[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 28, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73797-73799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-28223]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139; FXES11140300000-223]
Receipt of Incidental Take Permit Application and Proposed
Habitat Conservation Plan for the Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm, White
County, Indiana; Categorical Exclusion
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability of documents; request for comment and
information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm LLC (applicant), for an
incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act, for its
Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be
for a 6-year period and would authorize the incidental take of an
endangered species, the Indiana bat, and a threatened species, the
northern long-eared bat. The applicant has prepared a habitat
conservation plan that 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. We request public
comment on the application, which includes the applicant's proposed
habitat conservation plan (HCP), and on the Service's preliminary
determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,'' categorically
excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act. To make this
determination, we used our environmental action statement and low-
effect screening form, both of which are also able for public review.
[[Page 73798]]
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before
January 27, 2022.
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-2021-0139 at http://www.regulations.gov.
Comment submission: In your comment, please specify whether your
comment addresses the proposed HCP, draft environmental action
statement, or any combination of the aforementioned documents, or other
supporting documents. You may submit written comments by one of the
following methods:
Online: http://www.regulations.gov. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139.
By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2021-0139; U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service; 5275 Leesburg Pike, MS: PRB/3W; Falls Church, VA
22041-3803.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Pruitt, Field Supervisor,
Bloomington Ecological Services Field Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, 620 South Walker Street, Bloomington, IN 47403; telephone:
812-334-4261, extension 214; or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP
Coordinator, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service--Interior Region 3, 5600
American Blvd., West, Suite 990, Bloomington, MN 55437-1458; telephone:
612-713-5337.
Individuals who are hearing impaired or speech impaired may call
the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY assistance.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have
received an application from Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm LLC
(applicant) for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered
Species Act of 1973, as amended (ESA; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). The
applicant requests the ITP to take the federally listed Indiana bat
(Myotis sodalis) and northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
incidental to the operation of 72 wind turbines with a total generating
capacity of 302 megawatt (MW) at the Indiana Crossroads Wind Farm in
White County, Indiana. While the ITP is for 6 years, the operational
life of most new wind energy facilities is thirty years and intensive
monitoring conducted during this permit term will inform the need for
future avoidance or a new long-term ITP for the remaining life of the
project that will comply with a new NEPA analysis and habitat
conservation plan (HCP). The applicant has prepared an HCP that
describes the actions and measures that the applicant would implement
to avoid, minimize, and mitigate incidental take of the covered species
for the first 6 years. We request public comment on the application,
which includes the applicant's proposed HCP, and on the Service's
preliminary determination that this HCP qualifies as ``low-effect,''
categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). To make this determination, we used our
environmental action statement and low-effect screening form, both of
which are also able for public review.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA 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 any such conduct'' (16 U.S.C. 1532). 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 (16 U.S.C. 1539). Regulations governing
incidental take permits 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 to take the federally
endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and threatened northern long-
eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). The applicant determined that take
is reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of 72 previously
constructed wind turbines in White County, Indiana, consisting of
approximately 32,763 acres of private land. 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 Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats through on-
site minimization measures and to provide habitat conservation measures
for Indiana bat and northern long-eared bat to offset any impacts from
operations of the project. The HCP provides on-site avoidance and
minimization measures, which include turbine operational adjustments.
The authorized level of take from the project is 18 Indiana bats and 18
northern long-eared bats over the 6-year permit duration. To offset the
impacts of the taking of the species, the applicant will implement one
or more of the following mitigation options: Purchase credits from an
approved conservation bank, contribute to an in-lieu fee mitigation
fund, implement permittee responsible mitigation project, or contribute
to a white-nose syndrome treatment fund.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP is a Federal action that triggers the need
for compliance with NEPA. The Service has made a preliminary
determination that the applicant's project and the proposed mitigation
measures would individually and cumulatively have a minor or negligible
effect on the covered species and the environment. Therefore, we have
preliminarily concluded that the ITP for this project would qualify for
categorical exclusion, and the HCP would be low effect under our NEPA
regulations at 43 CFR 46.205 and 46.210. A low-effect HCP is one that
would result in (1) minor or negligible effects on federally listed,
proposed, and candidate species and their habitats; (2) minor or
negligible effects on other environmental values or resources; and (3)
impacts that, when considered together with the impacts of other past,
present, and reasonable foreseeable similarly situated projects, would
not result in significant cumulative effects to environmental values or
resources over time.
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the application and the comments received
to determine whether the permit 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 on the proposed HCP and screening form during a 30-day public
comment period (see DATES). In particular, information and comments
regarding the following topics are requested:
[[Page 73799]]
1. Whether adaptive management, monitoring, and mitigation
provisions in the proposed HCP are sufficient;
2. The requested 6-year ITP term;>
3. Any threats to the Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat
that may influence their populations over the life of the ITP that are
not addressed in the proposed HCP or screening form;
4. Any new information on white-nose syndrome effects on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat;
5. Whether or not the significance of the impact on various aspects
of the human environment has been adequately analyzed; and
6. Any other information pertinent to evaluating the effects of the
proposed action on the human environment, including those on the
Indiana bat and the northern long-eared bat.
Availability of Public Comments
You may submit comments by one of the methods shown under
ADDRESSES. We will post on http://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 ESA (16 U.S.C.
1531 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (50 CFR 17.22) and the
NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4371 et seq.) and its implementing regulations (40 CFR
1500-1508 (2020); 43 CFR part 46).
Lori Nordstrom,
Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-28223 Filed 12-27-21; 8:45 am]
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