Wind farm comment period extended

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has extended the public comment period on the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Phase I Wind Turbine Development Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No New Significant Impacts (FONNSI) until April 22, 2016.

BLM released the EA and FONNSI on March 9 announcing a key milestone for the largest proposed wind energy facility in North America. It’s a project with the capacity to open up to 1,000 jobs at peak construction and generate up to 3,000 megawatts of clean, renewable power – enough to run nearly one million homes.

The EA examines the potential, site-specific impacts of constructing 500 wind turbines on mixed ownership land in the first phase of the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Wind Energy Project in southern Wyoming. The two-phase development proposes to build 1,000 wind turbines on 219,707 acres south of Rawlins in Carbon County. BLM administers approximately half of the land, and the remainder of the site is made up of privately owned and state lands.

Written comments on the Phase I Wind Turbine Development EA and draft FONNSI will be accepted until April 22, 2016. Comments may be emailed to [email protected] with “CCSM Phase I Wind EA Comment” in the subject line; faxed to 307-328-4224; or mailed or delivered to BLM Rawlins Field Office, Attn: Heather Schultz, CCSM Phase I Wind EA, and 1300 N. Third St., P.O. Box 2407, Rawlins, WY 82301.

Before including address, phone number, email address or other personal identifying information in your comment, those wishing to comment should be advised that the entire comment — including personal identifying information — may be made publicly available at any time. While one may ask to withhold from public review any personal identifying information, the BLM cannot guarantee that they will be able to do so.