7624 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 34 / Monday, February 22, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CACA 47740, LLCAD07000, 

L51030000.FX0000, LVRAB109AA01] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement/Staff 

Assessment for the Stirling Energy 

Systems Solar Two Project and 

Possible California Desert 

Conservation Area Plan Amendment 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA) of 1976, as amended, the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and 

the California Energy Commission (CEC) 

have prepared a Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS), Draft California 

Desert Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan 

Amendment, and Staff Assessment (SA) 

as a joint environmental analysis 

document for the Stirling Energy 

Systems (SES) Solar Two Project and by 

this notice are announcing the opening 

of the comment period. 

DATES: To ensure that comments will be 

considered, the BLM must receive 

written comments on the Draft EIS/SA 

within 90 days following the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

publishes its Notice of Availability in 

the Federal Register. The BLM will 

announce future meetings or hearings 

and any other public involvement 

activities at least 15 days in advance 

through public notices, media releases, 

and/or mailings. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the SES Solar Two Project by 

any of the following methods: 

• Web site: http://www.energy.ca.gov/ 

sitingcases/solartwo/index.html. 

• E-mail: Cmeyer@energy.state.ca.us. 

• Fax: (818) 597–8001. 

• Mail or other delivery service: 

Christopher Meyer, Project Manager, 

Siting, Transmission and Environmental 

Protection Division, California Energy 

Commission, 1516 Ninth Street, MS–15, 

Sacramento, California, 95814. 

Copies of the SES Solar Two Draft 

EIS/SA are available from the CEC at the 

above address and in the BLM El Centro 

Field Office, 1661 S. 4th Street, El 

Centro, California, 92243. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information contact Jim 

Stobaugh, BLM Project Manager, by 

telephone at (775) 861–6478; through 

mail at Bureau of Land Management, 

P.O. Box 12000, Reno, Nevada 89520; or 

by e-mail at Jim_Stobaugh@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SES has 

submitted an application to the BLM for 

development of the proposed SES Solar 

Two Project, a concentrated solar 

electrical generating facility capable of 

generating 750 megawatts of renewable 

power. The entire project encompasses 

approximately 6,144 acres of BLMmanaged lands. The project site is in 

Imperial County, California, 

approximately four miles east of 

Ocotillo and 14 miles west of El Centro. 

Generally, the site is bounded on the 

north by the San Diego Metropolitan 

Transit System/San Diego & Arizona 

Eastern Railway and on the south by 

Interstate 8. The eastern boundary is 

approximately 1.5 miles west of 

Dunaway Road and the western 

boundary is the westerly section line in 

Section 22 in Township 16 South, 

Range 12 East. An additional 110-acre 

construction area is proposed east of 

Dunaway Road. 

SES proposes to use SunCatcher 

technology on the site. A SunCatcher is 

a 25-kilowatt solar dish designed to 

automatically track the sun and collect 

and focus solar energy onto a power 

conversion unit (PCU), which generates 

electricity. The system consists of a 38- 

foot high by 40-foot wide solar 

concentrator in a dish structure that 

supports an array of curved glass mirror 

facets. These mirrors collect and 

concentrate solar energy onto the solar 

receiver of the PCU. 

The project also includes an electrical 

transmission line, water supply 

pipeline, and an access road. A new 

230-kilovolt (kV) substation would be 

constructed in approximately the center 

of the project site near a main services 

complex that is also part of the 

proposal. The substation would be 

connected to the existing San Diego Gas 

and Electric Imperial Valley Substation 

by about a 10.3-mile long, double-circuit 

230 kV transmission line. 

Approximately 7.6 miles of this new 

line would be outside the project area 

but is included in the analysis. The 

transmission line would require the use 

of approximately 92 acres. 

The BLM’s purpose and need for the 

Solar Two project is to respond to SES’ 

application under Title V of FLPMA (43 

U.S.C. 1761) for a right-of-way (ROW) 

grant to construct, operate, and 

decommission a solar thermal facility 

on public lands in compliance with 

FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, and 

other applicable Federal laws. The BLM 

will decide whether to approve, approve 

with modification, or deny a ROW grant 

to SES for the proposed Solar Two 

project. The BLM will also consider 

amending the CDCA Plan in this 

analysis. The CDCA Plan (1980, as 

amended), while recognizing the 

potential compatibility of solar 

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. If 

the BLM decides to grant a ROW, the 

BLM would also amend the CDCA Plan 

as required. 

In the draft EIS analysis, the BLM’s 

proposed action is to authorize the SES 

Solar Two project and approve a CDCA 

Plan amendment in response to the 

application received from SES. In 

addition to the proposed action, the 

BLM is analyzing the following action 

alternatives: 

• Authorize the proposed action; 

• Authorize a smaller 300 MW 

alternative and amend the CDCA Plan; 

• Authorize the project as described 

in the Drainage Avoidance #1 

alternative that may reduce impacts to 

primary water drainages of the U.S. and 

amend the CDCA Plan; and 

• Authorize the project as described 

in the more restrictive Drainage 

Avoidance #2 alternative that may 

substantially reduce impacts in eastern 

and western high flow water drainages 

of the U.S. and amend the CDCA Plan. 

As required under the California 

Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and 

NEPA, the EIS analyzes three no action 

alternatives: 

• Deny the application and not 

amend the CDCA Plan; 

• Deny the project but amend the 

CDCA Plan to allow other solar energy 

power generation projects on the project 

site; and 

• Deny the project and amend the 

CDCA Plan to prohibit solar energy 

power generation projects on the project 

site. 

The BLM will take into consideration 

the provisions of the Energy Policy Act 

of 2005 and Secretarial Orders 3283 

Enhancing Renewable Energy 

Development on the Public Lands and 

3285 Renewable Energy Development by 

the Department of the Interior in 

responding to the SES application. 

The BLM has entered into a 

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 

with the CEC to conduct a joint 

environmental review of solar thermal 

projects that are proposed on Federal 

land managed by the BLM with the CEC 

as the lead agency preparing the 

environmental documents. The BLM 

and CEC have agreed through the MOU 

to conduct joint environmental review 

of the project in a single combined 

NEPA/CEQA process and document. In 


cprice-sewell on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 34 / Monday, February 22, 2010 / Notices 7625 

addition, the BLM and the U.S. Army 

Corps of Engineers (Corps) entered into 

an MOU to formalize the Corps as a 

Federal cooperating agency in 

developing the EIS. The BLM and CEC, 

in coordination with the Corps, have 

prepared the Draft EIS/SA evaluating 

the potential impacts of the proposed 

Solar Two Project on air quality, 

biological resources, cultural resources, 

water resources, geological resources 

and hazards, land use, noise, 

paleontological resources, public health, 

socioeconomics, soils, traffic and 

transportation, visual resources, and 

other resources. The Corps requirements 

under the Clean Water Act (CWA), 

Section 404(b)(1) Guidelines are to 

identify and authorize only the Least 

Environmentally Damaging Practicable 

Alternative which maximizes avoidance 

and minimization of impacts to aquatic 

resources of the U.S. The Corps and the 

applicant are working with the BLM and 

CEC to identify the project proposal that 

would reasonably comply with the 

Corps’ requirements under the CWA 

and 404(b)(1) Guidelines. The applicant 

has applied to the Department of Energy 

(DOE) for a loan guarantee under Title 

XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, 

as amended by Section 406 of the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment 

Act of 2009, Public Law 111–5. Should 

the DOE decide to enter into negotiation 

of a possible loan guarantee with the 

applicant, the DOE would become a 

cooperating agency in developing the 

final EIS. A Notice of Intent to Prepare 

an EIS/SA and Proposed Land Use Plan 

Amendment for the Proposed SES Solar 

Two Project in Imperial County, 

California was published October 17, 

2008 (see 73 FR 61902). The BLM held 

two public scoping meetings in El 

Centro, California, on November 24 and 

December 18, 2008. The formal scoping 

period ended January 2, 2009. 

Please note that public comments will 

be available for public review and 

disclosure at the above address during 

regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, e-mail address, or other 

personal identifying information in your 

comment, you should be aware that 

your entire comment—including your 

personal identifying information—may 

be made publicly available at any time. 

While you can ask us in your comment 

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; and 43 CFR 1610.2. 

Vickie Weed, 

Field Manager, El Centro Field Office. 

[FR Doc. 2010–3443 Filed 2–19–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R2–ES–2010–N016; 20124–1113– 

0000–C2] 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Rio Grande Silvery Minnow 

(Hybognathus amarus) Recovery Plan, 

First Revision 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of document availability: 

revised recovery plan. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), announce the 

availability of the Rio Grande Silvery 

Minnow (Hybognathus amarus) 

Recovery Plan, First Revision. The Rio 

Grande silvery minnow was listed as 

endangered in 1994, its first recovery 

plan was approved in 1999, and critical 

habitat was designated in 2003. 

ADDRESSES: An electronic copy of the 

recovery plan can be obtained from our 

website at http://www.fws.gov/ 

southwest/es/Library/. Copies of the 

recovery plan are also available by 

request. To obtain a copy, contact 

Jennifer Bachus by U.S. mail at U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico 

Ecological Services Field Office, 2105 

Osuna Road, New Mexico 87113; by 

phone at (505) 761–4714; or by e-mail 

at Jennifer_Bachus@fws.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jennifer Bachus (see ADDRESSES). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Rio Grande silvery minnow was 

listed as federally endangered in 1994 

(July 20, 1994; 59 FR 36988) and critical 

habitat was designated in 2003 

(February 19, 2003; 68 FR 8087). The 

species was extirpated from about 93 

percent of its historical range, currently 

persisting in only one 280-kilometer 

(km) (174-mile (mi)) reach of the Rio 

Grande River in New Mexico, 

downstream of Cochiti Dam to the 

headwaters of Elephant Butte Reservoir. 

In December 2008, silvery minnows 

were introduced into the Rio Grande 

River near Big Bend, Texas, as a 

nonessential, experimental population 

under section 10(j) of the ESA 

(December 8, 2008; 73 FR 74357). 

Throughout much of its historic 

range, the decline of the Rio Grande 

silvery minnow is attributed primarily 

to destruction and modification of its 

habitat due to dewatering and diversion 

of water, water impoundment, and 

modification of the river 

(channelization). Competition and 

predation by introduced non-native 

species, water quality degradation, and 

other factors also have contributed to its 

decline. 

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 

(Act), as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

seq.), requires the development of 

recovery plans for listed species, unless 

such a plan would not promote the 

conservation of a particular species. 

Recovery plans help guide the recovery 

effort by describing actions considered 

necessary for the conservation of the 

species, establishing criteria for 

downlisting or delisting, and estimating 

time and costs for implementing the 

recovery measures. The recovery criteria 

form the basis from which to gauge the 

species’ recovery and subsequent risk of 

extinction. 

The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow 

Recovery Plan includes updated 

scientific information about the species 

and provides criteria and actions 

needed to downlist and delist the 

species. We may consider downlisting 

the Rio Grande silvery minnow from 

endangered to threatened when three 

populations (including a stable middle 

Rio Grande population and at least two 

additional populations that are selfsustaining) have been established 

within the historical range of the species 

and have been maintained for at least 

five years, as well as habitat sufficient 

to support three such populations. We 

may consider delisting the species when 

three self-sustaining populations have 

been established within the historical 

range of the species and have been 

maintained for at least 10 years, as well 

as habitat sufficient to support three 

such populations. The revised recovery 

criteria provide objective measures by 

which populations of silvery minnow is 

determined to be self-sustaining. 

The Rio Grande Silvery Minnow 

Recovery Plan also describes actions 

needed to recover the Rio Grande 

silvery minnow. These include 

developing a thorough knowledge of the 

Rio Grande silvery minnow’s life 

history, ecology, and behavior, and the 

current status of its habitat. It is also 

necessary to restore, protect, and alter 

habitats as necessary to alleviate threats 

to the Rio Grande silvery minnow, to 

ensure the survival of the species in its 

current habitat, and to reestablish the 

species in suitable habitats within its 

historical range. By implementation and 


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