[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 33 (Thursday, February 17, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9081-9082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03465]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0157; FXES11140800000-20223FF08ECAR00]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Receipt of an Incidental Take
Permit Application for the California Condor; Availability of Draft
Conservation Plan and Draft Environmental Assessment; Pine Tree Wind
Farm, Kern County, California
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for public comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power for an incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended. The permit would authorize take of the federally
endangered California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) incidental to
otherwise lawful activities associated with operation of the existing
Pine Tree Wind Farm. We invite comments on the draft conservation plan
and the draft environmental assessment, which we have prepared pursuant
to the National Environmental Policy Act. We will take comments into
consideration before deciding whether to issue an incidental take
permit.
DATES: To ensure consideration, please submit your written comments by
March 21, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: You may obtain copies of the documents online
in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2021-0157 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Submitting Comments: If you wish to submit comments on any of the
documents, you may do so in writing by any of the following methods:
Email: fw8cfwocomments@fws.gov. Include ``Pine Tree Wind
Farm Incidental Take Permit'' in the subject line of the message.
U.S. Mail: Assistant Field Supervisor, Palm Springs Fish
and Wildlife Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 777 East Tahquitz
Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262.
We request that you send written comments by only one of the
methods described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Peter Sanzenbacher, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail at Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office (address
above), by phone at 760-322-2070, extension 425,
[[Page 9082]]
or via email at peter_sanzenbacher@fws.gov. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf, hard of hearing, or speech
disabled, please call the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from the Los
Angeles Department of Water and Power (applicant) for an incidental
take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA;
16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The application addresses the potential take
of the federally endangered California condor (condor), incidental to
otherwise lawful activities at the Pine Tree Wind Farm (project), as
described in the applicant's draft conservation plan. The project began
operations in 2009 and is within the Tehachapi Wind Resource Area in
the eastern foothills of the southern Sierra Nevada in Kern County,
California.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1538) and Federal regulations
promulgated pursuant to section 4(d) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1533)
prohibit the take of endangered species without special exemption.
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539), we may issue
permits to authorize take of listed fish and wildlife species that is
incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an otherwise lawful
activity. Regulations governing permits for endangered and threatened
species are set forth in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) at part 17, sections 17.22 and 17.32.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) requires Federal agencies to analyze their proposed actions to
determine whether the actions may significantly affect the human
environment. In the NEPA analysis, the Federal agency will identify the
effects, as well as possible mitigation for effects on environmental
resources, that could occur with the implementation of the proposed
action and alternatives. The Federal action in this case is the
Service's proposed issuance of an incidental take permit for the
federally endangered California condor.
Permit Application
The applicant has submitted a draft conservation plan that
describes the activities covered by the permit, such as the operation
of wind turbines and other specified activities associated with project
components. To minimize the risk of incidental take, the applicant will
maintain a program to detect condors approaching the project and
temporarily curtail operating wind turbines when appropriate. The
conservation plan also includes adaptive management to allow for
maintaining the protection of condors as technologies, condor behavior,
and other factors change over time. To mitigate the impact of the
potential incidental take, the applicant proposes to work with an
existing captive breeding facility to fund the production of additional
condors for release into the wild. The Service and applicant used a
population viability analysis to inform the mitigation strategy and
ensure that the level of potential injury or mortality of condors
permitted at the project would not impede recovery of the species. The
population viability analysis report is appended to the draft
conservation plan.
The Service prepared a draft environmental assessment to evaluate
the impacts of issuing the proposed incidental take permit on the human
environment, consistent with the purpose and goals of NEPA and pursuant
to the Council on Environmental Quality's implementing NEPA regulations
at 40 CFR parts 1500-1508. Additionally, the draft environmental
assessment was prepared consistent with the Department of the Interior
NEPA regulations (43 CFR part 46); longstanding Federal judicial and
regulatory interpretations; and Administration priorities and policies
including Secretary's Order No. 3399 requiring bureaus and offices to
use ``the same application or level of NEPA that would have been
applied to a proposed action before the 2020 Rule went into effect.''
A ``Frequently Asked Questions'' document for the above-described
population viability analysis is attached to the draft environmental
assessment. The draft conservation plan and the draft environmental
assessment consider alternatives to the proposed action, including a no
action alternative.
Public Comments
If you wish to comment on the draft conservation plan and draft
environmental assessment, you may submit comments by one of the methods
in ADDRESSES.
Public Availability of Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. All comments and materials we receive in response to this
request will become part of the decision 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
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 issue this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1539) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22), and NEPA
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.305).
Scott Sobiech,
Field Supervisor, Carlsbad Fish and Wildlife Office, Carlsbad,
California.
[FR Doc. 2022-03465 Filed 2-16-22; 8:45 am]
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