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LAS VEGAS – The Bureau of Land Management has published a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register for the Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment and Final Environmental Impact Statement analyzing the environmental impacts of the proposed Gemini Solar Project, to be located on BLM-administered land northeast of Las Vegas. If approved, the project would generate up to 690 megawatts of electricity and create up to 2,000 jobs at peak construction.

Solar Partners, XI LLC (Arevia) proposes to construct, operate and eventually decommission the Gemini Solar Project, which consists of an approximately 690-megawatt alternating current solar photovoltaic power generating facility on roughly 7,100 acres of BLM administered land located about 33 miles northeast of Las Vegas and directly south of the Moapa River Indian Reservation. The Notice of Availability opens a 30-day protest period that will end on January 27, 2020.

The Hybrid (BLM Preferred) Alternative would involve solar development utilizing a combination of traditional development methods in solar array areas (on roughly 2,500 acres) and mowing that leaves vegetation and natural land contours in place on the remaining solar array areas (on approximately 4,600 acres).

The BLM received 114 substantive letters and 1,147 individual substantive comments during the 90-day public comment period. Comments on the Draft RMP Amendment and EIS were considered and incorporated as appropriate into the Proposed RMP Amendment and Final EIS. Public comments did not result in the addition of substantive revisions to the Draft RMP Amendment and EIS that were published in June 2019. Responses to all comments are located in Appendix L of the Final EIS.

Protests will be accepted from any person who participated in the planning process and has an interest which is or may be adversely affected by the approval or amendment of a resource management plan may protest such approval or amendment. A protest may raise only those issues which were submitted for the record during the planning process. The protest shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Director. The protest shall contain: (i) The name, mailing address, telephone number and interest of the person filing the protest; (ii) A statement of the issue or issues being protested; (iii) A statement of the part or parts of the plan or amendment being protested; (iv) A copy of all documents addressing the issue or issues that were submitted during the planning process by the protesting party or an indication of the date the issue or issues were discussed for the record; and (v) A concise statement explaining why the State Director's decision is believed to be wrong. The BLM will issue a Record of Decision approximately within 90 days after the publication of the Notice of Availability of the FEIS. The Record of Decision will be also be announced in a Notice of Availability in the Federal Register.

The FEIS and other relevant documents have been made available at https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/100498/510.

Protests must be in writing and mailed to one of the following addresses:

Regular mail:  Director (210), Attn: Protest Coordinator, P.O. Box 71383, Washington, D.C. 20024-1383

Overnight delivery:  Director (210), Attn: Protest Coordinator, 20 M Street SE, Room 2134LM, Washington, DC  20003

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can request to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, no guarantees can be made that we will be able to do so.

For more information, please contact, Nicholas Pay, Acting Energy & Infrastructure Project Manager, at 702-515-5284.