83 FR 58784 - Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Campo Wind Energy Project, San Diego, California

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 225 (November 21, 2018)

This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, with the Campo Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation (Tribe) as a cooperating agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Campo Wind Project, located on the Campo Indian Reservation (Reservation) in southeastern San Diego County, approximately 60 miles east of San Diego, California. Construction of the Campo Wind Project is subject to BIA approval of a lease and sublease, which, as proposed, is a major Federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended. A brief description of the proposed action is provided below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. This notice also announces a public scoping meeting to identify potential issues, concerns, and alternatives to be considered in the EIS. The scoping process will include notice to the public and Federal, State, local, and Tribal agencies of the proposed action.

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58784-58785]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-25412]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Indian Affairs

[190A2100DD/A0A501010.999900 253G]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for 
the Proposed Campo Wind Energy Project, San Diego, California

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of intent.

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SUMMARY: This notice advises the public that the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs (BIA), as lead agency, with the Campo Band of Diegueno Mission 
Indians of the Campo Indian Reservation (Tribe) as a cooperating 
agency, intends to gather information necessary for preparing an 
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Campo Wind 
Project, located on the Campo Indian Reservation (Reservation) in 
southeastern San Diego County, approximately 60 miles east of San 
Diego, California. Construction of the Campo Wind Project is subject to 
BIA approval of a lease and sublease, which, as proposed, is a major 
Federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(NEPA), as amended. A brief description of the proposed action is 
provided below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section. This notice 
also announces a public scoping meeting to identify potential issues, 
concerns, and alternatives to be considered in the EIS. The scoping 
process will include notice to the public and Federal, State, local, 
and Tribal agencies of the proposed action.

DATES: Written comments on the scope and implementation of this 
proposal must arrive by 11:59 p.m. on December 21, 2018. The date and 
location of the public hearing on the EIS will be announced at least 15 
days in advance through a notice to be published in local newspapers 
(The San Diego Union Tribune and The San Diego Business Journal) and 
online at: www.campowind.com.

ADDRESSES: The public may mail or hand-carry written comments to Ms. 
Amy Dutschke, Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800 Cottage 
Way, Sacramento, California 95825. You may also submit comments through 
email to Mr. Dan (Harold) Hall, Acting Chief, Division of 
Environmental, Cultural Resource Management and Safety, Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, at [email protected]. More information can be found 
in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.
    Please include the commenter's name, title, return address, and 
``EIS Scoping Comments, Campo Wind Project, San Diego County, 
California,'' on the first page of the written comments. The scoping 
meeting will be held at Campo Indian Reservation Tribal Hall, 36190 
Church Road (BIA Road 10), Campo, California 91906.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Dan (Harold) Hall Acting Chief, 
Division of Environmental, Cultural Resource Management and Safety, 
Bureau of Indian Affairs, by telephone at (916) 978-6041, or by email 
at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Project Description

    BIA approval is required for a lease and sublease to build and 
operate a commercial wind power generation facility capable of 
generating up to 252 megawatts (MW) of electricity.
    The project would include the generation of up to 252 MW consisting 
of up to 60 turbines. The project study area covers approximately 2,200 
acres on the Campo Indian Reservation. The total area that would be 
disturbed by the project would be substantially less. The turbines 
proposed for the project would range from 2.5 MW to 4.2 MW in maximum 
output rating per turbine, tubular steel towers, with a rotor diameter 
of approximately 450 feet, a hub height of approximately 361 feet, and 
a total height of turbine (highest point) of approximately 586 feet. 
Each turbine would be set on a concrete foundation. Turbines would be 
connected by an underground electrical collection system to a project 
collector substation. The collector substation would be sited on 
approximately 2 acres and would consist of a graveled, fenced area 
containing transformer and switching equipment and an area for vehicle 
parking. A new 230 kV overhead generation transmission line would be 
constructed, on the Campo Indian Reservation and partially outside on 
private lands, from the project collector substation on the Reservation 
to a San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) substation/switchyard that would 
be constructed on private lands adjacent to the Sunrise Powerlink 
northeast of the Reservation. The SDG&E substation/switchyard and 
related transmission line improvements will be subject to approval by 
the County of San Diego,

[[Page 58785]]

California, Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the BIA. Other 
required facilities, all located within the Reservation, would include: 
Up to three permanent meteorological towers; temporary material laydown 
areas during construction; temporary staging and construction trailer 
areas; an operations and maintenance building; underground cabling; 
telecommunications; new access roads and improvements to portions of 
existing roads; and a temporary concrete batch plant. The wind power 
generation facility would operate year-round for a minimum of 25 years.
    The EIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts of the 
construction and operation of a proposed wind generation facility, 
including access roads, a collector substation, as well as a 
substation/switchyard and transmission facilities. The EIS will be 
prepared in accordance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); the Council 
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508); 
Department of the Interior regulations (43 CFR part 46); and the BIA 
NEPA Handbook (59 IAM 3-H) and will also be compliant with the 
California Environmental Quality Act in accordance with Public 
Resources Code section 21083.7. A reasonable range of alternatives to 
the proposed action including a no-action alternative, will be analyzed 
in the EIS. The range of issues and alternatives included will be based 
on comments and information received during the scoping process. This 
notice initiates the public scoping process to identify alternatives 
and relevant issues associated with the proposed project.

Directions for Submitting Public Comments

    During the public scoping meetings, the public may submit written 
and verbal comments. Verbal comments given at the scoping meetings will 
have the same merit as written comments and will be addressed equally. 
The public may mail or hand-carry written comments to Ms. Amy Dutschke, 
Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs, 2800 Cottage Way, 
Sacramento, California 95825. Please include the commenter's name, 
title, return address and ``EIS Scoping Comments, Campo Wind Project, 
San Diego County, California,'' on the first page of the written 
comments.

Public Availability of Comments

    Comments, including names and addresses of respondents, will be 
available for public review at the BIA address shown in the ADDRESSES 
section of this notice, during business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, except holidays. Individual respondents may 
request confidentiality. If a commenter wishes us to withhold 
commenter's name and/or address from public review or from disclosure 
under the Freedom of Information Act, the commenter must state this 
prominently at the beginning of the written comment. Such requests will 
be honored to the extent allowed by the law, however there is a 
possibility that the comment(s) may be made publicly available at any 
time.

Authority

    This notice is published in accordance with sections 1501.7 
(Scoping), 1506.6 (Public involvement), and 1508.22 (Notice of Intent) 
of the CEQ Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508) and section 
46.305 of the Department of the Interior Regulations (43 CFR part 46), 
implementing the procedural requirements of NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.), and is in the exercise of authority delegated to the 
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs by 209 DM 8.

    Dated: November 9, 2018.
Tara Sweeney,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.
[FR Doc. 2018-25412 Filed 11-20-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4337-15-P