Notice2022-25217
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the R-Project Transmission Line Revised Habitat Conservation Plan, Nebraska
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Published
November 18, 2022
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentFish and Wildlife Service
Abstract
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), provide this notice to open a public scoping period and announce virtual public scoping meetings, in accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and its implementing regulations. The scoping period is associated with the preparation of a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to the February 2019 Final Environmental Impact Statement on Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit and Implementation of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project Transmission Line. Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD, applicant) is preparing a revised habitat conservation plan (HCP) in support of its anticipated resubmission of an application for an incidental take permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for activities it will undertake in constructing, operating, and maintaining a new transmission line (known as the R-Project) in central Nebraska. The SEIS will evaluate the impacts on the human environment related to the proposed issuance of the ITP and implementation of the HCP, including addressing the issues identified by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado in its remand of the ITP that FWS issued June 12, 2019.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 222 (Friday, November 18, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 222 (Friday, November 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69294-69297]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25217]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; FXES11140600000-234-FF06E22000]
Notice of Intent To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact
Statement for the R-Project Transmission Line Revised Habitat
Conservation Plan, Nebraska
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice of intent; virtual public scoping meeting; request for
comments.
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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), provide this
notice to open a public scoping period and announce virtual public
scoping meetings, in accordance with requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act and its implementing regulations. The scoping
period is associated with the preparation of a supplemental
environmental impact statement (SEIS) to the February 2019 Final
Environmental Impact Statement on Issuance of an Incidental Take Permit
and Implementation of a Habitat Conservation Plan for the R-Project
Transmission Line. Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD, applicant) is
preparing a revised habitat conservation plan (HCP) in support of its
anticipated resubmission of an application for an incidental take
permit (ITP) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for activities it
will undertake in constructing, operating, and maintaining a new
transmission line (known as the R-Project) in central Nebraska. The
SEIS will evaluate the impacts on the human environment related to the
proposed issuance of the ITP and implementation of the HCP, including
addressing the issues identified by the U.S. District Court for the
District of Colorado in its remand of the ITP that FWS issued June 12,
2019.
DATES:
Submitting Comments: We will accept online or hardcopy comments.
Hardcopy comments must be received or postmarked on or before December
19, 2022. (See ADDRESSES.) Comments submitted online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a> must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
December 19, 2022.
Public Meetings: The FWS will hold 2 virtual public scoping
meetings during the scoping period at the following times:
<bullet> December 8, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. CST.
<bullet> December 8, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. CST.
Registration and information on the virtual public meetings are
available at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/project/r-project-transmission-line">https://www.fws.gov/project/r-project-transmission-line</a>.
Additionally, a recording of a public scoping meeting will be available
for viewing by the public online, at <a href="https://www.fws.gov/project/r-project-transmission-line">https://www.fws.gov/project/r-project-transmission-line</a> and at the following locations:
<bullet> North Platte Public Library, 120 W 4th St., North Platte,
NE 69101;
<bullet> Thomas County Library, 501 Main St., Thedford, NE 69166;
<bullet> Taylor Public Library, 106 William St., Taylor, NE 68879.
ADDRESSES:
Submitting Comments: You may submit comments by one of the
following methods:
<bullet> Internet: <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048.
[[Page 69295]]
<bullet> U.S. mail: Public Comments Processing; Attn: Docket No.
FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, MS:
PRB/3W; 5275 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041-3803.
For additional information about submitting comments, see Public
Scoping Process under SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Runge, by telephone at 308-382-
6468, or by email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b8d2dddedee7cacdd6dfddf8decfcb96dfd7ce"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="c2a8a7a4a49db0b7aca5a782a4b5b1eca5adb4">[email protected]</span></a>. 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: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
issued an incidental take permit (ITP) to Nebraska Public Power
District (NPPD) on June 12, 2019, authorizing incidental take of the
American buying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) that would result from
the R-Project, a 345,000-volt, 226-mile-long transmission line. The
Federal Register notice of availability for ITP, Habitat Conservation
Plan (HCP), and Final Environmental Impact Statement published on
February 8, 2019 (84 FR 2900). The proposed project starts at NPPD's
Gerald Gentleman Substation near Sutherland, Nebraska; goes north to a
345 kV substation located in Thomas County near Thedford; and then
extends eastward to another 345 kV substation sited in Holt County,
which is to interconnect with Western Area Power Administration's
existing Fort Thompson to Grand Island 345 kV line that is located on
the eastern border of Holt County.
The purpose of the R-Project is three-fold: (1) relieve electrical
congestion within the existing transmission system; (2) enhance system
reliability; and (3) provide opportunities for development of renewable
resources. On June 17, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District
of Colorado issued a decision on a lawsuit challenging the FWS's
decision to issue the ITP under the Endangered Species Act (ESA),
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and the National Historic
Preservation Act. In its ruling, the court vacated and remanded the ITP
to the FWS for further proceedings consistent with the court's order.
The FWS is preparing a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement
(SEIS) to address the anticipated resubmission of NPPD's ITP
application, the issues identified by the court, and to address new
information and changes in circumstances, as relevant, to the R-Project
Revised HCP.
In accordance with section 10(a)(2)(A) of the ESA, NPPD intends to
submit the Revised HCP to the FWS in support of a resubmitted
application for an ITP for the threatened American burying beetle. The
requested ITP would authorize incidental take of the American burying
beetle likely to result from construction and anticipated emergency
repairs of the R-Project. The Revised HCP is required to include
measures to minimize and mitigate the impacts of the taking on American
burying beetle to the maximum extent practicable.
We intend to prepare a draft SEIS and, later, a final SEIS, to
evaluate the effects on the human environment of issuing an ITP under
the anticipated resubmitted application, and NPPD's implementation of
the R-Project Revised HCP. The SEIS is necessary to meet our
requirements under NEPA; 42 U.S.C 4321 et seq.) and its implementing
regulations. The FWS's purpose and need for the proposed action is to
(1) process the applicant's resubmitted request for an ITP and (2)
either grant, grant with conditions, or deny the ITP request in
compliance with the FWS's authority under applicable law, including,
without limitation, section 10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA and applicable ESA
implementing regulations.
Preliminary Proposed Action and Alternatives
Consistent with 40 CFR 1501.9(d)(2), the preliminary description of
the proposed action is issuance of an ITP authorizing incidental take
of a covered species in association with covered activities and Revised
HCP implementation.
The draft SEIS will include a reasonable range of alternatives,
which may include but are not limited to scope of the covered
activities, variations in the level of permitted take, the length of
the permit term, type of conservation minimization and mitigation
measures, and implementation and effectiveness monitoring.
Additionally, a No Action Alternative will be included, in which the
FWS would not issue an ITP and would assume that NPPD would not
construct the R-Project.
Background
Section 9 of the ESA prohibits ``take'' of fish and wildlife
species listed as endangered under section 4 (16 U.S.C. 1538 and 16
U.S.C. 1533, respectively). The ESA implementing regulations extend,
under certain circumstances, the prohibition of take to threatened
species (50 CFR 17.31). Under section 3 of the ESA, the term ``take''
means to ``harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap,
capture, or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct'' (16
U.S.C. 1532(19)). The term ``harm'' is defined by regulations as ``an
act which actually kills or injures wildlife'' (50 CFR 17.3). ``Such
act may include significant habitat modification or degradation where
it actually kills or injures wildlife by significantly impairing
essential behavioral patterns, including breeding, feeding, or
sheltering'' (50 CFR 222.102).
Under section 10(a) of the ESA, FWS may issue permits to authorize
incidental take of listed fish and wildlife 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. Section
10(a)(1)(B) of the ESA contains provisions for issuing ITPs to non-
Federal entities for the take of endangered and threatened species,
provided the following criteria are met:
1. The taking will be incidental;
2. The applicant will, to the maximum extent practicable, minimize
and mitigate the impact of such taking;
3. The applicant will ensure that adequate funding for the plan
will be provided;
4. The taking will not appreciably reduce the likelihood of the
survival and recovery of the species in the wild; and
5. The applicant will carry out any other measures the FWS may
require as being necessary or appropriate for the purposes of the HCP.
R-Project Revised Habitat Conservation Plan
NPPD intends to implement the R-Project Revised HCP to cover
construction and anticipated emergency repairs of the R-Project. The R-
Project Revised HCP includes measures to minimize and mitigate impacts
of the taking on American burying beetle. NPPD is expected to request a
50-year ITP from the FWS.
Covered Activities
The proposed covered activities will likely include:
<bullet> Access: Creation of temporary access routes and permanent
access roads.
<bullet> Right-of-way preparation: Removal of trees and tall brush
from the 200-foot-wide right-of-way.
<bullet> Temporary work areas: Grading and filling to create
temporary work areas including assembly areas, construction yard,
staging areas, and structure work areas.
[[Page 69296]]
<bullet> Tower installation: Construction associated with power
line foundation installation and structure erection.
<bullet> Power line installation: Stringing, pulling, and
tensioning necessary for power line placement on towers.
<bullet> Relocation of existing infrastructure: Relocation of
existing overhead distribution power lines and livestock and center-
pivot irrigation wells to outside the right-of-way.
<bullet> Emergency repairs: Repairs to isolated damages, such as
single insulators or weak points on conductors, as well as large-scale
repairs following damage from severe weather events.
<bullet> HCP Implementation Activities: Activities identified in
the conservation strategy and monitoring program that may result in
short-term effects on covered species.
Covered Species
The American burying beetle is the species anticipated to be
proposed for coverage under the R-Project Revised HCP and ITP. The
American burying beetle is known to occur within the proposed corridor
for the R-Project. The R-Project Revised HCP will include an analysis
of impacts to American burying beetle and methodology for estimating
and quantifying take from covered activities and minimization and
mitigation measures. The R-Project Revised HCP is anticipated to
include analysis of evaluated species, which are species that may occur
in the project area but for which NPPD is not requesting take
authorization. The HCP describes measures to avoid take of these
species. Species anticipated as evaluated species may include the
following:
Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Blanding's turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)
Blowout penstemon (Penstemon haydenii)
Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
Tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus)
Piping plover (Charadrius melodus)
Rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa)
Topeka shiner (Notropis topeka [=tristis])
Western prairie-fringed orchid (Platanthera praeclara)
Whooping crane (Grus americana)
Measures to minimize and mitigate impacts on the American burying
beetle will be described in the Revised HCP as conservation measures
and conditions on covered activities, guided by goals and objectives in
the conservation strategy of the Revised HCP. These measures would be
systematically implemented and monitored for success. Impacts would be
offset by the protection of high-quality habitat for the American
burying beetle. Minimization and mitigation measures are subject to
adaptive management to ensure their effectiveness and to ensure
achievement of the R-Project HCP's biological goals and objectives.
The R-Project Revised HCP will include funding information and
assurances, monitoring requirements, adaptive management, and changed
circumstance provisions to help ensure conservation outcomes for
American burying beetle. Annual reports would confirm the amount, type,
and location of impacts and mitigation, as well as the status of
monitoring, adaptive management, changed circumstances, and funding.
Summary of Expected Impacts
The draft SEIS will identify and describe the effects of the
proposed Federal action on the human environment that are reasonably
foreseeable, including direct, indirect, and cumulative effects. This
includes effects that occur at the same time and place as the proposed
action or alternatives and effects that are later in time or farther
removed in distance from the proposed action or alternatives. Expected
impacts may include, but are not limited to, positive and negative
impacts to the American burying beetle, biological resources, visual
resources/aesthetics, and cultural and historic resources. The effects
of these expected impacts will be analyzed in the SEIS (see 40 CFR
1508.1(g) and 40 CFR 1502.16).
Schedule for the Decision Making Process
The FWS will conduct an environmental review to analyze the effects
of the proposed permit action, along with other alternatives considered
and the associated impacts of each alternative for the development of
the draft SEIS. Following completion of the environmental review, the
FWS will publish a notice of availability and request for public
comments on the draft SEIS and the draft Revised HCP resubmitted with
the ITP application. The FWS expects to make the draft SEIS and draft
HCP available to the public in summer 2023. After public review and
comment, the FWS will evaluate the permit application and associated
documents, and any comments received, to determine whether the
requirements of section 10(a)(2) of the ESA and implementing permit
regulations are met. The FWS expects to make the final SEIS and final
Revised HCP available to the public in spring 2024. At least 30 days
after the final SEIS is available, the FWS's record of decision will be
completed in accordance with applicable timeframes established in 40
CFR 1506.11. If appropriate, the FWS would issue the ITP after the
issuance of the record of decision. If issued, the permit may include
such terms and conditions deemed necessary or appropriate to carry out
the purposes of the ITP and the Revised HCP.
Public Scoping Process
Virtual Public Meeting
This notice of intent initiates the scoping process, which aids in
the development of the EIS.
See DATES and ADDRESSES for the date and time of the virtual public
scoping meetings. The virtual public scoping meetings will provide FWS
with an opportunity to present to the public information pertinent to
the R-Project Revised HCP, and for the public to ask questions on the
scope of issues and alternatives that FWS should consider when
preparing the SEIS. We will accept only written comments. Written
comments may be submitted by the methods listed in ADDRESSES.
Reasonable Accommodations
Persons needing reasonable accommodations to attend and participate
in the virtual public scoping meetings should contact the FWS's
Nebraska Ecological Services Field Office (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT) as soon as possible. To allow sufficient time to process
requests, please make contact no later than 1 week before the desired
public meeting. Information and documents are available in alternative
formats upon request.
Request for Information
We request comments on the proposed action, concerning the scope of
the analysis and identification of relevant information, studies, and
analyses from the public; affected Federal, State, Tribal, and local
governments, agencies, and offices; the scientific community; industry;
or any other interested party. We will consider these comments in
developing the draft SEIS. Specifically, we seek:
1. Biological information, analysis, and relevant data concerning
the covered species, evaluated species, and other wildlife;
2. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on
the covered species, and/or other endangered or
[[Page 69297]]
threatened species, and their associated ecological communities or
habitats;
3. Potential effects that the proposed permit action could have on
other aspects of the human environment;
4. Other possible reasonable alternatives that FWS should consider,
including additional or alternative avoidance, minimization, and
mitigation measures;
5. The presence of historic properties--including archaeological
sites, buildings, and structures; historic events; sacred and
traditional areas; and other historic preservation concerns--in the
proposed plan and permit area, which are required to be considered in
project planning by the National Historic Preservation Act;
6. Information on other current or planned activities in, or in the
vicinity of, the R-Project and their possible impacts on the covered
species, including any connected actions that are closely related and
should be discussed in the same draft SEIS; and
7. Other information relevant to the R-Project Revised HCP and its
impacts on the human environment.
Public Availability of Comments
You may submit your comments and materials by one of the methods
listed in ADDRESSES. Before including your address, phone number, or
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be
aware that your entire comment--including your personal identifying
information--might 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. 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.
Comments and materials we receive, as well as supporting
documentation we use in preparing the DEIS, will be available for
public inspection online in Docket No. FWS-R6-ES-2014-0048, at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov/">https://www.regulations.gov/</a>.
Next Steps
Once the draft SEIS is prepared, there will be further opportunity
for comment on the proposed permit action through an additional public
comment period.
Lead and Cooperating Agencies
The FWS is the lead agency for the NEPA process. Cooperating
agencies include the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, History
Nebraska, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the National Park
Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency. The FWS welcomes inquiries from other Federal,
State, or Tribal, or local agencies potentially interested in being a
cooperating agency for the NEPA process.
Decisionmakers and Nature of Decision To Be Made
The decisionmaker is the FWS Regional Director of the Mountain-
Prairie Region. If, after publication of the record of decision, the
agencies determine that all requirements are met for ITP issuance, the
decisionmaker will issue a decision on the requested ITP.
Authority
We provide this notice in accordance with the requirements of
section 10(c) of the ESA (16 U.S.C. 1539(c)) and NEPA regulations on
the publication of a notice of intent to issue an EIS (40 CFR
1501.9(d)).
Drue DeBerry,
Acting Assistant Regional Director, Ecological Services, Mountain-
Prairie Region.
[FR Doc. 2022-25217 Filed 11-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4333-15-P
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