Notice2022-09836
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan Amendment; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit Amendment, Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, Benton County, Indiana
Primary source
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Published
May 9, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an application from Fowler Ridge Wind Farm LLC, Fowler Ridge II Wind Farm LLC, Fowler Ridge III Wind Farm LLC, and Fowler Ridge IV Wind Farm LLC, collectively referred to as Fowler Ridge (applicant), to amend an existing incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act, for its Fowler Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be extended for an additional 10-year period and would add authorization of incidental take of a threatened species, the northern long-eared bat, to the currently existing authorization to incidentally take the endangered Indiana bat. The applicant has prepared a proposed habitat conservation plan amendment 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 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 request public comment on the application and associated documents.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 89 (Monday, May 9, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27660-27661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-09836]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0003; FXES11140300000-223]
Draft Environmental Assessment and Proposed Habitat Conservation
Plan Amendment; Receipt of an Application for an Incidental Take Permit
Amendment, Fowler Ridge Wind Farm, Benton County, Indiana
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments and information.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an
application from Fowler Ridge Wind Farm LLC, Fowler Ridge II Wind Farm
LLC, Fowler Ridge III Wind Farm LLC, and Fowler Ridge IV Wind Farm LLC,
collectively referred to as Fowler Ridge (applicant), to amend an
existing incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act,
for its Fowler Ridge Wind Farm (project). If approved, the ITP would be
extended for an additional 10-year period and would add authorization
of incidental take of a threatened species, the northern long-eared
bat, to the currently existing authorization to incidentally take the
endangered Indiana bat. The applicant has prepared a proposed habitat
conservation plan amendment 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 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
request public comment on the application and associated documents.
DATES: We will accept comments received or postmarked on or before June
8, 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-2022-0003 at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a>.
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:
<bullet> Online: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Search for and submit
comments on Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0003.
<bullet> By hard copy: Submit comments by U.S. mail to Public
Comments Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS-R3-ES-2022-0003; 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,
Indiana Ecological Services Field Office, by email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#592a3a362d2d06292b2c302d2d193f2e2a773e362f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="bccfdfd3c8c8e3cccec9d5c8c8fcdacbcf92dbd3ca">[email protected]</span></a>, or by telephone at 812-334-4261, extension 214;
or Andrew Horton, Regional HCP Coordinator, Interior Region 3, by email
at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ffef1fbedfae8c0f7f0edebf0f1dff9e8ecb1f8f0e9"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9efff0faecfbe9c1f6f1eceaf1f0def8e9edb0f9f1e8">[email protected]</span></a>, or by 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 (ESA;
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 for endangered and threatened species, respectively, are found
in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 50 CFR 17.22 and 50 CFR
17.32.
Applicant's Proposed Project
The applicant requests to amend their current 21-year ITP
(TE95012A-0). The proposed HCP amendment, if approved, would extend the
current permit term by 10 years. Because of the time already elapsed
since the original issuance of the ITP, this extension would result in
an amended ITP with a total 23-year permit term (2022-2044). In
addition, the HCP amendment would add authorization to incidentally
take the federally threatened northern long-eared bat (Myotis
septentrionalis) to the ITP, and would in effect increase the allowable
take of the federally endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis), due to
the permit term extension. The applicant determined that take is
reasonably certain to occur incidental to operation of the 420 wind
turbines at the project. The proposed conservation strategy in the
applicant's proposed HCP amendment 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 bats
and northern long-eared bats to offset any impacts from operations of
the project. The HCP amendment provides on-site avoidance and
minimization measures, which include turbine operational adjustments.
The estimated level of take from the project is 120 northern long-eared
bats over the 24-year project duration and an additional 151 Indiana
bats (above the 184 Indiana bats already authorized in the original
ITP) due to the 10-year extension. To offset the impacts of the taking
of Indiana bats and northern long-eared bats, the applicant proposes to
protect known maternity colony habitat.
National Environmental Policy Act
The issuance of an ITP amendment is a Federal action that triggers
the need for compliance with NEPA. We prepared a draft EA that analyzes
the environmental impacts on the human environment resulting from three
alternatives: A no-action alternative, the applicants' proposed
alternative, and an alternative that provides coverage of only the
northern long-eared bat.
[[Page 27661]]
Next Steps
The Service will evaluate the permit amendment 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). In
particular, information and comments regarding the following topics are
requested:
1. The 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 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 EA; 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 <a href="https://regulations.gov">https://regulations.gov</a> 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
1506.6; 43 CFR part 46).
Sean Marsan,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services.
[FR Doc. 2022-09836 Filed 5-6-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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