[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 79 (Monday, April 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24337-24338]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08688]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0034; FXES11140800000-223-FF08ECAR00]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Incidental Take Permit
Application for the Desert Tortoise; Draft Habitat Conservation Plan
and Draft Environmental Assessment; Bellefield Solar Energy Project,
Kern County, CA
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 8minute Solar Energy for an incidental
take permit under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. The
permit would authorize take of the federally threatened desert tortoise
(Gopherus agassizii) incidental to otherwise lawful activities
associated with construction, operation, maintenance, and
decommissioning of the Bellefield Solar Energy Project. We invite
comments on the draft habitat 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
May 25, 2022.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The application, application supporting
materials, and any comments and other materials that we receive will be
available for public inspection at https://www.regulations.gov in
Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0034.
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:
Internet: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and
submit comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2022-0034.
U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R8-ES-2022-0034; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike; Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send written comments by only one of the
methods described above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ray Bransfield, Fish and Wildlife
Biologist, by mail at the Palm Springs Fish and Wildlife Office, 777
East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Suite 208, Palm Springs, CA 92262; by phone
at 805-677-3398; or via email at ray_bransfield@fws.gov. Individuals in
the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a
speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access
telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United
States should use the relay services offered within their country to
make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We have received an application from 8minute
Solar Energy (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
threatened desert tortoise, incidental to otherwise lawful activities
at the Bellefield Solar Energy Project (project), as described in the
applicant's draft habitat conservation plan. The proposed project would
be located east of the town of Mojave 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 and threatened animals 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 threatened desert tortoise.
Permit Application
The applicant has submitted a draft habitat conservation plan that
describes the activities covered by the permit, such as the
construction of the solar field and generator tie-in line. To minimize
the risk of incidental take, the applicant would employ qualified
biologists to translocate desert tortoises to a safe location off site.
The conservation plan also includes adaptive management to allow for
maintaining the protection of desert tortoises if necessary. To
mitigate the impact of the incidental take, the applicant proposes to
fund the enhancement of desert tortoise habitat within a retired
grazing allotment on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
The draft conservation plan and the draft environmental assessment
consider alternatives to the proposed action, including a no action
alternative.
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, which requires 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.''
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
[[Page 24338]]
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. 2022-08688 Filed 4-22-22; 8:45 am]
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