[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 105 (Thursday, June 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29803-29804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11602]
[[Page 29803]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042; FXES11140300000-212]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit,
California Ridge Wind Farm, Champaign and Vermilion Counties, Illinois
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comment and
information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from California Ridge Wind Energy, LLC (applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
for its California Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP
would authorize the incidental take of four bat species. The applicant
has prepared a habitat conservation plan, which is also available for
review. We also announce the availability of a draft environmental
assessment, which has been prepared in response to the permit
application in accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on the application
and associated documents.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before July
6, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with public comments received, will be
available online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft EA, or any combination of the
aforementioned documents, or other supporting documents. You may submit
written comments by one of the following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0042; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W, Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kraig McPeek, Field Supervisor,
Illinois-Iowa Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 1511 47th Ave., Moline, IL 61265; telephone: 309-757-5800,
extension 202; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service--Interior Region 3, 5600 American Blvd., West,
Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; telephone: 612-713-5337.
Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have
received an application from California Ridge Wind Energy, LLC
(applicant), for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its
California Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be for
a 20-year period and would authorize the incidental take of the
following four species: Indiana bat (federally listed as endangered),
northern long-eared bat (federally listed as threatened), little brown
bat (currently under discretionary review), and tricolored bat
(petitioned for listing under ESA). The applicant has prepared a
habitat conservation plan that describes the actions and measures that
the applicant would implement to avoid, minimize, and mitigate
incidental take of the four species. We also announce the availability
of a draft environmental assessment (EA), which has been prepared in
response to the permit application in accordance with the requirements
of the National Environmental Policy Act. We request public comment on
the application and associated documents.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA and its implementing regulations prohibit the
``take'' of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. ``Take''
is defined under the ESA as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect'' listed animal species, ``or to
attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). However,
under section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue permits to authorize
incidental take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by
the ESA as take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying
out an otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are found
in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR 17.32.
Applicant's Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 20-year ITP to take the federally
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), threatened northern long-eared
bat (Myotis septentrionalis), non-listed little brown bat (Myotis
lucifugus), and non-listed tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus)
(covered species). The applicant determined that take is reasonably
certain to occur incidental to operation of 134 previously constructed
wind turbines that have a total generating capacity of 214.4 megawatts
and covering approximately 35,270 acres of private land. The proposed
conservation strategy in the applicant's proposed HCP is designed to
avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of the covered activity on
the covered species. The biological goals and objectives are to
increase the understanding of the risk to covered species populations
resulting from operation of wind energy facilities; minimize mortality
of the covered species as a result of wind farm operations in the
permit area; and to support survival and recovery of the covered
species by maintaining or increasing the reproductive capacity of the
populations of the covered species. The HCP provides on-site avoidance
and minimization measures, which include turbine operational
adjustments. The authorized level of take from the project is up to a
total of 100 Indiana bats, 280 northern long-eared bats, 780 little
brown bats, and 240 tricolored bats over the 20-year project duration.
To offset the impacts of the taking of covered species, the applicant
proposes to restore and protect up to 563.2 acres of suitable habitat
for the covered species and up to 13 artificial bat roost structures.
Mitigation will occur in the same or immediately adjacent watershed as
the project.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need
for compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We prepared a draft
EA that analyzes the environmental impacts on the human environment
resulting from three alternatives: A no-action alternative, the
proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative consisting of
feathering turbines at a wind speed that results in less impacts to
bats.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments
received to determine whether the application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also conduct an
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intra-Service consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate
the effects of the proposed take. After considering the above findings,
we will determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section
10(a)(l)(B) of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue
the requested ITP to the applicant.
Public Comments
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested
parties during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). In
particular, information and comments regarding the following topics are
requested:
1. The environmental effects that implementation of any alternative
could have on the human environment;
2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
3. Any threats to the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat
that may influence their populations over the life of the ITP that are
not addressed in the proposed HCP; and
4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment.
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. We will post on http://regulations.gov all public comments
and information received electronically or via hardcopy. All comments
received, including names and addresses, will become part of the
administrative record associated with this action. Before including
your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be
made publicly available at any time. While you can request in your
comment that we withhold your personal identifying information from
public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. All
submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals
identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations
or businesses, will be made available for public disclosure in their
entirety.
Authority
We provide this notice under section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and the
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-11602 Filed 6-2-21; 8:45 am]
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