3690 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Notices 

the subject of a separate plan. The 

Eastern Colorado RMP will provide 

management direction for 

approximately 658,200 acres of BLMadministered surface land and 

approximately 3,311,900 acres of BLMadministered mineral estate. The 

decision area includes all BLM public 

lands and approximately 2,673,000 

acres of split-estate Federal minerals on 

private, local government, and State 

lands. It does not include National 

Forest System land and other Federal 

land where the BLM does not make 

planning decisions about oil and gas 

management and other uses. The BLM 

typically adopts the requirements 

determined by those Federal surfacemanaging agencies when leasing the 

associated mineral estate; while such 

lands are within the planning area, they 

are outside the decision area for this 

RMP. 

The approved RMP emphasizes 

balancing resources and resource use 

among competing human interests, land 

uses, and the conservation of natural 

and cultural resource values, while 

sustaining and enhancing ecological 

integrity across the landscape, including 

plant, wildlife, and fish habitat. This 

plan has four geographic landscapes 

with distinct management and 

incorporates a balanced level of 

protection, restoration, and 

enhancement, as well as the use of 

resources and services to meet ongoing 

programs and land uses with an 

emphasis on local community visions 

for the future of public lands. 

Through this collaborative planning 

effort, the approved RMP describes the 

actions to guide future management and 

meet desired resource conditions. The 

preferred alternative for the draft plan 

was carried forward into the final with 

modifications. 

The BLM provided the proposed 

RMP/final EIS on July 7, 2023, for a 30- 

day public protest period and received 

five protest letters. The BLM’s Assistant 

Director for Resources and Planning 

resolved all protests. Responses to 

protest issues have been compiled and 

documented in a Protest Resolution 

Report (see ADDRESSES). No changes to 

the Eastern Colorado proposed RMP/EIS 

were necessary as a result of protests. 

The BLM provided the proposed 

RMP/final EIS to the Governor of 

Colorado for a 60-day Governor’s 

consistency review. No inconsistencies 

with State or local plans, policies, or 

programs were identified during the 

Governor’s consistency review of the 

proposed RMP/final EIS. No changes to 

the Eastern Colorado proposed RMP/EIS 

were necessary as a result of the 

Governor’s consistency review. 

The decisions limiting camping are 

implementation decisions and are 

appealable under 43 CFR part 4. These 

decisions are contained in Tables II–16 

and II–17 of the approved RMP. Any 

party adversely affected by the proposed 

camping limitations may appeal within 

30 days of publication of this Notice of 

Availability pursuant to 43 CFR, part 4, 

subpart E. The appeal must be filed with 

the Royal Gorge Field Manager at the 

above listed address. Please consult the 

appropriate regulations (43 CFR, part 4, 

subpart E) for further appeal 

requirements. 

(Authority: 40 CFR 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10, 

43 CFR 1610.2) 

Douglas J. Vilsack, 

BLM Colorado State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–00745 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_MT_FRN_MO4500177558] 

Notice of Proposed Filing of Plats of 

Survey; South Dakota 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed official 

filing. 

SUMMARY: The plats of surveys for the 

lands described in this notice are 

scheduled to be officially filed 30 

calendar days after the date of this 

publication in the BLM Montana State 

Office, Billings, Montana. The surveys, 

which were executed at the request of 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Great 

Plains Region, Aberdeen, South Dakota 

are necessary for the management of 

these lands. 

DATES: A person or party who wishes to 

protest this decision must file a notice 

of protest in time for it to be received 

in the BLM Montana State Office no 

later than February 20, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: A copy of the plats may be 

obtained from the Public Room at the 

BLM Montana State Office, 5001 

Southgate Drive, Billings, Montana 

59101, upon required payment. The 

plats may be viewed at this location at 

no cost. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Joshua Alexander, BLM Chief Cadastral 

Surveyor for South Dakota; telephone: 

(406) 896–5123; email: jalexand@

blm.gov. Individuals in the United 

States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability may 

dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to 

access telecommunications relay 

services for contacting Mr. Alexander. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The lands 

surveyed are: 

Fifth Principal Meridian, South Dakota 

T. 124 N., R. 53 W., 

Sec. 21. 

A person or party who wishes to 

protest an official filing of a plat of 

survey identified earlier must file a 

written notice of protest with the BLM 

Chief Cadastral Surveyor for South 

Dakota at the address listed in the 

ADDRESSES section of this notice. The 

notice of protest must identify the 

plat(s) of survey that the person or party 

wishes to protest. The notice of protest 

must be received in the BLM Montana 

State Office no later than the date 

described in the DATES section of this 

notice; If received after regular business 

hours, a notice of protest will be 

considered filed the next business day. 

A written statement of reasons in 

support of the protest, if not filed with 

the notice of protest, must be filed with 

the BLM Chief Cadastral Surveyor for 

South Dakota within 30 calendar days 

after the notice of protest is received. 

If a notice of protest of the plat(s) of 

survey is received prior to the 

scheduled date of official filing or 

during the 10 calendar day grace period 

provided in 43 CFR 4.401(a) and the 

delay in filing is waived, the official 

filing of the plat(s) of survey identified 

in the notice of protest will be stayed 

pending consideration of the protest. 

Upon receipt of a timely protest, and 

after a review of the protest, the 

Authorized Officer will issue a decision 

either dismissing or otherwise resolving 

the protest. A plat of survey will then 

be officially filed 30 days after the 

protest decision has been issued in 

accordance with 43 CFR part 4. 

If a notice of protest is received after 

the date described in the DATES section 

of this notice and the 10-calendar-day 

grace period provided in 43 CFR 

4.401(a), the notice of protest will be 

untimely, may not be considered, and 

may be dismissed. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email address, or other 

personal identifying information in a 

notice of protest or statement of reasons, 

you should be aware that the documents 

you submit—including your personal 

identifying information—may be made 

publicly available in their entirety at 

any time. While you can ask us to 

withhold your personal identifying 

information from public review, we 


ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 13 / Friday, January 19, 2024 / Notices 3691 

cannot guarantee that we will be able to 

do so. 

(Authority: 43 U.S.C. chapter 3) 

Joshua F. Alexander, 

Chief Cadastral Surveyor for South Dakota. 

[FR Doc. 2024–01033 Filed 1–18–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–20–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500175965] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and 

Mineral Counties, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended (NEPA), and the 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act of 1976, as amended (FLPMA), the 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 

announces the availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Libra Solar Project, Lyon and 

Mineral Counties, Nevada. 

DATES: To afford the BLM the 

opportunity to consider comments in 

the final EIS, please ensure that the 

BLM receives your comments within 45 

days following the date the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

publishes its Notice of Availability 

(NOA) of the Draft EIS in the Federal 

Register. The EPA usually publishes its 

NOAs on Fridays. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available 

for review on the BLM National NEPA 

Register Website at https://eplanning.

blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2022592/ 

570. 

Written comments related to the Libra 

Solar Project may be submitted by any 

of the following methods: 

• BLM National NEPA Register 

Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/project/2022592/570. 

• Email: blm_nv_ccdo_libra_solar@

blm.gov. 

• Mail: Attn: Libra Solar Project, 5665 

Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, Nevada 

89701. 

Documents pertinent to this proposal 

may be examined online at the BLM 

National NEPA Register website at 

https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2022592/570 and at the BLM 

Carson City District Office. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Melanie Hornsby, BLM Project Manager, 

telephone (775) 885–6024; address 5665 

Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, NV 

89701; email blm_nv_ccdo_libra_solar@

blm.gov. Individuals in the United 

States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of 

hearing, or have a speech disability may 

dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to 

access telecommunications relay 

services for contacting Ms. Hornsby. 

Individuals outside the United States 

should use the relay services offered 

within their country to make 

international calls to the point-ofcontact in the United States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Libra 

Solar LLC (Applicant) submitted a rightof-way (ROW) application to construct, 

operate, maintain, and decommission a 

700-megawatt alternating current solar 

photovoltaic power generating facility 

with battery storage and associated 

components on approximately 5,114 

acres of BLM-managed land in Mineral 

and Lyon counties, Nevada. The 

proposal also includes the development 

of a 24.1-mile-long generation tie line, of 

which 22.9 miles would be located on 

BLM managed lands, to connect the 

solar site to the Fort Churchill 

Substation in Lyon County. The total 

right-of-way requested for the project is 

5,778 acres. The project would sit 

approximately 55 miles southeast of the 

Reno metropolitan area, 11 miles 

southeast of the town of Yerington, 7 

miles west of U.S. Route 95, and 8 miles 

east of State Route 208. 

Purpose and Need 

The BLM’s purpose and need is to 

respond to the ROW application 

submitted by the Applicant under 

FLPMA Title V (43 U.S.C. 1761) (serial 

number NVNV105844599, legacy serial 

number NVN–099846). The need for 

this action is to fulfill the BLM’s 

responsibility under FLPMA and its 

ROW regulations to manage the public 

lands for multiple uses, including the 

generation of electric energy. FLPMA, as 

amended, established a multiple-use 

mandate for the BLM’s management of 

Federal lands, including ‘‘systems for 

generation, transmission, and 

distribution of electric energy, except 

that the proponent shall also comply 

with all applicable requirements of the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

under the Federal Power Act, including 

part I thereof (41 Stat. 1063, 16 U.S.C. 

791a–825r).’’ (43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(4)). The 

BLM must consider compliance with 

FLPMA, BLM ROW regulations, the 

BLM NEPA Handbook (BLM 2008), 

Department of Interior NEPA 

regulations, and other applicable 

Federal and State laws and policies. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives, 

Including the Preferred Alternative 

The BLM has analyzed the No Action 

Alternative, the proposed Action as 

submitted by the Applicant, and three 

action alternatives. Under the No Action 

Alternative, the solar facility, generation 

tie-line, battery storage, substation, and 

associated facilities would not be 

developed because the BLM would not 

issue the ROW grant. The three action 

alternatives analyzed in the draft EIS are 

as follows: Action Alternative 1: Major 

Drainage Avoidance, Fenced Corridors, 

and Vegetation and Topography 

Maintenance; Action Alternative 2: 

Alternative Supplemental Access 

During Construction; and Action 

Alternative 3: Alternative Gen-tie 

Connecting to proposed Greenlink West. 

Action Alternative 1 includes the use of 

specific construction methods to reduce 

impacts to vegetation, drainage, and 

topography within the solar array areas. 

Action Alternative 2 focuses on 

reduction of impacts associated with 

East Walker Road (the project’s mostly 

unpaved access road) by providing 

supplemental access during 

construction. Action Alternative 3 

entails connecting the generation tieline from the project to the proposed 

Greenlink West Transmission Project 

through a new switching station under 

the proposed Greenlink West line, 

which would reduce impacts to air, 

vegetation, soils, wildlife, visual 

resources, and other resource areas from 

the 24.1-mile-long generation tie-line 

under the Proposed Action. 

The BLM Preferred Alternative is a 

modification of the Proposed Action 

that combines Action Alternative 1 and 

Action Alternative 2 for the use of 

specific construction methods, as well 

as provides supplemental access to 

reduce total traffic on East Walker Road 

during construction. An overlay of 

Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 is the 

preferred alternative since it reduces 

many of the resource impacts, including 

to vegetation communities, wildlife, 

hydrology, and other resources. It also 

allows for faster and more successful 

restoration at decommissioning, 

allowing for future uses of the land 

under multiple use. Alternative 2 

reduces traffic impacts as well. Several 

additional action alternatives were 

considered, including alternative sites, 

technologies, and methods, but were 

eliminated as described in Chapter 2: 

Proposed Action of the Draft EIS. 

Design Features and Mitigation 

This section includes Applicantcommitted design features and 

mitigation measures. Key mitigation for 


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