Borderlands Wind Project DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT and RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Borderlands Wind Project DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT DOI-BLM-NM-A020-2019-0002-RMP-EIS Cooperating Agencies: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. Air Force; Pueblo of Zuni; New Mexico State Land Office; and Catron County, New Mexico Estimated Lead Agency Total Costs Associated with Developing and Producing this Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendment $416,000. Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Resource Management Plan Amendment DOI-BLM-NM-A020-2019-0002-RMP-EIS Borderlands Wind Project Prepared by U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Socorro Field Office 901 South Highway 85 Socorro, NM 87801-4168 July 17, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Borderlands Wind Project Draft EIS and RMP Amendment July 17, 2019 Table of Contents Page i LIST OF TABLES Table 2-1. Proposed Wind Turbine Generator Model Characteristics ........................................................ 2-2 Table 2-2. Comparison of Proposed Action, Alternative 1, and Alternative 2 ............................................ 2-3 Table 2-3. Construction Use Areas and Activities ....................................................................................... 2-9 Table 2-4. Proposed Action Area Location: Township, Range, Section ................................................... 2-12 Table 2-5. Alternatives 1 and 2 Area Location: Township, Range, Section .............................................. 2-12 Table 3-1. Determination and Rationale for Detailed Analysis by Resource/Use ..................................... 3-2 Table 3-2. Communities within the BLWP Region ..................................................................................... 3-10 Table 3-3. Special Management Designations in the Region ................................................................... 3-12 Table 3-4. Proposed Action and Alternatives Land Ownership ................................................................ 3-14 Table 3-5. Grazing Allotments within BLM Lands in the BLWP Area ....................................................... 3-17 Table 3-6. Authorized ROW within the Proposed Action Area and Alternatives 1 and 2 Area1 ............... 3-21 Table 3-7. BLWP SESA’s Population by Ethnic and Racial Groups .......................................................... 3-29 Table 3-8. Income and Poverty Rates based on 2013-2017 ACS 5-year Estimates within the BLWP SESA.............................................................................................................................. 3-29 Table 3-9. BLWP SESA’s Housing Characteristics .................................................................................... 3-30 Table 3-10. Economic Contributions of Fishing, Hunting and Trapping in Catron County and NM ....... 3-31 Table 3-11. Reduction in Grazing Allotments within the Proposed Action and Alternatives 1 and 2 Areas............................................................................................................................. 3-34 Table 3-12. Cultural Resource Sites within Proposed Action Permanent and Temporary Disturbance Areas and 100-foot Temporary Disturbance Buffer ......................................... 3-44 Table 3-13. Cultural Resource Sites within Alternatives 1 and 2 Permanent and Temporary Disturbance Areas and 100-foot Temporary Disturbance Buffer ......................................... 3-47 Table 3-14. BLM Sensitive Species and Other Species of Concern—Plants ............................................ 3-53 Table 3-15. BLM Sensitive Species and Other Species of Concern—Terrestrial Wildlife Species .......... 3-54 Table 3-16. BLM Sensitive Species and Other Species of Concern—Bird and Bat Species .................... 3-55 Table 3-17. Land Cover Types within the Proposed Action and Alternatives 1 and 2 Areas .................. 3-58 Table 3-18. Proposed Action and Alternatives 1 and 2 Project Components within Gunnison's Prairie Dog Colonies and Buffer Zones .............................................................. 3-65 Table 3-19. Proposed Action and Alternatives 1 and 2 Impacts to Individual Gunnison’s Prairie Dog Colonies ............................................................................................................... 3-65 Table 3-20. Sensitive Viewing Platform Selection Rationale ................................................................... 3-79 Table 3-21. BLM Visual Resource Management Class Objectives ........................................................... 3-90 Table 3-22. BLM Conformance by KOP for the Proposed Action ............................................................. 3-91 Table 3-23. BLM Conformance by KOP for Alternatives 1 and 2 .............................................................. 3-92 Table 3-24. Cumulative Effects Analysis Areas (CEAAs) .......................................................................... 3-93 Table 3-25. Projects in the Cumulative Effects Analysis Areas ............................................................... 3-94 Table 3-26. SFO RMP Proposed Amendment for the Proposed Action ................................................. 3-102 Borderlands Wind Project Draft EIS and RMP Amendment July 17, 2019 Table of Contents Page ii Table 3-27. SFO RMP Proposed Amendment for Alternatives 1 and 2 .................................................. 3-102 Table 3-28. Comparison of Alternatives .................................................................................................. 3-105 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1-1. BLWP Area .................................................................................................................................. 1-2 Figure 2-1. Proposed Action ....................................................................................................................... 2-11 Figure 2-2. Alternatives 1 and 2 ................................................................................................................. 2-13 Figure 3-1. Special Management Designations in the Region ................................................................. 3-13 Figure 3-2. Avoidance Area and Authorized ROWs within the Proposed Action Area ............................ 3-15 Figure 3-3. Avoidance Area and Authorized ROWs within the Alternatives 1 and 2 Area ....................... 3-16 Figure 3-4. Grazing Allotments within the Proposed Action Area ............................................................ 3-18 Figure 3-5. Grazing Allotments within the Alternatives 1 and 2 Area ...................................................... 3-19 Figure 3-6. Military Low-Level Flightpaths (MTRs) ................................................................................... 3-22 Figure 3-7. Census Block Groups and CDPs for the BLWP SESA ............................................................. 3-28 Figure 3-8. Land Cover Types within the Proposed Action Area .............................................................. 3-59 Figure 3-9. Land Cover Types within the Alternatives 1 and 2 Area ......................................................... 3-60 Figure 3-10. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog Colonies within the Proposed Action Area .................................... 3-62 Figure 3-11. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog Colonies within the Alternatives 1 and 2 Area ............................... 3-63 Figure 3-12. VRM Classes within the Proposed Action Area .................................................................... 3-80 Figure 3-13. VRM Classes within Alternatives 1 and 2 Area .................................................................... 3-81 Figure 3-14. Visual Analysis Units within the Proposed Action Area ....................................................... 3-82 Figure 3-15. Visual Analysis Units within Alternatives 1 and 2 Area ....................................................... 3-83 Figure 3-16. Key Observation Point Locations for the Proposed Action ................................................. 3-84 Figure 3-17. Key Observation Point Locations for Alternatives 1 and 2 .................................................. 3-85 Figure 3-18. VRM RMP Amendment within the Proposed Action .......................................................... 3-100 Figure 3-19. VRM RMP Amendment within Alternatives 1 and 2 ........................................................... 3-101 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: Summary Tables of Potential Major Agency Authorities and Actions and Other Applicable Federal Laws, Regulations, and Policies (Tables A-1 and A-2) Appendix B: Best Management Practices and Design Elements Appendix C: Borderlands Wind Project Plan of Development Appendix D: Federally Listed Species with the Potential to Occur and Critical Habitats Occurring in the BLWP Area (Table D-1) Appendix E: Special Status Species with the Potential to Occur in the BLWP Area (Table E-1) Appendix F: Visual Resource Analysis Documentation Appendix G: National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Programmatic Agreement Borderlands Wind Project Draft EIS and RMP Amendment July 17, 2019 Table of Contents Page iii INTRODUCTION Borderlands Wind, LLC (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC) is proposing development of an up to 100-megawatt (MW) wind-powered electrical generation facility in western Catron County, New Mexico (NM). The Borderlands Wind Project (BLWP) would be built near the Arizona (AZ)–NM border south of U.S. Highway 60 (U.S. 60) (Figure 1-1). Wind