[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 56 (Thursday, March 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17610-17611]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-05952]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147; FXES11140300000-234]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan for Crescent Wind Project, Hillsdale County, Michigan; Reopening
of Public Comment Period
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; reopening of public comment period.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are reopening the
public comment period on our January 27, 2023, notice that announced
our draft environmental assessment evaluating an incidental take permit
(ITP) application received from Consumers Energy Company (applicant).
The ITP application includes the Crescent Wind Project Habitat
Conservation Plan, which is also under review. The applicant is
requesting incidental take coverage of the Indiana bat and the northern
long-eared bat. We invite comment from the public and local, State,
Tribal, and Federal agencies. Comments previously submitted need not be
resubmitted, because they will be fully considered.
DATES: The comment period for the draft habitat conservation plan and
draft environmental assessment, notice of which was published on
January 27, 2023 (88 FR 5372), is reopened. Comments submitted online
at https://www.regulations.gov must be received or postmarked on or
before April 6, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with public comments received, are available
online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: Please specify whether your comment addresses
the proposed habitat conservation plan, draft environmental assessment,
any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other documents.
You may submit written comments by one of the following methods:
Online: https://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0147; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Hicks, Field Supervisor,
Michigan Ecological Services Field Office, by email at
scott_hicks@fws.gov, or by telephone at 517-351-6274; or Andrew Horton,
Regional HCP Coordinator, Midwest Region, by email at
andrew_horton@fws.gov, or by telephone at 612-713-5337. 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: On January 27, 2023 (88 FR 5372), we, the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, published a Federal Register notice
announcing the availability for public comment of an application from
Consumers Energy Company for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the
Endangered Species Act (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), for its Crescent
Wind Project (project). The comment period closed on February 27, 2023.
If approved, the ITP would be for a 30-year period and would
authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana
bat (Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis
septentrionalis). The applicant prepared a habitat conservation plan
(HCP) that
[[Page 17611]]
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the Indiana bat and
northern long-eared bat.
With this notice, we are reopening the public comment period on the
EA and HCP to provide requested appendices to the HCP not originally
provided during the initial comment period (see DATES and ADDRESSES).
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown in ADDRESSES.
We will post on https://www.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 Endangered
Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations
(50 CFR 17.22) and the National Environmental Policy Act (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. 2023-05952 Filed 3-22-23; 8:45 am]
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