September 3, 2010
California

BLM plans public meetings on Walker Ridge wind park proposal, extends comment period

Written by Lake County News reports, Lake County News, lakeconews.com 3 September 2010

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management will hold public meetings in September to gather input on issues that should be addressed in environmental documents for the proposed Walker Ridge Wind Project in Lake and Colusa counties.

Public scoping meetings for the environmental impact statement (EIS) will be held Sept. 9 in Lakeport at the Lake County Supervisors chamber at the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., and Sept. 10 in Colusa at the Natural Resources Conservation Service office, 100 Sunrise Blvd.

Both meetings will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“We are holding the meetings to gather public comment on issues, concerns and opportunities that should be considered in the analysis of the proposed action,” said Rich Burns, BLM Ukiah Field Office manager.

“In order to provide time for the public to develop comments following the scoping meetings, we are extending the public comment period 30 days to Sept. 28,” he said.

AltaGas Renewable Energy Pacific Inc. has applied for a right-of-way (ROW) authorization covering 8,157 acres on public lands for a 70-megawatt wind energy project with an interconnection to the Pacific Gas & Electric’s 115-kilovolt (kV) distribution system.

As proposed by the company, the wind project could include 29 to 42 wind turbine generators, an underground electrical collection system, a substation, a 115-kV overhead transmission line, an interconnect station, an operations and maintenance building, and access roads.

Information on the status of the proposal is available at http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/ukiah.html.

Additional opportunities for public participation and formal comment will occur when the draft EIS is issued.

BLM has started a potential list of issues to be addressed in the analysis at a minimum, including social and economic impacts; traffic impacts; ground and surface water quantity and quality impacts; plant and animal species impacts, including special status species; impacts to cultural resources; and visual resource impacts.

For further information and/or to have your name added to the mailing list, contact Bethney Lefebvre, Ukiah Field Office, 2550 North State St., Ukiah, Calif., 95482, phone 707-468-4000, fax 707-468-4027, or email ukiahwindeis@ca.blm.govThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/09/03/blm-plans-public-meetings-on-walker-ridge-wind-park-proposal-extends-comment-period/