing Tubatulabals of the

Miranda and White Blanket tribal allotments, Kern River Valley.

4. Mr. Ron Wermuth, Council Chair; Monache Intertribal Council, PO Box 168,

Kernville CA 93238; oldest Native American community organization in Kern River

Valley.

5. Ms. Arlene Apalatea, Co-Chair, Nuui Cunni Interpretative Center, PO Box 3984,

Wofford Heights CA 93285; operated the Nuui Cunni Center under Special Use

Permit from Sequoia National Forest for public education on the culture of the

Indians of Kern County. Also known as the Kern River Paiute Council, and

Raymond Vega.

6. Ms. Kathy Paradise, Program Lead, Lake Isabella Office, Owens Valley Career

Development Center, PO Box 2895, Lake Isabella CA 93240; community social

outreach organization in Lake Isabella area.

A second set of letters were mailed to various tribes on October 21, 2009. The letters

provided a reminder, contained in a consultation letter regarding three wind energy

projects near city of Mojave, eastern Kern County, that the BLM was also reviewing the

RSPP project, and again asked for comments and any concerns. The deadline for

response was set for December 18, 2009. The letters were mailed to the following six

(6) recipients:

1. Tribal Chair, Kern Valley Indian Council, PO Box 1010, Lake Isabella CA 93240

2. Mr. Bob Robinson, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Kern Valley Indian Council

3. Ms. Donna Miranda-Begay, Tribal Chair; Tubatulabals of Kern Valley Tribe

4. Mr. Ron Wermuth, Council Chair; Monache Intertribal Council

5. Ms. Arlene Apalatea, Co-Chair, Nuui Cunni Interpretative Center

6. Ms. Kathy Paradise, Lake Isabella Office, Owens Valley Career Development Center

A third set of letters were mailed to tribes on February 5, 2010 and provided an update

on the project review, CEC-BLM workshops that were held in December 2009 and

January 2010; Native American input that was received, the SA/EIS being released

soon, cultural resources survey in summer 2009, invited to consult on eligibility

evaluations of archeological sites; invited to be consulting on the Programmatic

Agreement (PA) being prepared by BLM, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO),

and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). The letter identified the

deadline for response as March 12, 2010. The letters were mailed to the following five

(5) recipients:

1. Ms. June Price, Tribal Chair, Kern Valley Indian Council,

2. Mr. Bob Robinson, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Kern Valley Indian Council

3. Ms. Donna Miranda-Begay, Tribal Chair; Tubatulabals of Kern Valley Tribe

4. Mr. Ron Wermuth, Council Chair; Monache Intertribal Council

5. Ms. Arlene Apalatea, Co-Chair, Nuui Cunni Interpretative Center

SUMMARY OF SCOPING COMMENTS IN RESPONSE TO THE BLM’S

NOTICE OF INTENT

Summary of the Scoping and Draft Comment Process

The BLM published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact

Statement (EIS) on November 23, 2009 in the Federal Register. Publication of the NOI

began a 30-day comment period which ended on January 21, 2009. BLM provided a

website with Project information that also described the various methods of providing

public comment on the Project including an e-mail address where comments could be

sent electronically.

Notification for a public Scoping Meeting held on January 5, 2010 appeared in the

Riverside Press Enterprise and several other local media and newspapers on

November 24, 2009. Notification was also published on the BLM website on

November 23, 2009.

A public Scoping Meeting was held on January 5, 2010 at the Ridgecrest City Hall

located at 100 W. California Ave., Ridgecrest, California. A presentation describing the

Project was made by Solar Millennium, LLC with presentations describing the

environmental review process presented by members of the BLM and CEC.

One hundred and twenty attendees were documented by signing in on a voluntary sign-in

sheet.

Forty-eight comment letters were received between both agencies within the comment

period ending on December 21, 2009.

Issues were identified by reviewing the comment documents received. Many of the

comments identified similar issues; all of the public comment documents were reviewed

and the following section provides a summary of the issues, concerns, and/or questions

raised. Issues have been grouped into one of the three following categories:

• Issues or concerns that could be addressed by effects analysis;

• Issues or concerns that could develop an alternative and/or a better description or

qualification of the alternatives;

• Issues or concerns outside the scope of the EIS.

The comments discussed below are paraphrased from the original comment letters. To

a minor degree, some level of interpretation was needed to identify the specific concern

to be addressed. Many of the comments identified similar issues; to avoid duplication

and redundancy similar comments were grouped together and then summarized.

Original comment letters may be reviewed upon request at the BLM California Desert

District at 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, California, 92253,

during normal business hours, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.