Bonanza Solar, LLC submitted a right-of-way application for the Bonanza Solar Project to the Bureau of Land Management on December 4, 2020. The application indicated that a plan of development, required for right-of-way applications, would be submitted within 60 days of the application filing.&nbsp; A plan of development for the Bonanza Solar Project was submitted on March 5, 2021.&nbsp; The required application fee was paid on May 26, 2021.



The regulations state that the BLM will “Apply screening criteria to prioritize processing of applications with lesser conflicts over applications with greater resource conflicts…” (43 CFR §2804.25(e)(ii)).&nbsp; Regulations further state that “High-priority applications are given processing priority over medium- and low-priority applications…” (43 CFR §2804.35(a)).



The BLM completed the processing priority review of the application, in accordance with the regulations, on September 8, 2021. Due to resource conflicts associated with the project, the Bonanza Solar Project application was categorized as a Medium Priority for processing. The regulations require the BLM to prioritize processing of high priority-lower conflict applications over processing of medium priority applications, like the Bonanza Solar Project application.&nbsp; 



The prioritization review identified several project conflicts that need to be reviewed further and/or resolved -&nbsp; 



This project is located entirely within lands being managed as Visual Resource Management (VRM) Class III, identified in the Southern Nevada District Resource Management Plan (RMP).&nbsp; Given the proximity to the viewshed of the highway, it is likely that the project would not conform to the VRM Class. If the project is determined to not be in conformance with the RMP for VRM, the BLM would need to consider if it would be appropriate to consider amending the RMP to allow for this project.



Project is within 2 miles of Department of Defense (DoD) jurisdictional lands.&nbsp; Potential for conflict will need to be determined based on consultation with DoD.



Project located within the RMP Designated U.S. 95 Crater Flat utility corridor (the corridor runs through the middle of the project area) and the West Wide Energy Corridor (WWEC) is just outside of the project location below the Southern Boundary of the project.&nbsp; BLM generally works to preserve the corridors for linear right-of-way uses and therefore does not usually allow site type development (such as soler energy facilities) within utility/energy corridors.&nbsp; In this location there is redundancy with two corridors present) and the presence of existing facilities within the RMP designated corridor.&nbsp; The BLM would need to evaluate how best to proceed with addressing the issue of the redundancy in corridors at this location.&nbsp; Options for resolving the redundancy could potentially affect the project’s boundary, location, and/or size.&nbsp; Any option that would modify either corridor (including potentially modifying the alignment of the WWEC) would require consideration of a RMP amendment.



The proposed generation interconnection transmission line alignment traverses the South Ridge Solar Project application area (N-86782) which pre-dates the filing of the application for the Bonanza Solar Project application.



Project is located over Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) mineral material pits (NVCC-018229, NEV-07311, and NVCC-060110). These areas are not available for development of solar energy and need to be excluded from the project.



The project is located over a mineral materials community pit (N-82835). The BLM would need to ensure that any solar development that would reduce the area within the community pit would allow for sufficient materials to be available to provide for future community development.&nbsp; 



The project is located in a part of the Indian Spring Hydrologic Basin that recently has been identified as sitting on a “Mega channel” that is directly connected to Devils Hole, home of the rarest fish in the world. Any groundwater pumping could potentially impact these and the T&amp;E species living in Ash Meadows as well. The Department of Defense has moved the proposed locations of several of their wells for the Creech Air Force Base expansion out of this Mega channel.



This project is located within Priority 1 Desert Tortoise Connectivity Habitat as designated in the Solar PEIS (2012) and would require substantial coordination with USFWS (including the Regional and Desert Tortoise Recovery Offices) and Nevada Department of Wildlife, and design of a study plan and additional analysis and data collection as part of the Variance Process. Based on current knowledge of tortoise connectivity in the Southern Nevada District Office, this project is located within the most critical Desert Tortoise connectivity corridor in southern Nevada. This project is located within the Eastern Mojave Recovery Unit as established by the USFWS Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan. A suitable translocation area for desert tortoises within the recovery unit would have to be identified if desert tortoises needed to be translocated from the project area.



There is a tortoise fence installed along both sides of approximately 16 miles of Hwy 95, adjacent to the Bonanza Solar project. This tortoise fence and modifications of 9 culverts was completed by Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) under the Biological Opinion number 08ENVS00-2014-F-0209. This project was constructed and paid for by NDOT and required by the Biological Opinion issued by the USFWS as a mitigation project by NDOT.&nbsp; The BLM is currently undergoing a five year-long study to investigate tortoise use, movement, and connectivity through modified culverts along Hwy 95. Some of these culverts are located directly adjacent to the proposed Bonanza Solar project. The BLM has been monitoring these culverts for 5 years using game cameras that take photos of any wildlife using them for movement underneath Hwy 95. Tortoise use of these culverts has been documented using the game cameras. Additionally, the BLM has relocated up to 18 tortoises from the Las Vegas Valley to directly adjacent to these culverts. These tortoises will be transmittered, and their movements will be monitored to see if they use these culverts and if their home ranges will include both sides of Hwy 95. The BLM and Clark County will track these tortoises for at least the next 4 years. The goal of releasing these tortoises near the culvert is to investigate whether we can increase the connectivity of tortoise populations on either side of Hwy 95 by releasing tortoises near the culverts.



Right-of-way applications for renewable energy development involve an application evaluation process (43 CFR §2804.25(e)(2)(iii)).&nbsp; As part of the evaluation process, the Bonanza Solar Project must complete a Variance Process, as specified in the Record of Decision for the Western Solar Plan Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.&nbsp; Helpful information about the Variance Process can be found here: https://blmsolar.anl.gov/variance/process.&nbsp; The Bonanza Solar Project is located within important Priority 1 Desert Tortoise Connectivity Habitat and is subject to an additional component of the Variance Process to assess if the site is an acceptable location for utility-scale solar development.&nbsp; This additional variance process will involve tortoise density and distribution surveys, habitat quality analyses, tortoise connectivity studies, corridor width evaluation, and survey of areas suitable for translocation (if applicable).&nbsp; Public outreach and coordination with local, state, and tribal governments, and federal agencies, is also required for application evaluation.&nbsp; Based on the application evaluation including the Variance Process), the BLM will determine if it is appropriate to continue to process or to deny the right-of-way application.



If the BLM determines that it is appropriate to continue processing the right-of-way application, it will be processed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and all other relevant laws, regulations, and policies.

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NOTE: Milestones that occur after the "Agency Application Evaluation &amp; Variance Determination" are subject to the Agency making a favorable determination to continue processing the application.