WorldWide Drilling Resource

9 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® OCTOBER 2013 Hot Off the Press page is proudly sponsored by American Manufacturing New Geothermal Project for California The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service Inyo National Forest signed a Record of Decision approving a 40-megawatt geothermal project near Mammoth Lakes in Mono County, California. Under the terms of the Record of Decision for the EIS/EIR (Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report), the Casa Diablo IV Geothermal Development Project will be built on lands administered by the Inyo National Forest and on private lands within four existing federal geothermal leases. The project will include construction of a new geothermal power plant, up to 16 new production and injection wells, multiple pipelines, and an electric transmission line. Ormat Nevada Inc. will develop the project which is expected to generate more than 180 construction jobs. When complete, the project should produce energy to power 36,000 homes. The BLM review of the project began with scoping meetings in 2011, and no changes were made to the Final EIS/ EIR. The document was jointly prepared by the BLM, Inyo National Forest, and Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District, in compliance with the National Environmental Pol icy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. "In approving the Casa Diablo geo- thermal project, BLM is helping ad- vance California’s goal of the state generating one-third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and to bring desirable jobs to the Eastern Sierra region," said BLM Bishop Field Office Manager Steve Nelson.