[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41655-41656]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-13554]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080; FXES11140300000-234]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit, Cardinal
Point Wind Project, McDonough and Warren Counties, IL
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comment and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), have
received an application from Cardinal Point Wind Farm, LLC for an
incidental take permit under the Endangered Species Act, for its
Cardinal Point Wind Project (project). If approved, the permit would
authorize the incidental take of two endangered species, the Indiana
bat and the northern long-eared bat, and two species under federal
review, the tricolored bat and little brown bat. The applicant has
prepared a habitat conservation plan in support of their application.
We also announce the availability of a draft environmental assessment,
which has been prepared in response to the permit application in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act. We invite comments from the public and Federal, Tribal, State, and
local governments.
DATES: We will accept comments on or before July 27, 2023.
ADDRESSES:
Document availability: Electronic copies of the documents this
notice announces, along with public comments received, will be
available online in Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080 at https://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft EA, or any combination of the
aforementioned documents, or other supporting 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-2023-0080.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2023-0080; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kraig McPeek, Field Supervisor,
Illinois-Iowa Ecological Services Field Office, by email at
[email protected], or telephone at 309-757-5800, extension 202; or
Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, Midwest Region, by email at
[email protected], or 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:
Background
Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and its implementing regulations prohibit the
``take'' of animal species listed as endangered or threatened. ``Take''
is defined under the ESA as to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot,
wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect [listed animal species], or to
attempt to engage in such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1538). However, under
section 10(a) of the ESA, we may issue permits to authorize incidental
take of listed species. ``Incidental take'' is defined by the ESA as
take that is incidental to, and not the purpose of, carrying out an
otherwise lawful activity. Regulations governing incidental take
permits (ITP) for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are
found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR
17.32.
Applicant's Proposed Project
The applicant requests a 6-year ITP for take of four bat species,
including the federally protected Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and
northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis), the tricolored bat
(Perimyotis subflavus), which is proposed for listing, and the little
brown bat (Myotis lucifugus), which is being considered for listing.
These species are hereafter referred to as ``covered species.'' The
applicant determined that wind farm activities on this land are
reasonably certain to result in incidental take of these species. The
activity that could result in incidental take of the covered species is
the operation of 60 wind turbines occurring in McDonough and Warrant
Counties, Illinois, on private land. The estimated level of take from
the project is up to 240 Indiana bats, 6 northern long-eared bats, 18
tricolored bats, and 18 little brown bats over the 6-year project
duration.
The proposed conservation strategy in the applicant's proposed HCP
is designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of the covered
activity on the covered species. The biological goals and objectives
are to minimize potential take of the covered species through on-site
minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation measures to
offset any impacts from operations of the project. On-site minimization
measures include feathering turbine blades under specific conditions
that are associated with high bat use of the project area, as measured
with acoustic bat detectors at the project. To offset the impacts of
the taking of the covered species, the applicant proposes to conserve
bat habitat by purchasing credits from a bat conservation bank in
Illinois or through individually sponsored habitat projects. The
Service requests public comments on the permit application, which
includes a proposed HCP, and an EA prepared in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
The applicant's HCP describes the activities that will be
undertaken to implement the project, as well as the mitigation and
minimization measures proposed to address the impacts to the covered
species. Pursuant to NEPA, the EA analyzes the impacts the ITP issuance
would have on the covered species and the environment.
National Environmental Policy Act
Issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need for
compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes the
environmental impacts on
[[Page 41656]]
the human environment resulting from three alternatives: A no-action
alternative, the proposed action, and a more restrictive alternative
consisting of feathering below higher wind speeds that results in lower
impacts to bats.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit application and the comments
received to determine whether the application meets the requirements of
section 10(a) of the ESA. We will also conduct an intra-Service
consultation pursuant to section 7 of the ESA to evaluate the effects
of the proposed take. After considering the above findings, we will
determine whether the permit issuance criteria of section 10(a)(l)(B)
of the ESA have been met. If met, the Service will issue the requested
ITP to the applicant.
Request for Public Comments
The Service invites comments and suggestions from all interested
parties during a 30-day public comment period (see DATES). Information
and comments regarding the following topics are requested:
1. The environmental effects that implementation of any alternative
could have on the human environment;
2. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed;
3. Any threats to the covered species that may influence their
populations over the life of the ITP that are not addressed in the
proposed HCP or environmental assessment; and
4. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment.
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
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. 2023-13554 Filed 6-26-23; 8:45 am]
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