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Prepping the Objective…. Making Renewable Energy Development On Federal Lands More Attractive for Private Investment

Prepping the Objective…. Making Renewable Energy Development On Federal Lands More Attractive for Private Investment . 14 January, 2013. Mike Ackerman Environmental Planning US Army Environmental Command.

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Prepping the Objective…. Making Renewable Energy Development On Federal Lands More Attractive for Private Investment

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  1. Prepping the Objective…. Making Renewable Energy Development On Federal Lands More Attractive for Private Investment 14 January, 2013 Mike Ackerman Environmental Planning US Army Environmental Command

  2. “The Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, continues to emphasize the importance of renewable energy development on federal lands, but the procedure to accomplish this development is currently long and arduous… navigating the bureaucracy remains a major hurdle to energy development on federal lands. As renewable developers start to tackle the permitting and environmental review challenges, understanding the regulations that control the process is becoming one of their major focuses in 2010.” Energy Utility Consultants Inc. (March, 2010)

  3. PROBLEM STATEMENT • The renewable energy planning process is extremely complex, involves a multitude of different players at Federal, state, local levels, and must take into account a myriad of laws and regulations when conducted on Federally owned lands… • How does the Federal government establish parity with development opportunities on private lands?

  4. ARMY APPROACH • Up front investment of the agency time and labor to establish solid planning facts and assumptions required!

  5. ARMY STRATEGY • Conduct a rigorous up front screening of potential opportunities. • Establish a relative level of parity between private land and Federal land development by investing in the completion of regulatory requirements (e.g. NEPA and environmental work) and other pre-development planning work. • Completion of the National Environmental Policy Act process (NEPA) prior to issuance of RFP has several advantages: • Better defines the proposal for private industry and REDUCES RISK! • Establishes who the government agencies with jurisdiction are and which environmental laws and regulations apply • Defines environmental costs and risks of the project • Helps developer understand the level of public interest/opposition to a project • Completing NEPA / environmental planning ahead of issuance of a solicitation allows the future developer to fast-track the construction process and focus on their strengths- project development!

  6. LESSONS LEARNED • Successful development of renewable energy projects on Federal lands requires a solid environmental planning strategy, early coordination and buy-in to the planning approach, intensive integration and communication, close tracking and management of planning milestones, and effective outreach. • NEPA is an adaptive planning process! Flexibility should be built into the process at the beginning; the Army understands that opportunities may evolve to respond to partner agency, industry, community, or mission requirements. • The Army is better equipped to navigate its own bureaucracy and that of other Federal, state and local agencies it is partnering with than private industry. • Advance planning and completion of environmental regulatory requirements allows government to leverage its strengths while allowing industry to focus on technical aspects of project development; avoiding delays in project implementation.

  7. Questions?

  8. Back-up

  9. Endangered Species Act – Section 7 • Civil Rights Act • Executive Order 12898 (Environmental Justice) • Clean Air Act • Safe Water Drinking Act • Clean Water Act 404(b)(1) • Farmland Protection Policy Act • National Historic Preservation Act • Floodplains • Resource Conservation Recovery Act • Economic, Social, and Environmental Effects analysis • Public involvement, interagency coordination • Tribal consultation • Location, design, and engineering • Noise Standards

  10. Key Stakeholders in the Renewable EnergyEnvironmental Planning Process • Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Transmission & Right of Way approval on BLM lands • US Fish and Wildlife Service - Consulting Agency for projects that may effect threatened or endangered species or their habitat • State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) – Consulting organization for cultural resource preservation • US Army Corps of Engineers- Ensure regulatory compliance with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act • State Agencies- State Water Resources Management Authority • Public Utilities Commission- Transmission availability, Project Approval • Local and Regional planning organizations • Tribes

  11. END OF PRESENTATION INSTALLATION MANAGEMENT COMMAND “Sustain, Support and Defend”

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