Rawlins Field Office
| Contacts: | Serena Baker, | |||
| 307-212-0197 |
BLM Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Wind Project
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Rawlins Field Office invites the public to two open house meetings to ask questions, view maps, and provide written comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Energy Project and the Draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment to the 2008 Rawlins RMP.
The BLM is hosting two open house meetings to provide the public an opportunity to review the documents and receive project information. A series of informational stations will be set up at the open house meetings where BLM specialists and Power Company of Wyoming, LLC (PCW) staff will be available to explain project details and discuss analysis information provided in the DEIS.
Open houses will be held from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m. on Aug. 22 at the Jeffrey Memorial Community Center, 315 E. Pine St., Rawlins, Wyo.; and Aug. 23 at the Platte Valley Community Center, 210 W. Elm Ave., Saratoga, Wyo. The meetings are part of a 90-day public comment period on the CCSM DEIS and Plan Amendment.
PCW has applied to the BLM for a right-of-way to build approximately 1,000 wind turbines south of Rawlins, Wyo., in Carbon County. Chokecherry and Sierra Madre are two distinct sites approximately five miles apart which are both being proposed by PCW and being analyzed together. When combined, they comprise the largest commercial wind generation facility proposed in North America. The project is expected to generate between 2,000 to 3,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Along with the turbines, the project also proposes building access roads, underground electric gathering lines, an overhead transmission line, and substations to interconnect the generated power to the electric grid. Construction may take four years with an estimated project life of 30 years.
For more information or to submit a comment visit: www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/NEPA/documents/rfo/Chokecherry.html. For specific questions contact Project Manager Pam Murdock, 307-328-4200.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Rawlins Field Office 1300 N. Third Street Rawlins, WY 82301