[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 35 (Wednesday, February 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11325-11326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03833]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[LLCAD6000. L51010000. ER0000. LVRWB20B5120. 20XL1109AF; MO#4500145013]


Notice of Availability of the Crimson Solar Final Environmental 
Impact Statement and Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment, Riverside 
County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 
1969, as amended (NEPA), and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976, as amended, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Proposed Land Use Plan 
Amendment to the California Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan for 
the Crimson Solar Project, Riverside County, California, and by this 
notice is announcing its availability.

DATES: BLM planning regulations state that any person who meets the 
conditions as described in the regulations may protest the BLM's 
Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment. A person who meets the conditions and 
files a protest must do so within 30 days of the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency's (EPA) publication of its Notice of Availability in 
the Federal Register. The EPA published its Notice of Availability on 
February 12, 2021 (86 FR 9335).

ADDRESSES: You may review the Final EIS/Plan Amendment at https://go.usa.gov/xACdN. Instructions for filing a protest regarding the 
proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment are at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43 CFR 1610.5-2.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Miriam Liberatore, Project Manager, 
telephone 541-618-2200, email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#492425202b2c3b283d092b2524672e263f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="670a0b0e050215061327050b0a49000811">[email protected]</span></a>; mailing address Bureau 
of Land Management, 3040 Biddle Road, Medford, OR 97504. Persons who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339 to contact Ms. Liberatore during 
normal business hours. The FRS is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a 
week, to leave a message or question. You will receive a reply during 
normal business hours.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Sonoran West Solar Holdings LLC (the 
Applicant), a wholly owned subsidiary of Recurrent Energy LLC, applied 
for a right-of-way (ROW) grant for a photovoltaic solar project with 
the BLM. The applicant proposes to construct, operate, maintain, and 
decommission a maximum 350-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility with 
integrated battery storage and necessary ancillary facilities, 
including project substations, access roads, operations and maintenance 
buildings, and lay down areas. The Proposed Action includes 2,500 acres 
of BLM-administered land in Riverside County, California. The CDCA 
requires newly proposed utility sites not previously identified in the 
plan and proposed transmission lines outside designated utility 
corridors to be considered through a Plan Amendment. This decision 
therefore would amend the CDCA Plan to identify the Crimson Solar 
Project site as suitable for solar energy generation and to recognize 
the development of a high-voltage transmission line outside a 
designated corridor.
    The BLM is the lead NEPA agency and will make Federal decisions 
regarding the proposed Plan Amendment and the ROW for the Project. The 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a Cooperating Agency and issued a 
Biological Opinion for the project on February 22, 2020. The U.S. EPA 
(Region 9) is a Cooperating Agency but does not have a direct 
permitting role in the project. The California

[[Page 11326]]

Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is the lead agency under the 
California Environmental Quality Act and will decide whether to issue 
the applicant an Incidental Take Permit and/or a Lake and Streambed 
Alteration Agreement. The CDFW will release a Final Environmental 
Impact Report (EIR) independent of this EIS/Plan Amendment.
    The Draft EIS/EIR/Plan Amendment was available for a 90-day public 
comment period on November 1, 2019 (84 FR 58738). The BLM held public 
meetings on December 2 and 3, 2019, in Palm Desert and Blythe, 
respectively. Twenty-one comments were received during the comment 
period. Responses to substantive comments are in Appendix W of the 
Final EIS/Plan Amendment (Responses to Comments). Public comments 
resulted in the addition of clarifying text but did not warrant changes 
to the analysis or conclusions.
    In addition to the Proposed Action (Alternative A), the Final EIS/
Plan Amendment considers a no action alternative and two action 
alternatives. Alternative B, Alternative Design, would include one or 
more of three design elements to reduce grading, trenching, and 
vegetation removal during construction. Alternative C, Reduced Acreage, 
would be the same as described under Alternative A in the number and 
size of project-related facilities and energy generation, but the 
project area would be reduced to 2,049 acres. All action alternatives 
would amend the CDCA plan to allow the project. The Agency Preferred 
Alternative combines Alternative B (reduced grading and reduced 
vegetation removal) and Alternative C (reduced acreage).
    The BLM utilized and coordinated the NEPA process to help fulfill 
the public involvement process under the National Historic Preservation 
Act (54 U.S.C. 306108), as provided in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3).
    All protests must be in writing and submitted in accordance with 
the instructions outlined at: https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/public-participation/filing-a-plan-protest and at 43 CFR 
1610.5-2. A written decision will be rendered on each protest and 
mailed to each protesting party. This decision will be the final 
decision of the Department of the Interior on each protest. Responses 
to protest issues will be compiled in a Protest Resolution Report made 
available following issuance of the decisions. Upon resolution of all 
protests, a Record of Decision will be issued, which will include 
information on any further opportunities for public involvement.
    Before including your phone number, email address, or other 
personal identifying information in your protest, you should be aware 
that your entire protest--including your personal identifying 
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can 
ask us to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

    Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6; 40 CFR 1506.10; 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR 
1610.5; 42 U.S.C. 4370m-6(a)(1).

Karen E. Mouritsen,
BLM California State Director.
[FR Doc. 2021-03833 Filed 2-23-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P


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