PALEONTOLOGICAL TECHNICAL STUDY GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT Solar Partners XI, LLC Prepared for: Bureau of Land Management – Southern Nevada District Office 4701 North Torrey Pines Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89130 Panorama Environmental, Inc. 1 Embarcadero Ctr., Suite 740 San Francisco, CA 94111 Prepared by: Paleo Solutions, Inc. 911 S. Primrose Ave., Unit N Monrovia, CA 91016 Geraldine Aron, M.S. – Principal Investigator Mathew Carson, M.S. – Report Author PSI Report: NV18ClarkPAN01R September 5, 2018 OFFICES 911 S. Primrose Ave., Unit N, Monrovia, CA 91016 Denver, CO; Redlands, CA; Oceanside, CA; Bend, OR (562) 818-7713 CERTIFICATIONS [email protected] • www.paleosolutions.com DBE • SBE • WBE • SDB • WOSB • EDWOSB PANORAMA ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. & BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT PSI REPORT NO.: NV18CLARKPAN01R This page intentionally left blank. 2 PANORAMA ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. & BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT PSI REPORT NO.: NV18CLARKPAN01R TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 Executive Summary ...................................................................................................... 5 2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 7 2.1 Project Location ............................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Project Description .......................................................................................................................... 7 3.0 Definition and Significance of Paleontological Resources ......................................... 14 4.0 Laws, Ordinances, Regulations, and Standards .......................................................... 15 4.1 Federal Regulatory Setting ............................................................................................................ 15 4.1.1 National Environmental Policy Act (16 USC Section 431 et seq.) ................................... 15 4.1.2 Federal Land Management and Policy Act (FLMPA) (43 USC 1701) ............................. 15 4.1.3 Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) .......................................................... 15 4.1.4 Code of Federal Regulations, Title 43 ................................................................................... 16 4.2 State Regulatory Setting ................................................................................................................ 16 4.3 County Regulatory Setting ............................................................................................................ 16 4.4 Permits ............................................................................................................................................. 16 5.0 Methods ....................................................................................................................... 16 5.1 Analysis of Existing Data ............................................................................................................. 17 5.2 Field Survey ..................................................................................................................................... 17 5.3 Criteria For Evaluating Paleontological Potential ..................................................................... 17 6.0 Analysis of Existing Data ............................................................................................ 19 6.1 Literature Search ............................................................................................................................ 19 6.1.1 Bird Spring Formation (PMb) ................................................................................................. 19 6.1.2 Muddy Creek Formation, Fine-grained Facies (Tmf) ......................................................... 20 6.1.3 Unnamed Sedimentary Deposits (T2k, QTk, QTa, Q2a, Q1a, Qct) ................................ 20 6.1.4 Young Alluvium and Artificial Fill (Qa, af) .......................................................................... 22 6.2 Paleontological Record Search Results ....................................................................................... 26 7.0 Field Survey .................................................................................................................26 7.1 Geology ........................................................................................................................................... 26 7.2 Paleontology ................................................................................................................................... 27 8.0 Impacts to Paleontological Resources ........................................................................40 9.0 Recommendations .......................................................................................................40 References ................................................................................................................................42 Appendix A. Museum Record Search Results .........................................................................46 Appendix B. BLM Permit and Fieldwork Authorization .........................................................48 Appendix C. Location and PLSS Information .........................................................................54 Appendix D. Fossil Locality Forms .........................................................................................57 TABLES Table 1. Gemini Solar Project Summary .......................................................................................................... 8 Table 2. Potential Fossil Yield Classification (BLM, 2016) ......................................................................... 17 3 PANORAMA ENVIRONMENTAL, INC. & BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT GEMINI SOLAR PROJECT PSI REPORT NO.: NV18CLARKPAN01R FIGURES Figure 1. Project location map. ........................................................................................................................ 10 Figure 2. Project overview map – northwestern area .................................................................................. 11 Figure 3. Project overview map – northeastern area .................................................................................... 12 Figure 4. Project overview map – southern area .......................................................................................... 13 Figure 5. Project area geologic map – northwestern area ............................................................................ 23 Figure 6. Project area geologic map – northeastern area ............................................................................. 24 Figure 7. Project area geologic map – southern area.................................................................................... 25 Figure 8. Ground disturbances in the Project area, including electrical towers and Crystal Substation. View west. ........................................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 9. Overview of Project area moderate topographic relief and ground cover. View northwest. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 10. Hill near Crystal Substation with exposures of Bird Spring Formation. View east. ............ 30 Figure 11. Outcrop of the Bird Spring Formation located on top of a hill near the Crystal Substation. View east. ............................................................................................................................................................ 30 Figure 12. Outcrop of Muddy Creek Formation, fine-grained facies. View east.................................... 31 Figure 13. Plan view of Muddy Creek Formation, fine-grained facies surficial deposits, consisting of silt and fine-grained sand. ................................................................................................................................. 31 Figure 14. Exposed slabs of calcrete (T2k), partially overlain by other surficial sediments. View east. ............................................................................................................................................................................... 32 Figure 15. Calcrete deposits (T2k) in outcrop and intercalated alluvial deposits (Qa) in the southwestern study areas. View north. .......................................................................................................... 32 Figure 16. Plan view of exposure with calcrete deposits (T2k). ................................................................. 33 Figure 17. Early Pleistocene- to Pliocene-age calcrete soil deposits (QTk). View north. ..................... 33 Figure 18. Plan view of early Pleistocene- to Pliocene-age calcrete soil deposit (QTk) clasts exposed at the surface....................................................................................................................................................... 34 Figure 19. Surface exposure of early Pleistocene- to late Pliocene-age sidestream alluvium deposits (QTa). View west. ............................................................................................................................................. 34 Figure 20. Exposed early to middle Pleistocene-age