BLM seeks public comment on FORGE Project

Organization

Bureau of Land Management

BLM Office:

Carson City District Office

Media Contact:

CARSON CITY, Nev.–The Bureau of Land Management, Carson City District, has completed an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Fallon Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) Geothermal Research and Monitoring field laboratory located approximately seven miles southeast of Fallon, Nevada, in Churchill County. The BLM is seeking public comments and input on this EA and public input under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act for the project. This includes seeking information and identifying historic properties in or near the project area. Public comments will be accepted through April 4, 2018.

This EA analyzes the proposal by the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratory in conjunction with Ormat Technologies, the Navy Geothermal Program Office, the US Geological Survey, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Nevada, Reno, and other partners to establish and manage Fallon FORGE as a dedicated site where the subsurface scientific community would be able to develop, test, and improve new technologies and techniques for application to the development of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Proposed actions include drilling up to three new production/injection wells and up to nine monitoring wells and stimulation of the production/injection well(s) to develop technologies and techniques that would effectively function at other EGS projects.

A copy of the EA is available in the Carson City District BLM Office and on the project webpage at https://goo.gl/Y5gaVv. Please send written comments to: Dave Schroeder, Fallon FORGE EA Project Lead, Stillwater Field Office, 5665 Morgan Mill Road, Carson City, NV 89701. Comments may also be submitted electronically via the EA webpage (under the “Contact Information” section), via email to blm_nv_ccdowebmail@blm.gov or fax at 775-885-6147 with the subject heading “Fallon FORGE EA Project”.

Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment-including your personal information- may be publicly available at any time. While you ask us in your comment to withhold personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. After the public review period has ended, comments will be analyzed and considered part of the decision-making process.

If you have any questions about information and identifying historic properties contact Jason Wright at 775-885-6135 or at the above address. For other information contact Dave Schroeder at  775-885-6119.


The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.