Bureau of Land Management's Decision Record and Environmental

Each set of stipulations provides positive and effective measures/requirements for control of
weeds, invasive and non-invasive species that Ormat must adhere to throughout all aspects of
their projects; from construction through site closure and reclamation. These stipulations
include, but are not limited to: weed inventory and monitoring throughout the project area and
over the life of the project; re-seeding of all disturbed areas with certified weed free seed;
monitoring of the reclamation/re-seeding to ensure weeds do not invade the reclamation; a weed
treatment program from project initiation through site reclamation, to name a few.
Please refer to the five (5) sets of lease stipulations in Appendix A of the EA for the complete
requirements related to weeds, invasive and non-invasive species Ormat must adhere to as part of
the projects’ approval.
Mr. and Mrs. Mike Stremler
As noted by Mr. and Mrs. Stremler’s comments, the Nevada Division of Water Resources
(NDWR) is responsible for regulating water use within Nevada.
The BLM, in approving the Jersey Valley Geothermal Project must ensure the BLM approvals
and Ormat’s use of water are in concert with Nevada Water Law and all NDWR regulations and
requirements. In addition, geothermal waters are leasable minerals under the Minerals Leasing
Act of1920 as amended as well as the Geothermal Lease Act of 1970; and as such are subject to
BLM oversight and regulation.
Lease stipulations for all geothermal leases held by Ormat in the Jersey Valley specifically
require that the Jersey Valley Hot Springs will not be affected by Ormat’s operations.
With respect to certain specific comments from the Stremlers:
While the statement is true that the Stemlers have a RS 2339 right-of-way (ROW), the current
diversion and associated pipeline have been constructed outside the boundaries of that approved
RS 2339 ROW and must be brought into compliance with current BLM regulations;
The BLM does have law enforcement authority on the Public Lands of Nevada. Since the Jersey
Hot Springs are located on BLM Public Lands, BLM law enforcement authority extends to those
hot springs.
The comment from Page 45, Section 3.4.2.1 is taken out of context. During consultation with
various Native American groups and Tribes, hot springs have been noted numerous times by
these groups as having important cultural, spiritual and traditional values. The concern, as
presented, is the likelihood of increased visitation to both the Jersey Valley and Buffalo Hot
Springs sights by construction workers and plant personnel (and additional publics as the
primary roads are maintained and improved). Increased visitation and use, with respect to Native
American concerns, indicate a likelihood of increased disturbance, trash and in general, a
lowering of the values the Native Americans groups and Tribes state are important. During
consultation with the Native American groups and tribes, various comments included a request