81484 Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 16, 2020 / Notices 

e.g., permitting electronic submission of 

responses. 

Maile Arthur, 

Acting Records Management Branch Chief, 

Office of the Chief Administrative Officer, 

Mission Support, Federal Emergency 

Management Agency, Department of 

Homeland Security. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27678 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 9111–45–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

[FWS–R3–ES–2020–0045; 

FXES11140300000–212] 

Draft Environmental Assessment and 

Proposed Habitat Conservation Plan; 

Receipt of an Application for an 

Incidental Take Permit, Bluff Point 

Wind Energy Center, Jay and 

Randolph Counties, Indiana 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of 

documents; request for comment and 

information. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (Service), have received 

an application from NextEra Energy 

Bluff Point LLC (applicant), for an 

incidental take permit (ITP) under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended (ESA), for its Bluff Point Wind 

Energy Center (project). If approved, the 

ITP would be for a 30-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 

(HCP) 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 (DEA), 

which has been prepared in response to 

the permit application in accordance 

with the requirements of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We 

request public comment on the 

application, the DEA, and associated 

documents. 

DATES: We will accept comments 

received or postmarked on or before 

January 15, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Document availability: 

Internet: Electronic copies of the 

documents this notice announces will 

be available online in Docket No. FWS– 

R3–ES–2020–0045 at http://

www.regulations.gov. Public comments 

will also be available online at http://

www.regulations.gov. 

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: 

• Online: http://www.regulations.gov. 

Search for and submit comments on 

Docket No. FWS–R3–ES–2020–0045. 

• By hard copy: Submit comments by 

U.S. mail to Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: Docket No. FWS–R3– 

ES–2020–0045; 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, Indiana, 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 or speech 

impaired may call the Federal Relay 

Service at 1–800–877–8339 for TTY 

assistance. 

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. 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 30-year ITP 

to take the federally endangered Indiana 

bat (Myotis sodalis) and threatened 

northern long-eared bat (Myotis 

septentrionalis) at the Bluff Point Wind 

Resource Area (BPWRA) in Jay and 

Randolph Counties, consisting of 

approximately 23,613 acres of private 

land. The applicant determined that 

unavoidable take is reasonably certain 

to occur incidental to operation of 57 

previously constructed wind turbines. 

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 bats and northern long-eared 

bats to offset any unavoidable impacts 

from operations of the project. The 

BPWRA includes confirmed Indiana bat 

summer roost habitat and northern longeared bat summer maternity habitat. The 

HCP provides on-site avoidance and 

minimization measures, which include 

seasonal turbine operational curtailment 

and adaptive management measures that 

allow for modifications to the 

minimization and mitigation measures 

based on monitoring results and other 

triggers, and a 1,000 foot minimization 

buffer during the summer season to 

protect potential summer habitat for 

both covered species. Based on the 

available data, the predicted level of 

take is anticipated to be 63 Indiana bats 

and 32 northern long-eared bats over the 

30-year permit term. However, the 

applicant requests a permit to take 165 

Indiana bats and 84 northern long-eared 

bats over the 30-year permit term due to 

the uncertainty associated with 

estimating take and the exact (or 

specific) reduction in fatalities from the 

minimization without facility specific 

data. To fully offset the impacts of the 

taking of 122 Indiana bats and 42 

northern long-eared bats, the applicant 

proposes to protect in perpetuity 77.2 

acres of known maternity colony habitat 

and staging/swarming habitat through a 

conservation easement held by a 501(c)3 

non-profit at a Land of Indiana site in 

Greene County, Indiana through a thirdparty mitigation provider, First Indiana 

Resources, LLC. The HCP includes 

adaptive management measures if 

mitigation is insufficient to fully offset 

the impact of the actual take determined 

through mortality monitoring. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The issuance of an ITP is a Federal 

action that triggers the need for 

compliance with NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 

et seq.). We prepared a draft EA that 

analyzes the environmental impacts on 

the human environment resulting from 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 85, No. 242 / Wednesday, December 16, 2020 / Notices 81485 

three alternatives: A no-action 

alternative, the applicant’s proposed 

action, and a more restrictive alternative 

consisting of feathering turbines at a rate 

of wind speed that results in less 

impacts to bats. 

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 (16 U.S.C. 1531 

et seq.). We will also conduct an intraService 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. 

Public Comments 

The Service invites the public to 

comment and suggestions from all 

interested parties on the proposed HCP 

and draft EA and supporting documents 

during a 30-day public comment period 

(see DATES). In particular, information 

and comments regarding the following 

topics are requested: 

1. Whether adaptive management, 

monitoring and mitigation provisions in 

the Proposed Action alternative are 

sufficient; 

2. 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 draft EA; 

3. Any new information on whitenose syndrome effects on the Indiana 

bat and the northern long-eared bat; 

4. Whether or not the significance of 

the impact on various aspects of the 

human environment has been 

adequately analyzed; 

5. Any other information pertinent to 

evaluating the effects of the proposed 

action on the Indiana bat, the northern 

long-eared bat and the human 

environment; and 

6. The direct, indirect, or cumulative 

effects that implementation of any 

alternative could have on the human 

environment. 

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. 

4321 et seq.) and its implementing 

regulations (40 CFR 1506.6; 43 CFR part 

46). 

Lori Nordstrom, 

Assistant Regional Director, Ecological 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27667 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4333–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Indian Affairs 

[212A2100DD/AAKC001030/ 

A0A501010.999900253G] 

Land Acquisitions; Kiowa Indian Tribe 

of Oklahoma 

AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs made a final agency 

determination to acquire in trust 11.33 

acres, more or less, of land in the City 

of Hobart, Kiowa County, Oklahoma, 

(Site) for the Kiowa Indian Tribe of 

Oklahoma (Tribe) for gaming and other 

purposes. 

DATES: This final determination was 

made on December 11, 2020. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Paula L. Hart, Director, Office of Indian 

Gaming, Bureau of Indian Affairs, MS– 

3543 MIB, 1849 C Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20240, telephone (202) 

219–4066, paula.hart@bia.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

notice is published in the exercise of 

authority delegated by the Secretary of 

the Interior to the Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs by 209 Departmental 

Manual 8.1, and is published to comply 

with the requirements of 25 CFR 

151.12(c)(2)(ii) that notice of the 

decision to acquire land in trust be 

promptly provided in the Federal 

Register. 

On the date listed in the DATES section 

of this notice, the Assistant Secretary— 

Indian Affairs issued a decision to 

acquire the Site, consisting of 11.33 

acres, more or less, of land in trust for 

the Tribe under the authority of the 

Indian Reorganization Act, 25 U.S.C. 

5108. The Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs determined that Tribe’s request 

also meets the requirements of the 

Indian Gaming Regulatory Act’s 

‘‘Oklahoma exception,’’ 25 U.S.C. 

2719(a)(2)(A)(i), to the general 

prohibition contained in 25 U.S.C. 

2719(a) for gaming on lands acquired in 

trust after October 17, 1988. 

The Assistant Secretary—Indian 

Affairs, on behalf of the Secretary of the 

Interior, will immediately acquire title 

to the Site in the name of the United 

States of America in trust for the Tribe 

upon fulfillment of Departmental 

requirements. 

The 11.33 acres, more or less, are 

located in the City of Hobart, Kiowa 

County, Oklahoma, and are described as 

follows: 

The surface and surface rights only in a 

tract of land located in the SE/4 of Section 

02, Township 06 North, Range 18 West of the 

Indian Base and Meridian, Kiowa County, 

Oklahoma and more particularly described as 

follows: Commencing at the SE Corner of the 

said SE/4; thence N 00°06′58′′ E along the 

East Line of the said SE/4 a distance of 

1414.12 feet; thence N 89°53′02′′ W 

perpendicular to the said East Line a distance 

of 66.30 feet to the East Right-of-Way Line of 

U.S. Highway No. 183, and the point of 

beginning; thence N 89°52′41′′ W a distance 

of 1304.40 feet; thence N 00°06′58′′ E a 

distance of 373.30 feet; thence S 89°52′41′′ E 

a distance of 1320.00 feet to the said East 

Right-of-Way Line; thence S 01°06′35′′ E 

along the said East Right-of-Way Line a 

distance of 307.98 feet; thence S 18°51′28′′ W 

a distance of 69.05 feet to the point of 

beginning, consisting of 11.33 acres, more or 

less; surface and surface rights only. Basis of 

bearings: True Meridian. 

Tara Sweeney, 

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2020–27699 Filed 12–15–20; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4337–15–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

[21X.LLAKR00000.L13100000.DB0000] 

Notice of Availability of the Coastal 

Plain Marsh Creek East Seismic 

Exploration Environmental 

Assessment 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES