DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Development
Lender for Solar Project “SR Bolivar” – Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact
Agency: Rural Business-Cooperative Service, USDA
SUMMARY: The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) has made a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) with respect to a project proposed by SR Bolivar, LLC and perspective lenders for a guaranteed loan on the project. SR Bolivar is proposing construction of an up to 3.45 MW(AC) Solar Photovoltaic Facility (Project) located immediately west of the City of Bolivar. SR Bolivar has submitted this information for consideration of a guaranteed loan funding package.
FURTHER INFORMATION: Roe Hughes, Area Specialist, Rural Development 3007 Greystone Square, Jackson, TN 38305 (Roe.Hughes@USDA.gov) phone: 731.574.3432. In this continued period of COVID-19 pandemic, the Agency especially encourages contact to be made through electronic methods.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposal is for construction of an up to 3.45 MW (AC) Solar Photovoltaic Facility on an 80 acres site located immediately west of the City of Bolivar on property adjacent to the TVA-owned substation. Approximately 23.25 acres of the project site will be cleared and graded for construction and placement of solar panel, gravel access roads, and accompanying electrical components while 17.8 acres will be cleared of trees and maintained as grass for shade control. The reset of the property will remain unchanged. The electrical power generated by the facility will be sold to the Bolivar Electric Authority (BEA) and would connect to the BEA 12.47-kV distribution powerline adjacent to the TVA-owned substation.
The availability of the EA for public review was announced via notices in the Bolivar Bulletin Times on September 30, 2021 and October 7, 2021A 14-day comment period was announced in the newspaper notices. The EA was available for public review at the USDA Rural Development office in Jackson, TN. One comment was received requesting additional information be provided to the developer regarding the property line immediately adjacent to the existing TVA substation access road to ensure individual land rights would be protected.
Based on the original EA, and commitments which will be made by the lender, RBCS has concluded that the project would have no significant impacts to formally classified lands, important farmland, floodplains, wetlands, historic or cultural resources, federally listed threatened or endangered species, migratory birds, water resources, costal resources, air resources, sensitive noise receptors, or electromagnetic fields.
The proposed project will have no adverse effect on resources listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Based on an agreed mitigation measure limiting the cutting of trees to the time period between October 14th and April 1st, the Agency has also concluded that the proposed project may affect, but not likely adversely affect federally listed threatened and endangered species or designated critical habitat thereof. The proposed project would not disproportionately affect minority and/or low-income populations.
No other potential significant impacts resulting from the proposed project have been identified. Therefore, RBCS has determined that this FONSI fulfills its obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR §§ 1500-1508), and USDA Rural Development's Environmental Policies and Procedures (7 CFR Part 1970) for its action related to the project.
RBCS is satisfied that the environmental impacts of the proposed project have been adequately addressed. RBCS federal action would not result in significant impacts to the quality of the human environment, and as such it will not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for its action related to the proposed project. One specific mitigation measure of limiting the tree cutting to an October 14th to April 1st timeperiod is required.
A general location map of the proposal is shown: