[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 27 (Monday, February 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7579-7580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02669]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
[189A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.999900 253G]
Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Campo Wind
Energy Project, San Diego, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended, this notice advises the public that the
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as lead agency has prepared a Final
Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) in connection with the approval
of a lease between the Campo Band of Diegueno Mission Indians (Tribe)
and Terra-Gen Development Company, LLC (Terra-Gen), to construct and
operate a wind energy generation project on the Campo Indian
Reservation (Reservation). This Notice of Availability (NOA) also
announces that the FEIS is now publicly available for 30 days.
DATES: The waiting period on the FEIS ends on March 11, 2020. The FEIS
is available online at: www.CampoWind.com.
ADDRESSES: Commenters may mail or hand-deliver written comments to the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pacific Regional Office, 2800 Cottage Way,
Sacramento, California 95825. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section
of this notice for further directions on submitting comments. The FEIS
is available for review online at www.CampoWind.com and at:
County of San Diego Public Library--Campo, 31356 Highway
94, Campo, CA 91906.
County of San Diego Public Library--Pine Valley, 28804 Old
Highway 80, Pine Valley, CA 91962.
BIA Pacific Regional Office, 2800 Cottage Way, Sacramento,
California 95825.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dan (Harold) Hall, Regional
Archeologist BIA Pacific Region Branch, by telephone at (916) 978-6041
or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background on the Process
II. Background on the Project
III. Alternatives
IV. Environmental Impact Analysis
V. Public Comment Procedures
VI. Authority
I. Background on the Process
Public review of the DEIS is part of the administrative process for
the evaluation of the authorization of the Tribe's lease of trust land
in eastern San Diego County, California. Terra-Gen proposes to
construct and operate a wind energy generation facility in the lease
area. A Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS was published in the Federal
Register on November 11, 2018 (83 FR 58784) and posted on the
www.CampoWind.com website. A public notice announcing the proposed
action and the scoping meeting was published in the San Diego Business
Journal on November 26, 2018 and the San Diego Union-Tribune on
November 21, 2018. The BIA held a public scoping meeting for the
proposed project on December 6, 2018 at the Campo Indian Reservation
Tribal Hall, 36190 Church Road, Campo, California. A Notice of
Availability (NOA) that the Draft EIS had been prepared was published
in the Federal Register on May 24, 2019. The 45-day public review
period on the Draft EIS began on May 24, 2019 and ended on July 8,
2019. A public meeting was noticed and held on June 19, 2019 at 6 p.m.
at the Campo Indian Reservation Tribal Hall, 36190 Church Road, Campo,
California.
II. Background on the Project
The proposed action consists of BIA approval of a lease between the
Tribe and Terra-Gen, to construct and operate a renewable energy
generation project for 25 years on the Reservation, with the
possibility of a 13-year extension for a total of 38 years. The lease
would allow Terra-Gen to develop and operate a wind energy generation
facility in the lease area. The project consists of the following
components: (A) Up to 60 wind turbines of approximately 4.2 megawatts
(MW) capacity and approximately 586 feet in total height; (B) access
roads, including approximately 15 miles of new roads and approximately
15 miles of improved existing roads; (C) electrical collection and
communication system; (D) project collector substation; (E) operations
and maintenance facility; (F) meteorological towers; (G) water
collection and septic system; (H) temporary concrete batch plant; (I)
temporary staging areas; (J) on-reservation portion of the generation
tie line (gen-tie line); and (K) boulder brush facilities (components
on private lands including a portion of the gen-tie line, a high-
voltage substation, a switchyard, and access roads).
III. Alternatives
The following alternatives are considered in the EIS:
(1) Alternative 1, 252 MW--would include 60 turbines producing
approximately 4.2 MW each, for a total production of approximately 252
MW. Up to 76 possible turbine sites have been evaluated, of which only
60 could be constructed under the lease. Total turbine height of
approximately 586 feet.
(2) Alternative 2, 202 MW--would include a reduction in the
Project's footprint, number of turbines, and generating capacity of
approximately 20%, with 48 turbines that would produce approximately
4.2 MW each, for a total production of approximately 202 MW.
(3) Alternative 3, No Action Alternative--would entail the BIA not
approving the proposed lease agreement between the Tribe and Terra-Gen
for the construction of a wind energy project on the Reservation.
A wide range of additional alternatives were considered by the BIA but
not carried forward for detailed analysis in the EIS. The following
alternatives were not analyzed in the EIS because they either did not
meet the purpose and need of the project or were not considered
technically feasible or economically feasible or cost-effective: Mixed
renewable generation (wind and solar), minimal build-out, off-
reservation location, reduced capacity turbines, distributed
generation.
IV. Environmental Impact Analysis
The EIS analyzes the potential environmental impacts to 13
different resource categories, including:
Land Resources
Water Resources
Air Quality
Biological Resources
GHG Emissions and Climate Change
Cultural Resources
Socioeconomic Conditions
Resource Use Patterns
Traffic and Transportation
Noise
Visual Resources
Public Health and Safety
Cumulative Scenario and Impacts.
V. Public Comment Procedures
BIA is noticing the 30-day waiting period for the Final EIS, in
accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations for
implementing
[[Page 7580]]
NEPA and the DOI's NEPA regulations. Comments should include the
commenting party's name, return address, and the caption: ``FEIS
Comments, Campo Wind Energy Project,'' on the first page of written
comments. See the DATES section of this notice for the deadline and
ADDRESSES section of this notice for where to send your comments.
Public comment availability: Comments, including names and
addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the
BIA address shown in the ADDRESSES section, during regular business
hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Commenting parties should be aware, before including their address,
phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information
in a comment, that comments may be made publicly available at any time.
While a commenting party may request in its comment that identifying
information be withheld from public review, the BIA cannot guarantee
that this will occur.
VI. Authority
This notice is published pursuant to Sec. 1506.10(a)(2) of the
Council of 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 the NEPA of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C 4371, et seq.), and is in the exercise of
authority delegated to the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs by 209 DM
8.
Dated: February 4, 2020.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2020-02669 Filed 2-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P