Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Notices 50477 

surplus energy purchased from electric 

utilities, Federal power marketing 

agencies, and other entities within the 

United States. The existing international 

transmission facilities to be utilized by 

Glacial have previously been authorized 

by Presidential permits issued pursuant 

to Executive Order 10485, as amended, 

and are appropriate for open access 

transmission by third parties. 

Procedural Matters: Any person 

desiring to be heard in this proceeding 

should file a comment or protest to the 

application at the address provided 

above. Protests should be filed in 

accordance with Rule 211 of the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) 

Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 

CFR 385.211). Any person desiring to 

become a party to these proceedings 

should file a motion to intervene at the 

above address in accordance with FERC 

Rule 214 (385.214). Fifteen copies of 

each comment, protest, or motion to 

intervene should be filed with DOE on 

or before the date listed above. 

Comments on the Glacial application 

to export electric energy to Mexico 

should be clearly marked with Docket 

No. EA–382. An additional copy is to be 

filed directly with Michael B. Giery, 

Senior Corporate Counsel, 5326 Yacht 

Haven Grande #36, St. Thomas, VI 

00802. A final decision will be made on 

this application after the environmental 

impacts have been evaluated pursuant 

to DOE’s National Environmental Policy 

Act Implementing Procedures (10 CFR 

part 1021) and a determination is made 

by DOE that the proposed action will 

not have an adverse impact on the 

reliability of the U.S. electric power 

supply system. 

Copies of this application will be 

made available, upon request, for public 

inspection and copying at the address 

provided above, by accessing the 

program Web site at http://www.oe.

energy.gov/permits_pending.htm, or by 

e-mailing Odessa Hopkins at 

Odessa.hopkins@hq.doe.gov. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on August 9, 

2011. 

Anthony J. Como, 

Director, Permitting and Siting, Office of 

Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20661 Filed 8–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

[DOE/EIS–0458] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement 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 

Final Environmental Impact Statement. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces the availability 

of the Final 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–0458) (Final EIS). 

The Final EIS, prepared under the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), analyzes the potential 

environmental impacts of the DOE’s 

proposed action of issuing a Federal 

loan guarantee to support construction 

and start-up of the Topaz Solar Farm 

Project located in San Luis Obispo 

County, California (Proposed Project). 

The Proposed Project is a nominal 550- 

megawatt solar power generating facility 

based on photovoltaic (PV) technology 

on approximately 3,500 acres of private 

land in San Luis Obispo County, 

California. DOE considered all 

comments received in preparing the EIS 

and incorporated both the comments 

and DOE’s responses in the Final EIS. 

DATES: DOE will publish a Record of 

Decision no sooner than 30 days after 

publication of EPA’s Notice of 

Availability in the Federal Register. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information about this 

EIS, or to receive a copy of the Final 

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; 

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

2756. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title XVII 

of Energy Policy Act 2005 (EPAct) 

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 Solar 

Farms, LLC (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 the 

Section 1705 Program, as summarized 

above. The EIS informs DOE’s decision 

on whether to issue a loan guarantee to 

support the Proposed Project. DOE’s 

proposed action is to issue a loan 

guarantee to support construction and 

startup of the Topaz Solar Farm 

(Proposed Project). 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 approximately 

3,500 acres of private land. 

The Proposed Project would consist 

of: a solar field of approximately nine 

million ground-mounted PV modules, 

within up to 460 PV arrays, 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 Pacific Gas 

and Electric (PG&E) switching station to 

PG&E’s existing Morro Bay-Midway 

230–kV transmission line which runs in 

an east-to-west direction through the 

site and portions of Kern County; 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 construct and operate a 

Monitoring and Maintenance Facility, 

and may also construct a Solar Energy 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
50478 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Notices 

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 

facilities listed above. 

Generated electricity would be sold to 

PG&E under a long-term power 

purchase agreement. 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 projectspecific 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 and that were evaluated in the 

Draft EIS (Project-Specific Alternative A 

and Project-Specific Alternative B). In 

the Final EIS, DOE revised the analysis 

to include a County-approved project 

layout located wholly within Project 

Specific Alternative A (Study Area A) 

and to identify a Preferred Alternative. 

Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) implementing regulations require 

a lead agency to identify a Preferred 

Alternative in the Final EIS unless 

another law prohibits the expression of 

such a preference (40 CFR 1502.14[e]). 

DOE’s Preferred Alternative is to issue 

a loan guarantee for Alternative A with 

County-Approved Project Layout 

(termed Alternative 3B.1 in the San Luis 

Obispo County Final EIR and approved 

by the County of San Luis Obispo 

Planning through its conditional use 

permit process). Alternative A with 

County-Approved Project Layout 

involves a project layout that is 

contained within Study Area A. 

Alternative A with County-Approved 

Project Layout would involve a solar 

facility with a footprint of 3,500 acres, 

approximately 600 acres less than the 

development site analyzed under 

Alternative A in the Draft EIS. While the 

County approved a PV solar facility 

within the Alternative A footprint, 

Alternative B is retained for continuity 

between the Draft and Final EIS. 

Under the No Action Alternative, 

DOE would not provide the loan 

guarantee to Topaz. Although Topaz 

may still pursue the Project without the 

loan guarantee, as defined above, for 

purposes of the EIS analysis, it is 

assumed that the No Action Alternative 

would result in no Project or in a no 

build scenario. 

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. The floodplain 

assessment is incorporated into the 

Draft EIS and Final EIS, and the 

Floodplain Statement of Findings will 

be included in the Record of Decision 

for the Proposed Project. 

Scope of Final EIS and Environmental 

Review Process 

The DOE prepared this Final EIS 

pursuant to the National Environmental 

Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), 

the CEQ NEPA regulations, and the DOE 

NEPA implementing procedures. The 

Final EIS analyzes the environmental 

consequences that may result from the 

Proposed Action, including the projectspecific alternatives, the Preferred 

Alternative, and the No Action 

Alternative. Because the Proposed 

Project may affect listed species under 

the Endangered Species Act (ESA), DOE 

consulted with the U.S. Department of 

the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service 

(USFWS) under Section 7 of the ESA. 

Consultation with USFWS resulted in a 

Biological Opinion for the Proposed 

Project that is included in the Final EIS. 

The Proposed Project site would affect 

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 Final EIS. 

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 has used 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 

invited Federally-recognized American 

Indian Tribes that have historic interests 

in the area to also participate in 

government-to-government 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. The 

outcome of Section 106 consultation 

with Federally-recognized American 

Indian Tribes and other consulting 

parties is included in the Final EIS. 

Public Comment Period 

Copies of the Draft EIS were 

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 by the 

Proposed Project. The public comment 

period was open from March 25, 2011 

through May 9, 2011, and a public 

hearing was held in Santa Margarita, 

CA, on April 13, 2011. DOE considered 

all comments received during the 

comment period during the preparation 

of this Final EIS, and the Final EIS 

contains revisions and new information 

based in part on these comments. The 

comments and DOE’s responses to these 

comments are included in the Final EIS. 

Availability of the Final EIS: The 

Final EIS is available on the Department 

of Energy’s NEPA Web site at http:// 

nepa.energy.gov under ‘‘DOE NEPA 

Documents’’ and on the Loan Program 

Office’s Web site at http:// 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 157 / Monday, August 15, 2011 / Notices 50479 

www.lgprogram.energy.gov/ 

NEPA_EIS.html. Copies of the Final 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 August 9, 

2011. 

Jonathan M. Silver, 

Executive Director, Loan Programs Office. 

[FR Doc. 2011–20662 Filed 8–12–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0911; FRL–9451–5] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to OMB for 

Review and Approval; Comment 

Request; Lead-Based Paint PreRenovation Information Dissemination 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

3501 et seq.), this document announces 

that the following Information 

Collection Request (ICR) has been 

forwarded to the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB) for review and 

approval: Lead-Based Paint PreRenovation Information 

Dissemination—TSCA Sec. 406(b); EPA 

ICR No. 1669.06, OMB No. 2070–0158. 

The ICR, which is abstracted below, 

describes the nature of the information 

collection activity and its expected 

burden and costs. 

DATES: Additional comments may be 

submitted on or before September 14, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

referencing Docket ID Number EPA– 

HQ–OPPT–2010–0911 to (1) EPA online 

using http://www.regulations.gov (our 

preferred method), by e-mail to 

oppt.ncic@epa.gov or by mail to: 

Document Control Office (DCO), Office 

of Pollution Prevention and Toxics 

(OPPT), Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mail Code: 7407T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460, and (2) OMB at: Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), Attention: Desk Officer for EPA, 

725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20503. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Myrick, Acting Director, 

Environmental Assistance Division, 

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics, Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mail code: 7408–M, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, 

DC 20460; telephone number: 202–554– 

1404; e-mail address: TSCAHotline@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA has 

submitted the following ICR to OMB for 

review and approval according to the 

procedures prescribed in 5 CFR 1320.12. 

On April 13, 2011 (76 FR 20659), EPA 

sought comments on this renewal ICR. 

EPA sought comments on this ICR 

pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.8(d). EPA 

received no comments during the 

comment period. Any comments related 

to this ICR should be submitted to EPA 

and OMB within 30 days of this notice. 

EPA has established a public docket 

for this ICR under Docket ID No. EPA 

EPA–HQ–OPPT–2010–0911, which is 

available for online viewing at http:// 

www.regulations.gov, or in person 

inspection at the OPPT Docket in the 

EPA Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA 

West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Ave., NW., Washington, DC. The EPA 

Docket Center Public Reading Room is 

open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday 

through Friday, excluding legal 

holidays. The telephone number for the 

Reading Room is 202–566–1744, and the 

telephone number for the Pollution 

Prevention and Toxics Docket is 202– 

566–0280. Use http:// 

www.regulations.gov to submit or view 

public comments, access the index 

listing of the contents of the public 

docket, and to access those documents 

in the public docket that are available 

electronically. Once in the system, 

select ‘‘search,’’ then key in the docket 

ID number identified above. 

EPA’s policy is that public comments, 

whether submitted electronically or in 

paper, will be made available for public 

viewing in http://www.regulations.gov 

as EPA receives them and without 

change, unless the comment contains 

copyrighted material, confidential 

business information (CBI), or other 

information whose public disclosure is 

restricted by statute. When EPA 

identifies a comment containing 

copyrighted material, EPA will provide 

a reference to that material in the 

version of the comment that is placed in 

http://www.regulations.gov. The entire 

printed comment, including the 

copyrighted material, will be available 

in the public docket. Although 

identified as an item in the official 

docket, information claimed as CBI, or 

whose disclosure is otherwise restricted 

by statute, is not included in the official 

public docket, and will not be available 

for public viewing in http:// 

www.regulations.gov. For further 

information about the electronic docket, 

go to http://www.regulations.gov. 

Title: Lead-Based Paint PreRenovation Information 

Dissemination—TSCA Sec. 406(b). 

ICR numbers: EPA ICR No. 1669.06, 

OMB Control No. 2070–0158. 

ICR Status: This is a request to renew 

an existing approved collection. This 

ICR is scheduled to expire on August 

31, 2011. Under OMB regulations, the 

Agency may continue to conduct or 

sponsor the collection of information 

while this submission is pending at 

OMB. 

Abstract: This information collection 

involves third-party notification to 

owners and occupants of housing that 

will inform such individuals about the 

dangers of lead-contaminated dust and 

lead-based paint debris that are 

sometimes generated during renovations 

of housing where lead-based paint is 

present, thereby aiding them in avoiding 

potentially hazardous exposures and 

protecting public health. Since young 

children are especially susceptible to 

the hazards of lead, owners and 

occupants with children can take action 

to protect their children from lead 

poisonings. Section 406(b) of the Toxic 

Substances Control Act (TSCA) requires 

EPA to promulgate regulations requiring 

certain persons who perform 

renovations for compensation on target 

housing to provide a lead hazard 

information pamphlet (developed under 

TSCA section 406(a)) to the owner and 

occupants of such housing prior to 

beginning the renovation. Further, the 

firm performing the renovation must 

keep records acknowledging receipt of 

the pamphlet on file for three years after 

completion of work. Those who fail to 

provide the pamphlet or keep records as 

required may be subject to both civil 

and criminal sanctions. 

Responses to the collection of 

information are mandatory (see 40 CFR 

745, Subpart E). Respondents may claim 

all or part of a notice as CBI. EPA will 

disclose information that is covered by 

a CBI claim only to the extent permitted 

by, and in accordance with, the 

procedures in 40 CFR part 2. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. The OMB control 

numbers for EPA’s regulations in title 40 

of the CFR, after appearing in the 

Federal Register, are listed in 40 CFR 

part 9 and included on the related 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES