[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 22 (Friday, February 1, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 6200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1763]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Land Management
[1220-AL]
Notice of Availability of Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area
Final Environmental Impact Statement, California
AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of
1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.),the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Final Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) for the Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area, Imperial
County, managed by the El Centro Field Office.
DATES: BLM will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) 30 days after the date
of publication of this notice (40 CFR 1506.10(b)(2)).
ADDRESSES: A copy of the FEIS has been sent to affected Federal, State,
and local government agencies and interested parties. The document will
be available electronically at the following Truckhaven Geothermal
Leasing Area, Imperial County EIS Web site: http://www.ca.blm.gov/elcentro. Copies of the FEIS will be available for public inspection at
the following locations:
Bureau of Land Management, California State Office, 2800
Cottage Way, Suite W-1834, Sacramento, CA 95825.
Bureau of Land Management, El Centro Field Office, 1661 S.
4th Street, El Centro, CA 92243.
Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District,
22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553
FOR FURTHER IINFORMATION CONTACT: John Dalton, Truckhaven Geothermal
Leasing Area EIS Project Manager, at (951) 691-5200, Bureau of Land
Management, 22835 Calle San Juan De Los Lagos, Moreno Valley, CA 92553;
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Truckhaven Geothermal Leasing Area
encompasses approximately 14,731 acres of Federal minerals in western
Imperial County, California, north of State Route 78 and generally west
and south of County Highway S-22. The area is part of the California
Desert Conservation Area. The main issues addressed in the Final EIS
are geothermal resource leasing, recreation, and special status
species. Three alternatives are analyzed in the Final EIS: (1) No
action, which would not lease any geothermal resources; (2) leasing
only lands with existing noncompetitive lease applications; and (3) the
proposed action, which would offer all BLM managed lands within this
area for lease, subject to certain stipulations and mitigation measures
to be applied at the development stage. Comments on the Truckhaven
Geothermal Leasing Area Draft EIS received from the public and via
internal BLM review were incorporated into the Final EIS. These
comments resulted in corrections, clarifying text, and the addition of
new data used in the analysis of impacts. The Final EIS includes
measures to mitigate impacts to off-highway vehicle restriction. The
Final EIS addresses comprehensive, long-range decisions for the use and
management of geothermal resources in the planning area and management
of other resources and uses potentially affected by geothermal resource
management decisions. The reasonable foreseeable development scenario
for the area projects a potential for two 25-Megawatt geothermal power
plants, with a total surface disturbance of 502.25 acres of the 14,731
acres proposed for leasing that are administered by the BLM. The ROD
for this project will address only BLM's decisions for public lands and
resources administered by the BLM.
Alan Stein,
Acting Field Manager.
[FR Doc. E8-1763 Filed 1-31-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P