[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 230 (Wednesday, November 30, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74072-74073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-30824]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R1-ES-2011-N235; 10120-1112-0000-F2]
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Incidental Take
Permit Application; Habitat Conservation Plan and Associated Documents;
Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility, Maui County, HI
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application, under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended
(Act), from Kaheawa Wind Power I, LLC, for an amendment to incidental
take permit (ITP) number TE118901-0 and the associated Kaheawa Pastures
Wind Energy Generation Facility Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). If
approved, the ITP amendment would reduce the level of authorized
incidental take of the endangered Hawaiian petrel (uau) and the
threatened Newell's shearwater (ao) in the course of operating the
Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility (KWPI wind farm) for
generating electricity on the island of Maui, Hawaii. We invite public
comment on the proposed amendment of the ITP, HCP, and associated
documents.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please send your written comments by
December 30, 2011.
ADDRESSES: You may download a copy of the permit application, HCP, and
associated documents on the Internet at http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/. Alternatively, you may use one of the methods below to
request hard copies or a CD-ROM of the documents. Please specify permit
number TE118901-0 on all correspondence.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments or requests for copies
or more information by one of the following methods.
Email: Dawn_Greenlee@fws.gov. Include ``Permit Number
TE118901-0'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Please address written comments to Loyal
Mehrhoff, Project Leader, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 3-122,
Honolulu, HI 96850.
In-Person Drop-off, Viewing, or Pickup: Call Dawn
Greenlee, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, at (808) 792-9400 to make an
appointment to view or pick up draft documents, or drop-off comments
during regular business hours at the above address.
Fax: Loyal Mehrhoff, Project Leader, (808) 792-9580,
Attn.: Permit number TE118901-0.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dawn Greenlee, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (808) 792-9400 (phone);
Dawn_Greenlee@fws.gov (email, include ``Permit Number TE118901-0'' in
the subject line of the message). If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD), please call the Federal Information Relay
Service (FIRS) at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Introduction
Kaheawa Wind Power I, LLC (KWPI), a subsidiary of First Wind Energy
LLC, has requested an amendment to their existing incidental take
permit (ITP) number TE118901-0, and the associated Kaheawa Pastures
Wind Energy Generation Facility Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), under
section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Act. If we approve the amendment, the ITP
would reduce the level of authorized incidental take of the endangered
Hawaiian petrel (uau, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and the threatened
Newell's shearwater (ao, Puffinus auricularis newelli) in the course of
operating the Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility (KWPI
wind farm) for generating electricity on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
Project-related permit-authorized take of the Hawaiian goose (nene,
Branta sandvicensis) and the Hawaiian hoary bat (opeapea, Lasiurus
cinereus semotus) would remain unchanged.
The take would be incidental to KWPI's continued operation of the
20-turbine, 30-megawatt KWPI wind farm that generates electricity on
Maui. The Service listed the Hawaiian petrel as endangered on March 11,
1967 (32 FR 4001); the Hawaiian goose as endangered on March 11, 1967
(32 FR 4001); the Hawaiian hoary bat as endangered on October 13, 1970
(35 FR 16047); and the Newell's shearwater as threatened on September
25, 1975 (40 FR 44150).
The notice for the existing ITP was published in the Federal
Register on October 4, 2005 (70 FR 57888), and the ITP was issued on
January 30, 2006.
Background
Section 9 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and our implementing
Federal regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR
17 prohibit the ``take'' of fish or wildlife species listed as
endangered or threatened. Take of listed fish or wildlife is defined
under the Act as ``to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill,
trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such
conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). However, under limited circumstances, we
issue permits to authorize incidental take--i.e., take that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, the carrying out of an otherwise
lawful activity.
Regulations governing incidental take permits for threatened and
endangered species are at 50 CFR 17.32 and 17.22, respectively. In
addition to meeting other criteria, an ITP must not jeopardize the
continued existence of federally listed threatened or endangered
species.
Applicant's Proposal
KWPI currently holds permit number TE118901-0, and now seeks an
amendment to this existing permit to reduce the permitted level of take
for the Hawaiian petrel and the Newell's shearwater. The existing
permit
[[Page 74073]]
authorizes the applicant to take 40 Hawaiian petrels, 40 Newell's
shearwaters, 60 Hawaiian geese, and 20 Hawaiian hoary bats incidental
to operation of the KWPI wind farm. The amendment would reduce the
permitted level of take to 30 Hawaiian petrels and 8 Newell's
shearwaters, with no change to the permitted level of take for the
Hawaiian goose and the Hawaiian hoary bat. The KWPI wind farm project
is located on the island of Maui, Hawaii.
The requested amendment to permitted take levels is based on the
results of monitoring the take of listed species during the first six
seasons of operation of the KWPI wind farm project. Monitoring has
detected two Hawaiian petrel carcasses, but no Newell's shearwater
carcasses were detected at the wind farm site. Under the approved HCP,
KWPI is required to mitigate for the take of the covered species by
implementing predator control at nesting areas of the Hawaiian petrel,
Newell's shearwater, and the Hawaiian goose on Maui, and by
contributing to Hawaiian hoary bat research. No changes to the
mitigation program under the KWPI HCP are being proposed. The HCP's
mitigation for take of Hawaiian petrels and Newell's shearwaters is
conducted based on observed levels of take. The KWPI project's
mitigation plans are being implemented pursuant to the KWPI HCP.
Pursuant to the adaptive management aspects of the KWPII HCP, the
mitigation program for Hawaiian petrel and Newell's shearwater has been
refined. Summaries of the KWPI project's seabird mitigation plans are
outlined in the October 2011 Draft Seabird Mitigation Plan for KWPI and
KWPII. The document outlines the applicant's plans to attract both
seabird species to protected areas in west Maui, and to develop, within
five years, additional mitigation measures that would be implemented,
if necessary, to offset project take. These additional mitigation
measures include in-situ management of Newell's shearwater in west
Maui, east Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, in-situ management of Hawaiian
petrel colonies on the Haleakala Crater in east Maui, and additional
social attraction projects for Newell's shearwater in east Maui,
Molokai, and Lanai.
The application for a permit amendment includes KWPI's 2006 Kaheawa
Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility HCP, Implementing Agreement,
Guarantee Agreement, a proposed amendment to the HCP, a proposed
amendment to the Implementing Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft
Seabird Mitigation Plan for KWPI and KWPII.
Our Preliminary Determination
The Service has made a preliminary determination that the
Biological Opinion, Set of Findings, Environmental Assessment, and
Finding of No Significant Impact, all of which were previously approved
in support of issuance of the original incidental take permit, do not
require revision, because there is no new information relating to the
impacts of this action that warrant such a change, and there are no
additional impacts expected beyond those originally assessed.
Next Steps
The public process for the proposed Federal permit action will be
completed after the public comment period, at which time we will
evaluate the permit amendment application and comments submitted
thereon to determine whether the application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the Act, applicable regulations, and NEPA
requirements. If we determine that those requirements are met, we will
amend the ITP to reflect the revised HCP, Implementing Agreement,
Guarantee Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft Seabird Mitigation Plan
for KWPI and KWPII.
Public Comments
We invite public comment on the proposed amendments of the ITP,
HCP, Implementing Agreement, and the October 2011 Draft Seabird
Mitigation Plan for KWPI and KWPII. If you wish to comment on the
proposed amendment of the ITP, HCP, and associated documents, you may
submit comments by any one of the methods discussed above under
ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your comments, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--may be made publicly available at any time. While you can
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be
able to do so.
Authority: We provide this notice under section 10 of the Act
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and NEPA regulations (40 CFR 1506.6).
Dated: November 8, 2011.
Richard R. Hannan,
Deputy Regional Director, Pacific Region, Portland, Oregon.
[FR Doc. 2011-30824 Filed 11-29-11; 8:45 am]
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