Notice2023-00299
Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision for Badger State Solar, LLC, Project
Primary source
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Published
January 10, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentRural Utilities Service
Abstract
Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), has issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to meet its responsibilities in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA, RUS Environmental Policies and Procedure, and other applicable environmental requirements related to providing financial assistance for Badger State Solar's, LLC proposed Alternating Current solar project (Project) in Wisconsin. The Administrator of RUS has signed the ROD, which was effective upon signing. This ROD concludes RUS environmental review process in accordance with NEPA and RUS, Environmental Policies and Procedures. The ultimate decision as to loan approval depends on the conclusion of the environmental review process plus financial and engineering analyses. Issuance of the ROD will allow these reviews to proceed. The ROD is not a decision on the Badger State Solar's loan application and is not an approval of the expenditure of federal funds.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 10, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1346-1348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-00299]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Utilities Service
[Docket #: RUS-22-ELECTRIC-0055]
Notice of Availability of a Record of Decision for Badger State
Solar, LLC, Project
AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability of a Record of Decision.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS),
an agency within the Department of Agriculture (USDA), has issued a
Record of Decision (ROD) to meet its responsibilities in accordance
with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural
provisions of NEPA, RUS Environmental Policies and Procedure, and other
applicable environmental requirements related to providing financial
assistance for Badger State Solar's, LLC proposed Alternating Current
solar project (Project) in Wisconsin. The Administrator of RUS has
signed the ROD, which was effective upon signing. This ROD concludes
RUS environmental review process in accordance with NEPA and RUS,
Environmental Policies and Procedures. The ultimate decision as to loan
approval depends on the conclusion of the environmental review process
plus financial and engineering analyses. Issuance of the ROD will allow
these reviews to proceed. The ROD is not a decision on the Badger State
Solar's loan application and is not an approval of the expenditure of
federal funds.
DATES: The Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service signed the
Record of Decision on December 22, 2022.
ADDRESSES: To request copies of the ROD, contact Peter Steinour at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9cdefdf8fbf9eecfe8fde8f9cff3f0fdeed9d5cfdce9eff8fdb2fbf3ea"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a2e0c3c6c5c7d0f1d6c3d6c7f1cdcec3d0e7ebf1e2d7d1c6c38cc5cdd4">[email protected]</span></a>. The ROD is also available at RUS website
at <a href="https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements">https://www.rd.usda.gov/resources/environmental-studies/impact-statements</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact Peter
Steinour, Environmental Protection Specialist, USDA, Rural Utilities
Service, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Mail Stop 1570, Washington, DC
20250, by phone at 202-961-6140, or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5b193a3f3c3e29082f3a2f3e0834373a291e12081b2e283f3a753c342d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f9bb989d9e9c8baa8d988d9caa9695988bbcb0aab98c8a9d98d79e968f">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Purpose and Need: Badger State Solar has indicated that it
intends to request Federal financing from the USDA RUS for development
of the Project. While RUS is authorized under the Rural Electrification
Act of 1936 (REA) to finance electric generation infrastructure in
rural areas, it is the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
(MISO), not RUS, who is responsible for electric grid planning.
Supporting renewable energy projects meets both RUS's goal to support
infrastructure development in rural communities and USDA's support of
the June 2013 Climate Action Plan, which encourages voluntary actions
to increase energy independence.
2. Project Description: Badger State Solar proposes to construct,
install, operate, and maintain a 149-megawatt (MW) photovoltaic (PV)
Alternating Current solar energy generating facility on a site in the
Townships of Jefferson and Oakland, in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. The
total estimated Project cost would be approximately $225,000,000.
Project construction is anticipated to begin in November 2022.
Construction would be complete, and the Project would be expected to
come online by Fall 2023.
The Jefferson County site initially included three proposed
development areas: The Primary Solar Array Area, Alternate Solar Array
Area, and Optional Solar Array Area. As the solar facility design
progressed, Badger State Solar determined that the approximately 1,200-
acre Primary Area would be suitable to host the proposed 149 MW solar
power facility without requiring development of the Alternate and
Optional Areas. The Primary Area became the Proposed Action which is
the focus of this Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Proposed
Action would take place on approximately 1,200 acres located on the
north and south sides of US Highway 18 (US 18), approximately 2 miles
west of the City of Jefferson and west of State Highway 89. Site land
cover is predominantly agricultural crops and pasture, with some forest
and wetland.
Construction involves the installation on leased lands of 487,848
single-axis tracking PV panels. The PV panels would be mounted on a
steel racking frame. Supporting facilities include an electrical
substation. The lease
[[Page 1347]]
agreement allows for an operating period of 40 years. A power purchase
agreement has been executed with Dairyland Power Cooperative for the
entire output of the Proposed Action. The Project site is near the
point of interconnection to the grid at the American Transmission
Company (ATC) Jefferson substation near the intersection of State Trunk
Highway 89 and US 18.
Construction equipment would include graders, bulldozers,
excavators, forklifts, trailers, plows, trenchers, pile drivers, and
directional boring rigs. Vehicles for transporting construction
materials and components primarily would be legal load over-the road
flatbed and box trucks. Transport would use existing regional roads,
bridges, and intersections. Laydown areas would be established within
the Project site. Internal site access roads would be required. Fencing
would be placed around contiguous blocks of solar arrays.
Potential locations for development of the solar facility in
Wisconsin were evaluated in an initial preliminary site review to
identify locations where electric transmission infrastructure would be
sufficient to connect a solar project to the power grid. The Site
Selection Study consisted of three phases of evaluation which began
with 18 potential sites and ended with the identification of the
Project site in Jefferson County as the most feasible for
consideration. The potential impacts of the No Action Alternative and
the Proposed Action, construction of the Badger State Solar project in
Jefferson County, Wisconsin, are analyzed in chapter 3 of the Final
EIS.
In the EIS, the effects of the proposal are compared to the
existing conditions in the affected area of the proposal. Public health
and safety, environmental impacts, socio-economic, and engineering
aspects of the proposal are also considered in the Final EIS.
The proposed Project is subject to the jurisdiction of the Public
Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW), Wisconsin Department of Natural
Resources (WDNR), Wisconsin Historical Society-Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO), Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), and the
State of Wisconsin Division of Safety and Buildings. Badger State Solar
has submitted applications to the PSCW for a Certificate of Public
Convenience and Necessity; and either has or will submit applications
for permits to the WDNR for an Isolated Wetlands Permit and Wisconsin
Pollution Discharge Elimination System/Stormwater Runoff Permit
(NR216); WisDOT for a utility permit, driveway/access permit, and
oversize/overweight permit; and the State of Wisconsin Division of
Safety and Buildings for a Building permit. Badger State Solar may also
submit applications for permits as needed to Jefferson County Highway
Department (oversize-overweight, utility, county highway entrance),
Jefferson County Land Conservation Department (stormwater management),
Jefferson County (construction permit, utilities, sanitary permits),
Jefferson County Farm District Drainage No. 16 (drainage alteration
permit), City of Jefferson (driveway, sign, and building permits) and
Town of Oakland (driveway permits). These state and local agency
permits would authorize Badger State Solar to construct the proposed
project under Wisconsin rules and regulations.
While RUS is authorized under the REA to make loans to finance
electric generation infrastructure in rural areas, it is the MISO, not
RUS, who is responsible for electric grid planning. Supporting
renewable energy projects meets both RUS's goal to support
infrastructure development in rural communities and USDA's support of
the June 2013 Climate Action Plan. Along with other technical and
financial considerations, completing the environmental review process
is one of RUS's requirements in processing Badger State Solar's
application. RUS is the lead Federal agency for environmental review of
the proposed project.
RUS prepared a Final EIS and published a notice of availability in
the Federal Register on August 26, 2022 (87 FR 52502), to analyze the
impacts of its respective Federal actions and the proposed Project in
accordance with NEPA, the Council on Environmental Quality's
Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR
parts 1500 through 1508), and RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures
(7 CFR part 1970). Two comments were received on the Final EIS; one
from the Environmental Protection Agency which indicated that their
previous comments on the Draft EIS had been addressed in the Final EIS
and one from the United States Army Corps of Engineers offering no
comment on the Final EIS. No additional revisions to the Final EIS were
necessary upon receipt of these comments.
RUS determined that its action regarding the proposed Project is an
undertaking subject to review under Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulation, ``Protection
of Historic Properties'' (36 CFR part 800) and as part of its broad
environmental review process, RUS must take into account the effect of
the proposed project on historic properties.
Of the identified archaeological resources within the Area of
Potential Effect, none are recommended as eligible for the National
Register of Historic Places. However, as a result of the archaeological
and architecture/history investigations conducted for the Proposed
Action, two of the resources within the Area of Potential Effects were
recommended for avoidance or further investigations: a historic
cemetery and the William Eustis House. Project activities would avoid
the historic cemetery boundaries by a minimum of 10 feet. With regard
to the NRHP-eligible William Eustis House, a No Adverse Effect finding
was recommended based on the following factors: lack of any potential
for physical destruction, damage or alterations to the property; an
absence of proposed activities which could alter the architectural
character of the Eustis House; and presence of intervening visual
intrusions (dense vegetation, trees and barns) between the house and
the proposed solar arrays. There would be no adverse effect to NRHP-
eligible historical structures. Based on these results, a finding of No
Adverse Effect in accordance with 36 CFR 800.5(b) is appropriate for
the Proposed Action. RUS submitted this finding in a letter to the
Federally recognized tribes and the SHPO in November 2021 and January
2022, respectively. On January 27, 2022, the SHPO concurred the
Proposed Action would have no adverse effects to historic properties.
The proposed overhead transmission crossing of U.S. 18 was added to
the Proposed Action in February 2022. RUS recommended the finding of No
Adverse Effect was still appropriate for the Proposed Action. RUS
submitted this finding in a letter to the Federally recognized tribes
and the SHPO in March 2022. These letters are on file at RUS. On March
30, 2022, the SHPO concurred the Proposed Action would have no adverse
effects to historic properties.
RUS consulted with the following Federally recognized Native
American tribes:
<bullet> Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Oklahoma
<bullet> Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin
<bullet> Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Fort Belknap Reservation
of Montana
<bullet> Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin
<bullet> Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of the
Lac du Flambeau Reservation of Wisconsin
[[Page 1348]]
<bullet> Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
<bullet> Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
<bullet> Osage Nation
<bullet> Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
<bullet> Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
The Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin, Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin,
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Osage Nation, and the Winnebago Tribe of
Nebraska did not provide objections to the project; however, they
requested to be notified of any inadvertent discoveries. A Post-Review
Discovery Plan was prepared and in the event of an inadvertent
discovery, these Tribes will be contacted. The other Indian tribes
consulted did not provide comments.
Based on consideration of the environmental impacts of the proposed
Project and comments received throughout the agency and public review
process, RUS has determined that Proposed Action Alternative as
described above best meets the purpose and need for the proposed
Project. RUS finds that the evaluation of reasonable alternatives is
consistent with NEPA and RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures.
Details regarding RUS regulatory decision and compliance with
applicable regulations are included in the ROD.
Andrew Berke,
Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2023-00299 Filed 1-9-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 10, 2023.
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