Speedway Solar Project: Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement and Hold Public Scoping Meeting on February 2, 2022

• Published date: 14 January 2022
• Citation: 87 FR 2411
• Record Number: 2022-00688
• Section: Notices
• Court: Rural Utilities Service

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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Notices

https://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/

ad-3027, from any USDA office, by

calling (866) 632–9992, or by writing a

letter addressed to USDA. The letter

must contain the complainant’s name,

address, telephone number, and a

written description of the alleged

discriminatory action in sufficient detail

to inform the Assistant Secretary for

Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature

and date of an alleged civil rights

violation. The completed AD–3027 form

or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

(1) Mail: U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400

Independence Avenue SW, Washington,

DC 20250–9410; or

(2) Fax: (833) 256–1665 or (202) 690–

7442; or

(3) Email: program.intake@usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity

provider, employer, and lender.

Karama Neal,

Administrator, Rural Business-Cooperative

Service.

[FR Doc. 2022–00653 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–XY–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Utilities Service

Speedway Solar Project: Notice of

Intent To Prepare an Environmental

Impact Statement and Hold Public

Scoping Meeting on February 2, 2022

AGENCY

: Rural Utilities Service, USDA.

ACTION

: Notice of intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement and

hold public scoping meeting.

SUMMARY

: The Rural Utilities Service

(RUS) announces its intent to prepare an

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

and to hold a virtual public scoping

meeting in connection with possible

impacts related to a project proposed by

Speedway Solar LLC (Speedway Solar).

The primary scope of the EIS is to

evaluate the environmental impacts of

and alternatives to Speedway Solar’s

application for financial assistance to

develop the Speedway Solar Project

(Project), a 199-megawatt (MW) solar

array using photovoltaic (PV) modules

on private, primarily agricultural lands

in Shelby County, Indiana. RUS is

considering funding this application,

thereby making the proposed Project an

undertaking subject to review under the

National Historic Preservation Act

(NHPA). RUS has determined that a

loan for the Project would be a federal

action and is, therefore, subject to

National Environmental Policy Act

(NEPA) review.

DATES

: One virtual public scoping

meeting webinar will be held on

February 2, 2022, from 6:00 p.m. EST–

8:00 p.m. EST via Zoom. The public

scoping meeting will be conducted in a

virtual format with RUS and Speedway

Solar representatives. Attendees will be

able to submit comments during the

virtual public meeting orally or via the

chat function. The public scoping

meeting will be recorded and kept as

part of the Project record. Equal weight

will be given to oral and written (chat)

comments. More information about the

virtual public scoping meeting can be

found at: https://www.rd.usda.gov/

resources/environmental-studies/

impact-statements.

Written requests to participate as a

‘‘consulting party’’ or to provide

comments for consideration during the

scoping process for the proposed Project

must be received on or before February

14, 2022.

ADDRESSES

: To request ‘‘consulting

party’’ status, submit comments, or for

further information, please contact:

SpeedwaySolarEIS@usda.gov. Although

electronic submittal is strongly

encouraged, written comments may also

be submitted by regular mail to United

States Department of Agriculture,

Attention: Peter Steinour, Mail Stop

1570, Rural Utilities Service, WEP/EES,

1400 Independence Ave. SW,

Washington, DC 20250.

Project-related information will be

available at RUS’s and Speedway Solar’s

websites located at: https://

www.rd.usda.gov/resources/

environmental-studies/impact-

statements, and https://speedwaysolar.

com/. This includes the Alternative

Evaluation and Site Selection Studies

prepared for the project. Project

information will also be available at the

Shelby County Public Library

Morristown Branch at 127 E Main St.,

Morristown, IN.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: The RUS

is the lead federal agency, as defined at

40 CFR 1508.1(o), for preparation of the

EIS. With this notice, federal and state

agencies and federally-recognized

Tribes with jurisdiction or special

expertise are invited to be cooperating

agencies. Such agencies or tribes may

make a request to RUS to be a

cooperating agency by contacting the

RUS contact provided in this notice.

Designated cooperating agencies have

certain responsibilities to support the

NEPA and scoping process, as specified

at 40 CFR 1501.8.

In addition, RUS invites any affected

federal, state, and local agencies, Tribes,

and other interested persons to

comment on the scope, alternatives, and

significant issues to be analyzed in

depth in the EIS.

Public participation is an integral

component of the environmental review

process for federal actions. Public

participation will be especially

important during the scoping phase of

the proposed Project. The RUS will be

seeking information, comments, and

assistance from federal, State, and local

agencies, Tribes, and other individuals

who may be interested in or affected by

the proposed Project. This input will be

used in preparing the Draft EIS.

Comments submitted during the scoping

process should be in writing. The

comments should describe as clearly

and completely as possible any issues,

concerns, or input commenters may

have so that they can be addressed

appropriately in the EIS.

The RUS is considering funding this

application, thereby making the

proposed Project an undertaking subject

to review under Section 106 of the

National Historic Preservation Act

(NHPA), 16 U.S.C. 470(f), and its

implementing regulation, ‘‘Protection of

Historic Properties’’ (36 CFR part 800).

Any party wishing to participate

directly with RUS as a ‘‘consulting

party’’ in Section 106 review may

submit a written request to the RUS

contact provided below. Pursuant to 36

CFR 800.3(f)(3), RUS will consider, and

provide a timely response to, any and

all requests for consulting party status.

The Project will consist of a 199-

megawatt (MW) solar array using

photovoltaic (PV) modules on private

lands in Shelby County, Indiana. The

Project consists of a 199–MW solar array

that will utilize PV modules. The

Project consists of two major

components: PV solar arrays (the main

Project footprint) and transmission

interconnection facilities (a collector

substation). The Project will be located

entirely on privately owned farmland in

a rural area in Shelby County, Indiana.

The Application Area encompasses

approximately 1,800 acres. Within the

Application Area, construction will

occur on an approximately 1,100-acre

project area.

Speedway Solar entered into a power

purchase agreement with Wabash Valley

Power Alliance (WVPA) for the solar

and energy storage project. WVPA’s

objective is to provide safe, adequate,

and reliable power to its members at the

lowest reasonable cost. The Project will

allow the Applicant to provide the

additional generation capacity needed

by WVPA to achieve these goals and to

serve electrical needs within the service

territories of their member cooperatives.

Among the alternatives that RUS will

address in the EIS is the No Action

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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 10 / Friday, January 14, 2022 / Notices

alternative, under which the proposal

will not be undertaken or if RUS did not

fund the proposed Project, other sites

evaluated by Speedway Solar, and any

reasonable alternatives defined as a

result of the scoping process. In the EIS,

the effects of the proposal will be

compared to the existing conditions in

the affected area of the proposal. Public

health and safety, environmental

impacts (such as impacts to vegetation,

soils/prime farmland, wildlife/

endangered species, cultural resources,

and land use), socio-economic, and

engineering aspects of the proposal will

also be considered in the EIS.

As part of its broad environmental

review process, RUS must take into

account the effect of the proposal on

historic properties in accordance with

Section 106 of the NHPA (Section 106)

and its implementing regulation,

‘‘Protection of Historic Properties’’ (36

CFR 800). Pursuant to 36 CFR

800.2(d)(3), RUS is using its procedures

for public involvement under NEPA to

meet its responsibilities to solicit and

consider the views of the public during

NHPA Section 106 review. Accordingly,

comments submitted in response to this

Notice will inform RUS decision-

making during NHPA Section 106

review.

In addition to compliance with

Section 106, the Project will require

evaluation under Section 404 of the

Clean Water Act and will obtain

required state, county, and local

permits. The Project has received

approval from the Shelby County Board

of Zoning Appeals.

From information provided in the

studies mentioned above, and using

input provided by government agencies,

tribes, and the public, RUS will prepare

a Draft EIS. The Draft EIS will be filed

with the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (USEPA) and will be available

for public comment by Spring 2022. At

that time, RUS and USEPA will publish

a notice of the availability of the Draft

EIS and notice of receipt, respectively,

in the Federal Register. In addition,

Speedway Solar will publish notices in

local newspapers and any online local

news sources. The comment period will

be 45 days from the date the EPA

publishes its Federal Register notice

announcing receipt of the Draft EIS.

To assist the involved federal agencies

in identifying and considering issues

and concerns on the proposal,

comments on the Draft EIS should be as

specific as possible. It is also helpful if

the comments refer to the specific pages

or chapters of the Draft EIS. Comments

may also address the adequacy of the

Draft EIS or the merits of the

alternatives formulated and discussed in

the statement. Reviewers may wish to

refer to the CEQ’s regulations at 40 CFR

1503.3 in addressing these points. After

the comment period ends on the Draft

EIS, the comments will be analyzed,

considered, and responded to by the

agencies involved in preparing the Final

EIS.

The public will again have the

opportunity to review and comment on

the Final EIS. Upon completion of a 30-

day public comment period, the RUS

will document its decision regarding the

proposed Project and reasons for the

decision in a Record of Decision. A

public notice announcing the

availability of the Record of Decision

will be published in the Federal

Register and local newspapers.

Any final action by RUS related to the

proposal will be subject to, and

contingent upon, compliance with all

relevant executive orders and federal,

state, and local environmental laws and

regulations in addition to the

completion of the environmental review

requirements as prescribed in 7 CFR

1970, Environmental Policies and

Procedures.

Christopher A. McLean,

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service,

U.S. Department of Agriculture.

[FR Doc. 2022–00688 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–15–P

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS

Notice of Public Meetings of the

Virginia Advisory Committee to the

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

AGENCY

: U.S. Commission on Civil

Rights.

ACTION

: Announcement of meeting.

SUMMARY

: Notice is hereby given,

pursuant to the provisions of the rules

and regulations of the U.S. Commission

on Civil Rights (Commission) and the

Federal Advisory Committee Act, that

the Virginia Advisory Committee

(Committee) will hold a web meeting

via WebEx on Friday, February 11,

2022, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The

purpose of the meeting is to continue

reviewing testimony and discussing

potential speakers for the next briefing

on police accountability in the state.

DATES

: The meeting will be held on:

Friday, February 11, 2022, at 2:00 p.m.

Eastern Time.

Online Registration: https://bit.ly/

3zyzYdG.

Join by Phone: 800–360–9505 USA

Toll Free; Access code: 2762 877 8065.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

:

Melissa Wojnaroski, DFO, at

mwojnaroski@usccr.gov or (202) 618–

4158.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

: Members

of the public may listen to this

discussion through the above call-in

number. An open comment period will

be provided to allow members of the

public to make a statement as time

allows. Callers can expect to incur

regular charges for calls they initiate

over wireless lines, according to their

wireless plan. The Commission will not

refund any incurred charges. Callers

will incur no charge for calls they

initiate over land-line connections to

the toll-free telephone number.

Individual who is deaf, deafblind, and

hard of hearing may also follow the

proceedings by first calling the Federal

Relay Service at 1–800–877–8339 and

providing the Service with the

conference call number and conference

ID number.

Members of the public are entitled to

submit written comments; the

comments must be received in the

regional office within 30 days following

the meeting. Written comments may be

emailed to Melissa Wojnaroski at

mwojnaroski@usccr.gov.

Records generated from this meeting

may be inspected and reproduced at the

Regional Programs Unit Office, as they

become available, both before and after

the meeting. Records of the meeting will

be available via www.facadatabase.gov

under the Commission on Civil Rights,

Virginia Advisory Committee link.

Persons interested in the work of this

Committee are directed to the

Commission’s website, http://

www.usccr.gov, or may contact the

Regional Programs Unit at the above

email or street address.

Agenda

I. Welcome & Roll Call

II. SAC Discussion: Civil Rights and

Police Accountability in Virginia

III. Public Comments

IV. Adjournment

Dated: January 11, 2022.

David Mussatt,

Supervisory Chief, Regional Programs Unit.

[FR Doc. 2022–00665 Filed 1–13–22; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE P

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