Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 97 / Thursday, May 20, 2010 / Notices 28279 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLAZP02000.L51010000.FX0000.

LVRWA09A2370; AZA 034425] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Hyder Valley Solar 

Energy Project, Maricopa County, AZ 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of Intent. 

SUMMARY: In compliance with the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (NEPA), as amended, the Bureau of 

Land Management (BLM), Arizona State 

Office, Phoenix, Arizona, intends to 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) and by this notice is 

announcing the beginning of the 

scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify issues. 

DATES: This notice initiates the public 

scoping process for the EIS. Comments 

on issues may be submitted in writing 

until June 21, 2010. The date(s) and 

location(s) of any scoping meetings will 

be announced at least 15 days in 

advance through local media, 

newspapers, and the following BLM 

Web site: http://www.blm.gov/az/st/ 

en.html. In order to be included in the 

Draft EIS, all comments must be 

received prior to the close of the scoping 

period or 15 days after the last public 

meeting, whichever is later. The BLM 

will provide additional opportunities 

for public participation upon 

publication of the Draft EIS. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

related to the Hyder Valley Solar Energy 

Project by any of the following methods: 

• E-mail: 

HyderValley_Solar@blm.gov. 

• Mail: Bureau of Land Management, 

Arizona State Office, Attention: Eddie 

Arreola, Supervisory Project Manager, 

Hyder Valley Solar EIS, One North 

Central Avenue, Suite 800, Phoenix, AZ 

85004. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

further information and/or to have your 

name added to our mailing list, contact 

Eddie Arreola, Supervisory Project 

Manager, telephone 602–417–9505; by 

mail or other delivery service Bureau of 

Land Management, Arizona State Office, 

Attention: Eddie Arreola, Supervisory 

Project Manager, Hyder Valley Solar 

EIS, One North Central Avenue, Suite 

800, Phoenix, AZ 85004; or by e-mail at 

Eddie_Arreola@blm.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

applicant, Pacific Solar Investments, 

Inc., has requested a right-of-way (ROW) 

authorization to construct and operate a 

4,500 acre concentrated solar thermal 

(CST) power plant that could provide 

up to 350 megawatts (MW) of solar 

generation with options for wet or dry 

cooling and possibly with thermal 

storage capabilities. The project would 

include a 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission 

line, water supply facilities, a natural 

gas pipeline, an access road, and other 

related facilities in the Hyder Valley, 

north of Interstate 8, east of the town of 

Hyder, and west of the Oatman 

Mountains in Maricopa County, AZ. 

The facility would be expected to 

operate for approximately 30 years. A 

ROW grant for the construction, 

operation, and maintenance of this 

Project would be required from the 

BLM. Additional applicable permits 

from Federal, State, and local agencies 

will also be required. 

The solar facility would consist of 

solar fields made up of single-axistracking parabolic trough solar 

collectors. Each collector contains a 

linear parabolic-shaped reflector to 

focus sun light on a heat collection 

element. The collectors would track the 

sun from east to west each day to ensure 

the sun is continuously focused on the 

collection element. A heat transfer fluid 

would be heated as it passes through the 

element and then circulated through a 

series of heat exchangers to generate 

high-pressure steam. The steam would 

power a generator to produce electricity. 

The plant would be made up of one or 

more power blocks. Each power block 

would be located near the center of its 

respective solar field and have its own 

generator. 

Both wet-cooled and dry-cooled 

options are being considered for this 

Project, and will be addressed in the 

EIS. Maximum water use for the Project 

is initially estimated to be 1,750 to 2,800 

acre-feet per year. A mechanical draft 

cooling tower, cooling water circulating 

pumps, circulating water piping, valves, 

and instrumentation would also be 

located within the facility. Multiple 

evaporation ponds would be 

constructed to hold discharge from the 

cooling towers and steam cycle that 

could no longer be recycled back into 

the plant. 

Pacific Solar Investments is also 

considering the use of thermal energy 

storage. Thermal energy storage would 

provide the option of transferring some 

or all of the solar energy into molten salt 

contained in insulated tanks. Using heat 

exchangers and pumps designed for 

molten salt, the heat could subsequently 

be extracted to provide generation after 

sunset. 

The Project would be connected to the 

electrical grid using a newly constructed 

230-kV transmission line of 

approximately 5 to 7 miles long with a 

point of interconnection at a proposed 

Hyder substation. The proposed Hyder 

substation would be owned and 

operated by Arizona Public Service 

(APS). The length of the transmission 

line will depend on the exact location 

of the Hyder substation, which has not 

yet been determined by APS. The 

transmission line and other related 

facilities that would be developed 

specifically for this Project would be 

included in the EIS analysis and 

included in the ROW grant as 

appropriate. 

The purpose of the public scoping 

process is to determine relevant issues 

that will influence the scope of the 

environmental analysis, including 

alternatives, and guide the process for 

developing the EIS. At present, the BLM 

has identified water resources as a 

preliminary issue; however, the analysis 

will include the site-specific impacts on 

air quality, geologic resources, soils, 

water resources, biological resources, 

cultural resources, paleontological 

resources, visual resources, land use, 

transportation, noise, socioeconomics, 

public health and safety, and other 

resources and issues identified during 

scoping and project collaboration. 

The BLM will use and coordinate the 

NEPA commenting process to satisfy the 

public involvement process for Section 

106 of the National Historic 

Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f) as 

provided for in 36 CFR 800.2(d)(3). 

Native American tribal consultations 

will be conducted and tribal concerns, 

including impacts on Indian trust assets, 

will be considered. Federal, State, and 

local agencies, along with other 

stakeholders that may be interested or 

affected by the BLM’s decision on this 

Project are invited to participate in the 

scoping process and, if eligible, may 

request or be requested by the BLM to 

participate as a cooperating agency. 

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 1501.7. 

Raymond Suazo, 

Acting State Director. 

[FR Doc. 2010–12138 Filed 5–19–10; 8:45 am] 

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