[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 164 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48241-48243]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18449]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094; FF08ESMF00-FXES11140800000-212]
DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project, Alameda County, California;
Draft Categorical Exclusion and Draft Habitat Conservation Plan
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of permit application; request for
comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the receipt
of an application from DifWind Farms Limited VII and DifWind Farms
Limited IX (collectively, the applicants) for a 6-year incidental take
permit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), along with the
applicants' draft habitat conservation plan. We also announce the
availability of the associated draft National Environmental Policy Act
categorical exclusion screening form. The applicants have applied for
an incidental take permit under the ESA for the DifWind VII & IX
Reclamation Project in Alameda County, California. The permit would
authorize the take of two species incidental to the reclamation of a
decommissioned commercial wind energy project. We invite the public and
local, State, Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on the
application and related documents. Before issuing the requested permit,
we will take into consideration any information that we receive during
the public comment period.
DATES: We must receive your written comments on or before September 27,
2021.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The draft categorical exclusion screening form
(CatEx), draft habitat conservation plan (HCP), and any comments and
other materials that we receive are available for public inspection at
http://www.regulations.gov in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094.
Submitting Comments: To submit comments, please use one of the
following methods, and note that your information requests or comments
are in reference to the draft CatEx, draft HCP, or both.
Internet: Submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov
under Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094.
U.S. Mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2021-0094; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
For more information, see Public Comments and Public Availability
of Comments.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vincent Griego, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, or Ryan Olah, Chief, Coast Bay Division, Fish and Wildlife
Service, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office, by phone at 916-414-6600
or via the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), announce the receipt of an application from DifWind Farms
Limited VII, and DifWind Farms Limited IX (collectively, the
applicants), for a 6-year incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.), along with the applicants' draft habitat conservation plan. We
also announce the availability of the associated draft National
Environmental Policy Act categorical exclusion screening form (NEPA; 42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). The applicants have applied for an incidental
take permit under the ESA for the DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project
in Alameda County, California. The permit would authorize the take of
two species incidental to the reclamation of a decommissioned
commercial wind energy project. We invite the public and local, State,
Tribal, and Federal agencies to comment on the application and related
documents. Before issuing the requested permit, we will take into
consideration any information that we receive during the public comment
period.
An ITP application requires the preparation of an HCP with measures
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of incidental take to the
maximum extent practicable. The applicants prepared and submitted for
Service review their Draft DifWind VII & IX Reclamation Project Habitat
Conservation Plan (HCP) pursuant to section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA. The
Service then prepared a draft categorical exclusion screening form
consistent with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and its implementing
regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 40 CFR 1501.4,
and now is making it available in accordance with provisions within 40
CFR 1506.6. The purpose of the screening form is to confirm that the
agency action is within a category of actions previously determined,
pursuant to agency NEPA procedures, not to normally have significant
effects on the natural and human environment, and thus does not require
further NEPA evaluation, and that there are no extraordinary
circumstances that indicate that an otherwise-excluded action may
warrant further NEPA evaluation.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and Federal
regulations (50 CFR 17) prohibit the taking of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened under section 4 of the ESA.
Regulations governing allowable exceptions to prohibited take of
endangered and threatened species via permits are at 50 CFR 17.22 and
17.32. For more about the Federal habitat conservation plan program, go
to http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/hcp.pdf.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
The proposed permit issuance triggers the need for compliance with
NEPA. The draft CatEx was prepared to analyze the impacts of issuing an
ITP based on the draft HCP and to inform the public of the proposed
action, any alternatives, and associated impacts, and to disclose any
irreversible commitments of resources. The draft CatEx further confirms
if an action is within a category of categorically excluded activities
indicating further NEPA evaluation is not necessary.
[[Page 48242]]
Proposed Action Alternative
Under the proposed action alternative, the Service would issue an
ITP to the applicants for a period of 6 years for certain covered
activities (described below). The applicants have requested an ITP for
two covered species (described below), which are listed as threatened
under the ESA.
Covered Activities
The proposed ESA section 10 ITP would allow take of two covered
species from covered activities in the proposed HCP area. The
applicants are requesting incidental take authorization to complete the
decommissioning and removal of a wind energy project originally
installed in the 1980s and 1990s. The applicants have completed non-
ground-disturbing work, including the removal of wind turbine blades,
nacelles, turbine towers, transformers, meteorological masts, and other
minor aboveground facilities. Under the HCP, the applicants would
complete the decommissioning and removal of approximately 14
miscellaneous concrete pads, 17 junction boxes, 308 turbine
foundations, 41 concrete pad-mount transformer pads, and would restore
approximately 14.7 miles of access roads. The applicants seeks a 6-year
permit to match the projected time necessary to complete the activities
associated with this proposed decommissioning and reclamation project,
including ground-disturbing activities, and remedial actions, if
necessary, to ensure restoration of the project site.
The applicants propose actions to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the
effects to the Covered Species associated with the Covered Activities
through the implementation of the HCP. The proposed mitigation measures
in the HCP closely follow the avoidance and minimization measures
outlined in the East Alameda Conservation Strategy (EACCS). The
measures generally require preconstruction surveys; avoidance and
monitoring during construction; and best management practices for
restoration of Covered Species habitat.
Covered Species
The California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) (central
California distinct population segment), and the California red-legged
frog (Rana draytonii), both federally listed as threatened, are
proposed to be included as covered species in the proposed HCP.
Alternatives
In addition to the proposed action alternative in the applicant's
HCP, as required by the ESA, the HCP considers several alternatives to
such action's potential taking: (1) The No-Take Alternative; (2) the
Reduced Take Alternative, and (3) an Other Alternative.
No-Action Alternative
Under the no-action alternative, the Service would not issue an ITP
to the applicants, and the reclamation would not be completed. The no-
action alternative is not feasible, based on the purpose and need of
the project. The existing wind energy project has been partially
decommissioned, but the applicants are responsible for comprehensive
decommissioning and reclamation activities. Ground disturbance during
the final phases of decommissioning/reclamation activities is
unavoidable, along with plausible incidental take of covered species.
For these reasons, the no-action alternative has been rejected.
Reduced Take Alternative
Under the reduced take alternative, the applicants considered only
removing turbine foundations that were located further away from
aquatic habitat for the covered species. The Service would issue a
permit, and the applicants would implement the proposed mitigation
measures. While this reduced take alternative would reduce the amount
of California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog habitat
affected, it was determined to be infeasible because the applicants
have previous agreements with the landowner to remove all project
components during decommissioning. The applicants would not be able to
meet their obligations with landowners under this alternative, so the
reduced take alternative was rejected.
Other Alternative
The applicants also considered restoring fewer miles of roads as an
alternative. The Service would issue a permit, and the applicants would
implement the proposed mitigation measures. While this other
alternative would reduce by a very small amount the amount of
California tiger salamander and California red-legged frog habitat
initially affected, the long-term value of rehabilitating areas for
future habitat would be lost. Additionally, it was determined to be
generally infeasible because the applicants have previous agreements
with the landowner to remove all project components during
decommissioning. So for these reasons, the reduced take alternative was
rejected.
Public Comments
We request data, comments, new information, or suggestions from the
public, other concerned governmental agencies, the scientific
community, Tribes, industry, or any other interested party on this
notice, the draft CatEx, and the draft HCP. We particularly seek
comments on the following:
(1) Biological information concerning the species;
(2) Relevant data concerning the species;
(3) Additional information concerning the range, distribution,
population size, and population trends of the species;
(4) Current or planned activities in the subject area and their
possible impacts on the species; and
(5) The presence of archeological sites, buildings and structures,
historic events, sacred and traditional areas, and other historic
preservation concerns, which are required to be considered in project
planning by the National Historic Preservation Act; and
(6) Any other environmental issues that should be considered with
regard to the proposed development and permit action.
Public Availability of Comments
Before including your address, phone number, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--might
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.
Next Steps
Issuance of an ITP is a Federal proposed action subject to
compliance with NEPA and section 7 of the ESA. We will evaluate the
application, associated documents, and any public comments we receive
to determine whether the application meets the requirements of section
10(a) of the ESA. If we determine that those requirements are met, we
will conduct an intra-Service consultation under section 7 of the ESA
for the Federal action for the potential issuance of an ITP. If the
intra-Service consultation confirms that issuance of the ITP will not
jeopardize the continued existence of any endangered or threatened
species, or destroy or adversely modify critical habitat, we will issue
a permit to the applicant for the incidental take of the California
tiger salamander and California red-legged frog from the
[[Page 48243]]
implementation of the covered activities described in the draft HCP. We
will make the final permit decision no sooner than 30 days after
publication of this notice in the Federal Register.
Authority
We publish this notice in compliance with section 10(c) of the
Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544 et seq.) and its
implementing regulations at 40 CFR 17.22 and 17.32; and in furtherance
of objectives under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. 4321-4347 et seq.), and its implementing regulations
at 40 CFR 1500-1508.
Kim S. Turner,
Acting Field Supervisor, Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office,
Sacramento, California.
[FR Doc. 2021-18449 Filed 8-26-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P