Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 189 / Thursday, September 29, 2011 / Notices 60475 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, Charleston District intends to 

prepare a Draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (DEIS) to assess the potential 

social, economic and environmental 

effects of the proposed construction and 

operation of a gold mine in order to 

extract and process gold from the Haile 

ore body in wetlands and streams 

associated with Haile Gold Mine Creek, 

by Haile Gold Mine, Inc. (Haile) in the 

vicinity of Kershaw, in Lancaster 

County, South Carolina. The DEIS will 

assess potential effects of a range of 

alternatives. 

DATES: General Public Scoping Meeting: 

One Public Scoping meeting is planned 

for Thursday October 27, 2011 

beginning at 5 p.m. EDT at the Andrew 

Jackson Recreation Center, 6354 N 

Matson St, Kershaw, SC 29067. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or questions 

about the proposed project and DEIS, 

please contact Dr. Richard L. Darden, 

Project Manager, by telephone: 843– 

329–8043 or toll free 1–866–329–8187, 

or by mail: 

CESAC–RE–P, 69–A Hagood Avenue, 

Charleston, SC 29403. For inquiries 

from the media, please contact the 

Corps, Charleston District Corporate 

Communications Officer (CCO), Ms. 

Glenn Jeffries by telephone: (843) 329– 

8123. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: An 

application for a Department of the 

Army permit was submitted by Haile 

pursuant to Section 404 of the Clean 

Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1344) on January 

12, 2011 and was advertized in a Joint 

Public Notice, P/N # SAC 1992–24211– 

4_Lancaster_County on January 28, 

2011. The public notice is available on 

Charleston District’s public Web site at: 

http://www.sac.usace.army.mil/ 

?action=publicnotices.pn2011. 

1. Description of Proposed Project. 

The project proposed by Haile is to 

reactivate the existing Haile Gold Mine 

near Kershaw, SC for the development 

of gold resources, to expand the area for 

open pit mining, and to construct 

associated facilities. The Haile Gold 

Mine Site encompasses approximately 

4,231 acres. Mining will occur in phases 

involving eight open mining pits over a 

twelve-year period, with pit depths 

ranging from 110 to 840 feet deep. The 

proposed work includes the mechanized 

land clearing, grubbing, temporary 

stockpiling, filling, and excavation that 

will impact 161.81 acres of 

jurisdictional, freshwater wetlands and 

38,775 linear feet of streams. 

Construction drawings provided by the 

applicant are included in the original 

joint public notice of January 28, 2011, 

and are available on Charleston 

District’s public Web site at http:// 

www.sac.usace.army.mil/ 

?action=publicnotices.pn2011. 

2. Alternatives. A range of alternatives 

to the proposed action will be 

identified, and those found to be 

reasonable alternatives will be fully 

evaluated in the DEIS, including: The 

no-action alternative, the applicant’s 

proposed alternative, alternative mine 

locations and mine plans, alternative 

mining methods and processes, 

alternatives that may result in avoidance 

and minimization of impacts, and 

mitigation measures not in the proposed 

action. However, this list is not 

exclusive and additional alternatives 

may be considered for inclusion. 

3. Scoping and Public Involvement 

Process. A scoping meeting will be 

conducted to gather information on the 

scope of the project and alternatives to 

be addressed in the DEIS. Additional 

public and agency involvement will be 

sought through the implementation of a 

public involvement plan and through an 

agency coordination team. 

4. Significant Issues. Issues associated 

with the proposed project to be given 

detailed analysis in the DEIS are likely 

to include, but are not necessarily 

limited to, the potential impacts of the 

proposed Haile Gold Mine on surface 

and groundwater quality, aquatic habitat 

and biota, wetlands and stream habitats, 

federal and state listed species of 

concern, indirect and cumulative 

impacts, drinking water supplies, 

mitigation, emergency response and 

contingency plans, mine closure and 

rehabilitation, conservation, economics, 

aesthetics, general environmental 

concerns, historic properties, fish and 

wildlife values, flood hazards, land use, 

recreation, water supply and 

conservation, water quality, energy 

needs, safety, and the needs and welfare 

of the people. 

5. Additional Review and 

Consultation. Additional review and 

consultation which will be incorporated 

into the preparation of this DEIS will 

include, but will not necessarily be 

limited to, Section 401 of Clean Water 

Act; Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) 

consultation requirements of the 

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

Conservation and Management Act; the 

National Environmental Policy Act; the 

Endangered Species Act; and the 

National Historic Preservation Act. 

6. Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement. The 

Draft Environmental Impact Statement 

(DEIS) is anticipated to be available late 

in 2012. A Public Hearing will be 

conducted following the release of the 

DEIS. 

Edward P. Chamberlayne, 

Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 

Charleston District. 

[FR Doc. 2011–25140 Filed 9–28–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3720–58–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Issuance of a Loan Guarantee to 

Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC, for the 

Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Record of decision. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its decision to 

issue a Federal loan guarantee under 

Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 

2005 (EPAct 05), as amended by Section 

406 of the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery 

Act), to Tonopah Solar Energy, LLC 

(TSE), for construction and start-up of 

the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project 

(the Project). The Project is a proposed 

110-megawatt solar power generating 

facility based on concentrating solar 

power technology, using mirrors and a 

central receiver, on approximately 2,250 

acres of U.S. Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM)-administered lands 

in Nye County, Nevada. The 

environmental impacts of construction 

and start-up of the Project were 

analyzed in the Final Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Tonopah Solar 

Energy, LLC, Crescent Dunes Solar 

Energy Project, Nye County, Nevada (75 

FR 70917, November 19, 2010) (FEIS), 

prepared by BLM with DOE as a 

cooperating agency. BLM consulted 

DOE during the preparation of this EIS, 

DOE provided comments, and BLM 

addressed those comments in the FEIS. 

DOE subsequently determined that the 

Project analyzed in the FEIS was 

substantially the same as the Project that 

would be covered by the DOE loan 

guarantee, and DOE adopted the FEIS 

(76 FR 7844; February 11, 2011). 

ADDRESSES: Copies of this Record of 

Decision (ROD) and the FEIS may be 

obtained by contacting Angela 

Colamaria, DOE National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) Document Manager, 

Environmental Compliance Division, 

Loan Programs Office (LP–10), U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; telephone (202) 

287–5387; or e-mail at 

Angela.Colamaria@hq.doe.gov, or by 

accessing these documents on the DOE 

NEPA Web site at http:// 


tkelley on DSKG8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES
60476 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 189 / Thursday, September 29, 2011 / Notices 

nepa.energy.gov and at the Loan 

Programs Office Web site at http:// 

www.lgprogram.energy.gov/ 

NEPA_EIS.html. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Angela Colamaria, as indicated in the 

ADDRESSES section above. For general 

information on the DOE NEPA process, 

contact Carol 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; leave a message at (800) 472– 

2756; or e-mail AskNEPA@hq.doe.gov. 

Information about DOE NEPA activities 

and access to DOE NEPA documents are 

available on the DOE NEPA Web site at 

http://nepa.energy.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Project Background 

The Project is a proposed 110- 

megawatt solar power generating facility 

based on concentrating solar power 

technology. This technology uses 

heliostats (reflecting mirrors) to redirect 

sunlight onto a receiver erected in the 

center of a solar field (called the central 

receiver). The proposed solar power 

facility is to be located on 

approximately 2,250 acres of BLMmanaged lands in south-central Nevada, 

roughly 13.5 miles northwest of 

Tonopah, in Nye County, and located 

within the southern portion of the Big 

Smoky Valley, north of US Highway 95/ 

6 along Pole Line Road (State Highway 

89). The proposed facility will consist of 

up to approximately 17,500 heliostats/ 

reflecting mirrors occupying about 1,600 

acres of the total project area. Each 

heliostat will be approximately 670 

square feet, together yielding a total 

reflecting surface of about 12,000,000 

square feet (275.48 acres). The 

arrangement of the heliostats within the 

array will be optimized to maximize the 

amount of solar energy that could be 

collected by the field. The solar 

collecting tower/central receiver system 

will generate electric power from 

sunlight by focusing concentrated solar 

radiation onto a tower-mounted 

receiver. The solar collecting tower will 

be a total of 653 feet high, including a 

100-foot tall cylindrical receiver 

mounted on the top of the tower. The 

central receiver system will consist of a 

series of tubes through which a liquid 

salt passes and is heated by the 

concentrated solar energy. The heated 

salt will be routed to a large insulated 

tank where it will be stored with 

minimal energy loss. To generate 

electricity, the heated salt will be 

circulated through a series of heat 

exchangers to generate high-pressure, 

superheated steam that will be used to 

power a conventional Rankine cycle 

steam turbine/generator. Energy 

produced from the facility will connect 

to the electrical grid through a new 6.9- 

mile 230 kilovolt (kV) transmission line 

that will follow a path west to an 

existing transmission alignment. A 40- 

acre borrow pit will be needed to extract 

aggregate for construction of the access 

road and the base of the proposed 

facility. A paved, two-lane access road 

will extend approximately 1,500 feet 

from Pole Line Road to the proposed 

facility. 

DOE’s offer of a loan guarantee for the 

Project is authorized under Title XVII of 

the Energy Policy Act of 2005, as 

amended by Section 406 of the Recovery 

Act. Title XVII as amended authorizes a 

program for rapid deployment of 

renewable energy and electric power 

transmission projects (the Section 1705 

Program). 

Before applying for a loan guarantee, 

TSE filed an application with BLM for 

a land use right-of-way pursuant to Title 

V of the Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1761), 

which authorizes BLM to issue right-ofway (ROW) lease/grants for renewable 

energy projects on BLM land. The 

issuance of this ROW lease/grant was 

considered a major Federal action as 

defined by NEPA, and preparation of an 

EIS was initiated by BLM. 

NEPA Review 

BLM was the lead Federal agency in 

the preparation of the EIS, and DOE was 

a cooperating agency pursuant to a 

Memorandum of Understanding 

between BLM and DOE signed in 

February 2009. DOE reviewed the 

content of the EIS, and provided 

comments to BLM to ensure that 

information required by DOE NEPA 

regulations (10 CFR Part 1021) was 

included, and that the analyzed 

alternatives encompassed DOE’s 

proposed loan guarantee for 

construction and start-up of the Project. 

On November 24, 2009, BLM 

published the ‘‘Notice of Intent to 

Prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement for the Proposed Tonopah 

Solar Energy, LLC, Crescent Dunes Solar 

Energy Project, Nye County, Nevada’’ in 

the Federal Register (74 FR 225). Both 

the Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) and BLM published Notices of 

Availability of the Draft Environmental 

Impact Statement (DEIS) in the Federal 

Register on September 3, 2010 (75 FR 

54145 and 75 FR 54177, respectively). 

The DEIS was available for a 45-day 

public comment period, which closed 

on October 18, 2010. Two open house 

public meetings were held to provide 

further public involvement: One in Las 

Vegas, Nevada, on September 22, 2010, 

and the other in Tonopah, Nevada, on 

September 23, 2010. During the 

comment period for the DEIS, BLM 

received 23 comment letters. Comments 

received on the DEIS were addressed in 

the FEIS, and resulted in the addition of 

clarifying text. 

BLM completed the Project FEIS in 

cooperation with the United States Air 

Force, DOE, the Nevada Department of 

Wildlife, Nye County, Esmeralda 

County, and the Town of Tonopah; EPA 

published a Notice of Availability for 

the FEIS in the Federal Register on 

November 19, 2010 (75 FR 70917). The 

FEIS analyzed the environmental 

impacts that would be associated with 

construction and operation of the 

Project, and addressed public 

comments. 

On December 20, 2010, BLM decided 

to allow a solar energy ROW lease/grant 

to TSE for the Project to be constructed 

on BLM-managed land in Nye County, 

Nevada. BLM identified its Selected 

Alternative and the Secretary of the 

Interior issued Secretarial Approval of 

this decision. The environmental 

mitigation measures for the Project were 

specified in BLM’s ROD (75 FR 81307; 

December 27, 2010). Links to these 

documents can be found at the BLM 

Web site: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/

fo/battle_mountain_field/blm_

information/national_environmental/

crescent_dunes_solar.html. 

After independently reviewing the 

BLM FEIS, DOE determined that the 

issues raised by commenters have been 

adequately addressed in the FEIS. On 

January 31, 2011, DOE adopted the FEIS 

(DOE/EIS–0454) to meet its NEPA 

obligations related to its proposal to 

provide up to $737 million in a loan 

guarantee to support the financing of the 

Project. The Notice of Adoption was 

published by EPA in the Federal 

Register on February 11, 2011 (76 FR 

7844). 

Alternatives Considered 

BLM considered three site locations 

that would occupy nearly equal acreage 

on lands administered by BLM and 

would use the same concentrating solar 

power technology. BLM’s Proposed 

Action would eliminate 1,374 acres of 

Nevada oryctes (a state protected plant) 

habitat and 1,466 acres of pale kangaroo 

mouse (a state protected species) 

habitat. The Proposed Action would be 

located to the south of the Crescent 

Dunes Special Recreation Management 

Area (SRMA), but would not encroach 

on the SRMA. It would have potential 

conflicts with the Air Force radar testing 


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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 189 / Thursday, September 29, 2011 / Notices 60477 

mission at the nearby Nevada Test and 

Training Range. 

BLM’s Alternative 1 would encroach 

on 130 acres of a ROW avoidance area 

for the Crescent Dunes SRMA, thus 

creating the need for an amendment to 

the Tonopah Resource Management 

Plan. This alternative would eliminate 

803 acres of Nevada oryctes habitat, 

1,191 acres of pale kangaroo mouse 

habitat, and 7 acres of habitat for several 

endemic species of scarab beetles (BLM 

sensitive species). Alternative 1 would 

minimize potential conflicts with 

military operations for the Air Force 

radar testing mission. 

BLM’s Preferred Alternative, which it 

selected in its ROD, is Alternative 2. 

Alternative 2 is situated on low or norelief public land. This alternative 

encompasses 2,250.27 acres of public 

lands. However, the proposed project 

facility would only utilize 

approximately 2,094.27 acres, of which 

1,620 acres would be disturbed. 

Alternative 2 is located to the west of 

the Crescent Dunes SRMA and 

eliminates or reduces environmental 

impacts overall, such as visual impacts 

to recreational users of the SRMA. The 

site would disturb 434 acres of habitat 

for the Nevada oryctes and the pale 

kangaroo mouse, and there would be no 

impacts to habitat for the endemic 

species of scarab beetles. The site also 

minimizes potential conflicts with 

military operations for the Air Force 

radar testing mission. Finally, the site is 

located closer to an access road and an 

existing transmission line, and would 

therefore reduce the amount of 

necessary surface disturbance. 

BLM also examined the impacts 

resulting from a No Action Alternative, 

under which the Project would not be 

constructed. All of these alternatives 

were described in detail and fully 

analyzed in the FEIS. 

DOE’s decision is whether or not to 

issue a loan guarantee to Tonopah Solar 

Energy, LLC, for $737 million to support 

construction and startup of the Project 

as selected in the BLM ROD. 

Accordingly, the DOE alternatives are to 

issue the loan guarantee to TSE for 

construction and start-up of the Project 

under Alternative 2, which BLM 

selected in its ROD, and the No Action 

Alternative. Under the No Action 

Alternative, DOE would not issue a loan 

guarantee for the Project and it is not 

likely that TSE would implement the 

Project as currently planned. 

Environmentally Preferred Alternative 

BLM identified Alterative 2 as the 

Environmentally Preferred Alternative. 

This Alternative has the least impacts to 

special status plants and wildlife 

species, stays within the existing 

transmission corridor and reduces the 

length of the transmission line needed. 

It does not encroach upon the Crescent 

Dunes SRMA. 

DOE has decided that its alternative to 

issue a loan guarantee for construction 

and start-up of the Project, as selected 

in the BLM ROD, is environmentally 

preferable. DOE has determined that the 

Project offers substantial environmental 

benefits due to reductions in greenhouse 

gas emissions, as described in the FEIS. 

DOE has also determined that all 

practicable means to avoid or minimize 

environmental harm, as described in the 

BLM ROD, have been adopted as 

mitigation measures by BLM. 

Consultation 

As the lead Federal agency for the 

Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, 

BLM complied with section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act, 

section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, 

and the Bald and Golden Eagle 

Protection Act, and entered into 

government-to-government 

consultations with Native American 

tribes. The mitigation measures 

included in the BLM decision resulted 

from these consultations and are 

addressed in the FEIS and BLM ROD. 

Specifically, the Nevada State Historic 

Preservation Office (SHPO) reviewed 

this project under section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act, and 

concurred with BLM’s determinations of 

site eligibility to the National Register of 

Historic Places (NRHP) of nine eligible 

properties that will be affected by this 

project. A Historic Properties Treatment 

Plan describing mitigation measures 

that will be employed to resolve any 

adverse effect to the nine NRHP eligible 

sites has been prepared. A 

Memorandum of Agreement between 

the BLM and Nevada SHPO has been 

implemented to ensure the Historic 

Properties Treatment Plan will mitigate 

any adverse effect to these NRHPeligible sites. Furthermore, an 

Endangered Species Act section 7 

consultation was completed by BLM 

during the NEPA process, and a Wildlife 

Mitigation and Monitoring Plan was 

included in the FEIS. Finally, BLM 

conducted and completed Tribal 

consultation with Federally-Recognized 

Indian Tribes, and consulted with the 

Nevada SHPO. 

Decision 

DOE has decided to issue a loan 

guarantee for construction and start-up 

of the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy 

Project, as selected in the BLM ROD. 

Approval of the loan guarantee for the 

Project responds to DOE’s purpose and 

need pursuant to Title XVII of EPAct 05, 

as amended by section 406 of the 

Recovery Act, which authorizes a new 

program for rapid deployment of 

renewable energy projects. The primary 

purposes of the Recovery Act are job 

preservation and creation, infrastructure 

investment, energy efficiency and 

science, assistance to the unemployed, 

and state and local fiscal stabilization. 

The Section 1705 Program is designed 

to address the current economic 

conditions of the Nation, in part, 

through renewable energy, transmission, 

and leading-edge biofuels projects. 

Eligible projects must commence 

construction no later than September 

30, 2011. 

In reaching this decision, DOE 

reviewed the Project NEPA 

documentation and considered the 

potential impacts of the selected 

alternative, including implementation of 

the stipulated mitigation measures. DOE 

prepared this ROD in accordance with 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations for implementing NEPA and 

DOE’s NEPA Implementing Procedures. 

Mitigation 

The Project that will be supported by 

issuance of the DOE loan guarantee 

includes all mitigation conditions 

applied by BLM in its ROD. BLM is the 

Federal lead agency for the Project 

under NEPA, and is responsible for 

ensuring compliance with all adopted 

mitigation measures for the Project set 

out in its ROD. A description of the 

mitigation measures is provided in the 

BLM ROD and in BLM’s ROW lease/ 

grant (Appendix A to the BLM ROD). 

BLM has incorporated these mitigation 

measures into the ROW lease/grant as 

terms and conditions (Exhibit B to the 

ROW lease/grant). 

The DOE loan guarantee agreement 

requires the applicant to comply with 

all applicable laws and the terms of the 

ROW lease/grant, including its 

mitigation measures. An applicant’s 

failure to comply with applicable laws 

and the ROW lease/grant would 

constitute a default. Upon the 

continuance of a default, DOE would 

have the right under the loan guarantee 

agreement between it and the applicant 

to exercise usual and customary 

remedies. To ensure that the applicant 

so performs, the DOE Loan Programs 

Office proactively monitors all operative 

loan guarantee transactions. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on September 

23, 2011. 

Jonathan M. Silver, 

Executive Director, Loan Programs Office. 

[FR Doc. 2011–25049 Filed 9–28–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–10–P 


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