90312 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 

management direction approaches from 

all of the alternatives analyzed in the 

Draft RMPA and EIS. Specifically, 

priority habitat management areas 

(PHMA) are identified as exclusion for 

solar and wind energy. PHMA remains 

an avoidance area for major rights-ofway, but there are fewer allowable 

exceptions for development. A subset of 

PHMA requiring additional protections 

has been identified as PHMA with 

Limited Exceptions, which would be 

managed as exclusion areas for major 

rights-of-way, with no exceptions to the 

solar and wind exclusion allocation or 

to the no surface occupancy allocation 

for fluid minerals. These additional 

protections will provide the necessary 

protections for GRSG habitat given 

anticipated development threats and 

negative impacts from climate change 

while also ensuring an appropriate 

balance of public land uses. 

Protest of the Proposed RMP 

Amendment 

The BLM planning regulations state 

that any person who participated in the 

preparation of the RMP and has an 

interest which will or might be 

adversely affected by approval of the 

Proposed RMPA may protest its 

approval to the BLM. Protest on the 

Proposed RMPA constitutes the final 

opportunity for administrative review of 

the proposed land use planning 

decisions prior to the BLM adopting an 

approved RMPA. Instructions for filing 

a protest with the BLM regarding the 

Proposed RMPA may be found online 

(see ADDRESSES). All protests must be in 

writing and mailed to the appropriate 

address found on the protest web page 

or submitted electronically through the 

BLM ePlanning project website (see 

ADDRESSES). Protests submitted 

electronically by any means other than 

the ePlanning project website will be 

invalid unless a hard copy of the protest 

is also submitted. The BLM will render 

a written decision on each protest. The 

protest decision of the BLM shall be the 

final decision of the Department of the 

Interior. Responses to valid protest 

issues will be compiled and 

documented in a Protest Resolution 

Report made available following the 

protest resolution online at: https://

www.blm.gov/programs/planning-andnepa/public-participation/protestresolution-reports. Upon resolution of 

protests, the BLM will issue seven statespecific Records of Decision and 

Approved RMPAs. 

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 in your protest 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 

(2023), 43 CFR 1610.2; 43 CFR 1610.5) 

Sharif Branham, 

Assistant Director for Resources and 

Planning. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26483 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–27–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_NV_FRN_MO4500182346] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Resource Management Plan 

Amendment and Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Purple Sage Energy 

Center Project in Clark County, 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) has 

prepared a Draft Resource Management 

Plan (RMP) Amendment and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Purple Sage Energy Center 

Project (Project) and by this notice is 

providing information announcing the 

opening of the comment period on the 

Draft RMP Amendment/EIS. The Purple 

Sage Energy Project was formerly 

known as the Golden Currant Solar 

Project. 

DATES: This notice announces the 

opening of a 90-day comment period for 

the Draft RMP Amendment/EIS 

beginning with the date following the 

Environmental Protection Agency’s 

(EPA) publication of its Notice of 

Availability (NOA) in the Federal 

Register. The EPA usually publishes its 

NOAs on Fridays. 

To afford the BLM the opportunity to 

consider comments on the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS, please ensure your 

comments are received prior to the close 

of the 90-day comment period or 15 

days after the last public meeting, 

whichever is later. 

The BLM will be holding one inperson public meeting and one virtual 

public meeting during the public 

comment period. 

• In-Person Meeting 

—Date and Time: January 14, 2025, 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Standard 

Time (PST) 

—Location: Pahrump Nugget Hotel 

and Casino, 681 NV Highway 160, 

Pahrump, Nevada 89048 

• Virtual Meeting 

—Date and Time: January 16, 2025, 6 

p.m. to 8 p.m. PST 

—Registration information: https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2021533/510. 

Details on public meetings and 

pertinent documents will be provided 

on the National NEPA Register project 

website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/ 

eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510. 

ADDRESSES: The Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS is available for review 

on the BLM National NEPA Register 

project website at https://eplanning.

blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2021533/ 

510. Additionally, a copy of the Draft 

RMP Amendment/EIS is physically 

available at the following locations: 

• BLM Southern Nevada District Office, 

Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 N Torrey 

Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 89130 

• Pahrump Community Library, 701 

East Street, Pahrump, Nevada 89408 

• Tecopa Branch Library, 408 Tecopa 

Hot Springs Road, Tecopa, California 

92389 

Written comments related to the Draft 

RMP Amendment/EIS for the Purple 

Sage Energy Center Project may be 

submitted by any of the following 

methods: 

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

eplanning-ui/project/2021533/510. 

• Email: BLM_NV_SND_

EnergyProjects@blm.gov. 

• Mail: BLM Las Vegas Field Office, 

Attn: Purple Sage Energy Center Project, 

4701 N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, 

Nevada 89130. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Jessica Headen, Project Manager, 

telephone (702) 515–5206; address 4701 

N Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, 

Nevada 89130; email BLM_NV_SND_

EnergyProjects@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 Jessica Headen. Individuals 

outside the United States should use the 

relay services offered within their 

country to make international calls to 

the point-of-contact in the United 

States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

document provides notice that the BLM 

has prepared a Draft RMP Amendment/ 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 90313 

EIS and provides information 

announcing the opening of the comment 

period on the Draft RMP Amendment/ 

EIS. The Draft RMP Amendment is 

being considered to allow the BLM to 

evaluate the effects of modifying two 

existing, undeveloped utility corridors 

that intersect the Project site. This 

change would require amending the 

existing 1998 Las Vegas RMP. 

The planning area in Clark and Nye 

counties, Nevada, encompasses 

approximately 9,890,365 acres within 

the Southern Nevada District area. 

A BLM designated energy corridor, 

Segment #224–225, North Pahrump/ 

U.S. 95 to Las Vegas/Ivanpah Valley (a 

Section 368 energy corridor), along the 

Clark County/Nye County border 

intersects a portion of the Project site. A 

locally designated utility corridor, 

established in the 1998 Las Vegas RMP 

(the RMP-designed utility corridor), 

intersects a portion of the Project site. 

An amendment to the 1998 Las Vegas 

RMP is being considered to modify 

these two existing undeveloped 

corridors to avoid the Project site. 

The BLM is utilizing the NEPA 

substitution process to comply with the 

requirements of Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act, 54 

U.S.C. 306108, consistent with 36 CFR 

800.8(c). The BLM, as lead Federal 

agency, has incorporated information 

and the steps of the Section 106 process 

into the Draft EIS, and publication of the 

Draft EIS will allow the consulting 

parties and the public an opportunity to 

review and comment on the process as 

provided in 36 CFR 800.8(c)(2). 

Purpose and Need 

The need for the BLM’s action 

(processing the Applicant’s application) 

is to respond to the Noble Solar, LLC’s 

(Applicant) request for a right-of-way 

(ROW) authorization to construct, 

operate, maintain, and decommission a 

proposed solar facility, associated 

battery storage, and an interconnection 

to the regional transmission system 

(Project), in accordance with the BLM’s 

responsibility under title V of FLPMA 

and 43 CFR part 2800. The Project 

would sit on approximately 4,456 acres 

of BLM-managed public land located in 

the Pahrump Valley in Clark County 

designated as a solar variance area. The 

site is approximately five miles 

southeast of Pahrump, 26 miles west of 

Las Vegas, and less than two miles 

southwest of State Route 160. The 

BLM’s action of considering the ROW 

application also meets the BLM’s 

obligation to contribute towards the 

legislative and administrative goals of 

advancing the development of 

renewable energy production on Federal 

public lands as directed by section 3104 

of the Energy Act of 2020 and Executive 

Order 14057. 

The Project as proposed would not 

conform to the 1998 Las Vegas RMP as 

required by 43 CFR 1610.5–3(a). The 

BLM would need to amend the 1998 Las 

Vegas RMP to bring the Project into 

compliance. In particular, the 

Applicant’s proposed Project does not 

conform with the management 

objectives for the two undeveloped 

utility corridors that intersect the 

Project site. 

The purpose of the BLM’s action is to 

determine if the Applicant’s Project and 

alternatives are consistent with relevant 

laws, regulations, and policies, and to 

consider whether to grant, grant with 

modifications, or deny the ROW. The 

purpose of the Draft RMP Amendment 

is to ensure that any development of 

renewable energy production in the 

general vicinity of the Applicant’s 

proposed Project site conforms with the 

RMP’s provisions, as provided for in 43 

CFR 1610.5–3(c), specifically by 

modifying the location of the utility 

corridors to avoid the Project site. 

The Draft RMP Amendment/EIS 

addresses the direct, indirect, and 

cumulative environmental impacts of 

the Proposed Action and alternatives. 

Alternatives to the Proposed Action 

were developed by the BLM to avoid or 

reduce various resource conflicts. Key 

resource constraints include habitat for 

and presence of Mojave desert tortoise, 

which is listed as threatened under the 

Endangered Species Act; over allocated 

groundwater resources; paleontological 

resources; Pahrump Valley buckwheat; 

native desert vegetation at the Project 

site; recreation use in the surrounding 

area; proximity to local communities; 

and generation of dust. 

Alternatives Including the Preferred 

Alternative 

The BLM has analyzed three 

alternatives in detail, including the No 

Action Alternative. These are the 

Applicant Proposed Action, Alternative 

Action 1 (BLM preferred alternative), 

and the No Action Alternative. 

Alternative Action 1, the BLM 

preferred alternative that is also referred 

to as the Resources Integration 

Alternative, was identified in response 

to issues raised by the public and 

agency considerations. The intent of 

Alternative 1 is to minimize long-term 

disturbance to vegetation and soils 

within the solar facility by setting 

restoration standards to ensure that 

long-term disturbance to vegetation is 

minimized. The established disturbance 

threshold for intensive disturbance 

construction methods, such as grading, 

disc and roll, and spot grading, under 

the Resources Integration Alternative is 

20 percent of the development areas. 

Given the demonstrated limitations with 

equipment tolerances and the steep 

slopes of the development areas of the 

Project site, it may be necessary to 

utilize intensive disturbance 

construction methods for up to 35 

percent of the development area for 

development of the project. Intensive 

disturbance methods within the 

development areas that are not for 

permanent facilities, such as roads, 

inverters, substations, or battery energy 

storage systems, that exceed the 20 

percent threshold established for the 

Resources Integration Alternative would 

be subject to additional restoration 

requirements. Restoration would be 

implemented in accordance with and to 

meet the 60 percent native vegetation 

density standards required for the nongraded areas in the panel array blocks. 

The No Action Alternative would be 

a continuation of existing conditions 

and the ROW would not be approved. 

The BLM further considered a number 

of additional alternatives but dismissed 

these alternatives from detailed analysis 

as explained in the Draft RMP 

Amendment/EIS and Alternatives 

Report. 

The BLM has identified Alternative 

Action 1—Resources Integration 

Alternative as the preferred alternative. 

Alternative Action 1 was found to best 

meet the BLM’s planning guidance and 

is designed to be a Project lifecycle 

alternative as the alternative addresses 

not only construction, but also 

operations, maintenance, and 

decommissioning of the solar facility. 

Mitigation 

The BLM included seventeen 

mitigation measures including, but not 

limited to, the following measures to 

address key resources: 

• Air emissions reduction measures 

(MM AIR–1) 

• Reduced project footprint (MM 

WILD–1) 

• Desert tortoise burrows (MM WILD–2) 

• Pre-construction western monarch 

butterfly surveys (MM WILD–3) 

• Pahrump Valley Buckwheat 

protection and topsoil salvage (MM 

VG–1) 

• Invasive species management (MM 

VG–2) 

• Timing of vegetation maintenance 

(MM VG–3) 

• Tribal participation plan (MM NAC– 

1) 

• Aviation glare notification (MM VR– 

1) 

• Insulating gases (MM CC–1) 


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90314 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Notices 

• Components of traffic and 

transportation plan (MM TRA–1) 

• SR 160 and Tecopa Road intersection 

improvements (MM TRA–2) 

• Cultural resource avoidance and 

monitoring (MM CR–1) 

• Discovery of human remains (MM 

CR–2) 

• Coordination with transmission line 

ROW holders/applicants (MM LU–1) 

• Requirements for the paleontological 

resources monitoring and mitigation 

plan (MM PR–1) 

• Groundwater pumping meter and 

development of a groundwater 

monitoring and reporting plan (MM 

WR–1). 

These mitigation measures, along 

with Project Design Features required by 

the Southern Nevada District Office, 

Solar PEIS, management plans, and 

interagency operating procedures, are 

provided in full in Appendix B of the 

Draft RMP Amendment/EIS. 

Schedule for the Decision-Making 

Process 

The BLM will provide additional 

opportunities for public participation 

consistent with the NEPA and land use 

planning processes, including a 30-day 

public protest period and a concurrent 

60-day Governor’s consistency review 

on the Proposed RMP Amendment. The 

Proposed RMP Amendment/Final EIS is 

anticipated to be available for public 

protest by early summer 2025, and if the 

Project is authorized, the approved RMP 

Amendment and Record of Decision 

would be available by late summer 

2025. 

The BLM will continue to consult 

with Indian Tribal Nations on a 

government-to-government basis in 

accordance with Executive Order 13175, 

BLM MS 1780 and other Departmental 

policies. Tribal concerns will be given 

due consideration. 

Before including your address, phone 

number, email 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 1501.9, 40 CFR 1506.10, 

43 CFR 1610.2 and 43 CFR part 2800) 

Kimberly Prill, 

Acting State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26598 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4331–21–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[BLM_AZ_FRN_MO4500182789 AZA–37939] 

Notice of Availability of the Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Jove Solar Project, La Paz County, 

Arizona 

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 Final 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the Jove Solar Project. 

DATES: The BLM will not issue a 

decision on the proposal for a minimum 

of 30 days after the date that the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

publishes its Notice of Availability 

(NOA) in the Federal Register. The EPA 

usually publishes its NOAs on Fridays. 

ADDRESSES: The Final EIS and 

documents pertinent to this proposal are 

available for review on the BLM 

ePlanning project website at https://

eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/ 

project/2017881/510. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Derek Eysenbach, Project Manager, at 

deysenbach@blm.gov, Bureau of Land 

Management, One North Central 

Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, Arizona 

85004, or by phone at (602) 417–9505. 

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. Eysenbach. Individuals 

outside the United States should use the 

relay services offered within their 

country to make international calls to 

the point-of-contact in the United 

States. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need 

Jove Solar, LLC (Applicant) is seeking 

a 30-year right-of-way (ROW) to use 

3,495 acres administered by the BLM 

Yuma Field Office and 38 acres 

administered by La Paz County to 

construct, operate and maintain, and 

decommission a utility-scale solar 

photovoltaic (PV) facility, called the 

Jove Solar Project (the Project). The 

Project would be located in southeastern 

La Paz County, Arizona, south of 

Interstate-10 midway between Phoenix 

and the California border, 

approximately 22 miles east-southeast 

of the community of Brenda and the I– 

10/Highway 60 junction, and 30 miles 

west of the community of Tonopah. The 

Project, as proposed, would consist of 

up to 1.2 million solar PV modules and 

associated infrastructure, including new 

and improved roads, powerlines for 

collection and transmission of 

electricity, and operation and 

maintenance facilities. The Project 

would interconnect at the Cielo Azul 

Switchyard adjacent to the Ten West 

Link 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line 

and have a generation capacity of 600 

megawatts or more. The initial 

application in 2019 was received under 

the company name Taurus Solar; the 

project name was revised to Jove Solar 

in an amended application on August 9, 

2022. The Project is proposed within a 

solar variance area identified in the 

BLM Western Solar Plan (2012), and 

after conducting the variance review 

process described in that Plan, the BLM 

has determined that it is appropriate for 

the project to move forward for 

additional review and analysis under 

NEPA. 

The BLM’s purpose and need is to 

respond to the ROW application for a 

30-year grant for the Project submitted 

by the Applicant under FLPMA Title V 

(43 U.S.C. 1761). The BLM is 

responsible under FLPMA and its ROW 

regulations for managing the public 

lands under principles of multiple use 

and sustained yield, including by 

considering applications for the 

generation of electric energy on public 

lands. (43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(4)). In the 

course of reviewing applications for a 

ROW to generate electric energy on 

public lands, the BLM must comply 

with FLPMA, the BLM ROW 

regulations, the Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations 

implementing NEPA, the Department of 

the Interior NEPA regulations, and other 

applicable Federal laws and regulations. 

Proposed Action and Alternatives 

Under the Proposed Action, the BLM 

would grant a 30-year ROW for the 

Project, which would have a net 

generating capacity of 600 megawatts 

alternating current (MWac) and span 

3,495 acres of public land administered 

by the BLM Yuma Field Office, as well 

as 38 acres of La Paz County land. The 

Project would include solar PV 

modules, direct current cabling and 

combining switchgear, inverters, voltage 

collection systems, transformers, 

monitoring and controls systems, 

operations and maintenance facilities, 

and above-ground electrical connection 

lines. The Project would use a 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES