[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 237 (Friday, December 9, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 89133-89135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29333]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R6-MB-2016-N205; FF06M00000-XXX-FRMB48720660090]
Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Eagle
Take Permits for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Phase I Wind Energy
Project
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have prepared a final
environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969, as amended, in response to an application from
Power Company of Wyoming (PCW) for eagle take permits (ETPs) pursuant
to the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA) and its
implementing regulations. PCW has applied for standard and programmatic
ETPs for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Phase I Wind Energy Project
in Carbon County, Wyoming. The final EIS is now available for review.
DATES: The final EIS is available for public review for 30 days, after
which we will issue a record of decision.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the final EIS, as well as the permit application
and the supporting eagle conservation plan, are available for review at
the Carbon County Library System at 215 West Buffalo Street, Rawlins,
Wyoming; the Saratoga Public Library at 503 West Elm Street, Saratoga,
Wyoming; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Wyoming Ecological
Services Office at 5353 Yellowstone Road, Suite 308A, Cheyenne, Wyoming
(contact Nathan Darnall to coordinate access, at nathan_darnall@fws.gov
or 307-772-2374 ext. 246); and the USFWS Region 6 Office at 134 South
Union Boulevard, Lakewood, Colorado (contact Louise Galiher to
coordinate access, at louise_galiher@fws.gov or 303-236-8677). These
documents are also available electronically on the USFWS Web site at
https://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/wind/ChokecherrySierraMadre/index.html.
You may contact us regarding the final EIS via the following
methods:
Email: CCSM_EIS@fws.gov.
U.S. Mail: Chokecherry and Sierra Madre EIS, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Attention: Louise Galiher,
P.O. Box 25486 DFC, Denver, CO 80225.
Hand-Delivery/Courier: Chokecherry and Sierra Madre EIS,
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Attention:
Louise Galiher, 134 Union Blvd., Lakewood, CO 80228.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Louise Galiher, at 303-236-8677
(phone) or louise_galiher@fws.gov (email); or Clint Riley, at 303-236-
5231 (phone) or clint_riley@fws.gov (email). Persons who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339 to contact the above individuals. The Federal
Relay Service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for you to
leave a message or question with the above individuals. You will
receive a reply during normal business hours.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Service), have prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS)
under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (42
U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), in response to an application from Power Company
of Wyoming (PCW) for eagle take permits (ETPs) pursuant to the Bald and
Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), (16 U.S.C. 668-668c) and its
implementing regulations. PCW has applied for standard and programmatic
ETPs for the Chokecherry and Sierra Madre (CCSM) Phase I Wind Energy
Project in Carbon County, Wyoming. The final EIS is now available for
review.
Public Coordination
The notice of intent to prepare an EIS for this project was
published in the Federal Register on December 4, 2013 (78 FR 72926).
Two public scoping meetings for the USFWS EIS were held, on December 16
and 17, 2013, in conjunction with Bureau of Land
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Management (BLM) scoping meetings for an environmental assessment (EA)
of the Phase I CCSM Project. A draft EIS was prepared and a notice of
availability of the draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on
April 29, 2016 (81 FR 25688), opening a 60-day comment period. The
comment period was subsequently reopened for 2 weeks after it was
discovered that a hyphen replaced an underscore in the public comment
email address in several outreach materials. The draft EIS provided
discussion of the potential impacts of the proposed action and an
analysis of reasonable alternatives to the proposed action. Two public
comment meetings for the draft EIS were held, on June 6 and 7, 2016.
The alternatives analyzed in the draft EIS were carried forward for
full analysis in the final EIS. Agencies, tribes, organizations, and
interested parties provided comments on the draft EIS via mail, email,
and public meetings.
Background Information
A. Migratory Birds and Eagle Protections. Raptors and most other
birds in the United States are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act (16 U.S.C. 703-711). The President's Executive Order 13186 directs
agencies to consider migratory birds in environmental planning by
avoiding or minimizing to the extent practicable adverse impacts on
migratory bird resources when conducting agency actions, and by
ensuring environmental analyses of Federal actions as required by NEPA
or other established environmental review processes.
Bald eagles and golden eagles are provided further protection under
BGEPA, which prohibits anyone without a permit issued by the Secretary
of the Interior from ``taking'' eagles, including their parts, nests,
or eggs. An ETP authorizes the take of live eagles and their eggs where
the take is associated with, but not the purpose of, a human activity
or project that is otherwise a lawful activity. Regulations governing
permits for bald and golden eagles can be found in the Code of Federal
Regulations at 50 CFR 22.26. The Service is in the process of
finalizing revisions to these regulations. However, because PCW's
application has already been submitted, it is governed by the existing
regulations. The proposed new regulations, if finalized, would
authorize this course of action, i.e., the new regulations would allow
the Service to issue eagle take permits to PCW under the currently
applicable regulations.
ETPs authorize the take of eagles where the take is compatible with
the preservation of eagles; where it is necessary to protect an
interest in a particular locality; where it is associated with, but not
the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity; and where take is
unavoidable. The Service will issue permits for such take only after an
applicant has committed to undertake all practicable measures to avoid
and minimize such take and mitigate anticipated take to the maximum
extent achievable to be compatible with the preservation of eagles.
Standard ETPs authorize eagle take in an identifiable timeframe and
location. Programmatic ETPs authorize eagle take that is recurring and
not within a specific, identifiable timeframe and/or location. Standard
and programmatic ETPs may be issued for a period of up to 5 years.
B. Power Company of Wyoming Application. As proposed by PCW, the
CCSM Phase I Project will consist of approximately 500 wind turbines, a
haul road, a quarry to supply materials for road construction, access
roads, a rail distribution facility, underground and overhead
electrical and communication lines, laydown areas, operation and
maintenance facilities, and other supporting infrastructure needed for
Phase I to become fully operational. PCW has applied for a standard ETP
for disturbance related to construction of CCSM Phase I wind turbines
and infrastructure components, and a programmatic ETP for operation of
the CCSM Phase I Project.
The applicant has prepared an ECP identifying measures it intends
to undertake to avoid, minimize, and compensate for potential impacts
to bald and golden eagles. To help meet requirements of the Migratory
Bird Treaty Act, the applicant has also prepared a Bird and Bat
Conservation Strategy (BBCS) containing measures the applicant proposes
to implement to avoid or minimize impacts of the project on other
migratory birds. The Service has considered the information presented
in the ECP and BBCS in our analysis of environmental impacts in the
final EIS.
C. The BLM's NEPA Review. The CCSM Phase I Project would be
situated in an area of alternating sections of private, State, and
Federal lands that are administered by the BLM. In 2012, the BLM
completed a final EIS (FEIS) to evaluate whether the project area would
be acceptable for development of a wind facility in a manner compatible
with applicable Federal laws. On October 9, 2012, BLM published a
record of decision (ROD) determining that the portions of the area for
which PCW seeks right-of-way grants ``are suitable for wind energy
development and associated facilities.'' As explained in the ROD, the
BLM's decision does not authorize development of the wind energy
project; rather, it allows BLM to accept and evaluate future right-of-
way applications subject to the requirements of all future wind energy
development described therein (ROD at 6-1).
PCW has since submitted to the BLM site-specific plans of
development from which the BLM is developing site-specific tiered EAs.
In 2014, the BLM published a final EA 1, which analyzes major
components of project infrastructure, including the haul road, rail
facility, and rock quarry. On March 9, 2016, BLM published EA 2, which
analyzes the wind turbines and pads, access roads, laydown areas,
electrical and communication lines, and a construction camp.
The Service has incorporated by reference information from the BLM
FEIS, ROD, EA1, and EA2 into our environmental analysis in the final
EIS in order to avoid redundancy and unnecessary paperwork. Council for
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations authorize incorporation by
reference (40 CFR 1502.21, CEQ 40 Most Asked Questions #30; see also 43
CFR 46.135).
Alternatives
In the final EIS, the Service analyzed the proposed action
alternative, the proposed action with different mitigation, an
alternative to issue ETPs for Phase I of Sierra Madre Wind Development
Area only, and the no-action alternative. The Service identified the
proposed action as the preferred alternative.
Alternative 1: Proposed Action. Alternative 1 is for the Service to
issue ETPs for the construction of the Phase I wind turbines and
infrastructure components and for the operation of the Phase I CCSM
project, based on the ETP applications submitted by PCW. The proposed
action includes avoidance and minimization measures, best management
practices, and compensatory mitigation described in detail in the EIS
and in PCW's application and ECP. PCW has proposed to retrofit high-
risk power poles as compensatory mitigation, thereby reducing eagle
mortality from electrocution.
Alternative 2: Proposed Action with Different Mitigation. Under
Alternative 2, the Service would issue ETPs for the construction and
operation of the Phase I CCSM Project as under Alternative 1, but would
require PCW to implement a different form of compensatory
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mitigation than proposed in its ETP applications. We are considering
mitigation of older wind facilities, lead abatement, carcass removal,
carcass avoidance, wind conservation easements, habitat enhancement
(focusing on prey habitat), and rehabilitation of injured eagles as
possible alternative forms of compensatory mitigation.
Alternative 3: Issue ETPs for Phase I of Sierra Madre Wind
Development Area Only. The Service received numerous comments during
the scoping process requesting that we examine a different development
scenario from that proposed by PCW. However, to issue an ETP, we must
analyze a specific project and ECP to determine if it meets the
requirements for an ETP. Alternative 3 represents an example of a
different development scenario PCW could present in a new application
if the Service were to determine that the Phase I CCSM Project would
meet all the criteria for issuing an ETP, but not at the scale
proposed. Alternative 3 is for the Service to issue ETPs for the
construction of Phase I infrastructure and the construction and
operation of wind turbines only in the Sierra Madre Wind Development
Area (WDA) (298 turbines total). This alternative includes avoidance
and minimization measures, best management practices, and compensatory
mitigation described in PCW's application as they apply to the Sierra
Madre WDA.
Alternative 4: No Action. Under Alternative 4, the Service would
deny PCW standard and programmatic ETPs for construction and operation
of the Phase I CCSM Project. In addition to being a potential outcome
of the permit review process, analysis of the No Action alternative is
required by CEQ regulation (40 CFR 1502.14) and provides a baseline
against which to compare the environmental impacts of the proposed
action and other reasonable alternatives. ETPs are not required in
order for PCW to construct and operate the project; therefore, if we
deny the ETPs, PCW may choose to construct and operate the Phase I CCSM
Project without ETPs and without adhering to an ECP. Alternative 4
analyzes both a ``No Build'' scenario and a ``Build Without ETPs''
scenario.
This final EIS further incorporates information received during the
public comment period for the draft EIS, and finalizes the analyses and
conclusions in the document.
National Environmental Policy Act Compliance
Our decision on whether to issue standard and programmatic ETPs to
PCW triggers compliance with NEPA. NEPA requires the Service to analyze
the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of the CCSM Phase I
project before we make our decision, and to make our analysis available
to the public. We have prepared the final EIS to inform the public of
our proposed permit action, alternatives to that action, the
environmental impacts of the alternatives, and measures to minimize
adverse environmental effects.
Public Availability of Submissions
Before including your address, phone number, email address, or
other personal identifying information in your correspondence, you
should be aware that your entire correspondence--including your
personal identifying information--may be made publicly available at any
time. While you can ask us to withhold your personal identifying
information for public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to do so.
Comments and materials received will be available for public
inspection, by appointment, during normal business hours at the offices
where the comments are being submitted.
Authorities
This notice is published in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969; the CEQ's regulations for
implementing NEPA, 40 CFR parts 1500 through 1508; and the Department
of the Interior's NEPA regulations, 43 CFR part 46.
Stephen A. Smith,
Acting Regional Director, Mountain-Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2016-29333 Filed 12-8-16; 8:45 am]
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