News Release Archive

Reclamation Announces Decision on Patua Geothermal Project

Media Contact: Pete Lucero, 916-978-5101, plucero@usbr.gov

For Release: January 03, 2011

The Bureau of Reclamation has signed a Finding of No Significant Impact for the Environmental Assessment on the impacts of issuing a 20-year license authorizing a right-of-way for a 120kV transmission line as part of the Patua Geothermal Project.

Vulcan Power Company (VPC) has acquired the rights to all federal geothermal leases issued by the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for the Patua Geothermal Unit N-85168X. The lease areas are located in Churchill and Lyon Counties, Nevada. BLM manages the subsurface geothermal resources underlying the federal leases in the project area and Reclamation's Lahontan Basin Area Office is the surface management agency. BLM oversees approval of the geothermal facilities on Reclamation-managed lands in consultation with Reclamation.

VPC is proposing to design, construct, and operate geothermal well pads and wells, geothermal fluid pipelines, transmission lines, and their associated access roads. These facilities would be located on a combination of Reclamation-managed lands, State of Nevada-managed lands and private lands.

The right-of-way on Reclamation land would be approximately 3.5 miles long and 75 feet wide. This line would connect a new power plant on private land north of Hazen to a new substation in Fernley.

This Environmental Assessment (EA) for the entire project was jointly prepared between BLM's Carson City District Office and Reclamation, pursuant to the national Reclamation/BLM Interagency Agreement, December 1982. Reclamation's Finding of No Significant Impact can be viewed at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_project_details.php?Project_ID=6896. If you encounter problems accessing documents online, please call 916-978-5100 or e-mail mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.

The EA and BLM's FONSI can be viewed at http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/carson_city_field/blm_information/nepa/patua_vulcan_geothermal.html.

For additional information, please contact Andrea Minor at 775-884-8366 or e-mail aminor@usbr.gov.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.