Federal Register: September 15, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 177)
DOCID: fr15se09-74 FR Doc E9-22201
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Western Area Power Administration
NOTICE: NOTICES
DOCID: fr15se09-74
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Conduct Scoping Meetings; Notice of Floodplain and Wetlands Involvement.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Interconnection of the Hualapai Valley Solar Project, Mohave County, AZ
DATES: The public scoping period begins with the publication of this notice and closes on October 23, 2009. A public scoping meeting will be held on October 1, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
The Western Area Power Administration (Western), an agency of the DOE, intends to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on the proposed interconnection of the Hualapai Valley Solar Project (Project) in Mohave County, near Kingman, Arizona. Hualapai Valley Solar, LLC (HVS) has applied to Western to interconnect the proposed Project to Western's power transmission system. Western is issuing this notice to inform the public and interested parties about Western's intent to prepare an EIS, conduct a public scoping process, and invite the public to comment on the scope, proposed action, alternatives, and other issues to be addressed in the EIS.
This EIS will address Western's Federal action of interconnecting the proposed Project to Western's transmission system and making any necessary modification to Western facilities to accommodate the interconnection. The EIS will also review the potential environmental impacts of HVS constructing, operating, and maintaining a 340 megawatt (MW) solarpowered generating facility, consisting of a solar field, power block, thermal energy storage system, substation site, transmission line, temporary laydown areas, and other ancillary facilities.
SUMMARY:
Interconnection of the Hualapai Valley Solar Project, Mohave County, AZ
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Western, an agency within DOE, markets Federal hydroelectric power to preference customers, as specified by law. These customers include municipalities, cooperatives, irrigation districts, Federal and State agencies, and Native American tribes. Western's service territory covers 15 western states, including Arizona. Western owns and operates more than 17,000 miles of high voltage transmission lines.
HVS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mohave Sun Power LLC, has applied
to Western to interconnect the proposed Project to Western's
transmission system. The interconnection would be facilitated with a
new substation, built, owned, and operated by Western, located at one
of two alternative locations: (1) The MeadPhoenix Transmission Line; or (2) the LibertyMead Transmission Line. The MeadPhoenix
Transmission Line is owned by 14 participants, including Western. The
LibertyMead Transmission Line is owned by Western. Western offers
capacity to deliver electricity on its transmission system, when such
capacity is available, under Western's Open Access Transmission Service Tariff.
HVS also has applied to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for rightsofway to build, operate, and maintain a portion of the proposed transmission line and access roads on public lands managed by the BLM, Kingman Field Office. In order for Western to build interconnection facilities on BLM lands, Western must apply to the BLM to amend its rightofway.
Additionally, the proposed Project is subject to State and local approvals prior to Project construction. These approvals include the following: A Certificate of Environmental Compatibility from the Arizona Corporate Commission, an Air Quality Permit for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, an Aquifer Protection Permit from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and a General Plan amendment from Mohave County.
Project Description and Alternatives
HVS proposes to construct a 340MW, solarpowered electrical generation facility in Mohave County, Arizona. The solar power facility would occupy about 4,160 acres. The proposed Project would be located about 27 miles north of Kingman, and 20 miles east of U.S. Highway 93. It would be constructed on BLM and private lands within the Semidesert Grassland vegetative community of the Mohave Desert.
The proposed Project would use concentrating solar power trough technology to capture the sun's heat to make steam, which would power a traditional steam turbine generator. The proposed Project would require about 2,400 acre feet of water per year. HVS expects the primary source of water would be the aquifer under the project site. HVS is also exploring an alternative water source from the new Kingman Hilltop wastewater treatment plant, which could supply up to about 1,800 acre feet of effluent and would require about 2535 miles of underground water pipeline, depending on routing. The solar power facility would contain the power block, solar fields, thermal energy storage system, administrative, control, warehouse, and workshop buildings, storm water system, water supply and treatment systems, a wastewater system, and other supporting facilities.
Other Project components would include an electrical substation, a transmission line, and two access roads. To support delivery of the power generated by the proposed Project, HVS proposes to build a new 500kilovolt (kV) transmission line to a new substation. The new substation would be built, owned, and operated by Western. Two locations are being considered for the substation. The applicant's preferred substation location would be about 2 miles from the solar field, adjacent to the 500kV MeadPhoenix Transmission Line. The alternative location is about 6 miles further north at the intersection of the MeadPhoenix, LibertyMead, and MoenkopiEldorado transmission lines, with interconnection to the LibertyMead 345kV Transmission Line. The substation would occupy about 10 to 12 acres. The length of the transmission line to the preferred substation location at the Mead Phoenix Transmission Line location would be about 4.1 miles. The length of the transmission line to the alternative substation location at the LibertyMead Transmission Line location would be about 9.6 miles. The [[Page 47246]]
transmission line rightofway would be 200 feet wide.
Two access roads would be required for the proposed Project. One of the access roads would originate from Stockton Hill Road and extend approximately 3.7 miles east to the solar power facility. The other road would originate from Antares Road and extend approximately 2 miles to the preferred substation or 1 mile to the alternative substation.
Two offsite temporary laydown areas would be used during the construction phase of the Project. The laydown areas would total about 640 acres and would be used for storage and assembly of proposed Project components.
Agencies Proposed Actions and Alternatives
Western's proposed actions are to build a new substation and interconnect the proposed Project to Western's transmission system at one of the substation locations described above. BLM's proposed actions are to grant rightsofway to HVS for the transmission line and associated access roads and any other Project components crossing Federal lands and to amend one of Western's existing rightsofway to build a substation at one of the substation locations described above.
Western and BLM will also consider the noaction alternative in the EIS. Under the noaction alternative, Western would neither build a new substation nor interconnect the proposed Project and/or the BLM would not grant or amend rightsofway.
Agency Responsibilities
Because interconnection of the proposed Project would incorporate a
major new generation resource into Western's power transmission system,
Western has determined that an EIS is required under DOE NEPA
implementing procedures, 10 CFR part 1021, Subpart D, Appendix D, class
of action D6.\1\ Western would be the lead Federal agency for preparing
the EIS, as defined at 40 CFR 1501.5. The proposed Project includes
construction of facilities on lands managed by the BLM; therefore, the
BLM has agreed to be a cooperating agency for preparation of the EIS.
Western invites other Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies with
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to environmental
issues to be cooperating agencies on the EIS, as defined at 40 CFR
1501.6. Such agencies may also make a request to Western to be a
cooperating agency by contacting Ms. Barger at the address listed above in the ADDRESSES section.
\1\ On October 4, 1999, DOE's Assistant Secretary for
Environmental, Safety and Health delegated to Western's
Administrator the authority to approve EISs for integrating transmission facilities with Western's transmission grid.
The proposed Project may affect floodplains or wetlands. This notice also serves as notice of proposed floodplain or wetland action, in accordance with 10 CFR part 1022.
Environmental Issues
This notice is to inform agencies and the public of Western's intent to prepare an EIS and solicit comments and suggestions for consideration in the EIS. To help the public frame its comments, the following list contains potential environmental issues preliminarily identified for analysis in the EIS:
1. Impacts on protected, threatened, endangered, or sensitive species of animals or plants;
2. impacts on migratory birds;
3. impacts from noxious weeds, invasive and nonnative species;
4. impacts on recreation and transportation;
5. impacts on land use, wilderness, farmlands, and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern;
6. impacts on cultural or historic resources and tribal values;
7. impacts on human health and safety;
8. impacts on air, soil, and water resources (including air quality and surface water impacts);
9. visual impacts;
10. socioeconomic impacts and disproportionately high and adverse impacts to minority and lowincome populations.
This list is not intended to be allinclusive or to imply any predetermination of impacts. Western invites interested parties to suggest specific issues within these general categories, or other issues not included above, to be considered in the EIS.
Public Participation
The EIS process includes a public scoping period; public review and hearings on the draft EIS; publication of a final EIS; and publication of a record of decision (ROD). The public scoping period begins with publication of this notice and closes October 23, 2009. At the conclusion of the NEPA process, Western and the BLM would each prepare a ROD. Persons interested in receiving future notices, Project information, copies of the EIS, and other information on the NEPA review process should contact Ms. Barger at the address listed above in the ADDRESSES section.
Western will hold a public scoping meeting on October 1, 2009, at the Kingman High School Auditorium, 4182 Bank Street, Kingman, AZ 86409. The meeting is scheduled for 68 p.m. with a short presentation followed by an openhouse meeting, during which attendees are invited to speak oneonone with agency and Project representatives. Attendees are welcome to come and go at their convenience throughout the meeting.
The purpose of the scoping meeting is to provide information about the proposed Project, review Project maps, answer questions, and take written comments from interested parties. All meeting locations are handicappedaccessible. Anyone needing special accommodations should contact Ms. Barger to make arrangements.
The public will have the opportunity to provide written comments at
the public scoping meetings. Written comments may also be sent to Ms.
Barger by fax, U.S. Postal Service mail, or email. To help define the
scope of the EIS, comments should be received by Western no later than
October 23, 2009. Before including your address, phone number, email
address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, be
advised that your entire commentincluding your personal identifying
informationmay be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal
identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Dated: September 9, 2009.
Timothy J. Meeks,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. E922201 Filed 91409; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 645001P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Ms. Mary Barger, NEPA Document Manager, Western Area Power Administration, Desert Southwest Region, P.O. Box 6457, 615 S. 43rd Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85005, telephone (602) 6052524, fax (602) 6052630, or email HVSolarEIS@wapa.gov. For general information on DOE's NEPA review procedures or status of a NEPA review, contact Ms. Carol M. Borgstrom, Director of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585, telephone (202) 5864600 or (800) 4722756.