[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 128 (Wednesday, July 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31897-31899]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-14196]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2019-0043; FXES11130800000 190]
Endangered and Threatened Species; Proposed Low-Effect Habitat
Conservation Plan for the Desert Tortoise, Nye County, NV
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of application; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Canyon Mesa Solar, LLC for an incidental take permit
under the Endangered Species Act. The requested permit would authorize
take of the Mojave desert tortoise resulting from the construction,
operation, and maintenance of a solar photovoltaic facility in Pahrump,
Nevada. The permit application includes a proposed low-effect habitat
conservation plan (HCP). In accordance with the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we have prepared a draft low-
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effect screening form supporting our preliminary determination that the
proposed action qualifies as a categorical exclusion under NEPA. We are
accepting comments on the permit application, proposed low-effect HCP,
and draft NEPA compliance documentation.
DATES: Please send your written comments by August 2, 2019.
ADDRESSES:
Obtaining Documents: The documents this notice announces, as well
as any comments and other materials that we receive, will be available
for public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2019-0043 at
http://www.regulations.gov. Persons wishing to review documents may
obtain copies by written or telephone request to Jennifer Wilkening, by
phone at 702-515-5239, or by mail at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, 4701 N Torrey Pines Dr., Las
Vegas, NV 89130.
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2019-0043.
U.S. mail or hand-delivery: Public Comments Processing,
Attn: Docket No. FWS-R8-ES-2019-0043; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
MS: JAO/1N; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
We request that you send comments by only the methods described
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Wilkening, Southern Nevada
Fish and Wildlife Office, 702-515-5239 (phone) or
jennifer_wilkening@fws.gov (email). 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, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have
received an application from Canyon Mesa Solar, LLC for a 30-year
incidental take permit (permit) under the Endangered Species Act of
1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The requested permit
would authorize take of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus
agassizii) resulting from the construction, operation, and maintenance
of a solar photovoltaic facility in Pahrump, Nevada. The permit
application includes a proposed low-effect habitat conservation plan
(HCP) that incorporates measures the applicant would implement to
minimize and mitigate effects of otherwise lawful project activities on
the desert tortoise. We have prepared a draft low-effect screening form
supporting our preliminary determination that the proposed action
qualifies as a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). We are accepting comments on
the permit application, proposed low-effect HCP, and draft NEPA
compliance documentation.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits take of fish and wildlife species
listed as endangered (16 U.S.C. 1538). Although not listed as
endangered, the Mojave desert tortoise was listed as threatened on
April 2, 1990 (55 FR 12178), with an accompanying ESA section 4(d) rule
(16 U.S.C. 1533(d)), which applies the same take prohibitions for an
endangered species to the threatened tortoise.
Under section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)), 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 threatened
species are set forth in title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) at part 17, section 17.32.
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) requires a detailed environmental
impact statement (EIS) for major Federal actions that significantly
affect the quality of the human environment. An agency may use an
environmental assessment (EA) to inform a decision as to whether to
complete an EIS, or it can establish categories of actions that
individually or cumulatively generally do not have significant effects
on the human environment and do not require either an EA or an EIS. For
this permit application, the Service has preliminarily determined that
the issuance of the ITP is not a major Federal action that will
significantly affect the quality of the human environment, nor will it
individually or cumulatively have more than a negligible effect on the
species covered by the HCP, and should therefore be categorically
excluded from further NEPA analysis as a low-effect HCP (see table
below).The project occurs on land parcels zoned light industrial or
mixed use, and the area has been impacted by prior disturbances such as
a now-abandoned airfield, off-road use, trash dumping, and target
shooting. Vegetation within the majority of the site (95 acres) will be
mowed or trimmed, rather than bladed or graded, and site fencing will
include openings to allow tortoises to enter and exit the facility
after construction. Photovoltaic (PV) panels will be installed at a
greater height than the industry standard, and panel spacing will be
increased to facilitate optimum vegetative growth, which will help to
maintain future habitat connectivity for wildlife following
construction.
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Project's actions to
Applicant, city, state HCP covered species Location and Size Activities Type of take minimize and mitigate
for take
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Canyon Mesa Solar, LLC, Las Vegas, Mojave desert tortoise Nye County, NV........ Survey, capture, Harm, possible Translocation,
Nevada. (Gopherus agassizii). South of City of handle, restore mortality or injury. habitat restoration,
Pahrump.. habitat, and research and
165.6 acres........... translocate. monitoring, testing
and development of
invasive weed
management
techniques, leaving
native vegetation in
place and allowing
for wildlife use
inside site after
construction,
maintaining habitat
connectivity.
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Public Availability of Comments
All comments and materials we receive in response to this request
will be available for public review at http://www.regulations.gov.
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.
Next Steps
If we decide to issue a permit to the applicant listed in this
notice, we will publish a notice in the Federal Register.
Authority
We issue this notice pursuant to section 10(c) of the ESA (16
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) and its implementing
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regulations (50 CFR 17.22 and 17.32) and consistent with the National
Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations (40 CFR 1506.6 and 43 CFR 46.205).
Glen Knowles,
Field Supervisor, Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife Office, Las Vegas,
Nevada.
[FR Doc. 2019-14196 Filed 7-2-19; 8:45 am]
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