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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3247-3248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00590]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[PO #4820000251]

Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Ranegras Plains Energy Center, La Paz County, AZ

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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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 Ranegras Plains Energy Center, La Paz County, Arizona.

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) 
published its Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft EIS in the 
Federal Register. The EPA published its NOA on January 10, 2025.

ADDRESSES: The Draft EIS is available for review on the BLM project 
website at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2020050/510.
    Written comments related to the Ranegras Plains Energy Center may 
be submitted by any of the following methods:

 Website: https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2020050/510 Email: [email protected] Mail: BLM Yuma Field Office, Attention: Ranegras Plains Energy 
Center, 7341 E 30th Street, Yuma, AZ 85365

    Documents pertinent to this proposal may be examined online at 
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/2020050/510 and at the 
Yuma Field Office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Derek Eysenbach, Project Manager, at 
[email protected], the mailing address above, 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: Ranegras Plains Energy Center, LLC 
(Applicant) (a wholly owned subsidiary of Savion Energy, LLC, which is 
a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell New Energies US, LLC) is seeking a 
40-year right-of-way (ROW) to use 5,029 acres administered by the BLM 
to construct, operate and maintain, and decommission a utility-scale 
solar photovoltaic (PV) facility, called the Ranegras Plains Energy 
Center (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 30 miles east of the community of 
Quartzsite, southeast of the Interstate 10/Vicksburg Road junction. The 
project would consist of up to 1.3 million solar PV modules and 
associated infrastructure, including new and improved roads, powerlines 
for collection and transmission of electricity, operation and 
maintenance facilities, and a battery energy storage system. The 
project would interconnect

[[Page 3248]]

at the Ten West Link Series Compensation Station via an 11-mile gen-tie 
line, built adjacent to the Ten West Link 500-kilovolt (kV) 
transmission line, and have a generation capacity of 700 megawatts or 
more.
    The BLM's purpose for action is to respond to the Applicant's 
application for a ROW grant to construct, own, operate, maintain, and 
decommission a utility-scale solar PV energy generating facility on 
public lands administered by the BLM Colorado River District, Yuma 
Field Office. The need for action is established by the BLM's 
responsibilities under FLPMA and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
    The BLM has prepared a Draft EIS with input from cooperating 
agencies and public comments collected during scoping to address the 
direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the project. The Draft EIS 
analyzes four alternatives. Under the No Action Alternative, BLM would 
not approve the ROW and the project would not be constructed on BLM-
administered lands. Under the Proposed Action, the BLM would grant a 
ROW for the project, which would have a net generating capacity of up 
to 700 megawatts alternating current and span 5,029 acres administered 
by the BLM. The project would include solar PV modules, DC cabling and 
combining switchgear, inverters, voltage collection systems, 
transformers, monitoring and controls systems, operations and 
maintenance facilities, above-ground electrical connection lines, and 
potentially a battery energy storage system and project substation. The 
project would connect into the regional transmission system via the Ten 
West Link 500kV Series Compensation Station. The Applicant has 
incorporated numerous design features into the proposed project that 
would be approved by the Proposed Action to avoid or minimize adverse 
environmental effects during construction, operation, and 
decommissioning, including an unfenced wildlife movement corridor to 
allow wildlife access to habitat in a nearby desert wash. These plans 
and procedures are provided as appendices to the Proposed Plan of 
Development and the Draft EIS.
    The Access-Retention Alternative would employ the same technology 
and design as under the Proposed Action but would also incorporate 
additional public access route corridors based on existing inventoried 
routes within the solar array area.
    The Soils-Focused Alternative would employ the same technology and 
design as under the Proposed Action but would also include special 
management actions to minimize impacts on established desert pavements 
within the project site. A Desert Pavement Management Plan would 
further minimize the vegetation loss and fugitive dust emissions and 
accelerate surface reclamation outcomes following construction and 
decommissioning. All design features present under the Proposed Action 
would apply to the Soils-Focused Alternative. The BLM has identified 
the Soils-Focused Alternative as the agency's preferred alternative. 
Information acquired during the Draft EIS public comment period will 
inform the BLM's ultimate decision to select any of the four 
alternatives.
    The BLM Authorized Officer will decide whether to issue a ROW grant 
to the Applicant for the project and, if so, the terms and conditions 
that would apply. The Colorado River District Manager is the Authorized 
Officer who will sign the Record of Decision for the project, informed 
by the information and analyses in the EIS.
    The BLM is the lead Federal agency and is responsible for 
compliance with NEPA (including preparation of this EIS) and 
consultations required by the National Historic Preservation Act and 
the Endangered Species Act. The following Tribal Nations and other 
agencies that may have jurisdiction, special expertise, or interest in 
the project have agreed to participate in the NEPA process as 
cooperating agencies: Arizona Department of Transportation, Arizona 
Game and Fish Department, La Paz County, Fort Yuma-Quechan Tribe, U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Defense, EPA, and U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service. The BLM has a signed memorandum of understanding 
with each cooperating agency to identify its roles and responsibilities 
and those of the BLM in the process.
    A virtual public meeting will be held 2 to 3 weeks after 
publication of this notice; the meeting date will be announced on the 
project's ePlanning website at least 15 days prior to the meeting (see 
ADDRESSES). The public meeting will include a presentation and 
opportunity to speak with the project team.
    The BLM encourages the public to review the Draft EIS and provide 
comments on the adequacy of the alternatives, analysis of effects, and 
any new information that would help the BLM disclose potential impacts 
of the project in the Final EIS.
    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, 
including impacts on Indian trust assets and potential impacts to 
cultural resources, 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 1506.6, 40 CFR 1506.10)

Raymond Suazo,
State Director.
[FR Doc. 2025-00590 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4331-12-P
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