The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that an application for an incidental take permit for Kaheawa Wind Power, LLC is available for public review and comment. The incidental take permit is part of the Kaheawa Pastures Wind Energy Generation Facility Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) - proposed by the applicant - and obtained when nonfederal activities are likely to result in the "take" of a threatened or endangered species that is incidental to carrying out otherwise lawful activities. Also available for review and comment are the environmental assessment of the proposed HCP and the permit application.
The HCP describes how Kaheawa Wind Power, LLC will - to the maximum extent practicable - minimize and mitigate the potential incidental take of protected species that may result from the construction and operation of its proposed wind farm on Maui. The permit authorizes the incidental take of the listed species, not the activities that result in the take.
Both the Federal and Hawaii Endangered Species Acts provide for the HCP process to allow development activities to proceed while promoting the conservation of listed species. The Service and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources jointly process HCPs but issue separate incidental take permits and licenses, respectively.
"Take," as defined by the federal Endangered Species Act, means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or attempt to engage in any such act. Harm may include significant habitat modification where it actually kills or injures a listed species by impairing essential behavior (e.g., nesting or reproduction).
Kaheawa Wind Power, LLC is proposing Mauis first commercial wind generation facility. The proposed facility would consist of 20 General Electric wind-generation turbines, situated in a single row at an elevation ranging from 2,000 to 3,200 feet. The turbines will be located within the vicinity of existing Maui Electric Company transmission lines above Maalaea.
Each steel turbine tower is 180 feet high with a rotor diameter of 231 feet, for a total peak structural height of approximately 296 feet. The proposed project would include an operation and maintenance facility, a substation and wind monitoring equipment, and improvements and some realignment to an existing four-wheel drive access road. The proposed facility will have the capacity to generate 30 megawatts of power, which would eliminate the use of approximately 150,000 - 250,000 barrels of oil annually and reduce millions of pounds of annual emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides.
The HCP and incidental take permit address potential for take of the endangered Hawaiian goose or nr?n?, Hawaiian petrel or uau and Hawaiian hoary bat or peapea; and the threatened ells shearwater or ao that may result from collisions during the construction and operation of the wind energy generation facility. Other native birds at risk of collision in the project area include the short-eared owl or pueo and Pacific golden-plover or klea, which are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The anticipated impacts for the four listed species include both direct and indirect take. Indirect take addresses additional individuals that may be harmed or killed indirectly as a result of the direct take of another (e.g., the direct take of a breeding adult could result in the indirect take of a chick that will therefore not survive). It is anticipated that the project could result in the incidental take of no more than two Hawaiian petrels, two ells shearwaters, three nene, and one Hawaiian hoary bat each year.
The HCP proposes measures to avoid, minimize, and mitigate take of listed species, as well as minimizing impacts to other nonlisted native species. The HCP includes up-front mitigation, monitoring and adaptive management strategies, and an assurance of up to $4.2 million in funding that is expected to provide a net conservation benefit for each species over the project duration and proposed 20-year permit term.
The environmental assessment considers the direct, indirect, and cumulative effects of the proposed action of permit issuance, including the measures that would be implemented to minimize and mitigate such impacts. The analysis covers two alternatives: the no action alternative (no permit issuance); and the proposed action alternative (construction and operation of the wind generation facility as proposed with the issuance of the permit and implementation of the HCP). Alternative turbine designs and sites were considered but not analyzed in detail because they were deemed not feasible.
The Service requests information, views, and opinions from the public on the proposed federal action of issuing a permit, including the identification of any aspects of the human environment not already analyzed in the environmental assessment. In addition, the Service specifically solicits information pertaining to the adequacy of the HCP as measured against the permit issuance criteria.
Written comments should be submitted on or before December 5, 2005 and submitted to: Jeff man, Assistant Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850. Comments may also be sent via facsimile to 808 792 9580.
The Service will evaluate the permit application, associated documents, and submitted comments to determine whether the application meets the requirements of NEPA regulations and section 10 (a) of the Endangered Species Act.
Documents are posted on the Services website at http://pacificislands.fws.gov. Copies may also be obtained by calling Arlene Pangelinan, Habitat Conservation Coordinator at 808-792-9400, or by writing to the address listed above. In addition, documents will be available for viewing at the Hawaii State Library, Kahului Public Library, Kihei Public Library and the Lahaina Public Library.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 545 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies
