Bureau of Land Management
Solar Energy Permitting and Program Resources
Our thanks to all who participated in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) webinar on Wednesday, September 28th. The webinar presentation is posted on the Afton SRMS Project Website.
Please consider using the “Questions to Consider When Commenting” form available on the project website for the most effective way of providing comments. However, BLM will accept any format for comments (written letter, PDF comment tags, scanned markups, etc.).
BLM requests comments on draft impacts that may warrant regional mitigation, goals and objectives, and additional workshop materials available on the website by October 26, 2016.
Please email your comments to [email protected].
Questions about the webinar can be directed to Treaver Ashby, Las Cruces District Office, at [email protected].
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will host a webinar to discuss the Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for the Afton SEZ in New Mexico on Wednesday, September 28th from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Mountain Time. The webinar will focus on an updated assessment of residual impacts based on stakeholder input, a preliminary assessment of impacts warranting compensatory mitigation, and a preview of regional goals and objectives and draft mitigation desired outcomes.
Documents for stakeholder review have now been posted to the Afton SRMS Project Website. Three documents are included: 1. Impacts Summary (Revision), 2. Draft - Impacts that May Warrant Mitigation, and 3. Draft - Goals and Objectives Crosswalk.
The webinar dial-in number is: 1-888-240-2560; passcode 963-774-5036. If you are planning to attend the webinar please register at: https://anl.adobeconnect.com/aftonsrms09282016/event/registration.html. If you experience any difficulty in registering or logging in to the webinar, please call 773-575-8388.
The Las Cruces District Office will host any interested local stakeholders in a conference room to view the webinar, located at: 1800 Marquess Street, Las Cruces, NM 88005-3370. If you are interested in attending the webinar viewing at the Las Cruces District Office, please email your RSVP to [email protected].
Questions about the webinar can be directed to Treaver Ashby, Las Cruces District Office, at [email protected] or (575) 525-4304.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing a Solar Regional Mitigation Strategy (SRMS) for the Afton Solar Energy Zone (SEZ) in New Mexico. The BLM will host an all-day public workshop on May 3, 2016, at:
The BLM is developing this strategy to identify potential impacts of solar development in the SEZ and appropriate mitigation measures to address these impacts, in particular through regional compensatory mitigation. Compensatory mitigation is defined in 40 CFR 1508.20 as compensating for the (residual) impacts of a project by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments, where mitigation actions are typically implemented at locations outside the area of impact. SRMS development will be a public, stakeholder-informed process. This workshop represents the beginning of that public process. A detailed agenda will be forthcoming. There will be additional opportunities to attend meetings and otherwise provide input as the SRMS is developed.
A project website has been created that will serve as a source of information regarding the status of the project and opportunities for public participation. As materials become available, including detailed agendas, presentations, and handouts, they will be posted on this website, available at https://blmsolar.anl.gov/sez/nm/regional-mitigation/.
If you are planning to attend the public workshop, please e-mail your RSVP to: [email protected].
Questions about the workshop can be directed to Treaver Ashby, Las Cruces District Office, at [email protected] or Bill Werner, BLM Arizona State Office, at [email protected].
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a groundwater model and report for the Afton Solar Energy Zone in New Mexico. The purpose of the Afton SEZ Model is to assess potential impacts associated with groundwater withdrawals to support solar energy development in the vicinity of the Afton SEZ. This is an analytical model developed using established hydrogeological principles that relies on publicly available geologic and hydrologic data.
The Afton SEZ Model report contains further information regarding the development of the model and the results.
To view the Afton SEZ report and model, visit the Groundwater Modeling for the Afton SEZ page.