1Appendix D of the Draft Solar PEIS presented information about WGA and state-level
2 initiatives, including maps showing how designations from these initiatives related to the BLM’s
3proposed designations for solar energy development, as presented in the Draft Solar PEIS. The
4information and maps presented in that appendix have not been revised to reflect BLM’s new
5 proposed designations; however, the variance process presented in Section 2.2.2.3.1 of this Final 6 Solar PEIS does include ongoing coordination with state and regional transmission planning
7 efforts, including the WGA initiative, as applicable.
8
9
10 1.6.2 Related Initiatives
11
12Many ongoing and recently completed efforts address how best to enable
13environmentally responsible renewable energy development and its associated transmission
14needs in the Western United States. Examples of those initiatives are identified below. All
15demonstrate, to some degree, the challenges in identifying appropriate areas for renewable
16energy and transmission and underscore the importance of collaboration among agencies and
17stakeholders.
18
19
20 1.6.2.1 Energy Corridor Designation
21
22In accordance with Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, DOE and the
23BLM worked with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and DoD to prepare the Programmatic
24Environmental Impact Statement, Designation of Energy Corridors on Federal Land in the
2511 Western States, which evaluates issues associated with the designation of energy corridors
26on federal lands in 11 western states, including the 6 states included in this PEIS plus Idaho,
27Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming (DOE and DOI 2008). Energy corridors are
28land corridors in which energy transport facilities (e.g., electric transmission lines, natural gas
29pipelines) could be sited. On the basis of the West-wide Energy Corridor PEIS, the BLM and
30USFS have amended their respective land use plans to designate a series of energy corridors
31across the western states. The lands identified in these amendments are within the planning areas
32that are included within the scope of this Solar PEIS.
33
34The designation of energy corridors can help to facilitate energy development by
35identifying preferred locations for ROWs for development and construction of new electric
36transmission lines on federally managed lands. Information regarding the West-wide Energy
37Corridor PEIS (Corridor PEIS) is available at http://corridoreis.anl.gov. The development of
38transmission infrastructure will be a component of all solar energy projects. The Corridor PEIS
39provides standards and guidelines for transmission development that should make reviews and
40approvals of transmission projects located in established corridors more efficient.
41
42
Final Solar PEIS |
1-25 |
July 2012 |
1 |
1.6.2.2 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives and BLM’s Proposed Landscape |
2 |
Approach |
3 |
|
4 |
The DOI is establishing a national network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives |
5(LCCs). LCCs are management–science partnerships composed of private, state, and federal
6representatives who agree to establish a shared vision of landscape health and sustainability.
7 The LCCs will facilitate collaboration, provide science-based information and tools needed for 8 developing resource management strategies, and promote coordinated partnership actions at the 9 landscape and local levels. The LCCs and the BLM’s proposed landscape approach (discussed
10below) are complementary efforts that are anticipated to become more fully integrated as they
11progress.
12
13The BLM’s proposed landscape approach consists of five interconnected components that
14provide a framework for integrating science and management:
15 |
|
|
16 |
• Rapid Ecoregional Assessments (REAs); |
|
17 |
|
|
18 |
• |
Ecoregional Direction; |
19 |
|
|
20 |
• |
Field Implementation; |
21 |
|
|
22 |
• Monitoring for Adaptive Management; and |
|
23 |
|
|
24 |
• |
Science Integration. |
25 |
|
|
26REAs were initiated in 2010 for seven ecoregions in the western United States and
27Alaska that contain substantial amounts of public land, including the Mojave Basin and Range
28and Sonoran Desert ecoregions in the Solar PEIS six-state study area (for an explanation and
29maps of the ecoregions in the six-state study area, see Appendix I); these REAs are scheduled for
30completion in 2012. The REAs will synthesize existing information about resource conditions
31and trends within an ecoregion, highlight and map areas of high ecological value, and gauge their
32potential risk from climate change, wildfires, invasive species, energy development (including
33renewable energy), and urban growth. Ecoregional Direction will use the results of the REAs,
34with input from BLM staff, partner agencies, stakeholders, and tribes, to identify key
35management priorities for the public lands within an ecoregion. Field Implementation will
36include the establishment of mitigation measures for authorized land uses, amending land use
37plans (where necessary), and monitoring.
38
39Management priorities established through Ecoregional Direction, Field Implementation,
40and Adaptive Management components of the landscape approach may influence where and how
41solar energy is sited in the future, by identifying additional areas of low resource conflict where
42solar energy should be prioritized or areas from which solar energy development should be
43excluded. The Solar Energy Program is designed to adapt and conform to new management
44direction and land use plan amendments that result from REAs.
45
46
Final Solar PEIS |
1-26 |
July 2012 |
1 |
1.6.2.3 California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan |
2 |
|
3The DRECP is the largest landscape-level planning effort in California, covering
4 approximately 22.5 million acres (91,054 km2) of federal and nonfederal land in the Mojave
5and Colorado (Sonoran) Deserts of southern California. The planning area covers portions of
6seven counties, including Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Inyo, Riverside, Imperial, and
7 San Diego. Approximately 10 million acres (40,469 km2) of the DRECP are administered by the 8 BLM California Office under the CDCA plan and under the Bishop, Caliente/Bakersfield, and
9Eastern San Diego County RMPs. The purpose of the DRECP is to advance state and federal
10species and ecosystem conservation goals in the deserts of southern California, while also
11facilitating the timely permitting of renewable energy projects on federal and nonfederal lands.
12Federal and state agencies (including the BLM) are cooperating in this planning effort and have
13formed REAT. See Section 2.2.2.2.6 for a discussion on how the Solar PEIS and DRECP
14planning efforts relate.
15
16
17 1.6.2.4 Arizona Restoration Design Energy Project
18
19Arizona’s Restoration Design Energy Project (RDEP) was chartered in 2009 by the
20Secretary of the Interior to support efforts for sustainable energy and to pilot the concept of
21using disturbed and low-conflict lands for renewable energy. The RDEP is a state-level planning
22effort that analyzes and considers the identification of lands for renewable energy development
23(solar and wind) at any scale. The RDEP allows a look across all ownership and jurisdictional
24management of lands. It addresses the nexus of public lands with renewable energy potential to
25the generation and transmission system and provides information to policy and decision makers
26in Arizona for siting and development. The RDEP will inform logical utility-scale siting
27(beyond just opportunities on public lands) and determine which public lands fit best. See
28Section 2.2.2.2.6 for a discussion on how the Solar PEIS and RDEP planning effort relate.
29
30
31 1.6.2.5 Wind Energy Development PEIS
32
33On June 24, 2005, the BLM issued a Notice of Availability for its Final Programmatic
34Environmental Impact Statement on Wind Energy Development on BLM-Administered Lands
35in the Western United States, Including Proposed Amendments to Selected Land Use Plans
36(Wind PEIS) (BLM 2005b). This PEIS evaluated a program of policies and mitigation measures
37applicable to wind energy development on BLM-administered lands and included amendments
38for appropriate BLM land use plans. The wind energy development program implemented by the
39ROD for the Wind PEIS is similar to BLM’s proposed program for solar energy development
40being developed under this PEIS. The Notice of Availability for the Wind PEIS ROD was
41published in Volume 71, page 1768 of the Federal Register on January 11, 2006; information
42regarding the Wind Energy Programmatic EIS is available at http://windeis.anl.gov.
43
44
Final Solar PEIS |
1-27 |
July 2012 |
1 |
1.6.2.6 Geothermal PEIS |
2 |
|
3In October 2008, the BLM and USFS jointly issued the Final Programmatic
4Environmental Impact Statement for Geothermal Leasing in the Western United States,
5 evaluating geothermal energy development in 12 western states, including Alaska, Arizona, 6 California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and
7 Wyoming (BLM and USFS 2008). On December 17, 2008, the BLM signed a ROD to facilitate
8geothermal leasing of the federal mineral estate in these states. The decision (1) allocates
9BLM lands as open to be considered for geothermal leasing or closed for geothermal leasing
10and identifies those National Forest System lands that are legally open or closed to leasing;
11(2) develops an RFDS that indicates a potential for 12,210 MW of electrical generating capacity
12from 244 power plants by 2025, plus additional direct uses of geothermal resources; and
13(3) adopts stipulations, best management practices, and procedures for geothermal leasing and
14development. The BLM’s ROD implemented these actions through amendments to 114 BLM
15land use plans. Information regarding the Geothermal Energy Programmatic EIS is available at
16http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/energy/geothermal/geothermal_nationwide.html.
17
18
191.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE FINAL PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL
20IMPACT STATEMENT
21
22The agencies have decided to prepare a condensed Final Solar PEIS in order to reduce the
23length of the document and facilitate an efficient review by cooperating agencies and the public.
24Several key chapters of the Draft Solar PEIS have been revised extensively and are presented in
25full in this Final Solar PEIS (this applies to Chapters 1, 2, 6, 7, 15, and 16, and Appendices A, B,
26C, and J). Other sections of this Final Solar PEIS are presented as updates to the Draft Solar
27PEIS (Chapters 3 through 5, 8 through 14, Appendices D through I, and Appendices K through
28N). For the updated sections, the information presented supplements, but does not replace, the
29information provided in the corresponding section of the Draft Solar PEIS. Each of these updated
30sections also includes an errata table for corrections to errors that were identified in the Draft
31Solar PEIS.
32
33The Final Solar PEIS is intended to be used in conjunction with the Draft Solar PEIS,
34which is being distributed electronically together with the Final PEIS.11 Except for the SEZ
35Action Plans provided in Sections C.1 through C.6 of the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS,
36this Final Solar PEIS replaces information provided in the Supplement. The SEZ Action Plans
37will be used to help guide ongoing SEZ characterization efforts; as new SEZ data become
38available, the data will be accessible through the Solar PEIS project Web site
39(http://solareis.anl.gov).
40
41In the following summary, the sections that are presented in full are indicated with the
42words “PRESENTED IN FULL” in brackets following the description; sections prepared as
43updates rather than presented in full are indicated with the word “UPDATE” in brackets
44following the description. In addition, there are two new sections, Appendix O
11 The Draft Solar PEIS is also available in its entirety on the Solar PEIS project Web site (http://solareis.anl.gov).
Final Solar PEIS |
1-28 |
July 2012 |
1 |
(Intermittent/Ephemeral Stream Evaluation and Groundwater Modeling Analyses), and the |
2 |
Comments and Responses Document (issued as a separate volume of the Final Solar PEIS). |
3 |
|
4 |
Volume 1: |
5 |
|
6• Chapter 1 discusses the purpose and need for the agencies’ actions; the scope
7 |
of analysis; cooperating agencies, and the relationship of the proposed actions |
||
8 |
to other programs, policies, and plans. [PRESENTED IN FULL] |
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
10 |
• Chapter 2 describes the alternatives assessed in this PEIS. These alternatives |
|
|
11 |
present different options for BLM’s management of solar energy development |
||
12 |
on BLM-administered lands and for DOE’s strategy for support of solar |
|
|
13 |
energy projects. The chapter includes discussions of the RFDS and describes |
|
|
14 |
alternatives considered but eliminated from further analysis in the PEIS. |
|
|
15 |
[PRESENTED IN FULL] |
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
17 |
• Chapter 3 presents information describing solar energy technologies and |
|
|
18 |
projects, including descriptions of typical activities conducted during each |
|
|
19 |
phase of development, regulatory requirements, health and safety aspects, |
|
|
20 |
hazardous materials and waste management, transportation considerations, |
|
|
21 |
and relevant existing agency guidelines on impact mitigation. Information |
|
|
22 |
presented in this chapter is applicable to BLM’s proposed Solar Energy |
|
|
23 |
Program, DOE’s proposed strategy, and Western’s future project-specific |
|
|
24 |
analyses. [UPDATE] |
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
26 |
• Chapter 4 provides a general description of the existing conditions and trends |
||
27 |
of resources and resource uses in the six-state study area that may be affected |
||
28 |
by implementing BLM and DOE’s proposed alternatives. The description of |
|
|
29 |
the affected environment provides the basis for identifying potential impacts |
|
|
30 |
in sufficient detail to support the programmatic nature of the Solar PEIS. |
|
|
31 |
Information presented in this chapter also is applicable to Western’s future |
|
|
32 |
project-specific analyses. [UPDATE] |
|
|
33 |
|
|
|
34 |
• Chapter 5 describes both potential impacts common to all types of utility-scale |
||
35 |
solar energy power production facilities as well as technology-specific |
|
|
36 |
impacts. Impacts from required transmission interconnections are also |
|
|
37 |
described. The chapter identifies programmatic-level impact mitigation |
|
|
38 |
measures that the BLM evaluated in order to determine appropriate mitigation |
||
39 |
requirements for its proposed Solar Energy Program. Information presented in |
||
40 |
this chapter is applicable to Western’s future project-specific analyses. |
|
|
41 |
[UPDATE] |
|
|
42 |
|
|
|
43 |
• Chapter 6 analyzes the potential impacts of BLM’s alternatives described in |
|
|
44 |
Chapter 2. These analyses evaluate the effectiveness of the alternatives at |
|
|
45 |
meeting BLM’s established program objectives and summarize the potential |
|
|
46 |
environmental consequences of the alternatives, including the expected |
|
|
|
Final Solar PEIS |
1-29 |
July 2012 |
1 |
cumulative impacts of solar energy development on BLM-administered lands |
2 |
and other NEPA considerations. [PRESENTED IN FULL, EXCEPT |
3 |
SECTION 6.5 UPDATE] |
4 |
|
5• Chapter 7 describes the potential impacts of DOE’s alternatives described in
6 |
Chapter 2, including cumulative impacts and other NEPA considerations. |
7 |
These analyses evaluate the effectiveness of the alternatives at facilitating and |
8 |
mitigating potential impacts from solar energy development supported by the |
9 |
DOE on BLM-administered lands and other federal, state, private, and tribal |
10 |
lands. [PRESENTED IN FULL] |
11 |
|
12 |
• Chapter 14 describes the consultation and coordination activities conducted in |
13 |
the course of this PEIS, including public scoping, government-to-government |
14 |
consultation, coordination with BLM state and field offices, and interagency |
15 |
consultation and coordination. It also discusses the potential adoption of the |
16 |
program and strategy for solar energy development analyzed in the PEIS by |
17 |
other organizations, such as other federal agencies, tribes, or other entities |
18 |
responsible for the approval of utility-scale solar energy projects. [UPDATE] |
19 |
|
20 |
• Chapters 15 and 16 provide the list of preparers and a glossary, respectively. |
21 |
[PRESENTED IN FULL] |
22 |
|
23 |
Volumes 2 through 5: |
24 |
|
25 |
• Chapters 8 through 13 present the affected environment and impact |
26 |
assessment (including cumulative impacts) for solar energy development in |
27 |
SEZs proposed in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and |
28 |
Utah, respectively. These chapters also identify SEZ-specific mitigation |
29 |
measures, where appropriate, that would be implemented in addition to the |
30 |
programmatic-level mitigation measures identified in Chapter 5. [UPDATES] |
31 |
|
32 |
Volume 6: |
33 |
|
34 |
• Appendix A presents BLM’s proposed Solar Energy Program elements, |
35 |
including summaries of interim solar energy development policies |
36 |
(Section A.1); proposed programmatic design features (Section A.2); |
37 |
proposed SEZ-specific design features (Section A.3); BLM’s framework |
38 |
for developing a monitoring and adaptive management plan (Section A.4); |
39 |
BLM’s framework for developing regional mitigation plans (Section A.5); |
40 |
and the proposed SEZ identification protocol (Section A.6) [PRESENTED IN |
41 |
FULL] |
42 |
|
43 |
• Appendix B provides information on BLM approved and pending solar energy |
44 |
ROW applications. [PRESENTED IN FULL] |
45 |
|
Final Solar PEIS |
1-30 |
July 2012 |
1• Appendix C contains a list of each of the BLM land use plans that are
2 |
proposed for amendment through this PEIS, the proposed changes, and the |
3 |
amount of land that would be available for ROW application. [PRESENTED |
4 |
IN FULL] |
5 |
|
6• Appendix D gives a summary of the activities of other regional and state
7 |
plans and programs related to solar energy development and/or transmission |
|
|
8 |
planning, including maps showing how designations from some of these |
|
|
9 |
initiatives relate to BLM’s proposed designations for solar energy |
|
|
10 |
development. [UPDATE] |
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
12 |
• Appendix E describes the methodologies that were used to construct the |
|
|
13 |
RFDS and to project the amount of solar power generation over the next |
|
|
14 |
20 years. [UPDATE] |
|
|
15 |
|
|
|
16 |
• Appendix F provides an overview of solar energy technologies. [UPDATE] |
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
18 |
• Appendix G provides an analysis showing locations in the study area that |
|
|
19 |
have location-constrained transmission (i.e., locations that are greater than |
|
|
20 |
25 mi [40 km] from existing transmission lines and/or designated energy |
|
|
21 |
transmission corridors). Section G.4 provides the description of the |
|
|
22 |
transmission analysis methodology for the SEZs [UPDATE; EXCEPT |
|
|
23 |
SECTION G.4 PRESENTED IN FULL] |
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
25 |
• Appendix H contains information about federal and state regulations and |
|
|
26 |
statutes that may be applicable to solar energy development. [UPDATE] |
|
|
27 |
|
|
|
28 |
• Appendix I contains detailed descriptions of ecoregions in the six-state study |
|
|
29 |
area, state maps showing where the potentially developable solar resources |
|
|
30 |
occur within the ecoregions, and the land cover types and descriptions for the |
||
31 |
proposed SEZs. [UPDATE] |
|
|
32 |
|
|
|
33 |
• Appendix J provides information on federally listed species (i.e., species listed |
||
34 |
under the ESA) and BLM-designated sensitive species that occur on |
|
|
35 |
BLM-administered lands that are included under the three alternatives |
|
|
36 |
considered in the PEIS. Information in the appendix includes listing status, |
|
|
37 |
suitable habitat types, and occurrence of these species in alternative areas. |
|
|
38 |
[PRESENTED IN FULL] |
|
|
39 |
|
|
|
40 |
• Appendix K documents consultation correspondence for the PEIS, including |
|
|
41 |
government-to-government consultation among the DOE, BLM, and Native |
|
|
42 |
American tribes, and cultural resource consultations. [UPDATE] |
|
|
43 |
|
|
|
44 |
• Appendix L documents the data and methodology used for geographic |
|
|
45 |
information system (GIS) mapping in this PEIS. [UPDATE] |
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
|
Final Solar PEIS |
1-31 |
July 2012 |