Getting Involved
The public comment period for the Supplement to the Draft Solar Programmatic EIS (Draft Solar PEIS) closed on January 27, 2012.
Public Involvement Opportunities: Comments on the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS
Public involvement is a key component of the PEIS process. The BLM and the DOE (the Agencies) encourage all interested parties to continue to participate in the Solar PEIS by submitting their comments and questions concerning the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS, attending public meetings, and reading PEIS publications and related materials.
The public comment period for the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS began on October 28, 2011 and closed on January 27, 2012. Responses to comments received on the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS, as well as to comments received on the Draft Solar PEIS, will be included in the Final PEIS.
Public Meetings on the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS
The Agencies held 5 public meetings on the Supplement to the Draft Solar PEIS between November 2011 and January 2012. Visit the Public Meetings page to view the locations and dates that the meetings took place.
Comment Period Schedule
The Agencies will consider all comments on the Supplement that were received or postmarked by January 27, 2012. Comments received or postmarked after that date will be considered to the extent practicable; however, there is no guarantee that such comments will be considered in preparation of the Final PEIS.
Past Public Involvement Opportunities: Draft Solar PEIS Comments
The public comment period for the Draft Solar PEIS began on December 17, 2010 and closed on May 2, 2011. Responses to comments received on the Draft Solar PEIS will be included in the Final Solar PEIS.
Public Meetings
The Agencies held 14 public meetings on the Draft Solar PEIS in February and March 2011. Visit the Public Meetings page to browse/download transcripts of the meetings and to view the locations and dates that the meetings took place.
Past Public Involvement Opportunities: Public Scoping
Public Scoping Process
During the original scoping period (May 29-July 15, 2008), the Agencies invited interested Federal and State agencies, organizations, Native American tribes, and members of the public to submit comments or suggestions to assist in identifying significant environmental issues and in determining the scope of this PEIS. The public scoping period started with the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register and ended July 15, 2008.
On June 30, 2009 the Agencies announced the availability of maps that identify 24 tracts of BLM-administered land for in-depth study for solar development. The Agencies issued a Federal Register Notice of Availability to inform the public of the availability of the maps. In a second round of public scoping (June 30-September 14, 2009), the Agencies solicited public comments for consideration in identifying environmental issues, existing resource data, and industry interest with respect to the proposed SEZs.
Original Public Scoping Comments Available
Public comments received during the original scoping period, including individual letters, comments received electronically, and oral comments presented at scoping meetings, are available on this Web site, under Search Scoping Comments.
Proposed Solar Energy Zone Scoping Comments Available
Public scoping comments received in response to publication of the proposed solar energy zone maps are available for downloading/browsing. During the second comment period, the Agencies solicited input on environmental issues, existing resource data, and industry interest with respect to the proposed SEZs.
Scoping Summary Report Available
The scoping summary report, entitled Summary of Public Scoping Comments Received during the Scoping Period for the Solar Energy Development Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is available. The report presents a summary of the comments that were received during the original scoping period. The Agencies used this report and the individual comments to inform the scope of analysis in the PEIS. No scoping summary report was published for the second public scoping period.
Public Scoping Meetings
During the original scoping period, public scoping meetings for the Solar Energy Development PEIS were held in eleven cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in June and July 2008. No public meetings were held for the second public scoping period.
Transcripts of the scoping meetings, as well as materials presented at the scoping meetings, including agency presentations, technical summaries prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and a project factsheet, are available on the Documents page.
Cooperating Agencies
The U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are co-lead agencies on the Solar PEIS.
There are twenty cooperating agencies: U.S. Department of Defense; U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; U.S. National Park Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, South Pacific Division; Arizona Game and Fish Department; California Energy Commission; California Public Utilities Commission; Nevada Department of Wildlife; N-4 Grazing Board, Nevada; Southern Nevada Water Authority; Utah Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office; Clark County, Nevada, including Clark County Department of Aviation; Dona Ana County, New Mexico; Esmeralda County, Nevada; Eureka County, Nevada; Lincoln County, Nevada; Nye County, Nevada; and Saguache County, Colorado.
For More Information
For more information on public participation in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, please consult the following publications:
For further information on the Solar Energy Development Programmatic EIS, please contact:
Jane Summerson
Department of Energy
Washington Office
jane.summerson@ee.doe.gov
Phone: (202) 287-6188
or
Shannon Stewart
Bureau of Land Management
Washington Office
shannon_stewart@blm.gov
Phone: (202) 912-7219
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