25288 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 88 / Friday, May 7, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[CACA 49834; L51010000.ER0000 

LLCAD09000 LVRWB09B3160] 

Notice of Availability of the Draft 

Environmental Impact Report and Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Southern California Edison 

Eldorado-Ivanpah Transmission 

Project, California and Nevada 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the California 

Environmental Quality Act of 1970, the 

Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM), together with 

the California Public Utilities 

Commission, has prepared a Draft 

Environmental Impact Report (EIR)/ 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

for the proposed Eldorado-Ivanpah 

Transmission Project (EITP), and by this 

notice is announcing the opening of the 

comment period. 

DATES: To ensure that comments will be 

considered, the BLM must receive 

written comments on the EITP Draft 

EIR/EIS within 45 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, or mailings. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the proposed EITP Draft EIR/ 

EIS by any of the following methods: 

• Web site: http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/ 

en/fo/needles.html; 

• E-mail: caeitp@blm.gov, subject line 

EITP; 

• Fax: (760) 326–7099; or 

• Mail or other delivery service: 

George R. Meckfessel, Needles Field 

Office, 1303 South U.S. Highway 95, 

Needles, California 92363–4228. 

Copies of the EITP Draft EIR/EIS are 

available in the Needles Field Office at 

the above address, or at the following 

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

fo/needles.html, and at the BLM 

California State Office, 2800 Cottage 

Way, Sacramento, California 95825. 

Electronic (CD–ROM) or paper copies 

may also be obtained by contacting 

George Meckfessel at (760) 326–7000 or 

by e-mailing your request to 

caeitp@blm.gov and including your 

name and mailing address. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Tom Hurshman, Project Manager, 

telephone (970) 240–5345; fax (970) 

240–5368; address 2465 South 

Townsend Avenue, Montrose, Colorado 

81401; e-mail Tom_Hurshman@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

BLM’s purpose and need for the EITP 

project is to respond to Southern 

California Edison’s (SCE) application for 

a right-of-way (ROW) grant to construct 

and operate a double circuit 230- 

kilovolt (kV) transmission line to 

replace an existing 115-kV transmission 

line on public lands in compliance with 

Title V of the Federal Lands 

Management and Policy Act (FLPMA) 

(43 U.S.C. 1761–1771), the BLM ROW 

regulations, and other applicable 

Federal laws. 

The upgraded transmission line 

would extend approximately 35 miles 

from southern Clark County, Nevada (28 

miles), into northeastern San 

Bernardino County, California (7 miles). 

The project would also include a new 

Ivanpah substation in California near 

Primm, Nevada, which would serve as 

a connector hub for solar energy that 

may be produced by future solar 

generation projects in the Ivanpah 

Valley area. The existing Eldorado 

Substation would be modified to 

accommodate the new EldoradoIvanpah transmission line. The segment 

of transmission line to be replaced is 

approximately 36 miles long and 

originates at the existing Eldorado 

Substation in T. 25 S., R. 62 E., Sec. 1, 

Mount Diablo Meridian, and terminates 

at the proposed Ivanpah Substation in 

T. 16 N., R. 14 E., Sec. 4, San 

Bernardino Meridian. 

The BLM will decide whether to 

approve, approve with modification, or 

deny issuance of a ROW authorization 

to SCE for the proposed EITP project. 

The EITP would carry electricity from 

several renewable energy projects 

proposed in and around the Ivanpah 

Valley, including the Ivanpah Solar 

Energy Generation System planned by 

BrightSource, LLC. The proposed 

transmission line and new substation 

would be constructed within an existing 

designated utility corridor. 

Telecommunications lines are also 

proposed. The public lands in the 

project area are managed by the BLM in 

accordance with the California Desert 

Conservation Area (CDCA) Plan and the 

Las Vegas Field Office Resource 

Management Plan. 

As proposed by SCE, the transmission 

line would be sited within an existing 

ROW corridor designated in the CDCA 

plan and Las Vegas RMP. In addition to 

the proposed action and the no action 

alternatives, the EIR/EIS analyzes seven 

additional action alternatives that 

address alternative routes for the 

transmission and telecommunications 

lines. 

A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIR/ 

EIS for the EITP project was published 

in the Federal Register on July 27, 2009, 

and was followed by a 30-day public 

scoping period. The BLM held an 

interagency meeting on July 1, 2009, to 

inform other agencies about the project 

and held formal scoping meetings for 

the public on July 28 and 29, 2009. Four 

primary areas of concern were identified 

during the public scoping process: (1) 

Impacts of the project on several 

biological resources, especially desert 

tortoise; (2) compatibility of the project 

with regional land uses such as the 

planned Southern Nevada 

Supplemental Airport; (3) compatibility 

of the project with other existing ROW 

designations; and (4) cumulative 

impacts. 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, 1506.10, and 43 

CFR 1610.2 

Thomas Pogacnik, 

Deputy State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–10664 Filed 5–6–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–40–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[ID–320–1610 DQ–050D] 

Notice of Availability of the Proposed 

Resource Management Plan and Final 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Pocatello Field Office, Idaho 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969, as amended, and the Federal Land 

Policy and Management Act of 1976, as 

amended, the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) has prepared a 

Proposed Resource Management Plan/ 

Final Environmental Impact Statement 


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