GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT Resource Management Plan Amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement Volume 1: Chapters 1 – 4
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U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management DOI------ BLM NV S010 2018 0051 EIS GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT Resource Management Plan Amendment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement Volume 1: Chapters 1 – 4 EIS Costs to- Date: $4,494,065 i The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for the stewardship of our public lands. The BLM’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN AMENDMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR THE GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT Responsible Agency: United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Document Status: Draft (X) Final ( ) Abstract: Solar Partners XI, LLC is proposing to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission an approximately 690-megawatt photovoltaic solar electric generating facility and associated generation tie-line and access road facilities (Project) on approximately 7,100 acres of federal lands administered by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The Project would be located approximately 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas and south of the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada. The expected life of the Project is 30 years. Solar Partners XI, LLC acquired an existing 44,000-acre right-of- way application filed in 2008 by BrightSource Energy, LLC for the APEX Solar Thermal Power Generation Facility. The approximately 7,100-acre Project would be located within the 44,000-acre right- of-way application area. The 1998 Las Vegas Resource Management Plan (RMP) classifies the right-of-way application area as a Class III Visual Resource Management (VRM) area, which lies adjacent to Class II areas (due to the presence of the Old Spanish National Historic Trail, Muddy Mountain Wilderness Area, and Bitter Springs Back Country Byway in the Project vicinity). The Project would amend the VRM Class III objective presented in the 1998 Las Vegas RMP to a VRM Class IV objective, which would allow for management activities that require major modifications of the existing landscape character. The BLM has prepared this Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (RMPA/EIS) with input from cooperating agencies,1 participating agencies,2 and American Indian tribes to address the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the Project. The cooperating agencies include the BLM, United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife, Nevada Division of Forestry, and Clark County. The United States National Park Service is a participating agency. This RMPA/EIS evaluates the Proposed Action, two alternatives to the Proposed Action, and the No Action Alternative. The Proposed Action and the alternatives involve development on approximately 7,100 acres of land within the 44,000-acre right-of- way application area; however, each action/alternative differs in how the facility would be constructed. The Proposed Action would involve solar development utilizing traditional development methods, which include disk and roll to remove vegetation in the solar array areas. The Hybrid Alternative would involve solar development utilizing traditional development methods in solar array areas (on approximately 2,500 acres) and mowing that leaves vegetation and natural land contours in place on the remaining solar array areas (on approximately 4,600 acres). The All Mowing Alternative would involve development of the facility utilizing only mowing in solar array areas. Where mowing is utilized under each alternative, 1 Cooperating agencies are any federal agency, other than the lead agency, that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental impact that could occur with implementation of a proposed project or alternative. 2 Participating agencies support lead and cooperating agencies in the execution of their authorizations and environmental review processes. desert tortoise would be reintroduced into the remaining habitat in the solar array areas after the completion of construction. The No Action Alternative would be a continuation of existing conditions. The alternatives were developed using input from the public, stakeholders, and participating and cooperating agencies. Major environmental and planning issues addressed include impacts on special status plant and animal species, including the State of Nevada Critically Endangered/Fully Protected threecorner milkvetch and the federally listed Endangered Mojave desert tortoise. Impacts on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail, which passes through the Project area, are also addressed. Review Period: Comments on the Draft RMPA/EIS for the Gemini Solar Project will be accepted for 90 calendar days following publication of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted through the ePlanning website, listed below. All comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on September 5, 2019. For further information, please contact: Herman Pinales, Project Manager (702) 515-5010 Bureau of Land Management, Southern Nevada District Office 4701 N. Torrey Pines Drive Las Vegas, NV 89130 Email: [email protected] ePlanning Website: https://go.usa.gov/xntTO United States Department of the Interior BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT Southern Nevada District Field Office, Las Vegas Field Office, 4701 North Torrey Pines Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89130 www.blm.gov/nv April 5, 2019 Dear Reader: Enclosed for your review and comment is the Draft Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) (RMPA/EIS) for the Gemini Solar Project (Project). The Draft RMPA/EIS was prepared by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. The Project includes, through a right-of-way application, the construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of an approximately 690-megawatt photovoltaic solar electric generating facility and associated generation tie-line and access road facilities on approximately 7,100 acres of federal lands administered by the BLM. Approval of the right-of-way application by the BLM would also require an amendment to the 1998 Las Vegas Resource Management Plan to make the Visual Resources Management classification in the application area compatible with solar and utility development. In preparing the Draft RMPA/EIS, the BLM has developed a range of options to resolve resource conflicts by considering: (1) issues raised through public scoping and consultation and coordination with participating and cooperating agencies and American Indian tribes, (2) issues raised by agency resource specialists, and (3) applicable planning criteria. This process has resulted in the development of two alternatives in addition to the Proposed Action. The No Action Alternative is also addressed, which constitutes a continuation of current land management in the application area. These alternatives are described in Chapter 2 of the Draft RMPA/EIS. The BLM has identified the Hybrid Alternative as the preferred alternative. As described in the RMPA/EIS, this alternative involves maintaining approximately 65 percent of existing desert tortoise habitat to allow tortoises back into the Project area after construction of the solar arrays. Chapter 3 presents the affected environment and analyzes the potential impacts on resources or resource uses from implementation of the alternatives. Chapter 4 describes the BLM’s consultation and coordination efforts throughout the process. The BLM encourages the public to review and provide comments on the Draft RMPA/EIS. Of importance is feedback concerning the adequacy of the alternatives and any new information that would help the BLM produce the Final RMPA/EIS. In developing the Final RMPA/EIS, which is the next phase of the planning process, the BLM, as the decision-maker, may select various components from each of the alternatives analyzed in the Draft RMPA/EIS for the purpose of creating a Project that best meets the need to protect the environmental resource values of the Project area while providing for multiple uses. The Draft RMPA/EIS is available on the Project website at: https://go.usa.gov/xntTO. Hard copies are also available for public review at BLM offices within the Planning Area. 1 CONTENTS Volume 1 Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. ES-1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... ES-1 Purpose and Need................................................................................................................................ ES-1 Applicant’s Objective ......................................................................................................................... ES-1 Proposed Action .................................................................................................................................. ES-1 Alternatives ......................................................................................................................................... ES-2 Public Involvement