Draft Environmental Impact Statement For The Proposed Mohave County Wind Farm Project PDF Download

BP Wind Energy North America Inc., submitted right-of-way applications to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) to construct, operate, maintain and decommission a wind energy facility and associated infrastructure in the White Hills area of northwestern Mohave County, Arizona. BP Wind Energy applied to Western Area Power Administration to interconnect the proposed project to one of two transmission lines crossing the Project Area. The proposed wind farm site would occupy 38,099 acres of public land managed by the BLM, Kingman Field Office, and 8,960 acres of Federal land managed by the Reclamation. The proposed Project would produce up to 500 MW of power. This Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) analyzes in detail the environmental effects of five alternatives: Alternative A - proponents proposed action, Alternative B - a reduced wind farm site footprint that encompasses approximately 30,872 acres of BLM-managed land and 3,848 acres of land managed by Reclamation, Alternative C - a reduced wind farm site footprint that encompasses approximately 30,178 acres of BLM-managed land and 5,124 acres of land managed by Reclamation, Alternative D - No Action, in which BLM would not authorize construction and operation of the wind energy facility, Alternative E - a reduced wind farm site footprint that encompasses approximately 35,329 acres of BLM-managed land and 2,781 acres of land managed by Reclamation. These alternatives were developed in response to issues and concerns raised during scoping and in response to comments on the Draft EIS. The agencies preferred alternative is Alternative E - a reduced footprint that combines elements of Alternatives A and B. BLM, Reclamation, and Western will not issue Records of Decision, making a decision on the Project or interconnection, for at least 30 calendar days following the date the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency publishes its Notice of Availability in the Federal Register. For information about the project or to view the Final EIS, visit http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/energy/wind/mohave.html.