From The Pueblo Chieftain (Matt Hildner):
The agency will use the comments to help identify issues and develop alternative proposals that will be analyzed in an environmental assessment. The environmental assessment would lay out which lands would be eligible for leasing and under what conditions. The agency has already identified 10 preliminary issues for analysis, including impacts to water resources, existing geothermal developments and big game and other threatened or sensitive species, according to the agency’s notice in the Federal Register.
Here’s the release from the Bureau of Land Management (Michael Blakeman):
The San Luis Valley Public Lands Center (SLV-PLC) is seeking public comment to guide a geothermal land use analysis. Ultimately, the environmental assessment will form the basis to amend the Bureau of Land Management’s 1991 San Luis Resource Area Resource Management Plan.
The analysis will identify which public lands and subsurface mineral estates to make available for geothermal leasing. The analysis will also determine under what conditions these lands will be made available for geothermal leasing. Comments will help identify issues and be used to develop alternatives to be analyzed.
Written comments may be submitted by mail to SLV-PLC Attn: BLM Geothermal, 1803 W. Hwy 160, Monte Vista, CO, 81144 or via email to slvplc_comments@blm.gov. Comments are requested by the end of the formal public scoping period Oct 13, 2010. All public comments received to date will be considered in the analysis.
Information regarding the project is posted on the BLM website at www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/slvplc.html, or contact Joseph Vieira at 719-852-6213 for more information.