17844 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2011 / Notices 

not anticipate recurrence of violations 

that gave rise to this PDL. As a result, 

under the authority in 20 U.S.C. 

1234a(j), the Department has 

determined that compromise of this 

claim to $675,000 is appropriate. The 

public is invited to comment on the 

Department’s intent to compromise this 

claim. Additional information may be 

obtained by contacting the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1234a(j). 

Delegation of Authority: The Secretary 

of Education has delegated authority to 

Thomas Skelly, Director, Budget 

Service, to perform the functions and 

duties of the Chief Financial Officer of 

the Department of Education. 

Dated: March 28, 2011. 

Thomas Skelly, 

Director, Budget Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7638 Filed 3–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement and 

Public Hearing for a Proposed Federal 

Loan Guarantee To Support 

Construction and Start-Up of the Topaz 

Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, 

CA 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability of the 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

and Public Hearing. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces the availability 

of the Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement for the DOE Loan Guarantee 

to Royal Bank of Scotland for 

Construction and Startup of the Topaz 

Solar Farm, San Luis Obispo County, 

California (DOE/EIS–0458D) (Draft EIS) 

for public review and comment, as well 

as the date, location and time for a 

public hearing. The Draft EIS analyzes 

the potential environmental impacts of 

the DOE’s proposed action of issuing a 

Federal loan guarantee to support 

construction and startup of the Topaz 

Solar Farm Project located in San Luis 

Obispo County, California (Proposed 

Project). The Royal Bank of Scotland 

plc, as Lender-Applicant, with Topaz 

Solar Farms, LLC (Topaz) as the 

borrower, submitted an application to 

DOE under the Federal loan guarantee 

program pursuant to the Energy Policy 

Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005). Topaz is a 

limited liability company that is owned 

by First Solar, Inc. The loan guarantee 

would support the financing arranged 

by the Royal Bank of Scotland for the 

construction and start up of the 

Proposed Project. 

Topaz proposes to develop the Project 

on up to 4,100 acres of land. As 

proposed, the nominal 550-megawatt 

electric generation project would 

include the installation of about nine 

million photovoltaic (PV) solar modules 

within approximately 437 arrays and 

associated electric equipment. 

Generated electricity would be sold to 

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) under a 

long-term power purchase agreement. 

The Project would be interconnected 

into PG&E’s existing Morro Bay-Midway 

230-kilovolt (kV) transmission line, 

which runs in an east-to-west direction 

through the site and portions of Kern 

County. 

DATES: DOE invites the public to submit 

comments on the Draft EIS during the 

public comment period, which began on 

March 25, 2011 and ends on May 9, 

2011. DOE will consider all comments 

postmarked or received during the 

comment period in preparing the Final 

EIS. Comments received or postmarked 

after May 9, 2011, will be considered to 

the extent practicable. In addition to 

receiving comments in writing and by email [See ADDRESSES], DOE will 

convene a public hearing at which 

government agencies, private-sector 

organizations, Native American Tribes 

and individuals are invited to present 

oral and written comments on the Draft 

EIS. The public hearing will be held on 

April 13, 2011 at the Carrisa Plains 

Heritage Association Community 

Center, 10750 Carrisa Highway 

(Highway 58), Santa Margarita, 

California, 93458; located 

approximately one mile east of Soda 

Lake Road. Oral comments will be heard 

during the formal portion of the public 

hearing beginning at 6:30 pm. The 

public is also invited to an informal 

Question & Answer Open House 

beginning at 5:30 pm at the location 

above, during which DOE and Topaz 

personnel will be available for 

individual discussions with attendees to 

answer questions about the project and 

DOE’s Proposed Action. Displays and 

other forms of information about the 

proposed agency action, the EIS process, 

and Topaz’s Proposed Project will also 

be available for review. 

DOE requests that anyone who wishes 

to present oral comments at the public 

hearing contact Ms. Colamaria by phone 

or e-mail [see ADDRESSES]. Individuals 

who do not make advance arrangements 

to speak may register at the meeting. 

Speakers who need more than five 

minutes should indicate the length of 

time desired in their request. DOE may 

need to limit speakers to five minutes 

initially, but will provide additional 

opportunities as time permits. Written 

comments on the Draft EIS can also be 

submitted to DOE officials at the public 

hearing. 

The public hearing and Question & 

Answer Open House will be accessible 

to people with disabilities. In addition, 

any individual needing specific 

assistance, such as a sign language 

interpreter or translator, should contact 

Ms. Colamaria [see ADDRESSES] at least 

48 hours in advance of the hearing so 

that arrangements can be made. 

ADDRESSES: Public comments can be 

submitted electronically or by U.S. Mail. 

Written comments on the proposed EIS 

scope should be signed and addressed 

to the NEPA Document Manager for this 

project: Ms. Angela Colamaria, Loan 

Guarantee Program (LP–10), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585. Electronic 

submission of comments is encouraged 

due to processing time required for 

regular mail. Comments can be 

submitted electronically by sending an 

e-mail to: Topaz-EIS@hq.doe.gov. All 

electronic and written comments should 

reference the following document 

number: DOE/EIS–0458. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information about this 

EIS, the public hearing, or to receive a 

copy of the Draft EIS, contact Angela 

Colamaria by telephone: 202–287–5387; 

toll-free number: 800–832–0885 ext. 

75387; or electronic mail: 

Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov. For 

general information on the DOE NEPA 

process, please contact: Ms. Carol M. 

Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA 

Policy and Compliance (GC–54), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; telephone: 202– 

586–4600; facsimile: 202–586–7031; 

electronic mail: askNEPA@hq.doe.gov; 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2011 / Notices 17845 

or leave a toll-free message at 800–472– 

2756. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title XVII 

of EPAct 2005 established a Federal 

loan guarantee program for eligible 

energy projects, and was amended by 

the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 to create 

Section 1705 of Title XVII (42 U.S.C. 

16516), authorizing a new program for 

rapid deployment of renewable energy 

projects and related manufacturing 

facilities, electric power transmission 

projects, and leading edge biofuels 

projects. The Section 1705 Program is 

designed to address the current 

economic conditions of the nation, in 

part, through financing such projects. 

The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, as 

Lender-Applicant, with Topaz as the 

borrower, applied to DOE for a federal 

loan guarantee under the Solicitation 

entitled, ‘‘Federal Loan Guarantees for 

Commercial Technology Renewable 

Energy Generation Projects under the 

Financial Institution Partnership 

Program’’ (Solicitation No. DE–FOA– 

0000166), issued on October 7, 2009. 

The purpose and need for action by 

DOE is to comply with its mandate 

under EPAct 2005 by selecting eligible 

projects that meet the goals of Section 

1705 Program, as summarized above. 

The EIS will inform DOE’s decision on 

whether to issue a loan guarantee to 

Topaz to support the Proposed Project. 

DOE’s proposed action is to issue a loan 

guarantee to Topaz to support 

construction and start-up of the Topaz 

Solar Farm. The Proposed Project would 

be located in an unincorporated portion 

of eastern San Luis Obispo County, 

California, adjacent to Highway 58 and 

east of Bitterwater Road. Topaz has 

options to purchase approximately 

10,000 acres of land in the Project area. 

The Proposed Project would be 

developed on up to 4,100 acres of land 

within one of two overlapping study 

areas. 

The Proposed Project would consist 

of: a solar field of approximately nine 

million ground-mounted PV modules 

that collect solar radiation to produce 

electricity; an electrical collection 

system that converts generated power 

from direct current (DC) to alternating 

current (AC) and delivers it to a new 

Project substation which collects and 

converts the generated power from 34.5 

kV to 230 kV for delivery via a new 

PG&E switching station to PG&E’s 

existing Morro Bay-Midway 230-kV 

transmission line; and the 

aforementioned PG&E switching station 

that interconnects the Proposed Project 

to PG&E’s existing transmission line. 

After construction, PG&E would own 

and operate the switching station. As 

part of the Proposed Project, Topaz 

would also construct and operate a 

Monitoring and Maintenance Facility 

and a Solar Energy Learning Center 

within the Proposed Project’s site 

boundary. The Proposed Project would 

also include up to 22 miles of on-site 

access roads as well as leach field and 

septic systems for the two facilities 

listed above. 

Topaz has interconnection agreements 

in place for the first 400 MW of Project 

capacity. The California Independent 

System Operator has determined that 

network upgrades would be required to 

accommodate the Proposed Project’s 

remaining 150 MW, as well as other 

generation projects in the region. 

Network upgrades could include the 

reconductoring of 35 miles of the 230- 

kV transmission lines between the new 

PG&E switching station and the Midway 

Substation. Such upgrades would 

extend the height of every other existing 

tower by 20 feet, but would not 

introduce a new structure. 

Alternatives 

In determining the range of reasonable 

alternatives to be considered in the EIS 

for the Proposed Project, DOE identified 

the reasonable alternatives that would 

satisfy the underlying purpose and need 

for agency action. Rather than being 

directly responsible for the siting, 

construction, and operation of 

respective projects selected in response 

to solicitations under EPAct 2005, 

DOE’s actions are limited to 

guaranteeing the debt obligation for the 

project. Therefore, DOE’s overall 

decision will be to either provide a loan 

guarantee for the Proposed Project or to 

decline to provide a loan guarantee (i.e., 

the No Action alternative, as discussed 

below). The potential environmental 

impacts of a No Action alternative, as 

well as two Project-Specific alternatives, 

are analyzed in the EIS. 

The Project-Specific alternatives 

include alternate configurations for the 

solar arrays. Within the Proposed 

Project site, Topaz identified two Study 

Areas (Study Area A and Study Area B) 

that would be suitable for the Proposed 

Project, although construction of the 

Proposed Project would take place on 

only one Study Area if the Proposed 

Project is approved. DOE analyzed both 

Study Areas available to Topaz as 

project-specific alternatives (ProjectSpecific Alternative A and ProjectSpecific Alternative B). 

Under the No Action alternative, DOE 

would not provide the loan guarantee to 

Topaz. In this case, Topaz may have 

greater difficulty obtaining financing for 

the Project, which may result in a delay 

in the start of construction, construction 

in smaller phases over a longer time 

period, potentially increased project 

cost, or could possibly result in the 

Proposed Project not being built. 

Although Topaz may still pursue the 

Project without the loan guarantee, as 

defined above, for purposes of the Draft 

EIS analysis, it is assumed that the No 

Action alternative would result in no 

Project or in a no build scenario. DOE 

does not have a preferred alternative at 

this time, and will identify its preferred 

alternative in the Final EIS. 

Floodplain Assessment 

In the October 22, 2010 Notice of 

Intent to Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (75 FR 65306), DOE 

provided notice of a proposed DOE 

action in a floodplain pursuant to DOE 

Floodplain and Wetland Environmental 

Review Requirements (10 CFR Part 

1022). Overhead electrical lines would 

need to cross 100-year floodplains 

(unnamed drainages within the Carrizo 

Plain, northwest of Soda Lake). Since 

some of the floodplains on the project 

site are greater than 200 feet wide and 

posts are needed every 200 feet to 

support overhead lines, the installation 

of posts within the floodplain is 

anticipated. DOE has prepared a 

floodplain assessment as required by 

DOE regulations. Interested parties may 

comment on the floodplain assessment, 

which has been incorporated into the 

Draft EIS. 

Scope of Draft EIS and Environmental 

Review Process 

The DOE prepared this Draft EIS 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) NEPA regulations, and the DOE 

NEPA implementing procedures. The 

Draft EIS analyzes the environmental 

consequences that may result from the 

Proposed Action, including the 

alternative layout options, and the No 

Action Alternative. Potential impacts 

identified during the scoping process 

and analyzed in the Draft EIS related to 

the following: Air quality; greenhouse 

gas emissions and climate change; 

energy use and production; water 

resources, including groundwater and 

surface waters; wetlands and 

floodplains; geological resources; 

ecological resources, including species 

of special concern and threatened and 

endangered species such as the San 

Joaquin kit fox, longhorn fairy shrimp 

and vernal pool fairy shrimp; cultural 

resources, including historic structures 

and properties, sites of religious and 

cultural significance to Tribes, and 

archaeological resources; land use; 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES
17846 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 62 / Thursday, March 31, 2011 / Notices 

visual resources and aesthetics; 

transportation and traffic; noise and 

vibration; hazardous materials and solid 

waste management; human health and 

safety; accidents and terrorism; 

socioeconomics, including impacts to 

community services; environmental 

justice; and cumulative impacts. 

Because the Proposed Project may affect 

listed species under the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA), DOE has also 

initiated consultation regarding the 

project with the U.S. Department of the 

Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service 

under Section 7 of the ESA. 

The Topaz Proposed Project site is 

expected to impact waters subject to the 

jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE); therefore the 

Proposed Project will require a Clean 

Water Act (CWA) Section 404 Permit. 

As a result, USACE has participated as 

a cooperating agency in the preparation 

of this Draft EIS and will use this EIS 

(in part) to determine whether to issue 

a Section 404 permit. USACE will issue 

a separate decision document on the 

CWA Section 404 permit for the 

Proposed Project that will incorporate 

the environmental analyses from this 

EIS. 

The DOE will use and coordinate the 

NEPA public comment process to satisfy 

the public involvement requirements of 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) as 

provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). DOE 

has invited Federally-recognized 

American Indian Tribes that have 

historic interests in the area to also 

participate in government-togovernment consultation regarding the 

Proposed Project. In addition to these 

Federally-recognized tribes, the 

California Native American Heritage 

Commission provided DOE with a 

Native American contacts list in the 

project area. DOE contacted parties on 

the list to solicit concerns or comments 

on the Proposed Project. 

Availability of the Draft EIS 

Copies of the Draft EIS have been 

distributed to: Members of Congress; 

Native American Tribal governments, 

Federal, State, and local officials; and 

agencies, organizations and individuals 

who may be interested or affected. The 

Draft EIS is on the Department of 

Energy’s NEPA Web site at http:// 

www.nepa.energy.gov under ‘‘DOE 

NEPA Documents’’ and on the Loan 

Program Office’s Web site at http:// 

www.lgprogram.energy.gov/ 

NEPA_EIS.html. 

Copies of the Draft EIS are also 

available for review at the Simmler 

Public Library/California Valley 

Community Service District; 13080 Soda 

Lake Road; California Valley, CA 93453 

and the San Luis Obispo County 

Department of Planning and Building; 

976 Osos St. Room 300; San Luis 

Obispo, CA 93408. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on March 25, 

2011. 

Jonathan M. Silver, 

Executive Director, Loan Programs Office. 

[FR Doc. 2011–7583 Filed 3–30–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy 

Objective Merit Review of 

Discretionary Financial Assistance and 

Other Transaction Authority 

Applications 

AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy, Department of 

Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of Objective Merit 

Review Procedure. 

SUMMARY: This Notice establishes the 

procedure for program offices operating 

under the authority of the Assistant 

Secretary for Energy Efficiency and 

Renewable Energy in conducting the 

objective merit review of discretionary 

financial assistance and Other 

Transaction Authority funding 

applications. The effective date for the 

Objective Merit Review Procedure 

contained in this notice is March 18, 

2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585–0121, 1–877– 

337–3463. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Applicability of Notice 

III. Objective Merit Review Procedure 

IV. Merit Review Advisory Report 

V. Application of Program Policy Factors 

VI. Selection 

VII. Deviations 

I. Introduction—The Department of 

Energy (DOE), Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

(EERE) hereby gives notice of the 

procedure for the objective merit review 

of projects seeking discretionary 

financial assistance. The procedures 

described in this notice implement the 

objective merit review provisions of the 

DOE Financial Assistance Rules at 10 

CFR 600.13. Specifically, this notice 

covers the procedure for applications 

received competitively and noncompetitively. This notice also provides 

procedures for establishing peer and 

merit review panels, naming a Federal 

Merit Review Manager, conducting 

merit reviews, and preparing a Merit 

Review Advisory Report for the 

Selection Official. 

DOE provides financial assistance, in 

the form of grants cooperative 

agreements and technology investment 

agreements. The principal purpose of 

these transactions is the transfer of a 

thing of value, usually money but 

occasionally property or other items of 

value, to a recipient to accomplish a 

public purpose identified. DOE funds 

only those programs authorized by 

Federal statute. Financial assistance 

may be either discretionary or 

mandatory. Discretionary financial 

assistance means DOE provides funding 

to a recipient of DOE’s choosing; DOE 

has the discretion to select a recipient 

as well as the size of the award. 

Mandatory financial assistance means 

DOE must provide the assistance to the 

entities named and the amounts stated 

by statute. 

These procedures do not cover 

acquisition. Financial assistance differs 

from an acquisition, which refers to 

instruments used when the principal 

purpose of the transaction is the 

acquisition of supplies or services for 

the direct benefit of the Government. 

The procedures pursuant to this notice 

do not apply to acquisitions, which are 

covered by the Federal Acquisition 

Regulations (FAR). 

II. Applicability of Notice—These 

procedures apply to the evaluation of 

discretionary financial assistance 

applications received for programs 

within the DOE EERE. 

(a) Distinction Between Solicited 

Applications and Unsolicited 

Proposals—Solicited applications 

constitute direct responses by interested 

organizations or individuals to DOE 

Funding Opportunity Announcements 

(FOA) in the form of applications for 

discretionary financial assistance 

awards. Funding opportunities are 

announced using the process set forth in 

10 CFR 600.8. When a proposal is 

submitted solely on the proposer’s 

initiative, and the idea, method or 

approach would be ineligible for 

assistance under a recent, current, or 

planned solicitation, and if, as 

determined by DOE, a competitive 

solicitation would not be appropriate, 

the proposal is considered an 

unsolicited proposal. Unsolicited 

proposals are awarded on a noncompetitive basis using the criteria set 

forth in 10 CFR 600.6(c). The two types 

of proposals are treated differently for 


wwoods2 on DSK1DXX6B1PROD with NOTICES