[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 164 (Friday, August 27, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48243-48244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-18450]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R2-ES-2020-N156; FXES11140200000-212-FF02ENEH00]
Application for an Incidental Take Permit; Habitat Conservation
Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment for Wildhorse Mountain Wind
Project, Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announce the
availability of a draft environmental assessment (dEA) under the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and application for an
incidental take permit (ITP) supported by a habitat conservation plan
(HCP) for the operation of an existing wind facility, the Wildhorse
Mountain Wind project (project), in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
Wildhorse Wind Energy, LLC (Applicant) has applied for an ITP under the
Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The requested ITP, which
would be in effect for a period of 30 years, if granted, would cover
incidental take of the federally endangered Indiana bat and threatened
northern long-eared bat. The potential incidental take would be
associated with activities associated with the operation of the
existing wind project. We invite public comments on the permit
application, proposed HCP, and dEA.
DATES: Submission of Comments: We will accept comments received or
postmarked on or before September 27, 2021.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining documents: The documents this notice announces are
available for public inspection by any of the following means.
Internet: You may obtain electronic copies of the dEA and HCP on
the Oklahoma Field Office website at http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/oklahoma/.
U.S. Mail: You may obtain the documents at the following addresses.
In your request for documents, please note that your request is in
reference to the Wildhorse Mountain Wind Project HCP and dEA.
EA and HCP: A limited number of CD-ROM and printed copies
of the EA and HCP are available, by request, from Ken Collins, Acting
Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office, Tulsa OK,
telephone 918-581-7458.
The ITP application is available by mail from the Regional
Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 1306, Room 6034,
Albuquerque, NM 87103.
Submitting Comments
You may submit written comments by one of the following methods:
Email: okes_nepa@fws.gov; or
Facsimile: 918-581-7467, Attn: OKES Wildhorse Mountain
Wind Project HCP EA.
U.S. mail: Field Supervisor, Oklahoma Ecological Services
Field Office, 9014 East 21st Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74129-1428.
Please specify that your information request or comments concern
the Wildhorse Mountain Wind Project EA/HCP.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ken Collins, by U.S. mail at the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office
(at the Tulsa street address above), or by phone at 918-581-7458. If
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), please call the
Federal Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Applicant has applied to the Service for
an ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973,
as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested ITP, which
would be in effect for a period of 30 years, if granted, would
authorize incidental take of the federally endangered Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis) and threatened northern long-eared bat (Myotis
septentrionalis) during the operation of an existing wind facility in
Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
In total, the plan area is 13,731.6 acres, including the 13,641.6-
acre wind facility and an off-site mitigation area (90 acres of
contiguous forested habitat in Pushmataha County). The facility,
constructed in 2019, consists of 29 wind turbines, with a total
generating capacity of 100 megawatts.
Activities potentially causing take include the operation of the
existing 29 wind turbines. The Applicant has proposed a HCP that would
be implemented to address project impacts to the Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat.
We are notifying the public of the Applicant's proposal of an HCP
and request to the Service for an ITP to cover incidental take of the
Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat associated with the operation
of the Wildhorse Mountain Wind facility. In addition, we are notifying
the public of the Service's preparation of a dEA regarding impacts of
the requested action or feasible alternatives, of an opportunity for
public comment on our action, and of our intention to finalize the
environmental assessment after consideration of public comment.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered or threatened (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544). Under
section 3 of the ESA, the term ``take'' means 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(19)). The term ``harm'' is
further defined by regulation as an act which actually kills or injures
wildlife. Such acts may include significant habitat modification or
degradation where it actually kills or injures wildlife by
significantly impairing essential behavioral patterns, including
breeding, feeding, or sheltering (50 CFR 17.3).
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA, the Secretary of the Interior
may authorize the taking of federally listed species if such taking
occurs incidental to otherwise legal activities and where a
conservation plan has been developed under ESA section 10(a)(2)(A) that
describes (1) the impact that will likely result from such taking; (2)
the steps an Applicant will take to minimize and mitigate that take to
the maximum extent practicable, and the funding that will be available
to implement such steps; (3) the alternative actions to such taking
that an Applicant considered and the reasons why such alternatives are
not being utilized; and (4) other measures that the Service may require
as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the plan.
Issuance criteria
[[Page 48244]]
under section 10(a)(2)(B) for an incidental take permit requires the
Service to find that (1) the taking will be incidental to otherwise
lawful activities; (2) an Applicant will, to the maximum extent
practicable, minimize and mitigate the impacts of such taking; (3) an
Applicant has ensured that adequate funding for the plan will be
provided; (4) the taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of
the survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and (5) the
measures, if any, we require as necessary or appropriate for the
purposes of the plan will be met. Regulations governing permits for
endangered and threatened species are at 50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32,
respectively.
Proposed Action
The proposed action is the issuance of a 30-year ITP to authorize
incidental take of up to 8 Indiana bats and 48 northern long-eared bats
during the ITP term, resulting from activities covered by the HCP and
associated with the operation of the existing Wildhorse Mountain Wind
Project in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma. The plan area is 13,731.6
acres, of which 90 acres are protected mitigation lands to offset the
impacts of the project.
The proposed HCP, which must meet the requirements in section
10(a)(2)(A) of the ESA, was developed in coordination with the Service
and would be implemented by the Applicant. The proposed action will
allow for the Applicant to comply with the ESA, and their renewable
wind-generated energy would be made available to public utilities.
Covered activities in the HCP include the operation of 29 wind turbines
and the conservation and preservation of 90 acres, called the
mitigation area. The Applicant proposes to minimize and mitigate
impacts to the Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat through
conservation measures identified in the HCP.
Alternatives
We considered one alternative to the proposed action as part of the
environmental assessment process: The no-action alternative. The no-
action alternative represents estimated future conditions without the
issuance of an ITP. The no-action alternative represents the status
quo.
Under the no-action alternative, the Service would not issue the
ITP. The no-action alternative would be implemented if the Service
denies issuance of a permit or if the Applicant chooses to abandon
pursuing an ITP. The Applicant would operate the project without an ITP
and would risk not being in compliance with section 9 of the Endangered
Species Act if implementation of covered activities results in take of
the Indiana bat or the northern long-eared bat without the use of a
4(d) rule.
Next Steps
We will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, and
comments we receive to determine whether the permit application meets
the requirements of the ESA, NEPA, and implementing regulations. If we
determine all requirements are met, we will approve the HCP and issue
the ITP under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA to the Applicant,
Wildhorse Mountain Wind Energy, LLC, for take of Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat in accordance with the terms of the HCP and
specific terms and conditions of the authorizing permit. We will not
make our final decision until after the end of the 30-day public
comment period, and we will fully consider all comments we receive
during the public comment period.
Public Availability of Comments
Written comments we receive become part of the public record
associated with this action. Requests for copies of comments will be
handled in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, NEPA, and
Service and Department of the Interior policies and procedures. Before
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that the
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. 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 the authority of section 10(c) of the
ESA and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6).
Amy L. Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2021-18450 Filed 8-26-21; 8:45 am]
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