69522 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 225 / Friday, November 21, 2014 / Notices 

Directions for Submitting Public 

Comments 

Please include your name, return 

address, and the caption ‘‘Programmatic 

EIS, Colville Reservation IRMP’’ on the 

first page of any written comments you 

submit. You may also submit comments 

at the public scoping meetings. 

The public scoping meetings will be 

held to seek comments from the Tribal 

Business Council, resource managers, 

agency representatives, and community 

members concerning the planning and 

environmental issues surrounding the 

use of natural resources of the Colville 

Reservation. The meetings will be held 

at various Colville Reservation 

communities and notices will be 

published in Omak-Okanogan County 

Chronicle, the Statesman Examiner, the 

Star, and the Tribal Tribune. Additional 

information will also be posted at the 

Tribe’s Web site: 

www.colvilletribes.com. 

Public Availability of Comments 

Comments, including names and 

addresses of respondents, will be 

available for public review at the BIA 

address shown in the ADDRESSES section 

of this notice, during regular business 

hours, Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. 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 

This notice is published in 

accordance with sections 1503.1 of the 

Council on Environmental Quality 

Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 

1508) and Sec. 46.305 of the Department 

of the Interior Regulations (43 CFR Part 

46), implementing the procedural 

requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 

U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and is in the 

exercise of authority delegated to the 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, by 

part 209 of the Departmental Manual. 

Dated: November 10, 2014. 

Kevin Washburn, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27682 Filed 11–20–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[AAK6006201 145A2100DD 

AOR3030.999900] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

Aiya Solar Project on the Moapa River 

Indian Reservation, Clark County, NV 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In order to comply with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

(BIA), as lead agency in cooperation 

with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians 

(Moapa Band), the Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM), and other Federal 

agencies, intend to prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

that will evaluate a photovoltaic solar 

energy generation project on the Moapa 

River Indian Reservation and a 

transmission line located on tribal 

lands, private lands and Federal lands 

administered and managed by BLM in 

Clark County, Nevada. 

This notice announces the beginning 

of the scoping process to solicit public 

comments and identify potential issues 

related to the EIS. It also announces that 

two public scoping meetings will be 

held in Nevada to identify potential 

issues, alternatives, and mitigation to be 

considered in the EIS. 

DATES: The dates and locations of the 

public scoping meetings will be 

published in the Las Vegas Sun, Las 

Vegas Review-Journal, and Moapa 

Valley Progress 15 days before the 

scoping meetings. Written comments on 

the scope of the EIS or implementation 

of the proposal must arrive by December 

22, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may mail, email, or 

hand carry written comments to either 

Mr. Paul Schlafly, Natural Resource 

Specialist, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Southern Paiute Agency, 180 North 200 

East Suite 111, P.O. Box 720, St. George, 

Utah 84770; telephone: (435) 674–9720; 

email: paul.schlafly@bia.gov, or Mr. 

Chip Lewis, Acting Regional 

Environmental Compliance Officer, BIA 

Western Regional Office, 2600 North 

Central Avenue, 4th Floor Mailroom, 

Phoenix, Arizona 85004; telephone: 

(602) 379–6782; email: chip.lewis@

bia.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

proposed Federal action, taken under 25 

U.S.C. 415, is BIA’s approval of a solar 

energy ground lease and associated 

agreements entered into by the Moapa 

Band with a subsidiary of First Solar, 

Inc. (First Solar) to provide for 

construction and operation of an up-to 

100 megawatt (MW) alternating current 

solar photovoltaic (PV) electricity 

generation facility located entirely on 

the Moapa River Indian Reservation and 

specifically on lands held in trust by 

BIA for the Moapa Band. The proposed 

230 kilovolt (kV) generation-tie 

transmission line required for 

interconnection may be located on 

Tribal lands, private lands and/or 

Federal lands administered and 

managed by BLM. First Solar has 

accordingly requested that the BIA and 

BLM additionally approve right-of-ways 

(ROWs) authorizing the construction 

and operation of the transmission line. 

Together, the proposed solar energy 

facility, transmission line, and other 

associated facilities will make up the 

proposed Moapa River Solar Project 

(Project). 

The Project would be located in 

Township 14 South, Range 66 East, 

Sections 29, 30, 31, and 32 Mount 

Diablo Meridian, Nevada. The 

generation facility would generate 

electricity using First Solar’s PV panels. 

Also included would be inverters, a 

collection system, an on-site substation 

to step-up the voltage to transmissionlevel voltage at 230 kV, an operations 

and maintenance building, and other 

related facilities. A single overhead 230 

kV generation-tie transmission line, 

approximately 1.5 to 3 miles long, 

would connect the solar project to either 

NV Energy’s Reid-Gardner 230kV 

substation or the proposed Reid Gardner 

Collector Substation, which is under 

development by NV Energy. 

Construction of the Project is 

expected to take approximately 12 to 15 

months. First Solar is expected to 

operate the energy facility for 30 years, 

with two options to renew the lease for 

an additional 10 years, if mutually 

acceptable to the Moapa Tribe and First 

Solar. The Project is expected to be built 

in one phase of up to 100 MW, per the 

demand of potential off-takers or 

utilities. During construction, the PV 

panels will be placed on top of fixed-tilt 

and/or single-axis tracking mounting 

systems that are set on steel posts 

embedded in the ground. Other 

foundation design techniques may be 

used depending on the site topography 

and conditions. No water will be used 

to generate electricity during operations. 

Water will be needed during 

construction for dust control and a 

minimal amount will be needed during 

operations for landscape irrigation and 

administrative and sanitary water use 

on site. The water supply required for 

the Project would be leased from the 

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Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 225 / Friday, November 21, 2014 / Notices 69523 

Moapa Band and the EIS will consider 

the impacts of alternative sources and 

delivery methods. 

The purposes of the Project are to: (1) 

Help to provide a long-term, diverse, 

and viable economic revenue base and 

job opportunities for the Moapa Band; 

(2) help Nevada and neighboring States 

to meet their State renewable energy 

needs; and (3) allow the Moapa Band, in 

partnership with First Solar, to optimize 

the use of the lease site while 

maximizing the potential economic 

benefit to the Tribe. 

The BIA will prepare the EIS in 

cooperation with the Moapa Band, BLM, 

and possibly the Army Corps of 

Engineers, Environmental Protection 

Agency, and National Park Service. In 

addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS) will provide input on 

the analysis. The resulting EIS will aim 

to: (1) Provide agency decision makers, 

the Moapa Band, and the general public 

with a comprehensive understanding of 

the impacts of the proposed Project and 

alternatives on the Reservation; (2) 

describe the cumulative impacts of 

increased development on the 

Reservation; and (3) identify and 

propose mitigation measures that would 

minimize or prevent significant adverse 

impacts. Consistent with these 

objectives, the EIS will analyze the 

proposed Project and appurtenant 

features, viable alternatives including 

other interconnection options, modified 

footprint alternatives, alternate routing 

for Project ROWs, and the No Action 

alternative. Other alternatives may be 

identified in response to issues raised 

during the scoping process. 

The EIS will provide a framework for 

BIA and BLM to make determinations 

and to decide whether to take the 

aforementioned Federal actions. In 

addition, BIA will use and coordinate 

the NEPA commenting process to satisfy 

its obligations under Section 106 of the 

National Historic Preservation Act (16 

U.S.C. 470f) as provided for in 36 CFR 

800.2(d)(3). Tribal consultations will be 

conducted in accordance with policy, 

and tribal concerns will be given due 

consideration, including impacts on 

Indian trust assets. Other Federal 

agencies may rely on the EIS to make 

decisions under their authority and the 

Moapa Band may also use the EIS to 

make decisions under their Tribal 

Environmental Policy Ordinance. The 

USFWS will review the EIS for 

consistency with the Endangered 

Species Act, as amended, and other 

implementing acts, and may rely on the 

EIS to support its decisions and 

opinions regarding the Project. 

Issues to be covered during the 

scoping process may include, but would 

not be limited to, Project impacts on: 

Air quality, geology and soils, surface 

and groundwater resources, biological 

resources, threatened and endangered 

species, cultural resources, 

socioeconomic conditions, land use, 

aesthetics, environmental justice, and 

Indian trust resources. In addition to 

those already identified above, Federal, 

State, and local agencies, along with 

other stakeholders that may be 

interested or affected by the BIA’s 

decision on the proposed Project, are 

invited to participate in the scoping 

process. 

Directions for Submitting Comments 

Please include your name, return 

address, and the caption ‘‘EIS, First 

Solar Solar Project,’’ on the first page of 

any written comments. You may also 

submit comments at the public scoping 

meetings. 

The public scoping meetings will be 

held to further describe the Project and 

identify potential issues and alternatives 

to be considered in the EIS. The first 

public scoping meeting will be held on 

the Reservation and the other public 

scoping meeting will be held in Las 

Vegas, Nevada. The dates of the public 

scoping meetings will be included in 

notices to be posted in the Las Vegas 

Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and 

Moapa Valley Progress 15 days before 

the meetings. 

Public Comment Availability 

Comments, including names and 

addresses of respondents, will be 

available for public review at the 

mailing address shown in the 

ADDRESSES section during regular 

business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 

Monday through Friday, except 

holidays. 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. 

Authority 

This notice is published in 

accordance with 40 CFR 1501.7 of the 

Council of Environmental Quality 

regulations and 43 CFR 46.235 of the 

Department of the Interior Regulations 

implementing the procedural 

requirements of the NEPA (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), and in accordance with 

the exercise of authority delegated to the 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs by 

part 209 of the Department Manual. 

Dated: November 14, 2014. 

Kevin K. Washburn, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27642 Filed 11–20–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4310–W7–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[LLNVS00560.L58530000.EU0000.241A.XXX; 

MO# 4500068492] 

Notice of Realty Action: NonCompetitive Direct Sale of the 

Reversionary Interest in a Recreation 

and Public Purpose Act (R&PP) Patent, 

in Clark County, NV (N–90426) 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The reversionary interest held 

by the United States in a 5.22-acre 

parcel of public land is determined 

suitable for direct sale and release to the 

Paradise Bible Baptist Church, under 

the authority of the Federal Land Policy 

and Management Act, as amended. The 

purpose of the direct sale is to dispose 

of the reversionary interest clause in the 

patented lands, which represents certain 

restrictions and conditions that prevents 

the Paradise Bible Baptist Church from 

using the land for other purposes. 

DATES: Interested parties may submit 

written comments regarding the direct 

sale and release of reversionary interest 

until January 5, 2015. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), 

Las Vegas Field Manager, 4701 N. 

Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada 

89130, or email: ddickey@blm.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Dorothy Jean Dickey, 702–515–5119, or 

ddickey@blm.gov. Persons who use a 

telecommunications device for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

to contact the above individual during 

normal business hours. The FIRS is 

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 

to leave a message or question with the 

above individual. You will receive a 

reply during normal business hours. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On 

February 5, 1998, a 5.22-acre parcel was 

patented (patent number 27–98–0017) to 

the Paradise Bible Baptist Church under 

the authority of the R&PP Act of June 

14, 1926, as amended, 43 U.S.C. 869 et 

seq. The purpose for which the land can 

be used is restricted by a reversionary 

clause in the patent, which returns title 

to the United States if the tract is used 

for other purposes not provided for in 

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