LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The release of a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Walker Ridge Wind Project in Lake and Colusa counties has been postponed until 2012.

The delay will allow the project proponent, AltaGas Renewable Energy Pacific Inc., time to complete a revised plan of development, according to a statement from the Bureau of Land Management.

Alta Gas applied for a right-of-way authorization on public lands for a 67-megawatt wind energy project with an interconnection to the Pacific Gas & Electric 115-kiloVolt distribution system.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Ukiah Field Office received a letter on Oct. 5 from AltaGas requesting a delay until 2012.

Although the draft environmental impact study release has been delayed, a notice from the Environmental Protection Agency announcing the document’s availability published in the Federal Register today because there was not enough time after BLM’s receipt of AltaGas’ letter to cancel the EPA’s notice.

A retraction of the EPA notice will be published in the Federal Register this week.

The proposed project would be built within a 7,882-acre right-of-way on federal land on Walker Ridge under the jurisdiction of the BLM Ukiah Field Office.

The draft environmental impact study alternatives include 29 or 42 wind turbine generators, an underground electrical collection system, a substation, a 115-kV overhead transmission line, an interconnect station, an operations and maintenance building, access roads, and a temporary lay down area.

The draft environmental impact study will analyze site-specific and cumulative impacts of the alternatives to the environment, the Bureau of Land Management reported.

The Ukiah Field Office Resource Management Plan identified the Indian Valley Management area, which includes Walker Ridge, as available for wind energy development.

The draft environmental impact study describes and analyzes the proposed action and alternatives, including measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate impacts on the environment.

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