DOCKET Commissioner James D
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State Of California The Resources Agency of California Memorandum Date: January 12, 2009 Telephone: (916) 654-4679 To: Commissioner Jeffrey Byron, Presiding Member DOCKET Commissioner James D. Boyd, Associate Member 07-AFC-5 From: California Energy Commission – John Kessler, Project Manager DATE 01/12/10 1516 Ninth Street Sacramento, CA 95814-5512 RECD. 01/12/10MAR. 0 Subject: CDFG’s DRAFT DESERT TORTOISE MITIGATION OPTIONS - IVANPAH SOLAR ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM (07-AFC-5) Exhibit 310 Energy Commission staff is providing for the record a summary of California Department of Fish and Game’s draft desert tortoise mitigation options for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. The draft summary includes information on general areas in which the applicant could consider land acquisition for habitat preservation, and a list of potential specific management measure options. Docket (07-AFC-5) Webworks POS (electronic) PROOF OF SERVICE ( REVISED 11/23/09 ) FILED WITH ORIGINAL MAILED FROM SACRAMENTO ON 1/12/10 MS Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System 07-AFC-5 From: "Scott Flint" <[email protected]> To: "Dick Ratliff" <[email protected]>, <[email protected]> Date: 1/12/2010 11:48 AM Subject: Ivanpah SEGS Mitigation Options Table from 12-30-2008 Attachments: ISEGS Mitigation Options (DFG 123008)_SAFv2.doc John: I was asked by the hearing officer to provide the table I discussed in my testimony yesterday. It contains information on general areas in which to consider acquisition, and a list of potential specific management measure options. We have been working in good faith continuously with the applicant and permitting agencies since third quarter 2008 to outline feasible mitigation and provide a method to secure their obligations to provide them cost certainty, based on these recommendations, which are consistent with those in the CEC FSA and those being considered by BLM. Susan Sanders advised that she also provided this information in her rebuttal testimony. Scott A. Flint Environmental Program Manager Ecosystem Conservation Division California Department of Fish and Game Phone: (916) 653-9719 FAX: (916) 653-2588 [email protected] DRAFT Desert Tortoise (DT) COMPENSATION MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS Version 2 IVANPAH SOLAR ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM (07-AFC-05) December 30, 2008 Nexus to other Nexus to Desert Proposed Mitigation Biological Tortoise (DT) Impacts Resource Impacts Land Acquisitions CEC/DFG: Direct compensation for loss Additional compensation 1) Acquire private parcels as listed below for BLM of existing DT population may be required for 2) Acquire private parcels containing desert tortoise habitat in other and an estimated 4,065 impacts to rare plants, priority areas of the Mojave Desert acres of DT habitat will waters of the state, and A. Ivanpah, Shadow and/or Piute Valley areas require an estimated cumulative project B. West Mojave Desert area acquisition of 8,130 acres of impacts. Some direct suitable land. In addition, compensation may BLM: implementation of a occur for those species 1) Acquire private parcels containing desert tortoise habitat in the combination of of concern listed in the Ivanpah Valley or Shadow Valley portions of the BLM DWMA “Enhancement Actions” PSA’s “Biological 2) Acquire private in-holdings in critical habitat portions of the listed below is required, the Resources Table 4: Mojave National Preserve combination of activities is Summary of 3) Acquire private parcels containing desert tortoise habitat in the subject to agency approval Impact/Mitigation” Piute Valley portion of the BLM’s DWMA. approval of the agencies. depending on the This compensation does not specific location and include avoidance and habitat type of those minimization measures, or comp. lands acquired the costs associated with for DT. those requirements. Draft Mitigation Options – ISEGS Page 1 December 30, 2008 DRAFT Desert Tortoise (DT) ALTERNATIVE MITIGATION OPTIONS Nexus to Desert Tortoise (DT) Nexus to other Biological Proposed Mitigation Impacts Resource Impacts Enhancement Actions Fencing: Decrease in DT mortality. Need to Potential decrease in mortality of • I-15 from Nipton Road to Ivanpah Dry Lake evaluate potential increase to small mammals and reptiles and • U.S. Highway 95 through Piute Valley from the CA/NV line adult/juvenile survivorship. Additional adjacent off-highway vehicle to Goffs Road fencing to be evaluated as potential destruction to habitat and plants. • Nipton Road between CA/NV border and I-15 improvement to habitat up to ½ mile Additional analysis needed. • Fence boundary for the community of Nipton from road. Some fencing will be required • Fence boundary for the community of Goffs as minimization for project impacts as part of DT Translocation Plan. Habitat Restoration: Decrease in DT mortality associated with Potential decrease in mortality of Provide funding for restoration, including vertical mulching, use of closed or illegal routes; increase in small mammals and reptiles and of closed routes in Shadow Valley, Piute Valley, and habitat quality for DT; potential increase adjacent off-highway vehicle Ivanpah Valley; or other important habitat areas for DT to adult/juvenile survivorship based on destruction to habitat and plants; Exotic plant removal (e.g. tamarisk from washes/springs) improvement in forage species with potential increase in biodiversity Identify and clean up destroyed or damaged habitat areas, natural reseeding and removal of exotics. of habitat. Additional analysis which may include illegal dumpsites, illegal routes, etc., in Additional evaluation needed. needed. Shadow Valley, Piute Valley, and Ivanpah Valley. critical habitat portions of the Mojave National Preserve, or other important habitat areas for DT Retire Grazing Allotments/Removal of Burros: Increase in habitat quality for DT; Increase in habitat quality; Purchase assoc. private lands or specific grazing allotments and retire potential increase to adult/juvenile potential increase in biodiversity them in-perpetuity survivorship based on improvement in of habitat and plant species with forage species with natural reseeding and natural reseeding and Removal of burros from the Clark Mountain and Dead Mountain Herd minimization of spread of exotics. minimization of spread of Management Areas to be included in this analysis. Additional evaluation needed. exotics. Additional evaluation needed. Draft Mitigation Options – ISEGS Page 2 December 30, 2008 BEFORE THE ENERGY RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 1516 NINTH STREET, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 1-800-822-6228 – WWW.ENERGY.CA.GOV A1B PPLICATION FOR CERTIFICATION DOCKET NO. 07-AFC-5 FOR THE IVANPAH SOLAR ELECTRIC PROOF OF SERVICE GENERATING SYSTEM (Revised 11/23/09) U APPLICANTU Raymond C. Lee, Field Manager Solar Partners, LLC Bureau of Land Management John Woolard, 1303 South U.S. Highway 95 Chief Executive Officer Needles, CA 92363 1999 Harrison Street, Suite #500 [email protected] Oakland, CA 94612 Becky Jones Todd A. Stewart, Project Manager California Department of Ivanpah SEGS Fish & Game [email protected] 36431 41st Street East E-mail Preferred Palmdale, CA 93552 UU [email protected] Steve De Young, Project Manager Ivanpah SEGS. INTERVENORSU 1999 Harrison Street, Ste. 2150 Oakland, CA 94612 California Unions for Reliable Energy (“CURE”) [email protected] UH Tanya A. Gulesserian Marc D. Joseph UAPPLICANT’SU CONSULTANTS Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo John L. Carrier, J. D. 601 Gateway Boulevard, Ste 1000 2485 Natomas Park Dr. #600 South San Francisco, CA 94080 Sacramento, CA 95833-2937 [email protected] U [email protected] U Western Watersheds Project COUNSELU FOR APPLICANT Michael J. Connor, Ph.D. Jeffery D. Harris P.O. Box 2364 Ellison, Schneider Reseda, CA 91337-2364 & Harris L.L.P. [email protected] 2600 Capitol Avenue, Ste. 400 Sacramento, CA 95816-5905 Gloria Smith, Joanne Spalding [email protected] Sidney Silliman, Devorah Ancel U Sierra Club INTERESTED AGENCIES 85 Second Street, 2nd Fl. California ISO San Francisco, CA 94105 [email protected] U E-mail Service Preferred Tom Hurshman, [email protected] UH [email protected] U Project Manager [email protected] UH Bureau of Land Management [email protected] 2465 South Townsend Ave. Montrose, CO 81401 U [email protected] INTERVENORS CONT. ENERGY COMMISSION Joshua Basofin, CA Rep. JEFFREY D. BYRON Defenders of Wildlife Commissioner and Presiding Member 1303 J Street, Ste. 270 [email protected] Sacramento, CA 95814 E-mail Service Preferred JAMES D. BOYD [email protected] H Vice Chairman and Associate Member Basin and Range Watch [email protected] H Laura Cunningham Kevin Emmerich Paul Kramer P.O. Box 70 Hearing Officer Beatty, NV 89003 [email protected] [email protected] John Kessler Center for Biological Diversity Project Manager Lisa T. Belenky, Sr. Attorney [email protected] Ileene Anderson, Public Lands Desert Director 351 California Street, Ste. 600 Dick Ratliff San Francisco, CA 94104 Staff Counsel E-mail Service Preferred dH [email protected] [email protected] \ H [email protected] Public Adviser [email protected] California Native Plant Society Greg Suba, Tara Hansen & Jim Andre 2707 K Street, Suite 1 Sacramento, California, 95816-5113 E-mail Service Preferred [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]