This Staff Assessment (SA) which includes a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared by the California Energy Commission (CEC) staff to evaluate the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the Fountain Wind Project (Fountain Wind or project) (23-OPT-01), in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the CEQA Guidelines, the Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act, and California Code of Regulations, title 20, chapter 5, article 4.1 (Opt-In Certification Program). The SA also evaluates whether the construction and operation of the project would conform with all applicable local, state, and federal laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards (LORS).
The applicant is seeking a certification from the CEC to construct and operate the Fountain Wind Project. Fountain Wind is a proposed wind energy generation facility on approximately 2,855 acres of private, leased working forest land in unincorporated Shasta County, California, near the town of Burney.