Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project Project Proposal & Public Scoping

Transcription

1 Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project Project Proposal & Public Scoping The Silver Lake and Paisley District Ranger of the Fremont-Winema National Forests is proposing to issue a special use permit to Ridgeline Energy (Ridgeline) that would authorize access, installation, operations, maintenance and decommissioning activities associated with use of two sonic detection and ranging (SODAR) units and two anemometer towers (met towers) for three years under a special use permit (SUP). This equipment would be used to measure wind speeds along the Winter Ridge for Ridgeline s use in determining the site s suitability for a potential wind farm. This project analysis would only permit special use access to and occupancy of National Forest System (NFS) land for the two SODAR and two met towers for study. Should Ridgeline want to pursue a wind energy project in this area, they will need to submit a formal proposal, and a separate analysis would be conducted to review effects analysis of the proposal. This is Ridgeline s second application for anemometer towers and SODAR units on Winter Ridge. Another application was for five anemometer towers and one SODAR unit on Winter Ridge. The Decision Memo for that application (2009) authorized the installation of only three of the proposed towers and the SODAR unit. Two towers were not authorized because they were within Fremont National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) Management Area (MA) 6, which is classified as Scenic Viewshed. The installation of the towers at those two sites were in direct conflict of the standards, guidelines, goals and objectives for MA 6 and were subsequently not permitted. This document summarizes the project proposal and invites interested and affected parties to comment on the proposed actions. The primary purpose of this proposal is to comply with Forest Service policy on occupancy and use of NFS land. The underlying need for the proposed action is a response to Ridgeline s application requesting the use of NFS land. OVERVIEW OF PROJECT AREA The overall project area includes the majority of the northern half of Winter Ridge in the Silver Lake and Paisley Ranger Districts along approximately 36 miles of Oregon Highway 31 in Lake County, Oregon (map enclosed). The legal description is: North Tower: T31S, R16E, WM., section 30 SE1/4NW1/4 ( ) ( ) South Tower: T32S, R16E, WM., section 32 NW1/4 SE1/4 ( ) ( ) The project area includes eleven Management Areas (MAs) defined by the Fremont National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan). The project area contains portions of the Winter Rim grazing allotment. The Southern Oregon Intertie Trail and National Recreational Trail (NRT) are also within the project boundary. The project area does not include, but is adjacent to, Fremont Point and Summer Lake, as well as several campgrounds, and the communities of Summer Lake and Paisley. Site-specific analysis of these locations would be conducted for effects to multiple resources including botany, range, timber, wildlife, recreation, hydrology, soils, and cultural resources. Access to both proposed sites is along seasonably open system roads. Transportation analysis would be conducted to determine any additional accessibility needs from these open roads to exact tower locations. The Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 1

2 proposed locations are within one of the overall eleven MAs in the project area. Descriptions of the individual proposed locations are as follows: NFS Land Descriptions North Tower The site proposed for the North Tower is located in MA 5, Timber and Range Management. The proposed site is located near the intersection of FR 034 and FR 2109 and would be visible to any visitors traveling these roads to Fremont Point. The site is located in a meadow within the Fremont Pasture of the Winter Rim Allotment and is located within 500 yards of a cattle pond. Proposed actions would not be permitted to alter allotment agreements. Fence panels would be installed on the anchor wires and around the base of the tower to protect cattle. Figure 1. Fence panels. The area consists mainly of open meadow, composed mostly of grasses and sagebrush, with shallow soils that saturate and even create water flows after rains. Proposed actions would not be permitted during wet soil conditions. In dry conditions, soils would not be susceptible to compaction. South Tower The site proposed for the South Tower is located within MA 5, Timber and Range Management. The proposed location is within a meadow with sandy soils approximately 300 feet off the nearest road. Vegetative component for the meadow is mostly grasses with some sedge. The site is located in a meadow within the Squirrel Pasture of the Winter Rim Allotment. Proposed actions would not be permitted to alter allotment agreements. Fence panels would be installed on the anchor wires and around the base of the tower to protect cattle. NEED FOR ACTION Ridgeline has submitted a special use permit (SUP) application for occupancy of National Forest System (NFS) land for the access, installation, operations, maintenance and decommissioning activities associated with the use of up to two SODAR units and two anemometer (met) towers for three years. This equipment would be used to measure wind speeds along the Winter Ridge for Ridgeline s use in determining the site s suitability for a potential wind energy project. This project analysis would only permit special use access to and occupancy of NFS lands for two SODAR and two met towers for study. PROPOSED ACTIONS The proposed action is to issue a special use permit to Ridgeline Energy for occupancy of NFS land for the access, installation, operations, maintenance and decommissioning activities associated with the use of two SODAR units and two met towers for three years, where resources permit. Descriptions of the specifics of the proposed actions are as follows: Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 2

3 SODAR Unit A SODAR unit (Figure 2) measures wind speeds and directions by measuring sound waves as reflected through turbulence in the air around it. These units can measure wind speeds at varying heights. access The SODAR units would be hauled on a trailer to the site using a standard-sized pickup truck along existing and seasonably open forest roads. Any off-road vehicle travel (i.e. from road to location in field where trailer would be parked) would be analyzed for effects by Forest Service personnel through this analysis. No temporary road construction or parking area construction is proposed. installation Figure 2. A trailer-mounted SODAR unit. The proposed SODAR units would be located at the same locations as the proposed towers. The unit would be a trailer-mounted unit, and would be parked on the site on the trailer or removed from the trailer and placed on the ground. operations The SODAR units would be at the location for 24 hours a day. Measurements would be collected remotely. maintenance No scheduled maintenance would occur on the SODAR units. Any needed repairs to the units could be conducted on-site, or may require the removal of the unit to an off-site facility if repairs could not be conducted in the field. decommissioning The SODAR units would be removed from the site by attaching the trailer to a standard-sized pickup truck and trailering it off the site and along existing and seasonably open forest roads. Any off-road vehicle travel (i.e. from location in field where trailer would be parked to the road) would be analyzed by Forest Service personnel through this analysis. Anemometer Towers An anemometer is an instrument that measures wind speed by the number of revolutions the instrument makes during a specified length of time. Anemometers generally have three or four cone-shaped cups at the end of rods that are from 2 to 8 inches long. Because of their shape, the wind can make the anemometer rotate, regardless of what direction it is coming from. Anemometers for this project would be attached to towers at varying heights to measure the wind speeds at different elevations (Figure 3). access The met towers would be hauled on a trailer (in sections) to their sites using a standard-sized pickup truck along existing and open forest roads. Any off-road vehicle travel (i.e. from Figure 3. Anemometers on a tower. Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 3

4 road to location in field where trailer would be parked) would be analyzed at each site location by Forest Service personnel through this analysis. No temporary road construction or parking area construction is proposed at any site. installation The met towers would be assembled on-site and installed into place using a pick up truck with a gin pole to winch over the met tower. Approximately a one and a half acre radius of ground space from the tower base would be needed to accommodate safe assembly and installation of the met towers and associated anchor lines at each location. The sites do not present any need to limb trees, clear slash, or drop snags. Installation of the towers would likely occur in snow-cover conditions. The proposed met tower installations would each include the installation of: base plate a 4x4 foot square (12 inches deep) temporary metal plate that would be installed to be flush with the ground surface. tower an approximately 60 meter (197 foot) tower, 10 inches in diameter at base and 8 inches in diameter at top, connected to the base plate. The tower at site #6 would likely only be 40 meters tall. anchor lines - four sets of 9 (up to 260 feet) anchor lines to support the tower. line anchors 3 sets of 4, 6 foot deep rebar style anchors for Figure 4. Line anchor point. each set of anchor lines located up to approximately 164 feet out from tower (Figure 4). winch platform an approximately 6 by 6 foot rebar platform to place winch and portable generator to raise the tower. measurements box a box containing the satellite transmitter of wind measurements would be mounted on a 4 by 4 inch post and installed in the ground adjacent to the platform. operations The met towers would be installed and removed within a three-year period. Tower measurements would be collected remotely. Ridgeline would register each tower location with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), even though the towers would be shorter than the minimum FAA height reporting requirement of 200 feet. In addition, Ridgeline would notify nearby airports, commercial operators, and agriculture crop dusters of the new towers. Approximately the top 39 feet of the towers are painted in an alternating red-white pattern to provide additional visibility for aircraft safety. maintenance Scheduled maintenance checks would be conducted seasonally when driving conditions allow. Maintenance would only occur in winter if needed. decommissioning Site decommissioning would involve the removal and disassembly of all portions of the met towers that had been installed. No equipment would be left at the sites. Direction for Implementation of All Proposed Actions This project s Interdisciplinary Team (IDT) includes Forest Service specialists for aquatics, transportation, wildlife, cultural resources, recreation, soils, silviculture, botany, and range. In addition Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 4

5 to review of the proposals discussed, the IDT will provide direction for how implementation of proposed actions would be conducted. These measures, called project design criteria, would be developed to address any potential resource concerns that may result from implementation of the proposed actions. Anticipating the need for these measures during the project planning phase assists the forest with ensuring that the applicable management direction of the Forest Plan is followed for all actions proposed. Estimated measurements in this document would likely vary as a result of these resource protecting design criteria. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Comments should be specific to the actions proposed within this proposal. Comments will aid in the identification of issues and subsequent development of alternatives under the process outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act. Based on your comments, the IDT will perform an analysis of this proposed action, along with additional alternatives, and the results will be documented in a Categorical Exclusion (CE) document or Decision Memo (DM). This project is subject to a Cost Recovery customer service timeframe, which requires a decision be posted in 60 calendar days or less from the date of the proposal s submission. The decision will determine whether or not to conduct all, some, or none of the activities described here, and in what manner. Information on commenting procedures is in the cover letter of this document. For further information, contact Catherine Callaghan, Realty Specialist, at the Lakeview Interagency Office (1301 South G Street, Lakeview, OR 97630; ccallaghan@fs.fed.us; telephone: ) or Panchita Paulete, Silver Lake and Paisley Ranger Districts NEPA Planner, at the Silver Lake Ranger District (65600 Highway 31, Silver Lake, OR 97638; fpaulete@fs.fed.us; telephone: ). AUTHORITY This proposal may be categorically excluded from documentation in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement pursuant to FSH , Section 31.2, Category 3 that allows for Approval, modification, or continuation of minor special uses of NFS lands that require less than five contiguous acres of land, (36 CFR 220.6(e)(3)). A decision memo is anticipated to be used to document the decision regarding this project proposal, unless effects to extraordinary circumstances are determined as outlined in FSH , 30.3(2). DECISIONS TO BE MADE Based on Forest Plan goals, objectives, standards and management practices, together with public issues and concerns and management opportunities, the IDT will consider the affected area, formulate alternatives, develop design criteria, estimate environmental consequences and compare the alternatives. The environmental analysis of the project area will be documented to disclose the effects and consequences of alternative strategies being considered in detail and aid the Deciding Official in determining whether or not an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement should be prepared. The Deciding Official for this project is the Silver Lake and Paisley Districts Ranger, Barbara Machado. The District Ranger may decide to select a no action alternative, defer activities, or may select a management alternative or portions of alternatives to implement. Specifically, the Deciding Official will determine: Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 5

6 1. Selection and site-specific location of permit(s) issued. Included in this decision would be any modifications made to the proposed action based on comments received, mitigation measures and design criteria. 2. Determination of any extraordinary circumstances that would warrant further analysis and documentation in an EA or EIS. 3. Determination of the proposal s consistency with the management direction of the Forest Plan and need for a site-specific Forest Plan amendment. Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project CE 6

7 T32S R15E T31S R15E T31S R16E Fremont 21 Point 22 Cabin (site) I Ridgeline Silver Lake Ranger District Fremont NRT # T32S R16E Energy SUP 23 Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project 35 Summer Lake Tower & SODAR Locations Paisley Ranger 22 District StHwy T33S R15E 24 T33S R16E T33S R17E T33S R18E Proposed Tower & SODAR Locations Lakes #I Fremont Point Cabin (site) Townships Fremont NRT Sections ± Highway 31 NFS Land Roads Ranger District Boundary Miles This product is reproduced from information prepared by the USDA Forest Service of from other suppliers. The Forest Service cannot assure the reliability or suitability of this information for a particular purpose. The data and product accuracy may vary due to compilation from various sources, including modeling and interpretation, and may not meet National Map Accuracy Standards. This information may be updated, corrected or otherwise modified without notification. For more information contact: Fremont-Winema Supervisor s Office at The USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Compiled by F. Paulete on 12/30/2009 using the most current and complete GIS data available. The GIS data displayed is intended for this project. Using the data other than for what it was created may yield inaccurate or misleading results. S:\pai\project\ce\2009_ridgeline2_metsodar_ce\gis\map_products\ _ ridgeline2_metsodar_scoping.pdf

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9 United States Fremont-Winema Silver Lake Ranger District Paisley Ranger District Department of National Forests Highway Highway 31 Agriculture P.O. Box 129 P.O. Box 67 Silver Lake, OR Paisley, OR FAX FAX Comment Form Silver Lake Ranger District Fremont-Winema National Forests Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project Project Proposal & Public Scoping NAME: ADDRESS: ADDRESS: In efforts to reduce paper consumption, printing ink use, and postage expenses, an electronic version of the environmental analysis and Decision Memo document will be available either from the forest website or on CD upon request. If you wish to receive a copy of this document, please select your preferred format below: Please send me a printed copy of the environmental analysis and Decision Memo document. Please send me an electronic copy (on read-only CD) of the environmental analysis and Decision Memo document. Please send me notification of the environmental analysis and Decision Memo document s availability online. Please remove my name from this project s mailing list. I have the following comments about the Ridgeline Energy SUP Anemometer Towers & SODAR Project proposal: Please Return to: USDA Forest Service, Silver Lake Ranger District, Attn: Barbara Machado, District Ranger, Highway 31, Silver Lake, OR (or fold, seal, and add a stamp to the back of this sheet. It is pre-addressed). Caring for the Land and Serving People

10 place stamp here USDA Forest Service Paisley Ranger District Attn: Barbara Machado P.O. Box 129 Silver Lake, OR 97638