DRECP Final EIS and Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment Released

On Tuesday, November 10th, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and California Secretary for Natural Resources John Laird announced the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP). As stated in the news release issued by the lead and responsible agencies, “The release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for Phase I of the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan is a major step forward, and a key part of the collaborative effort to streamline renewable energy while conserving unique and valuable desert ecosystems and promoting outdoor recreation opportunities.” Since 2010, Aspen has been supporting the California Energy Commission and the Bureau of Land Management preparing the Draft Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement (EIR/EIS) and the BLM’s Final EIS and Proposed Land Use Plan Amendment (LUPA) for this innovative program. Aspen’s role in the DRECP process has been to manage the large consultant team, author numerous chapters of the EIS, participate in public workshops on the Draft EIR/EIS, and participate in inter-agency management and stakeholder meetings. To learn more about the environmental documents released, check out the DRECP news release.