21716 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 74 / Monday, April 18, 2011 / Notices 

Information Management and Privacy 

Services, Office of Management, invites 

comments on the submission for OMB 

review as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13). 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before May 18, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments should 

be addressed to the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Attention: Education Desk Officer, 

Office of Management and Budget, 725 

17th Street, NW., Room 10222, New 

Executive Office Building, Washington, 

DC 20503, be faxed to (202) 395–5806 or 

e-mailed to 

oira_submission@omb.eop.gov with a 

cc: to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 

3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 

1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires 

that the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) provide interested 

Federal agencies and the public an early 

opportunity to comment on information 

collection requests. The OMB is 

particularly interested in comments 

which: (1) Evaluate whether the 

proposed collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (2) Evaluate the 

accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the 

burden of the proposed collection of 

information, including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (4) Minimize the burden 

of the collection of information on those 

who are to respond, including through 

the use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Dated: April 13, 2011. 

Darrin A. King, 

Director, Information Collection Clearance 

Division, Information Management and 

Privacy Services, Office of Management. 

Office of Postsecondary Education 

Type of Review: Extension. 

Title of Collection: College Access 

Challenge Grant Program Application 

for Formula Grants. 

OMB Control Number: 1840–0800. 

Agency Form Number(s): N/A. 

Frequency of Responses: Annually. 

Affected Public: Not-for-profit 

institutions; State, Local, or Tribal 

Government, State Educational 

Agencies or Local Educational Agencies. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 57. 

Total Estimated Annual Burden 

Hours: 2,280. 

Abstract: This collection instrument 

is necessary because State agencies, 

designated by the governor of each 

State, must submit an application each 

year funding is available under the 

College Access Challenge Grant 

program. Applicants are required by 

statute to include information in the 

application, such as a description of the 

applicant’s capacity to administer the 

grant, a plan for using grant funds, and 

proposed matching contributions. States 

must submit a viable plan to increase 

college access and completion for lowincome students and a comprehensive 

outline of proposed expenditures. 

Copies of the information collection 

submission for OMB review may be 

accessed from the RegInfo.gov Web site 

at http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain or from the Department’s Web 

site at http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by 

selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on link 

number 4496. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

Requests may also be electronically 

mailed to the Internet address 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202– 

401–0920. Please specify the complete 

title of the information collection and 

OMB Control Number when making 

your request. 

Individuals who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877– 

8339. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9362 Filed 4–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Record of Decision for Issuance of 

Loan Guarantees to Solar Partners I, 

LLC; Solar Partners II, LLC; and Solar 

Partners VIII, LLC (Solar Partners) for 

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating 

System Units 1, 2, and 3 

AGENCY: Loan Programs Office (LP), U.S. 

Department of Energy (DOE). 

ACTION: Record of Decision (ROD). 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its decision to 

issue loan guarantees under Title XVII 

of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 

05) to Solar Partners I, LLC; Solar 

Partners II, LLC; and Solar Partners VIII, 

LLC (Solar Partners) for construction 

and start-up of Units 1, 2, and 3 of the 

370 megawatt (MW) Ivanpah Solar 

Electric Generating System (ISEGS) on 

3,471.36 acres, all of which are managed 

by the U.S. Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in 

San Bernardino County, California. The 

environmental impacts of the 

construction and operation of this 

project were analyzed in the Proposed 

California Desert Conservation Area 

Plan Amendment and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for the 

Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating 

System, San Bernardino County, 

California (75 FR 47592; 08/06/10) 

(Final EIS), prepared by the BLM 

Needles Field Office with DOE as a 

cooperating agency. DOE was consulted 

during the preparation of the EIS and 

provided comments, which BLM 

incorporated. DOE determined that the 

project analyzed in the Final EIS was 

substantially the same as the project that 

would be covered by the DOE loan 

guarantees, and a notice of DOE’s 

adoption of the Final EIS as DOE/EIS– 

0416 was published by the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

in the Federal Register on October 22, 

2010 (75 FR 65320). 

ADDRESSES: Copies of this ROD and the 

Final EIS may be obtained by calling 

Sharon Thomas, NEPA Document 

Manager, Environmental Compliance 

Division, Loan Programs Office (LP–10), 

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20585; telephone 

202–586–5335; or e-mail 

Sharon.R.Thomas@hq.doe.gov, or by 

accessing these documents on the DOE 

NEPA Web site at http:// 

www.nepa.energy.gov and at the Loan 

Programs Web site at http:// 

www.loanprograms.energy.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Sharon Thomas, NEPA Document 

Manager, Environmental Compliance 

Division, Loan Programs Office (LP–10), 

U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC, 20585; telephone, 

202–586–5335; or e-mail 

Sharon.R.Thomas@hq.doe.gov. For 

general information about the DOE 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) process contact Carol 

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; leave a message at 800–472– 

2756; or e-mail AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov. 

Information about DOE NEPA activities 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 74 / Monday, April 18, 2011 / Notices 21717 

and access to DOE NEPA documents are 

available through the DOE NEPA Web 

site at http://www.nepa.energy.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The ISEGS Project will be on 3,471.36 

acres in the eastern part of San 

Bernardino County, California, 

approximately 40 miles southwest of 

Las Vegas, Nevada. The applicant plans 

to develop three power plants in 

separate and sequential phases to 

generate 370 MW of electricity. Ivanpah 

1 will generate 120 MW, and Ivanpah 2 

and 3 will each generate 125 MW. Each 

plant will be comprised of fields of 

heliostats (elevated mirrors guided by a 

tracking system) focusing solar energy 

on boilers located on centralized power 

towers. Each heliostat in the field will 

track the sun throughout the day and 

reflect the solar energy to a power tower 

boiler. In each of the three plants, one 

steam turbine will receive live steam 

from the power tower boiler for the 

generation of electricity. 

On August 29, 2007, BLM received 

applications from subsidiaries of 

BrightSource Energy, Inc. (Solar 

Partners) pursuant to Title V of the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) (43 U.S.C. 1761) for rightof-way (ROW) grants to construct, 

operate, maintain, and decommission 

the ISEGS project on public land in San 

Bernardino County, California. BLM’s 

California Desert Conservation Area 

(CDCA) Plan (1980, as amended), while 

recognizing the potential compatibility 

of solar power generation facilities on 

public lands, requires that all sites 

associated with power generation or 

transmission not identified in that plan 

be considered through the plan 

amendment process. BrightSource 

Energy, Inc. applied to DOE for loan 

guarantees under Title XVII of EPAct 05, 

in November 2008 for ISEGS Phase 1 

and in February 2009 for ISEGS Phases 

2 and 3. 

NEPA Review 

BLM was the lead agency in the 

preparation of the Final EIS. Pursuant to 

a February 2009, Memorandum of 

Understanding between BLM and DOE, 

DOE participated as a cooperating 

agency with BLM in preparation of this 

EIS in order to consider the potential 

environmental impacts of DOE’s 

proposed loan guarantees for 

construction and start-up of Units 1, 2, 

and 3 of the ISEGS project. 

EPA published a Notice of 

Availability of the Draft EIS on 

November 13, 2009 (74 FR 58625), and 

BLM published a Notice of Availability 

of the Draft CDCA Plan Amendment in 

the Federal Register on November 10, 

2009 (74 FR 58043). The Draft EIS was 

available for a 90-day public comment 

period which closed on February 11, 

2010. After issuance of the Draft EIS for 

public review, BLM continued to 

coordinate and consult regarding 

possible refinements to avoid sensitive 

resources, including wildlife and plant 

species, on the ISEGS project site. As a 

result, two additional project 

alternatives that could avoid or reduce 

impacts were developed by the 

applicant and were analyzed by BLM in 

a Supplemental Draft EIS. These 

alternatives included the Mitigated 

Ivanpah 3 Alternative and the Modified 

I–15 Alternative. These alternatives 

included modification of the project 

boundaries in order to avoid sensitive 

resources, a reduction in overall project 

acreage from 4,073 acres to 

approximately 3,471 acres, a reduction 

in the number of heliostats, and a 

resulting reduction in the power output 

from 400 MW in the proposed project to 

370 MW in each of the additional 

alternatives. EPA published a Notice of 

Availability of the Supplemental Draft 

EIS in the Federal Register on April 16, 

2010 (75 FR 19992). The public 

comment period on the Supplemental 

Draft EIS closed on June 1, 2010. 

Comments received on the Draft EIS and 

the Supplemental Draft EIS were 

addressed in the Final EIS announced 

by EPA in the Federal Register on 

August 6, 2010 (75 FR 47591). 

Comments received on the Final EIS 

were addressed in Appendix 1 of the 

Record of Decision for the Ivanpah Solar 

Electric Generating System Project and 

Associated Amendment to the 

California Desert Conservation Area 

Plan (BLM ROD), which is available at 

http://www.blm.gov or by calling the 

BLM Needles Field Office at 760–326– 

7000. 

On February 22, 2010, DOE 

announced its decision to offer 

conditional commitments to Solar 

Partners to provide up to $1.37 billion 

in loan guarantees to support the 

financing of the ISEGS project. The 

conditional commitments each 

contained a condition precedent which 

required completion of the NEPA 

process before the loan guarantees could 

be closed. Notice of DOE’s adoption of 

the Final EIS was published by EPA in 

the Federal Register on October 22, 

2010 (75 FR 65320). 

Alternatives Considered 

BLM considered four alternatives, 

including the project as identified in the 

Final EIS as the Proposed Action (the 

project as proposed by Solar Partners), 

the Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Alternative 

(selected by BLM in their ROD and 

identified in the Final EIS as the 

preferred alternative), the Modified I–15 

Alternative, and the No Action 

Alternative. These alternatives were 

described in detail and fully analyzed in 

the Final EIS. The BLM decision to 

select the Mitigated Ivanpah 3 

Alternative includes mitigation 

measures identified in the Final EIS 

chapter 4, Affected Environment and 

Environmental Consequences. These 

include measures specified in Terms 

and Conditions in the Biological 

Opinion (see BLM ROD Appendix 2, 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Biological Opinion), and Terms and 

Conditions set out in the Programmatic 

Agreement between BLM, the Southern 

California Edison Company, the 

California State Historic Preservation 

Officer, and the Nevada State Historic 

Preservation Officer (see Appendix 3, 

Programmatic Agreement, in BLM 

ROD). 

The complete language of these 

measures, terms, and conditions is 

provided in the Plan of Development for 

the ISEGS project and is contained in 

Appendix 4 of BLM’s Compliance 

Monitoring Plan set out in the BLM 

ROD. BLM has incorporated these 

requirements as terms and conditions 

into the ROW grants. DOE’s decision is 

whether or not to issue loan guarantees 

to Solar Partners for up to $1.37 billion 

to support construction and start-up of 

the ISEGS project. Accordingly, DOE’s 

alternatives are (1) to issue loan 

guarantees to Solar Partners for the 

Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Project alternative 

selected in the BLM ROD, and (2) No 

Action Alternative, i.e., no loan 

guarantees. 

Consultation 

BLM is the lead Federal agency for 

compliance of the ISEGS project with 

Section 106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act, Section 7 of the 

Endangered Species Act, and the Bald 

and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and 

for Tribal consultation. The mitigation 

measures included in the BLM decision 

resulted from these consultations and 

are addressed in the Final EIS and BLM 

ROD. In addition, BLM has consulted 

with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

who provided a written jurisdictional 

decision that the ISEGS project is 

unlikely to impact waters of the U.S.; 

and consulted and received required 

approvals from the Federal Aviation 

Administration regarding aviation 

impacts; the National Park Service 

regarding impacts on national parks; 

and the State of California and San 

Bernardino County regarding 

compliance with State and local laws. 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES
21718 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 74 / Monday, April 18, 2011 / Notices 

Decision 

On October 7, 2010, BLM issued its 

ROD and approved the Proposed Plan 

Amendment to the CDCA Plan to allow 

for solar energy right-of-way grants to 

Solar Partners for the ISGES project to 

be constructed on BLM-managed land. 

The Secretary of the Interior also issued 

Secretarial Approval of these decisions 

on this date. 

DOE has decided to select alternative 

(1) identified above: To issue loan 

guarantees for construction and start-up 

of the Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Project, 

which BLM selected in its ROD. The 

Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Project would be 

the development of three solar 

concentrating thermal power plants. 

Under alternative (2), the No Action 

Alternative, DOE would not issue loan 

guarantees for the project, and it is 

unlikely that Solar Partners would 

implement the project as currently 

planned. While the direct and indirect 

environmental impacts of the ISEGS 

would be avoided under the No Action 

Alternative, the benefits of reduced 

greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the 

opportunity to make use of new 

technology to reduce GHG emissions 

and air pollutants would be lost. 

Approval of the loan guarantees for 

the ISEGS project responds to DOE’s 

purpose and need pursuant to Title XVII 

of EPAct 05 (42 U.S.C. 16511–16514) for 

eligible projects under Section 1703 of 

Title XVII, which authorizes the 

Secretary of Energy to make loan 

guarantees for projects that (1) avoid, 

reduce, or sequester air pollutants or 

anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse 

gases and (2) employ new or 

significantly improved technologies as 

compared to commercial technologies in 

service in the United States at the time 

the guarantee is issued. Issuance of loan 

guarantees for projects under Section 

1703 of Title XVII of EPAct 05 facilitates 

the acceleration of the 

commercialization of innovative, 

environmentally-friendly technologies 

that will have an impact on ensuring 

clean, affordable, and reliable supplies 

of energy. The purpose and need for 

DOE’s loan guarantee action is to 

comply with DOE’s mandate under Title 

XVII of EPAct 2005 by selecting eligible 

projects that meet the goals of the Act. 

In addition, approval of the loan 

guarantees for the ISEGS project also 

responds to DOE’s purpose and need 

pursuant to Title XVII of the Energy 

Policy Act of 2005, which authorizes the 

Secretary to make loan guarantees for 

eligible projects under Section 1705 of 

Title XVII (implemented pursuant to 

Section 406 of the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009). Eligible 

projects include renewable energy 

projects and related manufacturing 

facilities, electric power transmission 

projects, and leading edge biofuels 

projects. The primary purposes of the 

Recovery Act are job preservation and 

creation, infrastructure investment, 

energy efficiency and science, assistance 

to the unemployed, and State and local 

fiscal stabilization. Issuances of loan 

guarantees for eligible projects under 

Section 1705 are designed to address the 

current economic conditions of the 

nation, in part, through renewable 

energy, transmission, and leading edge 

biofuels projects. Eligible projects must 

commence construction by September 

30, 2011. 

Mitigation 

The ISEGS project that will be 

supported by issuance of the DOE loan 

guarantees includes all mitigation 

conditions applied by BLM in its ROW 

grants for this project. BLM is the 

Federal lead agency for the ISEGS 

project under NEPA and is responsible 

for ensuring compliance with all 

adopted mitigation measures for the 

ISEGS project set out in the Final EIS. 

The complete language of all the 

measures is provided in the BLM ROD 

and in Appendix 4, Compliance 

Monitoring Plan. BLM has also 

incorporated these mitigation measures 

into the ROW grants as terms and 

conditions. 

DOE’s loan guarantee agreements 

require the applicant to comply with all 

applicable laws and the terms of the 

ROW grants, including mitigation 

measures contained therein. An 

applicant’s failure to comply with 

applicable laws and the ROW grants 

would constitute a default. Upon the 

continuance of a default, DOE would 

have the right under the loan guarantee 

agreement between it and the applicant 

to exercise usual and customary 

remedies. To ensure that the applicant 

so performs, the DOE Loan Programs 

Office proactively monitors all operative 

loan guarantee transactions. 

Environmentally Preferred Alternative 

Following analysis and comparison of 

the alternatives in the Supplemental 

Draft and Final EISs, the 370 MW 

Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Alternative was 

identified by BLM as the 

Environmentally Preferred Alternative 

and is the Selected Alternative 

identified in the BLM ROD. 

DOE has decided that its alternative 

(1), to issue loan guarantees for 

construction and start-up of the 

Mitigated Ivanpah 3 Project, is 

environmentally preferable. DOE has 

determined that this alternative offers 

substantial environmental benefits due 

to reductions in GHG emissions and that 

all practicable means to avoid or 

minimize environmental harm have, as 

described in the BLM ROD and 

Appendices for the ISEGS project, been 

adopted as mitigation measures by BLM. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on April 4, 

2011. 

Jonathan M. Silver, 

Executive Director, Loan Programs Office. 

[FR Doc. 2011–9272 Filed 4–15–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Project No. 12796–004] 

City of Wadsworth, OH; Notice of 

Application Tendered for Filing With 

the Commission and Soliciting 

Additional Study Requests 

Take notice that the following 

hydroelectric application has been filed 

with the Commission and is available 

for public inspection. 

a. Type of Application: Major Original 

License. 

b. Project No.: P–12796–004. 

c. Date filed: March 28, 2011. 

d. Applicant: City of Wadsworth, 

Ohio. 

e. Name of Project: R.C. Byrd 

Hydroelectric Project. 

f. Location: On the Ohio River at the 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps), 

R.C. Byrd Locks and Dam (river mile 

279.2), approximately 12.7 miles south 

of the confluence of the Ohio River and 

the Kanawha River, nine miles south of 

the Town of Gallipolis, Gallia County, 

Ohio. The project would occupy 7.6 

acres of Federal land managed by the 

Corps. 

g. Filed Pursuant to: Federal Power 

Act 16 U.S.C., 791(a)–825(r). 

h. Applicant Contact: Mr. Chris 

Easton, Director of Public Service, the 

City of Wadsworth, Ohio, 120 Maple 

Street, Wadsworth, OH 44281 (330– 

335–2777); Philip E. Meier, Hydro 

Development, American Municipal 

Power, Inc., 1111 Schrock Road, Suite 

100, Columbus, OH (614–540–0913). 

i. FERC Contact: Gaylord Hoisington, 

(202) 502–6032 or 

gaylord.hoisington@ferc.gov. 

j. Cooperating agencies: Federal, 

State, local, and Tribal agencies with 

jurisdiction and/or special expertise 

with respect to environmental issues 

that wish to cooperate in the 

preparation of the environmental 

document should follow the 


erowe on DSK5CLS3C1PROD with NOTICES