xs7hy9e06w?redirect_to=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wo/blm_library/tech_notes.Par.29872.File.dat/TN_444

2.4.2 Minimization
2.4.2.1 Summary of Programmatic
Design Features to be Applied
The Final Solar PEIS identified
a comprehensive suite of required
programmatic design features
that would avoid and/or minimize
adverse impacts to resources, either
onsite or through consultation/
coordination with potentially
affected entities. The programmatic
design features are extensive
and are listed in their entirety in
Appendix A of the Solar PEIS ROD
(BLM 2012). These programmatic
design features include required
actions to avoid or minimize
impacts to all of the potentially
impacted resources listed in
Section 2.3.
2.4.2.2 Other Required Impact
Minimization Measures and/or
Stipulations
The Final Solar PEIS also
includes SEZ-specific design
features for all of the SEZs. The SEZspecific
design features identified
for the Dry Lake SEZ were the
following:
Water resources: Groundwater
analyses suggest that full buildout
of dry-cooled and wet-cooled
technologies is not feasible; for
mixed-technology development
scenarios, any proposed dry- or
wet-cooled projects should use
water conservation practices.
Wildlife (mammals): The
fencing around the solar energy
development should not block
the free movement of mammals,
particularly big game species.
Cultural resources:
Coordination with the trail
administration for the Old
Spanish Trail and Old Spanish Trail
Association is recommended for
identifying potential mitigation
strategies for avoiding or
minimizing potential impacts on
the congressionally designated
Old Spanish National Historic Trail
and also on any remnants of the
National Register of Historic Placeslisted
sites associated with the
Old Spanish Trail/Mormon Road
that may be located within the
SEZ. Avoidance of the Old Spanish
Trail site within the southeastern
portion of the proposed SEZ is
recommended.
Native American concerns:
The Moapa Band of Paiute Indians
have specifically requested formal
government-to-government
contact when construction or
land management projects are
being proposed on and/or near
the Muddy River, Virgin River,
Colorado River, Arrow Canyon
Range, Potato Woman, and Apex
Pleistocene Lake. Compensatory
programs of mitigation could be
implemented to provide access
to and/or deliberately cultivate
patches of culturally significant
plants within the Dry Lake SEZ
or on other public lands nearby
where tribes have ready access.
The BLM should consider assisting
the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians
with the preparation of forms to
nominate identified sacred places
as traditional cultural properties,
if it is found that all the proper
eligibility requirements are met.
Some additional minimization
measures would likely be identified
during preparation of a NEPA
analysis to support a competitive
lease offering within the SEZ.
These measures would also be
incorporated into the lease offering
as stipulations. For example, if
any archaeological sites are found
during the cultural resource
inventory (see text box titled Dry
Lake Cultural Resources) and are
determined to be eligible for
listing in the National Register of
Historic Places, onsite mitigation
or avoidance strategies will be
considered during consultation
with the BLM-Nevada state historic
preservation officer and affected
tribes to minimize impacts on
significant cultural resources.
2.4.3 Regional Mitigation
Identifying the impacts of
utility-scale solar development
that may warrant regional
mitigation involves three steps:
(1) identifying all the potential
impacts; (2) identifying which
of the potential impacts are
likely to be unavoidable (i.e., the
impacts that cannot be mitigated
onsite by avoidance and/or the
implementation of design features
meant to minimize the impact);
and (3) identifying which of the
unavoidable impacts may warrant
regional mitigation by taking into
consideration the condition and
trend of the impacted resources
in the region and how they could
be affected by the unavoidable
impacts.
As part of the Dry Lake SRMS
process, a team of specialists from
the BLM Southern Nevada District
Office (called the interdisciplinary
team) reevaluated the potential
impacts of solar development that
were described in the Final Solar
PEIS (see Section 2.3) in the light
of available data specific to the
SEZ area. This team, along with
other BLM subject matter experts
and Argonne National Laboratory
subject matter experts, followed
the methodology presented in
Sections 2.4.3.1 and 2.4.3.2 for first
identifying unavoidable impacts
from solar development in the
SEZ, and then for identifying the
unavoidable impacts that may
warrant regional mitigation.
REGIONAL MITIGATION STRATEGY FOR THE DRY LAKE SOLAR ENERGY ZONE • TECHNICAL NOTE 444 • 21